A day in the life of a woman and her mobile devices, plus news

[Computing Unplugged]

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December 7, 2003 INSIDE THIS ISSUE A woman and her mobile devices This week's news

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GOING MOBILE
A day in the life of a woman and her mobile devices
By Denise Watkins

I own a variety of electronic and mobile devices. People -- Luddites in my opinion -- often ask, "Do you really need all of those things?"

I really don't carry all that much gear. On a daily, Monday through Friday basis, I carry a Sony CLIE SJ33. Between the time I started this article and final editing, the SJ33 has been discontinued. Typical Sony; it often seems to me that in the time that you buy a CLIE and get it home to charge up, Sony will most likely have a new model and discontinue yours.

My CLIE's various accoutrements include a Memory Stick camera and a folding headset. I also carry three 128MB Memory Sticks, one of which stays in the CLIE unless exchanged for a Memory Stick with MP3 files. The CLIE itself lives inside a Proporta aluminum case and sits inside a Levenger case designed for a PDA and phone. As I hate Velcro on my handheld, I put Velcro on the outside of the case and attach it to the inside of the Levenger case.

Also in my bag: A Motorola A720 phone and a BD Latitude Glucose Monitor. I also carry a Compaq iPaq 3950 with an expansion sleeve and Sprint wireless PC card housed in green leather Vaja case.

On the weekends I usually only carry only the CLIE and the phone. However during the week these devices are an essential part of my day and so I present...a day in the life of a woman and her mobile devices.

5:45AM
The alarm goes off on my Sony CLIE. Yes, I take it to bed with me. Or rather I take it into the bedroom with me. Actually more often than not I am reading a book before bedtime and it could just as easily be electronic, audio (in MP3 format) or print. I take a blood sugar reading--I'm a Type II diabetic--and reach for my CLIE. The first thing that happens after I clear the alarm is the daily Dilbert cartoon appears on the screen.

After looking at the cartoon, I tap the MegaLauncher tab that has health related programs on it and open GlucoPilot and log my blood sugar. I have 65 third-party programs loaded internally and on a Memory Stick. Quick access and organization is a necessity and I get that from MegaLauncher, shown in Figure A.

FIGURE A

My MegaLauncher screen helps me get to my programs quickly.

Hey Sony, I have an idea. Instead of a video recorder to record TV on Memory Stick, partner with a medical devices company and give us a Memory Stick-based glucose meter. The same could be suggested to Palm; either an SD meter or a device that attached to the HotSync connector would be helpful.

For the rest of Denise' handheld-enabled day, click here.

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COMPUTING UNPLUGGED NEWS CENTER
This week's news
Want to get the very latest mobile and wireless news? The Computing Unplugged News Center is updated every day with news of product releases, industry info, tips, techniques, and pointers to great mobile and wireless resources on the Web. Here's this week's news:

DOS Blocked
We recently experienced a Denial of Service attack from the domain AMERION.COM, which also operates TELEVAR.COM and BOSSIG.COM. If you have mail through any of these domains and you attempt to contact us, you will have been blocked by our server. It does not appear that the operator of these domains is conducting a malicious attack; it appears to be a server configuration issue. That said, we've been forced to block all mailing coming from them until they fix the problem (which will likely not be over the weekend).

Flight articles due today!
Today's the last day to submit your flight article. If you're working on an article to celebrate next week's 100th anniversary of powered flight, your article must be in to address@hidden by midnight tonight. Thanks to everyone for working on this project and stay tuned to our 12/14 issue for all the great articles (and some are just amazing)!

Flight articles due midnight tomorrow!
Reminder: if you're writing an article for our special series in celebration of 100 years of powered flight, it's due in to address@hidden by midnight (EST) tomorrow, Friday December 5th. So far, we've gotten some amazing submissions and great stories, and it looks like we'll have a very special issue in commemoration of the anniversary. Write on!

Motorola V600 coming later rather than sooner
Motorola said that supply constraints for parts used in phones with integrated digital cameras were slowing deliveries. Motorola's V600 camera-phone will be delayed until some time in the first quarter, a Motorola spokesman told CNNfn, due to the supply issues.

A tale of three smartphones
Here's a review from the Associated Press that tested the Treo 600, the Windows-powered Hitachi G1000, and the Blackberry 7200 series. The reviewer says that battery life remains a work in progress, and heavy phone users are likely to be disappointed. All three devices hold enough juice to carry you through a busy day, so long as you go easy on the emailing, browsing, picture-taking and music-playing.

Tune in on your PDA
If you want to keep your favorite FM station with you at all times, AmbiCom has announced its AmbiCom Radio FM-CF -- a CF (Compact Flash) FM Stereo Radio Card. AmbiCom's new product converts a standard PDA into a FM tuner complete with a tuner display on your PDA, 18 station presets, stereo headphones and more.

MessagEase for Tablet PCs
ExIdeas announced the launch of MessagEase for Tablet PCs and Windows mobile devices. This new offering will provide a text entry alternative for Tablet PCs and mobile devices. MessagEase Onscreen Keyboard essentially uses 9 keys, yet it enters all letters, numbers and special characters. It also includes Alt and Ctrl keys, function keys, all cursor navigation keys, as well as keys for common editing functions (Cut, Copy, Paste, etc). MessagEase for Windows is slated to be released in January of 2004.

New versions of solitaire card games
Red Mercury, LLC, announced the release of the ultimate versions of its solitaire card games, AcidSolitaire 3 and AcidFreecell 3 for Palm OS. Beginners and advanced solitaire players will enjoy the new single-handed play mode and ultra smart auto-card movement. Users can easily create their own full color backgrounds. Take a picture with the built-in camera or select a JPEG image from internal RAM or on any memory card and use it as a background instantly.

PCs turn into wireless access points
InfoWorld reports that desktop PCs with Intel's Grantsdale chipset, scheduled for release in the first half of 2004, will allow users to run wireless networks from their PCs. Grantsdale will incorporate support for DDR2 (double data rate) memory and the PCI (peripheral component interconnect) Express standard, in addition to access point capability.

Sony makes changes to PSX
Sony has dropped several features from its upcoming PSX, a combination video and gaming device. The company has not been able to complete development in time for the year-end sales period, Sony said Monday. PC World says there are two reasons for the changes. The first is to make the device easier to use. The second reason is that development of some functions missed deadline and had to be left out.

DoCoMo to offer Linux 3G phone
Forbes reports that NTT DoCoMo, Japan's top mobile operator, aims to offer third-generation (3G) handsets that run on the Linux-based operating system (OS) as early as the second half of 2004.

Co-branded version of MobiSMS
MobiMarketing released a co-branded version of MobiSMS. The product uses their IT infrastructure services to enable new businesses to rapidly go-to-market with their own SMS offering. MobiMarketing says that as a plug-in component for Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express, MobiSMS makes the sending of an SMS as easy as sending an email.

Under my skin
Applied Digital Solutions is hoping that Americans can be persuaded to implant RFID chips under their skin to identify themselves when going to a cash machine or in place of using a credit card. ZDNet reports that the surgical procedure, which is performed with local anesthetic, embeds a 12-by-2.1mm RFID tag in the flesh of a human arm.

Stimulate brain activity on your PDA
News.com has this report on South Korean start-up DreamFree, which introduced the Peeg, a peripheral for PDAs that is said to stimulate brain activity. Peeg, short for personal electroencephalogram, is designed to stimulate different types of brain waves by sending positive waves to the wearer. The Peeg consists of a software application for Microsoft Pocket PC, headphones and a set of silver eyeglasses. The lenses are made of opaque plastic.

ESS processors DivX certified
ESS Technology announced that DivXNetworks has designated ESS's VibrattoII MX family of DVD processors as DivX Certified hardware components. ESS Technology developed the VibrattoII MX product line to allow manufacturers to address the growing consumer demand for cutting-edge multimedia technology at attractive price points.

Future PlayStation consoles to recognize emotions
Sony is planning to enable future versions of its PlayStation gaming console to recognize user gestures and even emotions, according to an executive. ZDNet says the PlayStation 3 may also incorporate a motion sensor and camera add-on known as EyeToy.

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