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| CRBJ Home > March 2007 | |||||
Digital lifestyle dominates at tech showsBy Ken Doyle
This year's MWSF was unusual and somewhat disappointing in that there was no mention at all of new Macintosh computers. Instead, Apple clearly indicated what their focus was to be, even announcing that the official company name had changed from Apple Com-puter Inc. to Apple Inc. Although Apple has been championing the "digital lifestyle" cause for several years, this was perhaps the first time that the rest of us realized how serious they were. The keynote began with the expected introduction of the Apple TV, a device previewed last year that allows Macs or PCs to stream video content wirelessly to TV sets. The bulk of the presentation, however, was devoted to the much-anticipated iPhone, Apple's answer to the current crop of so-called smart phones. The iPhone combines the functionality of an iPod, a cell phone and a PDA with wireless Internet connectivity. While these functions are available on other devices today, the iPhone has managed to integrate them into an elegant package that is simple to use, largely thanks to an innovative interface driven by a 3.5" touch screen. Highlights of the demonstration included the ability to selectively listen to voicemail messages from a list, view whole Web pages and zoom in on specific areas, and navigate through the interface with simple finger movements on the screen. Apple announced partnerships with Cingular for cellular services, and with Google and Yahoo for Internet content delivery. At CES, the digital lifestyle was also the focus of Bill Gates' keynote speech. Gates positioned Windows Vista as the center of convergent efforts to connect work, home, and entertainment. While there wasn't much new or exciting for Vista, Microsoft announced new features for its Xbox 360, and Windows Home Server, software designed to make the PC a central repository for digital media content. In theory, such a PC would make it easy for the average user to manage a home network and enjoy features such as backing up files automatically, searching across and remotely accessing multiple PCs, and distributing video and music to connected media devices. Other significant announcements at CES included Intel's eight-core PC prototype, Toshiba's Vista-ready tablet PCs, and HP's touch-screen PC. The latter is modeled after Apple's iMac, although the PC is not built into the screen but is encased in a somewhat inelegant box below it. However, it's refreshing to see a touch-screen interface in a consumer desktop PC, and HP is clearly positioning its new offering as a digital lifestyle device. In fact, this could arguably be called the year of the touch screen. Although the technology isn't new, it's finally become elegant and affordable enough to make its way into your pocket and your living room - and, of course, your digital lifestyle. Ken Doyle is a principal consultant for Loquent LLC, a Madison-based company that offers technology training and consulting services. techtalk@loquent.net madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
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