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IBM, HP Chasing Tag Technology
The Pentagon has its own plans, which will be ready by the end of October, to use RFID to keep tabs on some materiel shipments at distribution centers in California and Pennsylvania, Federal Computer Week reported today: "RFID tags could streamline Defense Department supply-chain operations by supplying officials with electronic data that automatically locates millions of items in DOD's inventory. Compared to older bar code technology, which requires line-of-sight proximity between a scanner and a label, RFID has the capability to increase efficiencies in supply operations."
• Federal Computer Week: Setting the Stage for RFID
Jumping the Gun on Gadgets?
Are PC makers binging on fancy electronics now, only to face a potential technology hangover soon? Business Week has a piece analyzing whether PC makers' inroads into the field of electronics will be a win or a bust. Gateway decided to pull out of selling a slew of consumer electronics, including DVD players and digital cameras, while Dell, HP and others are latching onto more robust consumer electronics plans, the magazine explained. "Does the cow-themed PC maker know something computer rivals Dell and HP don't? It just might. The entire PC industry is lustily eyeing the convergence of electronics and computing, where the home-office PC creeps into the living room, pulling photos, movies, music, and TV together in a central hub. Analysts say systems that can do all that at a reasonable price are about three years away, but many PC makers feel they need to stake a claim now," Business Week wrote.
"Truth is, the PC crowd isn't all that interested in the miserly margins of today's consumer-electronics business. They're keen on where they see it going -- the digital consumer electronics of tomorrow, with lots of smarts and higher price tags. Gateway is banking on this more lucrative market, too, but believes it doesn't have to bet the farm on commodity products in the meantime."
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As for the long-term, the magazine asked: "So are HP and Dell headed for trouble? Maybe not. With a bolder strategy, experts say HP is the one that could pose a serious challenge to Sony and Samsung Electronics," magazine said, later noting: "Dell is a formidable player, too, because of its strong consumer brand."
• Business Week: Will Electronics Burn Out PC Makers?
Speaking of HP, the PC maker is looking at ways to maximize battery power for laptops and other devices. "Hewlett-Packard has come up with a way to save precious battery power by illuminating only parts of the screen," the San Francisco Chronicle reported. "HP's new technology uses software that can control the brightness of displays. For example, a laptop user reading an e-mail would use the software to brighten the lines he is viewing, while the rest of the page is dimmed. The illuminated area changes as the user scrolls up or down the page. The technology could help reduce the power consumed by displays by 50 to 95 percent."
• The San Francisco Chronicle: HP Tests Tactic to Save Batteries
The San Jose Mercury News on Friday wrote about the efforts to restore the Palo Alto garage where the company's first product was born. "The Garage -- that one-car shack where young scientists David Packard and William Hewlett tinkered -- is about to get a face lift. And if all goes well, it'll look old -- as in 1938-old, when the duo lived in Palo Alto and built the audio oscillator that gave birth to Silicon Valley," the paper said.
• The San Jose Mercury News: HP's Famous Garage Will Be Restored (Registration required)
IM for AT&T Wireless
AT&T Wireless is getting into the electronics game with plans for its own instant-messaging and e-mail gadget to woo young customers (as if cell phones weren't enough of a lure for Generation Y). "The device, called the Ogo, is part of the carrier's continuing effort to create a new market selling data services. The Ogo, which doesn't include a phone, will also include capabilities for e-mail from Time Warner Inc.'s America Online, Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. The launch is the latest step in a fairly new effort by U.S. cellular carriers to promote more sophisticated messaging devices and services among consumers," the Wall Street Journal reported.
Reuters said the Ogo's price "could attract more consumers than existing phones that were designed for easy e-mailing and instant messaging but are much more expensive, according to IDC analyst Alex Slawsby. But he noted that since people mainly use mobile devices for making phone calls, the Ogo's popularity will depend on whether people are willing to carry a second gadget and pay for an extra service on top of their mobile phone charges."
• The Wall Street Journal: AT&T Wireless Unveils Ogo, an E-Mail Device (Subscription required)
• Reuters: AT&T Wireless Sells Dedicated Wireless Device
Despite a glitzy product launch for the $99 device (after rebates), AT&T Wireless didn’t get any slack in a recent profile from its hometown paper, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The paper last week ran a lengthy report on the company's woes, titling it "The Fall of AT&T Wireless." An excerpt: "In the end, a single event may have sealed AT&T Wireless's fate: the opportunity for its customers to leave. A mass exodus from the Redmond carrier began late last year when, compelled by a new federal rule, wireless companies let subscribers switch among them while keeping their phone numbers. The portability rule's object was to increase competition by letting customers choose the best service without penalty. Freedom of choice meant a financial and public relations disaster for AT&T Wireless. In the first three months of this year, millions of subscribers fled the company."
• The Seattle Post-Intelligencer: The Fall of AT&T Wireless
Dart for Intel
In other electronics news, "Intel Corp.'s struggle to popularize a second microprocessor family took another blow, as partner Hewlett-Packard Co. said it will stop offering desktop workstations based on Intel's Itanium microprocessor," the Wall Street Journal reported today.
• The Wall Street Journal: Intel Chip Effort Is Hit By H-P Move (Subscription required)
Windows Lite?
Microsoft is open to selling a slimmed-down version of its Windows operating system if European antitrust regulators mandate it, Dow Jones Newswires reported today. "The software giant is appealing a ruling made by European regulators in March, fining the company 497 million euros ($609.4 million) and requiring it to hand over software code as well as restrict the way it bundles Media Player software with its operating system. After a hearing this week, the Luxembourg-based Court of First Instance must decide whether to freeze the European Union's punishment pending a final decision, which could take several years. In the past, Microsoft has said it faces difficulties in implementing the Media Player order. On Monday, however, the company said for the first time it is prepared to comply with the orders if they are upheld."
"We'll be ready to comply with whatever the court orders," Microsoft's chief counsel Brad Smith said, according to Dow Jones and Reuters.
• Dow Jones Newswires via the Wall Street Journal: Microsoft Says It Is Ready to Comply With EU Orders (Subscription required)
• Reuters: Microsoft Still Wants EU Settlement
Another Bite Into Apple
British conglomerate Virgin is the latest player to enter the online music fray, offering "more than 1 million downloadable music tracks for 99 cents per song, the standard price offered by most rivals. Apple already offers more than 1 million tracks and Microsoft expects to do so by October. Unlike Apple and Microsoft, Virgin Digital is also launching a subscription service through which consumers can listen to an unlimited stream of music for $7.99 per month." the Financial Times said. CNET's News.com and Reuters also reported on the new launch.
• The Financial Times: Virgin Takes On Apple In Internet Music
• CNET's News.com: Virgin Launches Online Music Service
• Reuters: Virgin Launches New Digital Music Service