Digicam Equipped Phones, PDAs, To Read Barcodes. Cheap alternative to traditional laser scanning solution available. [allNetDevices Wireless News]

Digital cameras to be used for reading barcodes. given the forthcoming ubiquity of said cams, as well as the significantly lower pricepoint for integrating them into existing devices, this should help speed this app to success in the market.

10:49:39 AM    

Harry Potter released unprotected. The failure to copy-protect Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone suggests Hollywood may have decided it is cheaper not to bother [New Scientist]

...By not protecting Harry Potter, Time Warner has saved the five US cents or so per disc or tape that Macrovision charges. Analysts suspect that Warner left the release unprotected, to investigate whether this would have a significant impact on sales.

...But the company is clearly embarrassed by the revelations. When contacted by New Scientist, Warner UK refused to comment, first denying that the release is unprotected. In the US, Warner has claimed that some discs are protected and some not...

...US trade body the Video Software Dealers Association sums up trade concern. Spokesman Sean Bersell brands Warners' failure to protect Harry Potter as "short-sighted" and warns that it "undermines the legitimate market for its products."

Industry eyes are all now on the next big video release, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, which is due in August. If this is also unprotected, Hollywood may have decided that it is cheaper to let a few people copy than spend money on protection.

There is no, I repeat NO copy protection on this release, either in DVD or VHS format. Admittedly, it's going to sell gangbusters, and it's price point is low enough that there is little reason not to buy the film. Still, this is a huge move, akin to the release of Pretty Woman at $19.95 back when it was released on video, which pioneered lower pricing on VHS releases back in the early 90's.

10:16:33 AM    

1. Personal income outpaced inflation by 8% during the 90s.
2. Personal income rose by 40% on average over the decade.
3. The percentage of Americans with a Bachelors degree rose to 24.4% from 20.3%.
4. The percentage of households earning more than $150k a year tripled to 4.6%.
5. The number of those over 65 living in poverty dropped by 20%.

This is great news across the board.   It is little wonder why consumers were able to power us through the last recession -- we are much wealthier.  I expect this next decade to be even better. [John Robb's Radio Weblog]

7:09:53 AM    

I've Got Your Trivia Fix Right Here, Buddy.

"For all of you librarians interested in trivia, the trivia archive of the bar trivia questions that I have been working on are all archived here." [librarian.net]

Andy B. and Kate Are Going to Love This! Very cool, although it does need a search engine (naturally).

[Jenny Levine: Tech Goddess]

Cool move by REM. Reminds me of when Rage Against The Machine encouraged fans to trade their album on Napster by stopping their label from banning people for sharing it.

7:05:05 AM    

Bees Boost Coffee Crop Yield [Scientific American]

Couldn't help it.

7:00:08 AM    

Backseat Drivers Get an Office. Introducing the car that does everything. Also: Ford disses telematics business ... North Korea to go mobile ... Clear cell-phone calls in Australia ... and more, in this week's Unwired News. By Elisa Batista. [Wired News]

Most interesting is the last item on the list:

Unlimited text messaging: Leap Wireless, which operates in the United States under the "Cricket" brand, has launched an unlimited text messaging service in 30 markets across the country for $5 a month.

This is a part of what Jenny has been talking about, in terms of getting the prices for SMS down to a reasonable rate. Good move Cricket!

6:57:13 AM