PC is the center of the universe: Barrett

Another key figure from the personal computer industry who drew a

standing-room crowd at his keynote address was Intel CEO Craig Barrett who

presented his vision of the evolving role of the PC in consumers' lives.

Rather than evolving out of the center because of the emerging generation of

Web appliances and portable computing devices, Barrett said he strongly believes

the role of the PC will only grow in the years to come. The PC, Barrett said,

pointing to a myriad of Intel-driven consumer electronics devices piled up on

the stage, sits at the core of a "big digital universe. And the development

of new PC peripheral devices only expands the universe around the PC,

compounding the capability of the PC in the process."

The PC is rapidly becoming the "central nervous system for the

entertainment system of the home," Barrett said, showing in one

demonstration how a consumer can use a wireless phone/personal digital assistant

and a Web tablet to gather valuable information from the Internet, then using

his powerful PC to manipulate that data into compelling presentations. "The

PC is the digital brain, capturing information in one place and delivering it in

another. And the value of the PC to the user grows exponentially as we have more

tools connected to the PC."

Besides the heavy emphasis on digital televisions, CES showed that the

explosion of MP3 devices will continue to proliferate although the number of

devices available to consumers and actually sold has remained fairly small

despite the countless manufacturers of the devices.

Palm transforms into digital wallet



In perhaps the most eye-opening demonstration, Palm chief executive Carl
Yankowski showed off the first true digital wallet, a handheld personal digital

assistant (PDA) encoded with a Visa credit card number. Yankowski showed how a

person can pick up several items from a store shelf, have the cashier scan the

UPS barcodes and then pay automatically from the Palm.

Yankowski simply pointed his Palm at the store’s credit card/ATM

transaction clearing device. After selecting a payment method (ATM/credit card)

he keyed in a personal identification number, and pressed the "Send"

button on his Palm. With that, his Visa card information is transmitted

encrypted to the retailer’s electronic register.

"Next holiday season, you'll beam your way through the register,"

Yankowski said. "Once a significant number of businesses adopts this IR

technology, we believe consumers will grow comfortable discarding their bulky,

disorganized wallets for a digital alternative that provides real two-way

service." To make these transactions happen simply and securely for

consumers and retailers alike, Palm is working with Ingenico and

Hewlett-Packard's VeriFone division. Ingenico developed the reader system, while

VeriFone developed the data transmission and purchase verification technology.

Continued...

Other product highlights



Among other product highlights of the CES were:

• A tablet size, wireless "Airboard" device from Sony that will be
  
  launched in the United States in late 2001. The tablet-like device with a
  
  laptop-size display lets you watch TV, play a DVD movie, or browse the
  
  Internet from as far as 100 feet away from a TV, DVD player or PC without
  
  any wires. The tablet's video screen is about the size of a laptop computer
  
  screen.
• In audio, two companies, the XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite
  
  Radio, said they will start offering monthly fee-based satellite-based radio
  
  with 100 channels of commercial free music for consumer homes and cars in
  
  2001.
• Do you drive 40,000 to 60,000 miles a year? If you do, you would never
  
  have to listen to the same song twice thanks to a soon-to be released Rio
  
  digital music download and player device for the car. Rio is the pioneer of
  
  devices that download digital music in playback devices. Its new Rio car
  
  device is a removable in-dash player that has on-board storage capacity for
  
  up to 1,000 hours of digital music. Rio also unveiled a portable MP3-CD
  
  player that plays CDs packed with more than 250 songs, and a Rio Receiver
  
  that distributes digital music throughout the home using phone lines or
  
  standard, three-prong power outlets. "This year's news coverage of Rio,
  
  Napster and MP3.com have exposed tens of millions of people worldwide to
  
  digital audio," said Jim Cady, president of Rio. "We know that
  
  people enjoy music in three primary places — at home, in their cars and
  
  while they're on the go. Our players allow you to store and play large
  
  amounts of music in any of these venues without the hassle of carrying a
  
  stack of CDs."
• Samsung and Microsoft launched the IZZI web, a Windows CE 3.0-based
  
  wireless tablet device that gives users instant and easy access to the
  
  Internet. The IZZY web tablet is powered by a National Semiconductor 200MHz
  
  CPU and has a 10.4-inch LCD, wireless keyboard, base station, and access
  
  point that can be connected to a phone line or a high-speed Internet cable
  
  access. Bluetooth or Samsung's own wireless LAN technologies are used for
  
  unrestricted wireless operations between the access point and handheld unit.
  
  It also has 32MB memory and a touch-sensitive panel that makes it easy for
  
  almost anyone to use. The device is turned on/off with a switch and unlike
  
  other computers, is almost instantly ready to run applications or connect to
  
  the Internet. Samsung said consumers can connect the IZZY to their home
  
  network in order for users to control functions of various products linked
  
  to the network in any place in the home. It can also be used by businesses
  
  in order to provide easy access to corporate and product information at
  
  point of sales.