Helio Ocean probably best multimedia phone of all

Ben Patterson

Since I first laid eyes on it at CTIA in March, the Helio Ocean has stood out as the clear pretender to the messaging-phone throne—which, to my mind, has been owned by the Sidekick (both II and 3) for a few years now. Despite its aging features, the Sidekick 3 has had a couple of aces up its sleeve: a killer, easy-to-use interface, its swiveling screen and that roomy QWERTY keypad. But with its two-way sliding design—one way for numeric keys, the other for a full keyboard—plus its state-of-the-art data, messaging and multimedia features, the Ocean represents the Sidekick's strongest challenger to date. Look and feel: There's no question that the Ocean's a big phone: at 4.3 by 2.2 by 0.9 inches and about 5.6 ounces, the Ocean is nearly as big and heavy as my Treo (although it's noticeably smaller than the bulky Sidekick). But while it makes for a tight fit in a jeans pocket, the Ocean's nice curves and rubberized shell felt good in my hands. As for its twin keypads, I'm a bigger fan of the full-QWERTY keypad than of the numeric one. Don't get me wrong—I love the two-way slider concept, which keeps you from having to guess which QWERTY keys are for dialing and which aren't—but the thin, curved rows of numeric keys were tricky to press. The roomy QWERTY keypad was a pleasure, however, and I especially appreciated the dedicated "@" key for composing e-mail messages.

In the box: The Ocean comes with a solid set of accessories, including a wired stereo headset, a USB cable, and an adapter for earphones with standard 3.5mm minijacks—a nice change from the carriers who ship their phones with no accessories at all. There's no included microSD card for memory expansion, but the Ocean's generous 200MB of internal memory (good for a few dozen songs) will tide you over until you get one.

Interface: I've been a fan of Helio's user interfaces in the past, and I'm pleased to report that the Ocean's menu system looks even better now; previously tough-to-use features (like conference calling) are much easier to use now, and I never lost my way through the myriad options. I just wish the whole experience was a bit more unified; there's nothing like the Sidekick's "Jump" button that takes you back to the main menu. Also, a jog dial or trackball would be a welcome addition (my thumb kept reaching for a trackball that wasn't there).

Messaging: Outstanding—I especially liked the Ocean's unified messaging screen, which shows you at a glance the status of your e-mail and instant messaging accounts. You get out-of-the-box support for Yahoo! Mail, AOL Mail, Windows Live Mail and Gmail, along with all their respective IM services (save Google's), and Helio is promising Exchange ActiveSync support for corporate servers later this year. A couple of things are missing, though: the Ocean won't automatically fetch your POP/IMAP messages (you have to collect them manually), and HTML-formatted e-mail messages are stripped of their formatting—then again, my pricey Treo 700p (and the Sidekick 3, for that matter) has the same problem.

Web browsing: The Ocean's mobile Web browser earns high marks, but it falls just shy of the bar set by Nokia. Web surfing was quite speedy, faster even than on my 3G Treo, and the cool zoom feature instantly zooms text and images up to 200 percent (or down to 50 percent). The browser borrows Nokia's mini-map so you can see your position relative to the rest of the page, which is a nice touch. The Ocean's browser puts HTML pages through Google's mobile optimizer by default; you can scroll to the bottom of a page and click a link to see the full HTML version, but you can't turn the option off altogether, which was a bit annoying. Also, the browser struggled to render full HTML pages correctly; it couldn't display the Yahoo! front page at all, and the IMDB front page looked jumbled (Nokia's Web browser breezed through those tests). Still, I'll take the Ocean's browser over almost any other mobile browser out there, including the Sidekick's.

Music and video: Helio at last has an online storefront where you can buy music, making its service more than competitive with the music and video stores on Sprint and Verizon Wireless. You can also sync your PC-based music and videos using the included USB cable and software, and subscription-based services like Yahoo! Music are supported. The Ocean's music player boasts shuffle and repeat modes, as well as an equalizer with four presets. Music controls along the left spine of the phone let you pause and skip tracks or tweak the volume, even when the Ocean is closed, and you can listen over a stereo Bluetooth headset or your own earbuds thanks to the unobtrusive 3.5mm minijack adapter. Nicely done.

GPS and pictures: The Ocean comes with Helio's cool Buddy Beacon feature, which lets you see the location all your fellow Buddy Beacon pals (you can, of course, disable the GPS locator if you want to travel covertly). The Ocean is also one of the few phones that integrates Google Maps with GPS, making it much easier to find nearby restaurants, ATMs, gas stations and so on. In my tests in Manhattan, the GPS-aided Google Maps pinpointed my location within a couple of doors—not bad at all. Even better, you can send pictures to your buddies embedded with your present GPS coordinates, or upload your photos directly to MySpace with the new HelioUp app. The Ocean's two-megapixel camera represents a major improvement over the carrier's previous camera phones—images looked relatively vivid and sharp, if not up to the standards or a dedicated camera.

The last word: The Ocean is clearly Helio's strongest phone to date—it's a quantum leap over last year's Hero and Kickflip, and I'd have to say it easily leapfrogs all the other consumer-oriented messaging phones out there, including the Sidekick 3, LG's enV, and Samsung's dual-flip SCH-u740. At $300 with service, the Ocean isn't cheap, but you're getting a truckload of features for the cash. If you're a messaging addict who wants plenty of multimedia on the road, then this is your phone.

Feds arrest man described as a 'top 10 spammer'

By GENE JOHNSON, AP Legal Affairs Writer

A 27-year-old man described as one of the world's most prolific spammers was arrested Wednesday, and federal authorities said computer users across the Web could notice a decrease in the amount of junk e-mail.

Robert Alan Soloway is accused of using networks of compromised "zombie" computers to send out millions upon millions of spam e-mails.

"He's one of the top 10 spammers in the world," said Tim Cranton, a Microsoft Corp. lawyer who is senior director of the company's Worldwide Internet Safety Programs. "He's a huge problem for our customers. This is a very good day."

A federal grand jury last week returned a 35-count indictment against Soloway charging him with mail fraud, wire fraud, e-mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.

Soloway pleaded not guilty Wednesday afternoon to all charges after a judge determined that — even with four bank accounts seized by the government — he was sufficiently well off to pay for his own lawyer.

He has been living in a ritzy apartment and drives an expensive Mercedes convertible, said prosecutor Kathryn Warma. Prosecutors are seeking to have him forfeit $773,000 they say he made from his business, Newport Internet Marketing Corp.

A public defender who represented him for Wednesday's hearing declined to comment.

Prosecutors say Soloway used computers infected with malicious code to send out millions of junk e-mails since 2003. The computers are called "zombies" because owners typically have no idea their machines have been infected.

He continued his activities even after Microsoft won a $7 million civil judgment against him in 2005 and the operator of a small Internet service provider in Oklahoma won a $10 million judgment, prosecutors said.

U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan said Wednesday that the case is the first in the country in which federal prosecutors have used identity theft statutes to prosecute a spammer for taking over someone else's Internet domain name. Soloway could face decades in prison, though prosecutors said they have not calculated what guideline sentencing range he might face.

The investigation began when the authorities began receiving hundreds of complaints about Soloway, who had been featured on a list of known spammers kept by The Spamhaus Project, an international anti-spam organization.

The Santa Barbara County, Calif., Department of Social Services said it was spending $1,000 a week to fight the spam it was receiving, and other businesses and individuals complained of having their reputations damaged when it appeared spam was originating from their computers.

"This is not just a nuisance. This is way beyond a nuisance," Warma said.

Soloway used the networks of compromised computers to send out unsolicited bulk e-mails urging people to use his Internet marketing company to advertise their products, authorities said.

People who clicked on a link in the e-mail were directed to his Web site. There, Soloway advertised his ability to send out as many as 20 million e-mail advertisements over 15 days for $495, the indictment said.

The Spamhaus Project rejoiced at his arrest.

"Soloway has been a long-term nuisance on the Internet — both in terms of the spam he sent, and the people he duped to use his spam service," organizers wrote on Spamhaus.org.

Soloway remained in federal detention pending a hearing Monday.

Google improves Maps with street views, miniapps

By Juan Carlos Perez, IDG News Service

Google has improved Google Maps with immersive views of streets from a handful of U.S. cities as well as with miniapplications that can be embedded on a map.

The Street View feature places users at the road level, giving them the perspective of drivers and pedestrians and thus offering a deeper and more detailed experience of the location than aerial images provide.

So far, Microsoft has been at the forefront of immersive online maps imagery, introducing so-called bird's-eye views in late 2005 that allowed users to tilt aerial images and view them from an angle. In November of last year, Microsoft unveiled 3D views of 15 U.S. cities, a feature that lets users zoom in and out of these urban areas and get a three-dimensional view of buildings, terrain, and the like. On Tuesday, Microsoft increased the number of cities available in 3D in its Live Search mapping site.

Google debuted Street View on Tuesday with major roads in San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Miami, and Denver and promises to add more cities "in the near future."

Meanwhile, Google also announced it is now possible to build lightweight applications so that users can mash them up with Google Maps. Called Mapplets, these gadget applications will be available in the Maps site for users to choose from and apply to their maps. Currently in preview mode, Mapplets can be found in a special version of Google Maps for users who want to try them out.

Mapplets take the concept of Google Maps mashups one step further, Google said. Previously, developers could build an application on top of Maps and make it available on a specific Web site. Now, those mashups can be packaged as a Mapplet so that several can be combined on a single Maps Web site.

Developers can find more information about creating these mapplets in this documentation page. To allow for the creation of Mapplets, Google merged two of its existing application programming interfaces: the Gadgets API and the Maps API.

Google to expand presence in South Korea

AFP

Google, the world's biggest Internet search engine, will expand its presence in South Korea's fast growing online video content market, officials said Tuesday.

Google chief Eric Schmidt met Seok Jong-Hun, head of South Korea's second-largest portal Daum Communications, on Tuesday to discuss ways to expand their burgeoning partnership.

"Daum and Google came to strengthen their partnership in the online advertisement markets, laying the ground for more service tie-ups that will have a synergy effect," said a statement from Daum after the meeting.

Both sides "plan to gradually expand their presence in the UCC (user created content) and search engine markets" in South Korea, it added.

Google and Daum agreed last December to cooperate in the online advertisement market. Daum is running Google's cost-per-click search ads, one of the fastest-growing types of Internet advertising.

Daum is now interested in using the content on Google's YouTube, the world's most popular online video-sharing service.

Officials at Daum said the company controls a quarter of South Korea's video content market and is in a tight race with rival Pandora TV to become the leader.

Google, which launched a Korean-language search site in 2000, has been striving to boost its presence in South Korea, where some 70 percent of homes have high-speed Internet access but many prefer local services.

Schmidt will also make the keynote speech at the Seoul Digital Forum on Wednesday.

Cisco finishes $3.2B WebEx acquisition

Stephen Lawson

Cisco has completed its acquisition of WebEx Communications, entering the online collaboration services business through a $3.2 billion deal, the company announced Tuesday.

Cisco will maintain WebEx's current business model of selling subscriptions for a Web-based service to enterprises that don't want to buy or build a collaboration system of their own, especially small and medium-size organizations. The Santa Clara, California, company is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco, which plans to retain all its employees, said Cisco spokesman John Noh.

The acquisition, announced March 15, further extends a networking equipment giant that is increasingly positioning itself as a software and services company. It followed buyouts of two social-networking companies, Five Across and Utah Street Networks, and all the technologies will complement each other, Chief Development Officer Charles Giancarlo said in March.

The WebEx service lets companies share presentations, applications, and other data online, either asynchronously or in real-time sessions. The buyout will help Cisco compete against Microsoft and other vendors in collaboration and communication, and WebEx technology could also enhance Cisco's Unified Communications portfolio, according to Giancarlo. WebEx also offers a suite of productivity applications under the WebOffice brand, but Cisco doesn't plan to compete against desktop application suites, such as Microsoft'sOffice or Google's Google Apps, he said.

The deal closed as expected in Cisco's fiscal fourth quarter. It was the first deal the company has made through a tender offer, in which the would-be acquirer publicly invites shareholders to sell their shares at a certain price at a given time, Cisco's Noh said. More than 90 percent of WebEx shares were tendered. A tender offer generally can be finished more quickly than other types of deals, such as cash purchases and share swaps, and makes it easier to offer attractive terms to employees in order to keep them on board, he said.

15 Tech Myths: Busted and Confirmed

By Dan Tynan, PC World

We examine common tech beliefs and do some digging to find out what's true--and what's trumped up.

We hate to break it to you, but Bill Gates is not going to give you money just for forwarding an e-mail. Eating Pop Rocks and drinking soda at the same time won't cause your head to explode (though we don't recommend mixing Mentos and Diet Coke). The Harry Potter books are not a secret plot to promote witchcraft and satanism. And that story about Richard Gere and his pets? We don't even want to go there.

These are, of course, urban legends that have been circulating on and off the Internet for ages. For more, see "The Top 25 Web Hoaxes and Pranks." But they're not the only misconceptions out there: Many intelligent, experienced computer users believe things about technology that simply aren't true.

We came up with 15 common myths in the tech world and did some digging to reveal the real story. Some rumors are wholly bogus. Others turned out to have more than a grain of truth in them. To give you a sense of how real these myths are, we've created a little 1 to 5 scale with 5 being totally bogus and 1 signifying that the rumor is true.

We hope this research will make you a little wiser when you encounter future tales of technology--whether they're fact, fiction, or something in between.

Myth 1: If you download files from a peer-to-peer network, the MPAA or RIAA will know who you are.

Bogus Meter: 2.5 out of 5

It all sounds like George Orwell's 1984: "If you are downloading movies, television shows, music, or video games using a P2P network, the files that you have downloaded can be traced back to your IP address," says MPAA spokesperson Elizabeth Kaltman.

But BayTSP, which keeps watch on file-sharing networks like BitTorrent and eDonkey, is a tad less self-assured. When the company monitors these services for various clients, it can indeed capture a file swapper's IP address, the date and time of the download, the name of the file, and information on the individual's Internet service provider--but only for large downloads.

"If the file is big enough--a movie or software application (as opposed to a single song)--it is highly likely that BayTSP can identify an individual before that person has completed the entire file download," says Jim Graham, spokesperson for BayTSP. "Not 100 percent likely, but pretty close. We never claim to have complete insight into every downloader."

Connecting an IP address to an actual name or physical address isn't a sure thing either. Typically, attorneys for the record and movie industries approach ISPs or universities with evidence of alleged copyright infringements. It is up to that organization to identify its customers based on their IP address--and not all of them comply.

There are other challenges as well. Peter Eckersley, staff technologist for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, says that using anonymous IP networks, anonymizing proxies (sites or servers that let you keep your IP address hidden while surfing the Web), or open Wi-Fi connections can make it much harder to trace your identity. Note, though, that using a dynamic IP address via DHCP will not protect you. ISPs keep track of who was using a certain IP address at a particular time, and if they're willing to cough up that information, you could be hosed.

Myth 2: Using third-party ink in your printer voids the warranty.

Bogus Meter: 5.0 out of 5

This one has bogus written all over it--in any kind of ink. According to Canon, Epson, and Lexmark, using another company's ink cartridge or refills does not automatically nix your warranty. (However, PC World tests have shown that using third-party inks may not yield the best results.)

The exception to this rule is if the ink itself causes a problem with the printer. Epson spokesperson Cheryl Taylor likens it to the 50,000-mile warranty on your new radial tires. "Your car tire has a warranty on its tread life," she says. "If the tread wears out before it's supposed to, it's covered by the warranty. If you go out and slash your tire, well, something's wrong with your tire, but that's not damage covered by the warranty."

Myth 3: If you type a URL into your browser, you're safe from phishing attacks.

Bogus Meter: 3.0 out of 5

The surest route to having your identity stolen is to click a link inside a phishing e-mail and naively hand over your personal information. But typing www.yourbank.com into a browser is no guarantee that you'll foil the phishers.

There are at least two dangers still lurking, says Dave Jevans, chairman of the Anti-Phishing Working Group.

The first is "pharming" or "domain name poisoning" attacks, which intercept legitimate URLs en route to their destination and redirect the requests to bogus sites. So far, a handful of pharming attacks have struck domain name servers on the Internet, including one in February that targeted the Web sites of at least 50 financial institutions. Jevans says the only defense against pharming is to type or bookmark the address of the site's secure log-on page (it should begin with https:), since pharming attacks tend to target the top-level page of financial sites. However, you also should be on the lookout for warnings from your browser that the page's security certificate is invalid, in case the pharming attack has gone deeper.

The second danger is malware, which can achieve the same effect as phishing by rewriting your PC's Hosts file or otherwise hijacking your browser. But there are ways to protect yourself from that threat, says Fred Felman, chief marketing officer for MarkMonitor, which provides brand and fraud protection for Fortune 500 firms. According to Felman, if you keep your system patched, your firewall running, and your spyware and virus scanners up to date, you'll greatly reduce the odds of becoming yet another victim. Programs like the free Spybot Search & Destroy or WinPatrol can help protect your Hosts file.

Myth 4: Google finds everything on the Web, and once it has your information, it can't be removed.

Bogus Meter: 4.0 out of 5

Though it sometimes feels like the invisible fingers of Google touch everything, it's really not so. Google will find something on the Web only if another site links to that page, notes Danny Sullivan, editor in chief of Search Engine Land. "If you don't want information found, then don't put it on the Web at all, or ensure it can only be viewed with a password," he says. "Google doesn't do passwords."

You can also keep Google's searchbot from indexing your site--or get it to remove pages it's already found--by following the instructions at Google Webmaster Central. If the site has already been spidered, however, it will take time before the results are flushed from Google's cache.

The trickier question is how to remove personal information from Google if it's on a site that's not under your control. You can politely ask the site owner to remove the page or block Google from spidering it. If the owner refuses, and the site contains sensitive information like your Social Security number or copyrighted material, you can ask Google to delete it from its index. Otherwise you may need the services of a site like ReputationDefender, which attempts to eliminate inaccurate, embarrassing, or offensive material about you for a $30 fee--but offers no guarantees.

Myth 5. You're fully protected when you buy something on eBay.

Bogus Meter: 3.5 out of 5

The world's biggest auction site and its online payment division PayPal offer an arsenal of tools to guard against fraudsters, con artists, and the criminally stupid. But the protection falls short of 100 percent.

"When buyers use PayPal to purchase a physical item on eBay.com, they are automatically provided with $200 of coverage on the transaction," says eBay spokesperson Catherine England. "If the buyer uses PayPal to purchase an item from an eBay seller who is PayPal Verified, then the transaction automatically has up to $2000 of coverage."

Unfortunately, if you pay by some other method--personal check, money order, or wire transfer--all bets are off. These protections also don't apply to nonphysical items, such as software or electronic documents. And if you're fooled by a misleading or confusing item description, you may be out of luck.

For example, PR professional Greg P. thought he got a great deal when his $300 auction bid scored him a Microsoft Xbox. If he had merely received a broken Xbox, Greg P. would have been covered. But what he actually bought was a Word document listing places where he could buy Xboxes at a discount. Because (a) the item he purchased was electronic, not physical, and (b) the item for sale was accurately described, even though it displayed a photo of an Xbox, PayPal's Buyer Protection did not apply.

Myth 6: Static images on a plasma TV will burn in, so you can't leave them on for too long.

Bogus Meter: 2.0 out of 5

Plasma burn-in is not a myth, but it's something that most people need not worry about. According to CrutchfieldAdvisor.com, plasmas and some CRTs can suffer from burn-in when "a static image such as a video game, stock or news ticker, or station logo remains on-screen for an extended period. Over time, these images can become etched into the phosphor coating, leaving faint but permanent impressions on-screen."

Crutchfield product advisor Dallas Simon says this is extremely rare, since the image refreshes itself during commercial breaks and when you change channels. But it can be a problem for hard-core gamers, who may be playing the same first-person shooter for hours at a stretch, notes Andre Sam, a sales specialist for Best Buy in New York City. For instance, many titles display a static set of in-game statistics, such as scores, medals, energy bars, and radar.

Still, thanks to advances in plasma technology, newer flat panels are less likely to suffer from burn-in. "Like anything, if you abuse it you will probably break it," says Paul Meyhoefer, VP of Marketing and Product Planning for Pioneer Electronics. "With that said, new generations of plasma TVs have made significant improvements with things like the phosphors, cell structure, and filters to alleviate this issue."

Myth 7: You have to partition a large hard drive and/or defrag it often to get the best performance.

Bogus Meter: 2.0 out of 5

This is one of those myths that can start a bar fight at geekier watering holes. According to Mario Apicella, technology analyst and storage guru for PC World sister site Infoworld.com, defragging a large hard disk will boost performance on a Windows machine. Exactly how much of a boost depends on the number of files you change or delete each day.

"The OS has a silly habit of trying to reuse every free cluster, even if it's in the middle of a large occupied area and there's a lot of free space at the end of the volume," says Apicella. "So new files end up being scattered all over the drive, which means having to do several seek operations to bring them all together."

But in PC World tests, we found no noticeable performance lift after using a host of defraggers. Diskeeper Corporation, which makes a defragging utility, claims the practice can improve performance, but only if you have at least 20 percent free hard disk space. In short: Your mileage may vary.

Partitioning your hard disk into two or more logical drives won't necessarily speed up your system either, but it has a host of other benefits. For instance, it allows you to create a dual-boot system or separate files that don't change much (like your OS and apps) from those that do (your data and Internet cache). That will reduce fragmentation problems and make it easier to back up your system and/or replace the OS without endangering your data. (Check out our step-by-step instructions on partitioning your drive.)

Myth 8: Using high-speed flash cards in your digital camera lets you take photos faster.

Bogus Meter: 3.5 out of 5

High-speed memory cards allow a digital camera to save files faster, but that doesn't necessarily mean you can snap photos more quickly. "When you take a picture, the camera has to capture and process the image, then save it to the card," says Mike Wong, PR manager for memory-card maker SanDisk. "A faster card will only improve the latter part of the process--the save-file-to-card part."

If you use a speedy camera with slower memory, you may notice a lag on the memory side. But using a fast memory card with a slow camera is like putting race car tires on a Yugo--you'll mostly end up spinning your wheels, says Wong. "[The difference] can be significant in digital SLRs but less noticeable in many of the point-and-shoot types."

However, Wong says faster cards can reduce the amount of time it takes to upload photos to your computer, provided you also have a fast card reader. This may become more important as megapixels increase and card capacities grow.

Myth 9: Rechargeable batteries are more cost effective than disposable ones.

Bogus Meter: 2.0 out of 5

This one's not a myth, at least in most cases, but the cost effectiveness of rechargeable batteries depends upon the type of battery you choose and how often you use your gadgets.

Rechargeable nickel cadmium and nickel metal hydride batteries lose their charge quickly when stored, says Chris Calwell, VP of policy and research at Ecos Consulting, which publishes reports on the energy efficiency of consumer products. These batteries are a bad call for devices you use infrequently--such as a flashlight for emergencies. Rechargeable lithium ion batteries keep their charge much longer, but may not be available in the size you need. If lithium ion batteries are not available for your device and you don't use it frequently, it may save you money in the long run to go with disposables.

Duracell spokesperson Blayne Murphy agrees that usage is a key factor: "For heavy users of high-drain devices, such as digital cameras, rechargeables are definitely the most cost-effective solution. But if you are an occasional user who doesn't take a lot of pictures, rechargeables are not going to be convenient because they may not be ready when you need them."

Not only do rechargeable batteries cost more than disposables, but you also have to factor in the price of the charger, the electricity it consumes, and how many recharges the batteries can take before you have to replace them. "Our general advice," says Calwell, "is to buy lithium ion-based rechargeable products or nickel metal hydride products with as high of a rated capacity and as small of a charger as possible."

Myth 10: 'Unlimited' 3G broadband access really is unlimited.

Bogus Meter: 3.5 out of 5

When carriers tout their unlimited high-speed data plans, rarely do they give you free rein over what you can do with that bandwidth. But some carriers are worse than others.

Until recently, Verizon Wireless advertised an "unlimited" broadband plan that really wasn't. Although EVDO subscribers could surf the Web and send and receive e-mail, Verizon's terms of service forbade them from uploading or downloading files, viewing Webcams, or using Voice over IP services. The company also placed an undisclosed 5GB cap on each account; if it detected that you had sent or received more than that in a given month, it would terminate your contract. After months of denials, the company quietly added information about the cap to its service agreements and stopped promoting its broadband access package as unlimited.

In Cingular's (now AT&T) terms of service, you'll find that its unlimited 3G plans "cannot be used for uploading, downloading, or streaming of video content (e.g., movies, TV), music, or games." Unlike Verizon Wireless, though, it does not impose a hard data cap. It may still monitor you, though, to make sure your data usage is not too high.

Sprint's unlimited EVDO plans don't place specific restrictions on how much data you can shuttle, nor do they prohibit downloading or streaming. However, Sprint does "reserve the right to limit or suspend any heavy, continuous data usage that adversely impacts our network performance or hinders access to our network."

According to Michael Ginsberg, president of 3G portal EVDOinfo, Sprint has yet to send any termination notices over excessive bandwidth usage to his customers. And we've also found few complaints and no reports of people getting cut off by Sprint due to excessive bandwidth use. "But that doesn't mean they won't have to change their policies at some point. Their own bandwidth isn't unlimited," Ginsberg says.

Myth 11: Airport X-ray machines can damage or erase your digital camera's memory card.

Bogus Meter: 5.0 out of 5

The Transportation Security Administration puts it succinctly: "Our screening equipment will not affect digital cameras and electronic image storage cards."

In fact, that CompactFlash card, Secure Digital card, or Sony Memory Stick may be tougher than you think. In tests conducted by Digital Camera Shopper magazine, memory cards proved to be quite resilient, surviving a soda pop bath, a trip through a washing machine, being run over by a skateboard, and the evil machinations of a six-year-old child. (However, they didn't fare as well when smashed with a sledgehammer or nailed to a tree.)

If you do damage your memory card, you may be able to use a program like WinRecovery's $30 CardRecovery or Ontrack's $89 EasyRecovery Lite to restore your lost photos.

Now, about getting your name off that No Fly list....

Myth 12: Excessive cell phone use can cause cancer or other health problems.

Bogus Meter: 2.5 out of 5

According to both the World Health Organization and the Food and Drug Administration, using a cell phone does not cause any known health problems--unless you're using it while driving, in which case you're an accident waiting to happen. But it can interfere with your pacemaker, hearing aid, or defibrillator.

End of story? Not exactly. Most studies on the health effects of cell phone radiation are inconclusive or contradictory, leaving both organizations to state that further research may be needed. A Finnish study published last August in the journal Proteomics found that some people may have cells that are genetically predisposed to respond to wireless phone radiation. This may explain why the studies performed thus far have come out with different conclusions.

By the way, there's no evidence that talking on a cell phone while filling your gas tank can cause explosions. However, the Federal Communications Commission does warn: "While any potential threat by wireless devices is very remote, there are potential ignition sources at gas stations like automobiles and static electricity." So why risk it? Save your gabbing for when you're done at the pump.

Myth 13: Macs are safe from malware attacks.

Bogus Meter: 5.0 out of 5

True believers in the Mac's inherent impregnability found their faith sorely tested recently, when security researcher Dino Dai Zovi took home a $10,000 prize for remotely hijacking a MacBook Pro running Mac OS 10.4. It took Dai Zovi less than 10 hours to uncover a vulnerability within Apple QuickTime and set up a Web page to exploit it. (Windows versions of QuickTime are also vulnerable to the hack.) Later, in an interview with Computerworld magazine, Dai Zovi declared the Mac OS to be less secure than Vista. (That grinding you hear is the sound of Steve Jobs gnashing his teeth.)

This is hardly the only known Mac exploit. In January, security researcher Kevin Finisterre and a hacker known only as LMH completed the Month of Apple Bugs project, which revealed a new Mac security vulnerability every day. And in February the first Mac OS 10 worm was identified. Considered relatively harmless, the OSX/Leap-A worm spread via Apple's iChat instant messaging application by forwarding itself to the user's buddy list.

Still, Mac users are far less likely to encounter viruses and exploits than Windows users, if only because Windows malware exists in far greater numbers.

Myth 14: Color inkjets that use combination ink cartridges cost more to run than those that use separate cartridges.

Bogus Meter: 1.0 out of 5

Here's a bit of common wisdom that actually appears to be true. "With a combination color cartridge, the yellow ink could run out, and you would need to replace the remaining cartridges as well if you wanted to print with yellow," says Epson's Cheryl Taylor. She says that individual ink cartridges maximize efficiency and lower your costs over time.

Basically, that's true, confirms Charlie Brewer, who writes the Hard Copy Supplies Journal, a monthly newsletter about digital imaging supplies. "It costs more to print with most tricolor cartridges than with individual tanks," he says. "Now, there could be instances where the individual tanks are way more expensive than a low-cost tricolor tank, but I can't think of any."

If your printer uses individual cartridges, it pays to make them last as long as possible. To find out how to eke the most out of each cartridge, check out "Six Savvy Ways to Get More Prints for Less Money" for tips on extending the life of your ink cartridges. You'll also want to take a look at ink-saving tips from online store PrintCountry.com.

Myth 15: If someone has hacked your PC or turned it into a zombie, you'd know about it.

Bogus Meter: 4.0 out of 5

Not necessarily, says Lawrence Baldwin of MyNetWatchman, which tracks bot networks. If hackers have turned your computer into a spambot, for example, your system tray might warn you that your computer is sending hundreds of e-mails--but only if you've got security software scanning your outgoing e-mail. Malware often shuts down your antivirus software, firewall, or Windows Update service so it can operate unfettered on your system.

In fact, says Baldwin, many users are oblivious until their ISP informs them that a bot has been detected at their IP address, or their e-mail starts getting rejected because their address is on a spam blocklist--or the Federal Bureau of Investigation knocks on their door asking why they've been launching denial-of-service attacks. According to Baldwin, it's foolish to rely entirely on security software to protect your computer.

So how can you tell if your PC's been compromised? If your machine suddenly becomes sluggish or takes too long to start up or shut down, it may be infected. "But," he points out, "these could also be symptoms of lots of different things that are potentially unrelated to malware." In most cases, users are to blame for allowing rogue software--such as files downloaded from a peer-to-peer network--to execute on their systems. As Baldwin puts it, "you need to either get smart or get off the Net."

Sound Off: What PC myths would you like to bust?

No escape as mobile phone reaches Everest's summit

AFP

A British mountaineer has set a world record by making the first mobile telephone call from the summit of Mount Everest, taking the blessing -- or curse -- of the cell phone to new heights.

"It's cold, it's fantastic, the Himalayas are everywhere," Rod Baber said in the phone call from the top of the 8,848-metre peak early on Monday morning, according to a voice recording posted on his weblog.

"I can't feel my toes, everyone is in good spirits -- we got here in record time, it is amazing," said Baber.

His achievement was made possible by China Telecom, which has set up a mobile phone tower at base camp on the north side of the mountain.

While the Himalayas had been cherished as one of the few places on earth where you can truly get away from it all, the news has nevertheless been welcomed by those involved in the adventure business.

"It's good news because communications are essential in the mountains where climbers face huge risks," said Ang Tsering Sherpa, the president of Nepal's Mountaineering Association.

"The mobile coverage could help in rescue operations," he said.

The call is one of several high altitude stunts being carried out in the current Everest climbing season.

Last week a Briton pulled off the season's first big stunt by making the first flight over the summit using a powered paraglider.

A Nepali mountaineer has also broken his own world record by scaling the peak for a breathtaking seventeenth time.

Other daredevils on the mountain include Wim "Iceman" Hof, a Dutchman attempting to scale the peak wearing just shorts, boots, gloves and a cap.

This year, around 550 people are attempting Everest from both Nepal and via the northern flank in China.

AT&T eager to wield its iWeapon

By Leslie Cauley, USA TODAY

The Apple iPhone, due out next month, has been breathlessly hailed as offering consumers the ultimate wireless experience.

It also could give AT&T, its exclusive U.S. distributor, the ultimate experience for a wireless carrier: an easy way to handcuff rivals and steal customers.

AT&T has exclusive U.S. distribution rights for five years - an eternity in the go-go cellphone world. And Apple is barred for that time from developing a version of the iPhone for CDMA wireless networks.

That ban is no small thing. AT&T rivals Verizon Wireless and Sprint are both CDMA shops. AT&T uses GSM, a global standard incompatible with CDMA.

Bottom line: If you want an iPhone anytime soon, you'll have to take your business to AT&T.

Stan Sigman, CEO of wireless at AT&T, makes no apologies for his tough approach.

"I'm glad we have (the iPhone) in our bag," he says. "Others will try to match it, but for a period of time, they're going to be playing catch-up."

Hardball is nothing new in the cellphone industry. But as white-hot growth finally begins to slow, it's getting downright desperate out there.

To keep the momentum, big carriers such as AT&T are rapidly expanding their stable of devices, a proven way to draw people into stores. They're also piling on features - media downloading and photo-sharing are hot - and tweaking calling plans.

Their common goal: add new customers and get them to stay put.

"It's guerrilla warfare," says Jane Zweig, CEO of market researcher The Shosteck Group. "They all want to say 'We're No. 1.' "

Roger Entner, a senior vice president at IAG Research, agrees. "They're battling for every customer."

Wall Street is the driver. Carriers are valued, in large part, on how many subscribers they add each month. That was a lot easier a few years ago, when it wasn't uncommon for cellphone companies to add 25% a quarter.

Now that the major carriers are elephantine in size, that's a lot harder to do. AT&T currently claims about 62.2 million customers. Verizon and Sprint have 60.7 million and 53.6 million, respectively.

About 78% of U.S. households have a mobile phone, says Charles Golvin, a wireless industry analyst at Forrester Research, vs. 53% five years ago. Total subscribers: about 210 million.

For the most part, Golvin says, anybody who wants a cellphone has one. Those who don't, he says, "are the very young, the very old and the economically challenged." Those groups are not particularly attractive to the big carriers, which also are valued on how much revenue per subscriber they generate.

Rustling up revenue

That leaves the carriers with one option, basically, for adding customers: steal them.

"Today's market is not about finding new opportunities," Golvin says. "It's about stealing somebody else's customers."

The AT&T and Verizon Wireless rivalry is particularly fierce. AT&T has slightly more customers; Verizon has more revenue. Both claim to be No. 1.

They also sparred over the iPhone. As previously reported by USA TODAY, Verizon passed on the opportunity to become the exclusive U.S. distributor, balking at Apple's demand for control over distribution, pricing, marketing and more. That left an opening for AT&T - then called Cingular - to cement a deal. (AT&T on Monday officially dumped the Cingular name and store signs now are being switched. The move came slightly ahead of schedule.)

Denny Strigl, Verizon's chief operating officer, decided to pass on the iPhone deal and says he has no regrets: "Time will tell" if he made the right call, he says.

Strigl doesn't think the iPhone will be that hard to compete against. Why? Because, he says, for five long years it will be tied to AT&T's wireless network. His point: A phone is only as good as the network it runs on, and he thinks Verizon's is better.

"The issue is not the Apple-ness of the iPhone itself, but with the cellular network that it is running on," Strigl says, picking his words carefully. "That will be the true test of the iPhone: What will the iPhone experience be?"

Given Apple's cultlike following, however, Verizon isn't taking any chances. Strigl says Verizon is already working with a manufacturer - he declines to say which one - on an answer to the iPhone.

"We do have a very good response in the mill," he says. "You'll see that from us in the late summer."

Sprint names names

Sprint Nextel is also getting down and dirty.

In recent full-page newspaper ads, Sprint has lately been dumping on AT&T by name, taking swipes at the quality of its wireless network. Sprint also has derided AT&T's "fewest dropped calls" claim, saying it - not AT&T or even Verizon - has that title.

AT&T came back swinging. In full-page ads, including one in USA TODAY, AT&T shot back that "15 times more people choose AT&T than Sprint."

The ad also took a whack at Sprint's CDMA technology, saying "only AT&T keeps you connected in over 190 countries on the GSM network, the one used by 84% of wireless customers worldwide." As for "fewest dropped calls," "only AT&T" has that distinction, the ad claims. Sigman says the attacks on Sprint were deliberate - and unavoidable. "I don't like calling my competitors out by name. But I'd just had enough of it."

Gary Forsee, CEO of Sprint Nextel, says his ads weren't intended to embarrass AT&T. They were crafted, he says, to call attention to the quality and performance of the Sprint Nextel networks. (Sprint and Nextel have merged but for now have separate networks.)

"These are facts," he says. "We are calling (AT&T) out to call attention to customers and to the marketplace that we do have superior capability in our network."

Verizon, meantime, is trying to reel in customers using one of the oldest ploys in advertising: freebies.

In a splashy series of ads, the carrier has been inviting consumers to "test drive" its network for 30 days, with no obligation. If consumers aren't happy, Verizon will cover the cost of their calls.

Strigl says the ad showcases the quality of Verizon's wireless network, while driving home the point that it is confident people will like their experience. Figuring out ways to entice consumers is a constant concern for carriers, he says. Given the crush of choices consumers have, "It becomes increasingly important … to give customers a reason to switch to us."

That's critical, according to Strigl, because so many customers jump from carrier to carrier. Currently, he says, about 50% of Verizon's new wireless customers come from other carriers. He says Verizon can track their migration habits because people bring their cellphone numbers with them. (Federal rules require carriers to let wireless customers keep their numbers.)

In today's heated environment, carriers are quick to exploit any edge they can get. Or force.

Consider the barroom brawl between Sprint and AT&T over NASCAR. At the crux: a paint job on a race car. AT&T, thanks to buying BellSouth, now owns 100% of Cingular and has changed the name to AT&T. (BellSouth had a 40% stake.) So it wanted to change the logos on the No. 31 NASCAR race car that Cingular had sponsored for years. The car was emblazoned with Cingular's jacks logos; AT&T wanted to replace them with its blue-and-white globe.

Under AT&T's proposed paint scheme, the main color of the car - orange - wouldn't change.

AT&T contended the changes were permitted under its sponsorship contract - on which Cingular has spent $150 million since 2001 - with Richard Childress Racing, a company that operates NASCAR race teams. AT&T last year inherited the contract when it acquired the 40% of Cingular that it didn't already own.

Sprint Nextel cried foul. Nextel has a 10-year, $750 million deal with NASCAR to back the championship Nextel Cup Series, which kicks off each February with the Daytona 500.

Sprint said its NASCAR contract, which it inherited when it bought Nextel, called for it to be the racing circuit's sole telecom sponsor. The only exception: telecom companies that were sponsors prior to Nextel's arrival. They were grandfathered in by NASCAR.

One of those was Cingular, then owned by SBC (AT&T) and BellSouth.

Sprint argued that Cingular's change in ownership structure and new name negated its sponsorship deal. As a result, Sprint said, AT&T should not be permitted to rebrand the car. NASCAR agreed. Unable to work out a compromise, AT&T last month sued NASCAR.

Racing to court

The courtroom battle was bitter. AT&T's lawyer introduced an internal Sprint e-mail that suggested NASCAR was amenable to a compromise. But the same e-mail also suggested Sprint executives weren't, concluding "no benefit would be superior to having AT&T booted out of the sport," according to a story posted on NASCAR.com.

NASCAR countered with an internal memo from AT&T. Attorney David Gelfand insisted the document showed that AT&T hoped to force its way into the sport, with the goal of muscling in on Sprint's ad turf.

Sprint wasn't a party to the case, which was heard in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. Even so, it filed briefs supporting NASCAR.

On Friday, the judge ruled in AT&T's favor. AT&T promptly issued a press release saying it looked forward "to the debut of the new paint scheme." On Saturday, the judge rejected NASCAR's request for a stay of the ruling during an appeal. The car raced with the AT&T logo and name Saturday night.

Forsee, the Sprint chief, says the fight is about much more than a paint job: "NASCAR would have chaos in the (sponsorship) categories if they didn't enforce contracts. "It's not fair to minimize" the impact of AT&T's plans, he says. "We paid hundreds of millions of dollars (to become a sponsor), and we signed a contract. All we're asking is that NASCAR enforce the contract."

Sigman says he's looking forward to getting the fight back to where he thinks it belongs. "We'd much prefer to compete against Sprint in the marketplace rather than competing over the brand of a car."

Jumbo PC (30-Inch Wide-Screen) Monitors rated

By Kalpana Ettenson, PC World

These 30-inch LCDs deliver really high resolution, plus lots of screen real estate--but at a price.

A powerful CPU or tons of RAM can certainly improve your computing power, but few things help you feel more productive than a big, wide-screen LCD. A large monitor lets you spread your work out, open several windows, and multitask like the best of them.

And big monitors keep growing even bigger. Just a year ago, a 24-inch display might have been considered luxurious. But the biggest size yet to hit the market--30-inch LCDs--are the new rage. They offer so much screen real estate, you can't help but feel like you've hit the big time when you're using one.

We took a look at a crop of 30-inch wide-screen LCDs to see what the new displays have to offer. The three monitors we tested--Dell's UltraSharp 3007WFP-HC, HP's LP3065, and Samsung's SyncMaster 305T--all delivered excellent image quality in our tests, with incredibly sharp text and vibrant colors. In addition, each offers features such as built-in media card slots or multiple DVI ports.

See our chart on these three monitors.

(We also looked at an interesting hybrid--a huge monitor that can handle text display but also has a built-in TV tuner. For more, see "A Big Monitor That Includes TV Capability.")

HP's LP3065 earned our Best Buy, thanks to its outstanding image quality and various extras, such as multiple USB and DVI ports. The Dell and Samsung came close on its heels, as they also delivered notable image quality and other appealing features.

Are They Worth the Price?
Although using a massive wide-screen monitor can provide definite advantages over using a small display, you must be willing to fork out quite a lot to purchase one: The HP carried a $1699 price tag, while the Dell cost $1700 and the Samsung was a stiff $1800. (Current pricing: Dell UltraSharp 3007WFP; HP LP3065; Samsung SyncMaster 305T.)

According to Tom Mainelli, a senior analyst who covers the monitor market for research firm IDC, graphics designers and CAD users will appreciate 30-inchers, with their ability to show fine detail and accurate color, thanks to their incredibly high resolution of 2560 by 1600.

Beyond that, "there still are a handful of people that can afford the best of the best," Mainelli says, adding that such big LCDs probably won't hit the mainstream because of their prohibitive prices. "I've not seen a dramatic uptick in the category," he notes.

Strong Text and Graphics
We put the Dell, HP, and Samsung units through our series of screen tests, displaying a total of 11 text and graphics images to a group of jurors. We evaluated each monitor on its demonstrated sharpness, accuracy, and vibrancy. Overall, they scored closely with one another--we rated their image quality Very Good across the board.

All three monitors earned similar scores for their text display, but we saw some subtle nuances in photos and graphics. The HP LP3065 edged out the others with its accurate color and first-rate representation of detail in photographs. It also rendered text that was very easy to read, even at 6-point size.

The Dell showed excellent text quality and nice graphics, though a few photos looked slightly darker than they did on the HP. The effect was barely noticeable, and not enough to be a turnoff.

The Samsung also put up impressive text, but, like the Dell, some of its photos took on just a slightly darker cast.

For text, the high resolution of these monitors can be an issue, especially at small font sizes--when you're trying to read, say, a Microsoft Word document written in 10-point text, you may have to increase the font size display setting in Windows. But the high resolution certainly makes photographs look better: The visible detail is quite remarkable, especially when compared with what you see on a smaller monitor showing the same picture.

Making Sacrifices
With their strong image quality, the 30-inch LCDs we tested are indeed tempting. You should consider other important points before you decide to buy one, however.

For starters, because of their high 2560 by 1600 resolution, these 30-inchers require a high-bandwidth dual-link DVI cable, as well as a graphics card that drives dual DVI-out. (DVI stands for Digital Visual Interface.) All three of the monitors here include this cable in the box, but you'll have to supply the graphics card, which can add at least $150 to the cost if you don't already have a card that's compatible.

Also, these displays lack controls accessible through an on-screen display (OSD), such as you'd find on monitors of other sizes, even 27-inchers. The only controls these three have are buttons on the front to increase or decrease brightness.

According to Dell, HP, and Samsung, the monitors lack an OSD because no components exist that support the high resolution. If you want to make adjustments, you'll have to calibrate the display by using the graphics card. Even so, each monitor is limited by whatever parameters were placed on it at the time that it was manufactured.

And though some graphics cards can offer limited adjustments--namely, red, green, and blue controls and gamma (for setting accurate color representation)--not all cards have them. (The monitor companies state that the components should be available soon, so on-screen controls will likely be found in future versions of these LCDs.)

Finally, as you might expect with monitors of this size, they cannot pivot (that is, change their orientation from landscape to portrait)--their big dimensions prohibit such movement. All of the models do tilt and swivel with ease, however, and they are also height-adjustable.

Nice Extras
In addition to their generous size, these 30-inchers provide some useful extras. For instance, the HP LP3065 has four USB ports on the left of the bezel, as well as four more in the back. It also supplies three DVI ports, which is quite unusual (the other displays we tested have only one). Having more DVI ports allows you to connect the display to two PCs at once via DVI cables, instead of via an analog VGA port (which the three units we reviewed do not have).

The Samsung unit comes with a power-saver feature that switches the monitor to a low-power mode when the monitor has not been in use for some time. It includes just two USB ports, however.

Dell's 3007WFP-HC has two media card slots on the left of the bezel (one of which is a four-in-one; the other accommodates just CF cards). Two USB ports are also located on the left, and two more are situated in the back of the unit.

The Bottom Line
So is it worth shelling out the big bucks for one of these big displays? If you work on highly detailed documents or graphics applications, then a 30-incher's high resolution and sharp rendering of both text and graphics will likely be a worthwhile investment. Just remember that the high resolution will make all of your icons and text appear rather small; if you decide to wall-mount your new monitor (all three models we tested have this capability), you must be sure that you don't sit too far away from the display.

If you decide to keep the display on your desk, you'll have to clear plenty of space--these big LCDs demand acreage. But it just might be worth the effort if it means you'll have more room to spread out all your open windows.

A Big Monitor That Includes TV Capability
If you'd like a side serving of entertainment with your big display, then NEC's MultiSync 3735WXM LCD may be just what you're after. This 37-inch LCD includes a built-in analog TV tuner, which lets you hook it up to a cable connection and view television while you're getting your work done. The 3735WXM is geared for use as an informational display, but we think that it could be easily connected to a media center PC, as well.

The 3735WXM shows pleasing images when displaying television. I also hooked this monitor up to a PlayStation 3 and watched a Blu-ray DVD--the high-def movie looked crisp and lively, even though the display does not have 1080p resolution. The monitor's picture-in-picture capability enables you to work on a document side by side with a TV show, though you can minimize either window, too.

The display has a 1366 by 768 resolution, a common resolution for 37-inch TVs. While that's fine when you use the LCD's TV capability, it can be distracting if you have the monitor hooked up to a PC. Documents and spreadsheets lack the definitive sharpness and detail visible on the 30-inch LCDs we reviewed, which have four times more pixels. In addition, it's advisable to sit 8 to 10 feet from the display, as you would from a similar-size TV--not an ideal distance for viewing documents.

Nevertheless, the lower resolution should suffice if your emphasis is on entertainment. An LCD of this type is a logical fit for a media center PC. But the 3735WXM lacks an HDMI port (which some media center PCs include, and more will have in the future); that can pose a problem if you want to view high-definition content. You'll have to settle for using the unit's component connections.

And then there's the price: This unit costs a steep $2300, or a little more than what you would pay for a standard 37-inch television. Its hybrid capability is a nice benefit. But purists might prefer having the more usual arrangement--that is, a TV in the living room and, in another room, a big monitor attached to the computer.

Mind-reading toys could revolutionize play

By Rachel Konrad, Associated Press

Technology could make games more mentally stimulating and realistic

A convincing twin of Darth Vader stalks the beige cubicles of a Silicon Valley office, complete with ominous black mask, cape and light saber.

But this is no chintzy Halloween costume. It’s a prototype, years in the making, of a toy that incorporates brain wave-reading technology.

Behind the mask is a sensor that touches the user’s forehead and reads the brain’s electrical signals, then sends them to a wireless receiver inside the saber, which lights up when the user is concentrating. The player maintains focus by channeling thoughts on any fixed mental image, or thinking specifically about keeping the light sword on. When the mind wanders, the wand goes dark.

Engineers at NeuroSky Inc. have big plans for brain wave-reading toys and video games. They say the simple Darth Vader game — a relatively crude biofeedback device cloaked in gimmicky garb — portends the coming of more sophisticated devices that could revolutionize the way people play.

Thought control?
Technology from NeuroSky and other startups could make video games more mentally stimulating and realistic. It could even enable players to control video game characters or avatars in virtual worlds with nothing but their thoughts.

Adding biofeedback to “Tiger Woods PGA Tour,” for instance, could mean that only those players who muster Zen-like concentration could nail a putt. In the popular first-person shooter “Grand Theft Auto,” players who become nervous or frightened would have worse aim than those who remain relaxed and focused.

NeuroSky’s prototype measures a person’s baseline brain-wave activity, including signals that relate to concentration, relaxation and anxiety. The technology ranks performance in each category on a scale of 1 to 100, and the numbers change as a person thinks about relaxing images, focuses intently, or gets kicked, interrupted or otherwise distracted.

The technology is similar to more sensitive, expensive equipment that athletes use to achieve peak performance. Koo Hyoung Lee, a NeuroSky co-founder from South Korea, used biofeedback to improve concentration and relaxation techniques for members of his country’s Olympic archery team.

“Most physical games are really mental games,” said Lee, also chief technology officer at San Jose-based NeuroSky, a 12-employee company founded in 1999. “You must maintain attention at very high levels to succeed. This technology makes toys and video games more lifelike.”

Some say toys could help with mental focus
Boosters say toys with even the most basic brain wave-reading technology — scheduled to debut later this year — could boost mental focus and help kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism and mood disorders.

But scientific research is scant. Even if the devices work as promised, some question whether people who use biofeedback devices will be able to replicate their relaxed or focused states in real life, when they’re not attached to equipment in front of their television or computer.

Elkhonon Goldberg, clinical professor of neurology at New York University, said the toys might catch on in a society obsessed with optimizing performance — but he was skeptical they’d reduce the severity of major behavioral disorders.

“These techniques are used usually in clinical contexts. The gaming companies are trying to push the envelope,” said Goldberg, author of “The Wisdom Paradox: How Your Mind Can Grow Stronger As Your Brain Grows Older.” “You can use computers to improve the cognitive abilities, but it’s an art.”

But is it fun?
It’s also unclear whether consumers, particularly American kids, want mentally taxing games.

“It’s hard to tell whether playing games with biofeedback is more fun — the company executives say that, but I don’t know if I believe them,” said Ben Sawyer, director of the Games for Health Project, a division of the Serious Games Initiative. The think tank focuses in part on how to make computer games more educational, not merely pastimes for kids with dexterous thumbs.

The basis of many brain wave-reading games is electroencephalography, or EEG, the measurement of the brain’s electrical activity through electrodes placed on the scalp. EEG has been a mainstay of psychiatry for decades.

An EEG headset in a research hospital may have 100 or more electrodes that attach to the scalp with a conductive gel. It could cost tens of thousands of dollars.

But the price and size of EEG hardware is shrinking. NeuroSky’s “dry-active” sensors don’t require gel, are the size of a thumbnail, and could be put into a headset that retails for as little as $20, said NeuroSky CEO Stanley Yang.

Yang is secretive about his company’s product lineup because of a nondisclosure agreement with the manufacturer. But he said an international toy manufacturer plans to unveil an inexpensive gizmo with an embedded NeuroSky biosensor at the Japan Toy Association’s trade show in late June. A U.S. version is scheduled to debut at the American International Fall Toy Show in October.

“Whatever we sell, it will work on 100 percent or almost 100 percent of people out there, no matter what the condition, temperature, indoor or outdoors,” Yang said. “We aim for wearable technology that everyone can put on and go without failure, as easy as the iPod.”

Researchers at NeuroSky and other startups are also building prototypes of toys that use electromyography (EMG), which records twitches and other muscular movements, and electrooculography (EOG), which measures changes in the retina.

'Fulfills the fantasy of telekinesis'
While NeuroSky’s headset has one electrode, Emotiv Systems Inc. has developed a gel-free headset with 18 sensors. Besides monitoring basic changes in mood and focus, Emotiv’s bulkier headset detects brain waves indicating smiles, blinks, laughter, even conscious thoughts and unconscious emotions. Players could kick or punch their video game opponent — without a joystick or mouse.

“It fulfills the fantasy of telekinesis,” said Tan Le, co-founder and president of San Francisco-based Emotiv.

The 30-person company hopes to begin selling a consumer headset next year, but executives would not speculate on price. A prototype hooks up to gaming consoles such as the Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360.

Le, a 29-year-old Australian woman, said the company decided in 2004 to target gamers because they would generate the most revenue — but eventually Emotive will build equipment for clinical use. The technology could enable paralyzed people to “move” in virtual realty; people with obsessive-compulsive disorders could measure their anxiety levels, then adjust medication accordingly.

Other tech targets doctors, parents
The husband-and-wife team behind CyberLearning Technology LLC took the opposite approach. The San Marcos-based startup targets doctors, therapists and parents of adolescents with autism, impulse control problems and other pervasive developmental disorders.

CyberLearning is already selling the SmartBrain Technologies system for the original PlayStation, PS2 and original Xbox, and it will soon work with the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The EEG- and EMG-based biofeedback system costs about $600, not including the game console or video games.

Kids who play the race car video game “Gran Turismo” with the SmartBrain system can only reach maximum speed when they’re focused. If attention wanes or players become impulsive or anxious, cars slow to a chug.

CyberLearning has sold more than 1,500 systems since early 2005. The company hopes to reach adolescents already being treated for behavior disorders. But co-founder Lindsay Greco said the budding niche is unpredictable.

“Our biggest struggle is to find the target market,” said Greco, who has run treatment programs for children with attention difficulties since the 1980s. “We’re finding that parents are using this to improve their own recall and focus. We have executives who use it to improve their memory, even their golf.”

Cruising the Internet at 70 MPH

By Dan Tynan, PC World

Soon you'll be able to surf the Web, download music, and check e-mail in your car.

As regular readers of this column are aware, I can't go on vacation or to the grocery store without my Internet fix. So naturally, I crave a constant high-speed connection for my car so that I can download MP3s as I roll down I-40 (a robotic chauffeur would be nice, too).

The good news is that the Internet is coming to automobiles later this year. And when it arrives, it will start to change how we interact with each other and the world around us.

Life Is a Highway
2007 will be the year cars and tech really mesh, thanks in part to Ford's Sync, a hands-free cell phone gizmo running on Microsoft's Auto operating system. It also lets you control your MP3 player using voice commands. Sync will be available on about a dozen 2007 car models in the fall, and, yes, it even works with iPods.

But this is only the beginning, says Velle Kolde, product manager for Microsoft's in-vehicle systems. Future versions of Sync could incorporate Wi-Fi, so you could download your e-mail while driving through a Net cloud and then have the system read it to you.

Autonet Mobile, meanwhile, wants to turn your car into a rolling hotspot. Autonet's book-size router plugs into your cigarette lighter and connects to the same kind of high-speed cell networks used by wireless PC Cards, while broadcasting a secure 802.11g network in your car (and a little beyond).

Autonet has two big advantages over wireless cards, according to the company's CEO, Sterling Prantz. It is better at managing handoffs when you move from fast networks to slower ones, allowing for seamless data streaming. And everyone can share one connection, so Mom can watch YouTube on her laptop while Sis IMs her posse and Junior plays multiplayer games on his PSP--assuming, of course, that you're hooked into a fast EvDO Rev A network. By the time you read this, cars with Autonet inside should be available at select Avis Rent A Car locations; late this spring you'll be able to buy the router for $399, plus $50 a month for access to Autonet's network.

Moving Targets
If you want broadband built into your car, you'll have to wait a bit longer, says Bob Schoenfield, senior vice president for Aeris, a company that runs a communications network for telematic services. Aeris is working with a "non-U.S. car company" on a 2008-model automobile that can download data at up to 2 megabits per second. As today's fastest cellular networks get even faster, we will see a tsunami of mobile content, from movies and music to live broadcasts.

Moreover, as Internet Protocol version 6 becomes more common, cars could be used to gather data about the weather, traffic patterns, and more, says Tom Patterson, CEO of Command Information, a consultancy that specializes in IPv6. The firm has built the "Veesix," a 1970s-era Porsche designed to show off IPv6's automotive potential.

Because IPv6 allows for trillions of new IP addresses, your speedometer and windshield wipers could have their own addresses, enabling them to broadcast data to a server that aggregates the information and feeds back real-time weather and traffic reports.

IPv6 also lets devices communicate automatically. So if another car were approaching a blind intersection at high speed, your car could detect it and sound an alarm.

IPv6 is being built into cars in Europe and Japan, and car area networks that connect all of the devices inside your ride should start appearing in 2009. Important questions remain, of course--like whether you'll have to share your driving data with the police or your insurance company, or what happens when you send an angry text message to the Hummer driver who just cut you off.

But the potential is awesome. I'd take the Veesix in a heartbeat--and a designated driver when I just have to surf.