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“Enough keyword searches, just answer my question!” is the plaintive cry of one James Fallows as he bemoans his experiences in the world of search engines while trying to get answers to relatively simple questions such as – “How has California’s standing among states in per-student school funds changed since the 1960’s?”. He goes on to say what many of us have come to realize, namely that while search engines are great for simple keyword queries, they’re not so good for for more complex stuff. His point is that today’s computers are at best autistic savants … but help is on the way. A bit of help is at hand today in the form of MrSapo.com, which is the author’s favorite search portal. MrSapo’s claim to fame is that it can perform searches accross many search engines and allows easy comparisons of those results. Next up may be the Aquaint project. Aquaint’s main benefit is that it will support complex question answering via natural language queries and offer opinions on such questions as “How safe is the Muscat harbor for refueling US Navy ships?“. Eventually I supose we’ll all have LCARS-class computers, like the ones they use in Star Trek, and be able to ask it questions such as : “What came first – the chicken or the egg?” or “If the universe is expanding, what is it expanding into?”. Enough Keyword Searches. Just Answer My Question. – by James Fallows NYT June 12, 2005

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The Inquirer proclaimed today that the PDA is dead. We’ve heard that story before, and, as we reported here, Sony seems to have come to the same conclusion several months ago. The article goes on to predict that the PDA market will evolve into 3 different segments :

• A business-oriented compact computing device for enterprise types … kind of a ‘notebook-light’.
• A converged phone, MP3 player and PDA.
• A multifunction device that handles photos, e-mail, is a “digital wallet”, and has music and PDA capabilities.

The article might well be paraphrased as : The (standalone) PDA is dead … long live the (converged / integrated) PDA! The PDA is now as dead as a duck - by Doug Mohney Monday 20 June 2005

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The new iRiver U10 MP3 player has an unusual, button-less user interface. Music play is managed by pushing on the edges of the screen, which in turn pushes down on switches hidden under the QVGA LCD screen. ReignCom’s iRiver unit has high hopes for this new “direct click system” way of controlling devices. Aside from the minimalist buttonry, the U10 is somewhat unremarkable … it measures 69 x 47 x 16 mm, has flash memory of 1 GB and half-GB sizes, and plays music, photos, FM radio and video clips. The battery lasts maybe 30 hours. Reigncom MP3 players at the COEX InterContinental – article in The Chosun Ilbo June 20, 2005

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Today’s Palm Beach Post has an article on gadgets might prove helpful before, during and after hurricanes. The 15 gadgets that are noted in the piece can heat and cool food, as well as provide power, light and communications. Hmm … the info provided by the Palm Beach Post seems like a lobotomized version of the National Hurricane Center’s Disaster Supply Kit:

• Water – at least 1 gallon daily per person for 3 to 7 days
• Food – at least enough for 3 to 7 days
• Blankets / Pillows, etc.
• Clothing – seasonal / rain gear/ sturdy shoes
• First Aid Kit / Medicines / Prescription Drugs
• Special Items – for babies and the elderly
• Toiletries / Hygiene items / Moisture wipes
• Flashlight / Batteries
• Radio – Battery operated and NOAA weather radio
• Cash – Banks and ATMs may not be open or available for extended periods.
• Keys
• Toys, Books and Games
• Important documents – in a waterproof container
• Tools – keep a set with you during the storm
• Vehicle fuel tanks filled

Powering up when the power’s out - by Barbara Marshall Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

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The Swiss Army Knife just keeps getting better. The 1GB version was announced back in March, and reviews are becoming available. Those reviews are very complimentary, so much so that we nearly feel compelled to go out & get one. With a read/write speed of 8/7 MB/sec, performance isn’t bad either. And there’s even a declawed Flight Safe version available wherein they’ve removed the sharp and pointy things, leaving the memory stick, LED light and a pen. Victorinox Gadgeteer Hands On Review - by Judie Hughes 06/15/2005 Swissmemory Victorinox 1 GB - Xtreme Computing review 2005-05-17

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“The 4th Screen” is a term invented by Dario Betti at Ovum, and refers to the delivery of video to a fourth platform … the cell phone. The other three ’screens’ being the old standbys : the movie screen, the TV and the personal computer. While the phrase doesn’t seem to be used much anymore, the concept of mobile streaming video lives on, and is expected to be a 5.4 billion dollar a year industry in the U.S. by 2009 … at least according to In-Stat. Certainly, TU Media in Korea is doing its part to promote mobile video and TV by staging a “Takeout TV at the Beach” event this week to sell its DMB service … these people in the publicity shot seem to be using the IMB-1000 phone to watch TV broadcast by TU’s satellite, while pretending to be at the beach … Unveiling the `fourth screen’ - by Dario Betti 4 December 2003 Mobile Video Services in the US, 2004-2009 - In-Stat Report Number IN0401657MCD

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At CommunicAsia 2005, Samsung also introduced the SPH-M7000, which has a QWERTY keyboard hidden under its QVGA screen. The phone also provides PDA functions via Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, and game support via the Intel Marathon Graphic Accelerator and the joystick. A fully-featured phone, it also has Windows Media Player 10, supports Wi-Fi, provides DivX Codec support for video, and a 1.3 Megapixel camera with flash. Oh wait, it doesn’t have Bluetooth, and only works on CDMA2000 1x. Samsung Pocket PC Phone with QWERTY Keyboard -TelecomsKorea article – 16 June 2005

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The Monolith MX-3010 is a new small form factor MP3 player from Estarlab. Size and weight-wise, its very similar to the H10 Junior - at 38 x 77 x 17 mm and 50 grams – however, the battery life is only rated at 22 hours. Estarlab website

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Samsung has made a big splash at CommunicAsia 2005, that ICT trade show that runs in Singapore from Jun 14-17. Samsung did so by introducing 50, yes fifty, new phones, including a couple with QWERTY keyboards. One of those phones is the SGH-D550. Its a double-hinged phone that rotates to tuck the QWERTY keyboard under the screen. It has GSM / GPRS, a 1.3 Megapixel Camera, Push Email, Video Playback & Messaging, Bluetooth, and a Music Player. CommunicAsia 2005 event website Samsung Double-hinged Phone -TelecomsKorea article

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Nokia unveiled 7 new phones yesterday : the 6280 3G slider phone, the 6270 quadband slider, the 6111 camera slider, 6060 GSM clamshell, the 6265 a 2MP slider phone plus the 2255 clamshell handset and the 2125 candy bar. The 6280 has a 2-megapixel camera and a VGA camera and supports WCDMA 2100 and GSM networks. It comes with Bluetooth, a QVGA screen and provides video ring tones. Nokia 6280

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