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2004/10/29

CES Vegas style

A blizzard of gadgets at CES 2005

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- Perhaps the most surprising element of this year's Consumer Electronics Show, or CES, was outside the Las Vegas Convention Center: snow. Rare snowflakes were seen along the famed strip, prompting one person to sell "Vegas snowballs" on eBay.

Inside the halls, a flurry of gadgets lined the building's 1.5 million square feet of show space. CNN aimed to cover everything from the kitschy to the commercial, including an MP3 player sewn into a woolen beanie to the largest plasma TV in the world.

Every year, analysts look for trends to emerge from the huge gathering, which started with mainly TVs and stereos in New York in 1967.

CES is often a bellwether for hot items, and with the apparent disappearance of its Comdex cousin it's been thrust further into the spotlight.

To help gauge the pulse, we enlisted the help of editors from PC Magazine, CNET and Popular Science, a Time Warner sister publication. This combined approach provided a cross-section of the craziness, as thousands of people roamed the floor around us.

The editors' favorite products differed, but their overall opinion was while no one item dominated the show, products from previous years had now been refined with encouraging results.

For example, smarter digital cameras, cheaper flat-screen display technology and wearable devices that didn't just sound like a good idea.

One of the new products nearly every editor enjoyed was the 4.0 MP Kodak EasyShare-one digital camera. They liked the rotating 3-inch LCD touch screen display on the back, but the real draw was its wireless capability.

For an additional $100, a small wireless card lets you send photos to your computer or the Internet via a Wi-Fi hotspot. The camera itself retails for about $600.

A few of the editors agreed that one futuristic idea has finally arrived: the videophone. Motorola's OJO videophone lets someone make a visual phone call using a high-speed Internet connection.

It performs at about 30 frames per second, which is fast enough not to make grandma look jerky. It doubles as a traditional cordless phone and will cost about $700 when it hit stores in the spring.

But it's only practical if you buy two, or have a compatible webcam. Now you just have to decide whether you want to be seen.

'The biggest TV'

While many analysts agree that the high-definition technologies of cathode-ray tube monitors are better than other formats, the thinner versions always get plenty of buzz.

Many attendees found themselves mesmerized by the 102-inch plasma behemoth in the Samsung booth, which the company claimed to be "the biggest TV" in the world.

On a practical level, it's a long way off. It's not in production yet, and company reps wouldn't disclose a price. Samsung's 80-inch model will reportedly sell for about $45,000 or more.

LG Electronics had a dueling sign, touting its 71-inch plasma with full high-definition resolution as the world's largest screen that could actually be purchased today for $75,000.

Overall, analysts say it's going to take increased volume and a lower cost of manufacturing these plasmas to force prices to drop at a faster rate.

The day is coming when they're more affordable, but as one editor put it: Don't expect to buy a medium-sized plasma screen for under $1,000 for quite a while.

Gamers' lifestyle

Sony's attention-getter at CES was actually announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, E3, in 2003. But this was the first time that much of Western media could get their hands on the PlayStation Portable or PSP.

Setting its sights on Nintendo's dominant share of the handheld market, Sony's PSP also does more than play games. It also plays audio and video files, and acts as an organizer.

The editors we talked to liked the look of it, and the price, about $200, when it hits the United States in March. But it may be too bulky for some, and because of its proprietary format, Universal Media Discs, about the size of a small CD, users could be at Sony's whim for entertainment content.

Beginning in late 2001, Microsoft began touting its series of Smart Personal Object Technology or SPOT watches that receive data via MSN Direct like sports scores, news and stock results.

At CES 2005, Microsoft and companies like Suunto revealed the next generation, which are meant to be sleeker and more stylish. Prices for these new ones are about $300 and up.

CNN sat down with Microsoft's chairman and co-founder, Bill Gates, at one point to discuss the company's offerings at the show. He talked about the "digital lifestyle" or using the PC as a hub for entertainment. And he quelled rumors about Xbox 2 being unveiled at CES.

He did say the next generation of console gaming holds much promise, including improved online game play and enhanced graphics. For salient details, gamers will likely have to wait until May, when E3 takes place in Los Angeles, California.

Palm time

Another wrist device at the show is Palm-based. The Fossil FX2008 watch allows users to have a fairly basic monochrome PDA strapped to their wrists, and includes perhaps the world's tiniest stylus hidden in the watchband. It was introduced by Gates at CES 2003 but has been delayed until now. It will sell for $250.

Tiny is maybe the wrong word to describe the SanDisk USB memory card. You can store hundreds of photos and songs on one, then instead of needing a card reader to transfer the content onto your computer, you simply snap the hinge on the thumbnail-size card to reveal a flat connector that can be inserted into any USB port. It's expected to ship in a few months.

Not all technology at CES 2005 was pricey or far off. The Cold Heat soldering iron lets electricians of all skill levels solder in safety. The pen-like soldering gun heats up to 800 degree F in seconds and then cools to the touch in seconds once the soldering is finished. It retails now for $20.

And that's what CES is: a chance to see what gifts will be hot for this holiday season, all in this year's chilly locale of Las Vegas.

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2005/01/18

Airbus unveils 'superjumbo'

TOULOUSE, France -- The world's biggest-ever passenger plane has been unveiled in France at a ceremony attended by the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Spain and 5,000 VIP guests.

The A380 superjumbo, made by the European company Airbus, was revealed at a lavish presentation at its hangar in the southwestern city of Toulouse.

French President Jacques Chirac called the A380 "a veritable liner of the skies" and said its debut "is for all of us a moment of emotion and pride."

"Your adventure is a great success for Europe," he told Airbus workers.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the aircraft "would change the way we travel."

The show began with music, clouds of dry ice and dancers in the hangar where A380s are assembled -- one of the largest enclosed spaces in Europe.

Projected images of planes from the Airbus range sped across the hangar walls and dancers suspended on wires appeared to walk on air. Children tugged on a white cord to pull down a curtain, unveiling the plane lit in blue behind.

Hailed as a "European success story" by the European Union, the massive plane can seat up to 840 passengers on its two full decks, and its size easily eclipses the Boeing 747 that has ruled the commercial skies for decades.

Also attending were British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

France, Britain, Germany and Spain all invested heavily in the 10-year, £á10-billion-plus (U.S. $13-billion-plus) program to make the plane.

Various ministers and the senior executives of most of the world's major airlines were also in attendance, prompting police to throw a security cordon around Toulouse and deploy more than 2,000 officers, including bomb squads and bodyguards.

CNN's Richard Quest said the unveiling of the new aircraft is the type of event that happens only once in a generation.

Although the A380 has not yet taken to the air -- the first test flights are scheduled for March -- 13 companies have already placed firm orders for 149 of the aircraft, which comes with a catalogue price of between U.S. $263 and $286 million (£á200 and £á218 million.)

The first commercial flight is expected to take place in March next year, when Singapore Airlines uses one of the planes on its London-Singapore route.

That airline and most others will likely use the usual three-class seating configuration -- first, business and economy -- which will see the A380 transporting some 555 passengers, 139 more than a similarly set-up 747.

Carbon fibre components and fuel-efficient technology also mean the the cost per passenger should be up to 20 percent less than on a 747, raising the possibility of cheaper tickets.

Some companies are looking at using the extra space on an A380 to install conveniences never before seen on commercial passenger jets. Bedrooms, gyms, bars and spacious lounges are all options.

Although the A380 project has run some $1.4 billion over budget, Airbus believes it will recoup its costs in 2008 and be an extremely profitable flagship product for decades to come.

Airbus chief Noel Forgeard told CNN the aircraft had already nearly covered its costs.

Speaking to the French press he said he was "extremely confident" that China would place orders for its increasingly busy skies.

Even though Airbus is a subsidiary of the listed European Aerospace and Defence Company, with 20 percent also in the hands of Britain's BAE Systems, France, Britain, Germany and Spain still see the A380 project as a high-flying symbol of the European state cooperation that brought it into being.

EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said Monday: "The Super-Airbus demonstrates that working together in the EU pays off."

That state backing -- and the early demand for the A380 -- has raised hackles at Boeing.

A World Trade Organization challenge by Boeing over European state subsidies, which Airbus countered with one of its own against the United States, has been put on hold for three months for both sides to try to reach a negotiated settlement without resorting to a damaging trade war.

Nevertheless, Boeing has been talking down the threat posed by the A380, notably by saying that few airports in the world were modified to take the bulk of the new superjumbo, despite Airbus's claims that 50 were ready.

The U.S. company has also embarked on an midsize long-range aircraft it is calling the 7E7 Dreamliner. Boeing is also looking at further modifying its ageing 747 to take 450 passengers.

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2005/02/01

Digital evidence: Today's fingerprints

CNN) -- Police and prosecutors are fashioning a new weapon in their arsenal against criminals: digital evidence. The sight of hard drives, Internet files and e-mails as courtroom evidence is increasingly common.

"Digital evidence is becoming a feature of most criminal cases," said Susan Brenner, professor of law and technology at the University of Dayton School of Law, in an e-mail response for this article. "Everything is moving in this direction."

Digital evidence may play a significant role in the trial of pop superstar Michael Jackson on charges of child molestation.

Computers were among the items authorities in California seized during their search of Jackson's Neverland Ranch in November 2003. Once the territory of child pornography and computer fraud, digital evidence figures into every crime that can leave an electronic trail.

The changing world of technology is challenging courts to keep pace with new laws addressing potential evidence and preserving privacy, legal analysts say.

Police officials say that the U.S. war on terrorism may create a shortage of digital analysts at the local law enforcement level.

In the wired world, almost every crime intersects with the digital realm at one time or another.

"Digital evidence is simply a number of rows of ones and zeros ... whenever a computer is used to facilitate a crime," said Fred Demma, an expert on computer crime at the U.S. Air Force's computer research laboratory in Rome, New York.

Laptops, digital cameras, phones and hard drives provide mountains of raw data for experts to sift through, part of the expanding field of computer forensics.

A single file, credit card purchase or stray e-mail message can provide the proof that clinches a case.

"It's incredibly important," said Jeffrey Toobin, senior legal analyst for CNN. "Data such as e-mail has become indispensable, particularly in the prosecution of white-collar crime."

Digital search

Law enforcement officials hope to become as technologically savvy as the criminals they pursue.

"In modern day era of crime ... what you're going to find is a room full of computers, telephone lines and a network address and that's about it," Demma said. "In many cases, that's what you start with."

That may be enough, some investigators say.

The NYPD's computer crime squad, founded in 1995, has taken on a wide range of criminal activity -- from pedophilia to corporate espionage -- using a team of technicians and specially trained detectives.

Every year, it has put more and more people behind bars, said John Otero, the squad's commanding officer.

"If I were to tell you we are 100 percent caught up to the bad guys, I'd be lying," said. Otero. "We're always in a catch-up situation. The key is to be so close to their tail they don't have the chance to breathe ."

One section of Otero's 32-member squad scours the Internet for potential child molesters, drug dealers and others who may engage in illegal activities.

Another investigates suspicious activity by setting up electronic wiretaps and sifting through data logs that detectives can investigate within hours -- the shelf life for many electronic clues.

In one recent case, the NYPD seized a computer of a child pornographer, assumed his identity and continued the ruse to launch 43 spinoff investigations and arrests across Europe and North America.

"Ultimately, it's still an investigation and it comes down to good police work," Otero said. "All NYPD is using are the tools available to us to keep up with these guys."

Legal strategy

Law governing digital evidence still lags behind the reality of cyber-crime. There are few legal precedents to guide judges who often have little experience in the mercurial world of digital technology.

"It makes life difficult ... because law changes very slowly," said the University of Dayton's Brenner. "We have judges who did not grow up with computers and so many do not understand the technology and issues it raises."

There is also a bottleneck of highly trained personnel to comb through evidence. Police report an acute shortage of detectives and lawyers trained in electronic police work.

"Part of the biggest obstacles we've had to overcome is having to get savvy lawyers and judges to understand what we do," Otero said.

The fight against terrorism means people with these skills will remain at a premium, potentially depriving smaller police departments of such personnel.

The demand is only likely to increase as the volume of cases with digital evidence increases, according to the Department of Justice.

"Cyber-crime is obviously something that is a national priority," said Steve Bunnell, chief of the criminal division at the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, D.C., which recently established a cyber-crime division.

"Computer crimes are something that crosses borders. ...There is really a premium on getting the right and left hand working together," Bunnell said.

Courtrooms and universities are welcoming more lawyers specializing in electronic crime. They are setting the stage for the evolution of "cyber-law" as the debate over digital evidence -- and what limits may be put on it -- is raging among legal scholars and law enforcement, Brenner said.

"Our search and seizure laws evolved in a bricks and mortar era and therefore are not well suited for a digital environment," she said.

Police must now re-evaluate how they obtain evidence. Information obtained in an electronic search can be thrown out if it violates the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.

But how far does protection extend on a computer hard drive? What about e-mails and files sent over the Internet?

Some judges at the state and federal level have restricted the conduct of electronic searches by law enforcement, insisting officers follow certain procedures or methodologies. Police and prosecutors disagree, arguing that a judge can only issue warrants, not dictate its terms.

"This is a new issue," Brenner said. "In the real world, police go execute a warrant to find stolen tires ... and bring them back, end of story.

"In digital searches, police search for a computer, find the computer, bring it back and then subject the data on it to various kinds of searches."

The thorny questions about privacy and the sanctity of personal data loom as digital technology is inextricably linked to our daily lives.

Brenner predicts we will need to revisit the laws designed during an earlier, simpler age.

"I'm not sure you can say we 'choose' to use technology today," she said. "And I think the situation will only become that much worse."

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2005/03/10

Tax collector employs technology to snare deadbeats

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (AP) -- Sam Byers heard a commotion outside his house, but by the time he got to the window his Ford Explorer was gone.

City marshals, armed with a new tool that photographs auto license plates and instantly matches them against a tax scofflaw database, had towed Byers' car right out of his driveway.

"That's like kidnapping your car," Byers, a 58-year-old truck driver said as he stood, leaning on the crutches he got after a foot operation. Byers was in a long line of people outside the New Haven tax collector's office who were waiting to make delinquent payments so they could get their vehicles back.

Cash-strapped New Haven is a pioneer in using the so-called BootFinder system. The objective: snare people who haven't paid car taxes. (Connecticut is among a handful of states where local governments levy annual fees, typically a few hundred dollars per vehicle, based on the value of residents' automobiles.)

New Haven officials are overjoyed at the results. They've towed about 1,800 cars and recovered more than $1 million in delinquent taxes since the program began in September, including from people whose cars they removed from a Wal-Mart parking lot.

But privacy advocates are concerned.

To them, BootFinder, originally developed to help police departments identify stolen cars, represents yet another ominous step in government surveillance of the citizenry.

The BootFinder system was first introduced for catching tax laggards by Arlington County, Virginia.. So far, New Haven is the only other municipality using it, though Connecticut's largest city, Bridgeport, is among those considering a purchase.

The system is comprised of an infrared camera that rapidly scans license plates and, connected to a laptop computer in the New Haven system, scours a list of car tax delinquents. Previously, New Haven officials had to rely on mailed notices and phone calls to try to collect overdue car taxes.

The car tax collection rate, at 80 percent before BootFinder, has now risen to 95 percent, said C.J. Cuticello, New Haven's tax collector.

"I think the results are fantastic," he said. "We're going to continue it until we exhaust every vehicle in New Haven."

Arlington County has had similar success, reaping about $100,000 in unpaid car taxes and parking tickets since employing BootFinder despite not towing tax delinquents' cars. Its treasurer, Frank O'Leary, says the county is expanding the program this month to go after delinquent business and meals taxes owed by restaurant delivery companies.

"We're expanding to include all the items we can think of," he said.

That is precisely what alarms privacy advocates such as Cedric Laurant, policy counsel for the Washington, D.C.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center.

"It's a very slippery slope into which the authorities may be tempted to go," Laurant said. "You could use that technology to enforce any type of law that requires people to file their taxes."

Privacy advocates fear BootFinder could lend itself to "function creep", in which a technology intended for one purpose evolves into other uses.

Indeed, the president of the company that developed BootFinder, Andy Bucholz of Alexandria, Virginia.-based G2 Tactics, says he is in talks that he hopes will one day lead to a BootFinder-like system getting access to the National Crime Information Center database.

Bucholz said the talks are addressing privacy and security.

Such issues were paramount to a number of states that pulled out of a federally funded database program launched in 2002 called the Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange -- "Matrix" for short -- that was compiling billions of pieces of information on potential criminal suspects.

Laurant complained, additionally, that New Haven's towing regimen is disproportionate punishment for relatively small tax bills.

Kathy Martone was doing her dishes one night last week when the city came to get her Plymouth Neon, for which she owed $85 in taxes.

"I didn't know till I went to walk my dog," Martone said.

Motorists who have had their vehicles seized say they are given little warning and must miss work to get their car back.

New Haven officials say, however, that delinquent taxpayers are given five notices and warnings before their vehicles are seized.

In Bridgeport, Mayor John Fabrizi got a demonstration of BootFinder last week and said that within five minutes he had identified three cars whose owners owed a total of $900 in taxes.

"I was very impressed," Fabrizi said. "I feel we're going to go with the program."

The city's tax collector, Bob Tetreault, says it is currently owed more than $20 million in car taxes and its collection rate is below 70 percent, "which is just embarrassing."

The BootFinder remains a work in progress.

O'Leary of Arlington County said it sometimes fails to work when lighting conditions are variable due to cloudy weather. But he predicts big things for the technology.

"I compare it to buying a plane from the Wright brothers 100 years ago," O'Leary said. "It's a very clever device. This thing will fly. Give it a little time."

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2005/03/24

For some kids, cell phones the right call

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- There were two things 11-year-old Patty Wiegner really, really, really wanted for Christmas. One was a furry, playful dog that's now filling her parents' home with the sound of barking. The other gift makes a different kind of noise -- it has a ring tone that mimics rapper 50 Cent's hit song "Candy Shop."

While some might question why someone so young might need one, and some scientists have expressed health concerns, Patty is one of many kids her age who are asking their parents for cell phones. And increasingly, they're getting them.

"It's cool and popular," Patty, a sixth-grader in Valrico, Florida, says of her reason for wanting the mobile phone. "And I can talk to my friends and talk to my dad and mom."

Her mom, Lisa Wiegner, wasn't entirely thrilled with the idea but gave in because she likes knowing her daughter can contact her if she needs to. "And," mom says, "I wanted to be able to be in touch with her in an emergency."

Some parents have been prompted to add their kids because their wireless companies offer "family plans," giving them a specified number of minutes to chat with one another each month.

Now, a few other companies are pushing the trend further by creating specific products for "tweens," a population of preteens as young as age 8 that some consider the next big, untapped market of cell phone users.

Firefly Mobile, one company that's developed a cell phone product for younger users, found that about 10 percent of tweens in its focus groups had phones, but that many more wanted them. The company also identified parent interest in a product that would allow them to keep tabs on their kids.

"What the market was telling us is that there's a need for kids to stay in touch with the people who are important to them," says Robin Abrams, Firefly Mobile's CEO.

The Firefly phone, created by a father in Illinois and being launched nationwide in months to come, is smaller than other cell phones, allowing it to fit more easily in a kid's hand. It has simpler buttons, including ones that speed dial "Mom" or "Dad" _ and gives parents more control by giving them password-protected access for programming the numbers the phone can dial and calls it can receive.

The Firefly phone also has no games or capabilities for text messaging, a popular function with teens that some parents dislike because it can get expensive -- and distracting.

Meanwhile, Tiger Electronics, a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc., is taking another tack with its CHATNOW two-way radios, which allow communication -- including sending text messages and photos -- within a two-mile range. And toymaker Mattel is coming out with its own Barbie-themed prepaid cell phone.

It remains to be seen whether options like these will be a hit with their target age group.

Some kids say any phone is better than no phone. But others say they think they're old enough to handle a standard cell phone -- and abide by the limits their parents place on calling during expensive weekday hours.

"It shows if you're mature; it's a privilege to get a phone," says Stephanie Beaird, a 12-year-old in Northridge, California, who recently got a cell phone after begging her parents for more than a year.

Getting a phone was partly a reward for a very good report card -- but also a matter of convenience for Stephanie's parents, who've used it to find her when picking her up from school and after sporting events.

Seventh-grader Alex Chmielewski's parents have even called his phone to track him down while shopping in the same store. The 13-year-old from Irvine, California, got his phone when he was 12, and also carries it with him when he rides his bike to school, something he does often because there is no bus service.

If you have a phone, "some people view it as you're lucky," Alex says. "But I don't just use it for calling friends and stuff like that," he adds. "It gives me a sense of security or safety."

It's already common for kids in parts of Europe and Asia to have cell phones, though British officials have been more cautious, recommending against giving them to children until more research can be done on potential health risks to growing young bodies from the electromagnetic radiation that phones emit.

In this country, Rosemarie Young, president of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, says cell phones are more often an issue in schools in higher-income neighborhoods where students and their parents can afford them.

But increasingly, she says, schools that once had all-out bans on cell phones are allowing them, as long as students keep them turned off during class.

"I don't have a problem with it if parents are clear about the use of it," says Young, who's also an elementary school principal in Louisville, Kentucky, and has had teachers who've had to confiscate the occasional cell phone from kids who don't follow the rules.

Jennifer Hartstein, a child and adolescent psychologist at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York, agrees that parents need to stick with limits they place on using the phones.

"The problem is, I'm not sure parents are doing that," says Hartstein, who has a few younger clients with cell phones.

She still thinks cell phones can be a good idea, depending on the kid. "But I also kind of laugh that my parents knew where I was when I didn't have a cell phone," says Hartstein, who's in her 30s. "When I was 8 or 9, we barely had answering machines."

That thought is not lost on Lisa Wiegner, the mother in Florida whose daughter got the dog and cell phone last Christmas. But she says that, so far, Patty has handled having a phone very well.

Her daughter thinks so, too: "I, as a person," Patty says in a grown-up tone, "am very resourceful with my minutes."

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