Memory in mice: memory-readers in mice?. IOGear has shipped a USB mouse that includes 32MB of flash storage. Pete Rojas at Gizmodo likes the idea, but I'm more excited by the idea that someone would build a mouse with a universal memory-card (Compact Flash, Memory Stick, Secure Digital, etc) reader built in -- after all, these things are showing up in phones and PDAs and cameras and dictaphones; why not use the mouse's USB connection to replace yet another USB device on your desktop and in your computer? Mice are by their nature somewhat bulky, since a mouse below a certain size loses its ergonomics, which means that there's a fair bit of dead space in a mouse, and some of those universal memory readers are damned small and cheap -- seems like it'd be pretty striaghtforward to stuff one into a pointing device. Link Discuss (via Gizmodo) [Boing Boing Blog]

2 Will Announce an Audio-on-Demand Service for Cellphones. RealNetworks and Sprint are expected to introduce today a digital audio service that will be delivered through wireless handsets. By John Markoff. [New York Times: Technology]

Rio reveals 20GB Ogg Vorbis network music player. Reg Kit Watch Plus: Creative launches MuVo NX Flash player in UK [The Register]

Internet-Enabled Remote Simplifies TV. Too many remote controllers in your life? Here's a universal remote that that's easy to use and simplifies configuring and controlling complex home theater systems. [Extremetech]

Sprint gets Real for wireless. The phone company furthers its effort to push wireless services to its PCS customers, signing a content delivery deal with multimedia software maker RealNetworks. [CNET News.com]

HP Product to Convert VHS Movies to DVD. A new Hewlett-Packard device aims to make it easier for consumers to transfer their memories from analog VHS tapes to DVDs. [Technology News from eWEEK and Ziff Davis]

SanDisk's SD WiFi card isn't so hot. An early review over at Wi-Fi Planet of SanDisk's new SD 802.11b card, the one that fits into the SD expansion slot of Pocket PCs. Apparently it doesn't perform quite so well compared to a standard 802.11b card in a laptop. Read... [Gizmodo]

Socket's SD WiFi card. And while we're on the subject of WiFi SD cards, Socket Communications also has one coming out in a few weeks. Pretty much the same deal as the SanDisk card, i.e. it only works with Pocket PCs. Read... [Gizmodo]

2003 August 11 PM.

• From Wired News: Streaming Video, Cheap and Easy

  As if the recording industry didn't already have its hands full suing music file traders, pretty soon anyone will be able to wirelessly stream high-quality, uninterrupted video and audio from their PCs to their TVs.

  All they need is a pair of dongles, and voila -- the movie they've downloaded from the Internet appears on their TV screen.

  [...] All of this will be possible thanks to WiMedia, or, technically speaking, 802.15.3, a new wireless standard developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The new standard, which shares the same chunk of airwaves as cordless phones, microwave ovens and other popular wireless protocols such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, would ensure fast, uninterrupted streaming media. Once a connection is made between WiMedia devices, the network automatically switches channels if it detects any interference from other technologies, said Robert Heile, chairman of the IEEE 802.15 working group and chief technology officer for wireless radio and software maker Appairent Technologies.

  802.15.3-compliant devices, which could be TV sets, stereo systems, computers, camcorders or any other consumer electronics devices, would connect wirelessly without the user doing anything, Heile said.

[FurdLog: A Digital Intellectual Property Weblog]

Something in the Air.

The small keyboards and display capabilities of mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDA's) are a significant hurdle to the user.The requirements of our fingers and the need for a good-sized display vie with our need for increased mobility.Now holographic displays and input devices look to set us free from these constraints.
Information to take to the air in the mini race

[Smart Mobs]