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Demo 2000: Look, listen and link From USA Today
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- "So what's the latest cool thing you've seen?"
I get that question a lot when I tell folks what I do for a living. For the
past few days, I've gotten to hear about lots of neat stuff at a high-tech
conference called Demo now in its 10th year. Demos past have been launching
pads for multimedia PCs, the Java programming language and the PalmPilot.
It should come as no surprise that most of the 81 companies invited to
showcase new technologies this time around (whittled down from more than
1,000) plugged offerings that promise to help you better exploit cyberspace.
They ran the gamut. GuruNet demonstrated a Web service that effectively
lets you do a search on any word you click on in your browser, e-mail
program or word processor. Press the "alt" key, click on a word, and up pops
a window with access to dictionary definitions, bio info and pertinent
real-time news, weather or financial information.
Be Inc. showed a bevy of Internet "appliances," from Compaq, National
Semiconductor and Qubit, that run the company's BeIA software platform.
You'll see more of these dedicated Net devices during the coming months:
everything from Etch A Sketch-size tablets to devices that resemble home
stereo gear.
The days of shrink-wrapped software may be numbered. Take ThinkFree Office
from ThinkFree.com It's an example of a burgeoning class of Web services
known as application service providers (ASPs). ThinkFree's suite (word
processor, spreadsheet, presentation graphics, e-mail, etc.) is free.
Written in Java and accessed with only your browser, the online program is
fully compatible with Microsoft Office.
Other Demo highlights:
Internet radio. With Web-based radiocasts, you can use your PC to tune in
the BBC or listen to a ballgame not broadcast in your area. In fact, you can
take in myriad stations whenever you want to listen. According to Arbitron,
11 million people in the USA listen to Net audio on their PCs. More than
4,000 online audio streams are available on a daily basis.
And yet, lots more people probably would listen if they could flip the dial
as easily as they can on an AM/FM radio. Enter Kerbango and AudioRamp.com, a
pair of California companies with separate designs on the Net radio market.
Kerbango's stand-alone stereo radio features a handsome retro look. Due this
spring for less than $300, Kerbango works with a standard modem, though if
you have a faster hookup such as cable or DSL, it can be connected
constantly.
Kerbango tries to make the experience as much like an ordinary radio as
possible. You can use a tuning knob to display available stations by
category (talk, rock, classical), backed by the directories at the Kerbango
Web site.The radio also can play MP3 files from a PC, provided you connect
via the USB port or a home network. And Kerbango handles old-fashioned AM/FM
as well. For its part, AudioRamp is planning an April delivery for its $399
hi-fi component.
Separately, a Web company called MongoMusic.com is aiming to make it easier
for music fans to connect with new artists they may like.
You start with a favorite song -- say, Santana's Smooth -- and Mongo tries
to match you up with songs of the same ilk, such as selections from Los
Lobos and Ozomatli. You can play 30-second clips. A "buy it" button takes
you directly to Amazon.com.
Picture this. Readers of this column may recall the clever but flawed
digital picture frames from Ceiva Logic and Sony, which can show off
numerous electronic images, slide-show style. Weave Innovations seems to
have resolved some of their limitations in a $299 frame called StoryBox,
which makes its debut this summer. As with the Ceiva, you can connect
StoryBox to a phone line to grab pictures sent over a network; as with
Sony's CyberFrame, you can take a memory card out of a digital camera and
insert it into the frame.
But StoryBox is more versatile. Through an alliance with Kodak, consumers
will be able to order prints directly through the frame. What's more, by
connecting to the StoryBox Network ($5-$7 a month), your grandmother or
anyone else with access to your frame can send you pictures. StoryBox holds
up to 36 pictures and can deliver news, sports and weather to the frame from
partners such as MSNBC.com and The Weather Channel.
On the subject of pictures, Kodak's PalmPix Camera ($179) turns your Palm
III, VII or (with an adapter) V into a simple digital camera. By syncing
through the Palm cradle, you can transfer the images to your computer. On
the Palm, the pictures appear as 2.3-inch-square grayscale images; on the
PC, they're color, 640 by 480 pixels. The add-on will be available this
spring.
Palm competitor Handspring also unveiled a digital camera add-on, Ideo's
eyemodule, due this spring, for $149.
Web advice. Former New York mayor Ed Koch always liked to ask constituents
how he was doing. He shouldn't have any trouble getting feedback on the Net.
He's co-founder of TheLaw.com, aimed at those seeking legal advice on
divorce, bankruptcy and other issues. You'll be able to access an online
library written for non-lawyers, engage in free chats with Koch and other
prominent lawyers, and e-mail questions. TheLaw.com also can help you find a
lawyer. "This is not a legal service where we provide you with your defense
or complaint," Koch says. "But we can save you a lot of money."
If you want to save a few pounds at the same time, an exercise site called
GetFit.com might be what you need. By quizzing you on your goals (just
toning up or training for a marathon), the free site can personalize a
fitness program, complete with graphics on how to properly perform
exercises. GetFit soon will make available an online calendar with your
fitness tasks for the day -- and will nag you via e-mail if you fail to show
up at the gym. Now that's tough love.
In future columns, I'll take a closer look at some of the products and ideas
that first saw the light of day at Demo.
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