The Internet faces the dark side of the Force

9 January 2013 by Steve Blum
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International telecommunications diplomacy isn't a pretty business.

“It was a little bit like the Star Wars bar scene,” said FCC commissioner Robert McDowell, as he described his experience as a U.S. representative at last month's World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai.

He was part of a delegation that included private sector companies, like Google, as well as a boat load of diplomats and policy wonks. They were up against a solid wall of countries that wanted the International Telecommunications Union – a United Nations organization – to get into the business of regulating the Internet.… More

Winners and head scratchers at LaunchFest pitch night

9 January 2013 by Steve Blum
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Party until you invest.

I counted eight start-up companies at tonight's Digital Hollywood Launchfest, held in conjunction with CES.

There might have been more. It was hard to tell exactly how many hopefuls were looking to impress a panel of angel investors. By the time I got there, the event was more party than anything else. But the music and investor pitches made for a good mix at Planet Hollywood.

Raw Porter aims to put money in the pocket of amateur paparazzi.… More

FCC commissioners push to quickly rewrite rules, free spectrum

9 January 2013 by Steve Blum
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Collegial commissioners at CES.

As plain old telephone service migrates to mobile and Internet protocol platforms, new regulations to match technology shifts and more wireless spectrum are the top priorities for the FCC this year.

Four of the five commissioners talked about what's ahead at a CES panel session this afternoon. Chairman Julius Genachowski made a solo appearance earlier, and his colleagues endorsed his plan to move ahead quickly with freeing up government spectrum in the 5 GHz band for unlicensed use.… More

Wearable computing delivered

9 January 2013 by Steve Blum
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Migicovsky shows Pebble watch and app.

“We're proud of it, it's a full blown consumer electronics product,” said Eric Migicovsky, CEO of Pebble, as he introduced the Pebble smart watch at CES, promising a shipping date of 23 January 2013.

It's a real watch. It sits on your wrist, tells the time and you can swim with it. It's also “a connected device, which talks to your smart phone,” Migicovsky explained.

If the production units perform like this morning's demo, Pebble has a shot at being the first mass market, non-geek smart watch.… More

More unlicensed spectrum coming soon, says FCC chairman

9 January 2013 by Steve Blum
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Tired of slow WiFi at the airport.

Julius Genachowski is a popular guy at CES today. The FCC chairman announced that the commission is moving ahead with freeing up spectrum that's currently assigned to government agencies for WiFi and other unlicensed uses.

“This is unlicensed spectrum. This is in 5 GHz. It's time to move to do it,” he said. “We have a lot of work to do with federal agencies that have this spectrum. We're moving forward with it and we're going to work out the problems as we go.… More

Headset turns thought into deed

8 January 2013 by Steve Blum
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Taking flight on wings of fancy.

The ultimate input and control method is a direct connection to your brain. NeuroSky has just such a device on the market. It's a reasonably sleek headset that reads your alpha and beta brain waves, and then translates the readings into commands that are passed on to whatever you're trying to control.

Their breakout product last year was the Necomimi – fuzzy cat ears that attach to the headset and then move up or down or wiggle according to your mood.… More

Home automation winners at Showstoppers


A joule of an idea.

The essence of genius is turning complex and confusing concepts into elegant simplicity. The Energy Joule manages the trick of taking your home's energy usage, benchmarking it against often byzantine electric utility rate pricing and distilling the result down to a simple glowing light.

Ambient Devices sells it to electric utilities, who in turn provide it to their customers. The idea is to give instant, easy to understand information about what it's costing to keep the lights and everything else on, so consumers can keep their bills down and utilities can spread out their load.… More

Taking the fun out of hide and seek

8 January 2013 by Steve Blum
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At least it isn't Big Brother watching.

Parents don't particularly want young kids to have mobile phones. But they do want the convenience of reaching them at any time. And, apparently, they want to be able to track their whereabouts 24/7.

At least that's the idea behind the Vivo Play, a mobile phone and location tracker from Evado Filip that was on display at the Showstoppers press event at CES tonight. It looks like a wristwatch.… More

Lowes executes a home automation play

8 January 2013 by Steve Blum
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Presumptive retailing.

“It's our fault – technology and business models – we just haven't gotten it right,” said Kevin Meagher, vice president and general manager for the smart home segment at Lowes. The problem isn't consumers, who readily accept automation. “It's in our cars and none of us would buy one without it. The hurdle is getting it into the home,” he said.

Meagher was speaking at the Parks Associates Connections Summit at CES this afternoon.… More

Rap star aiming to be the next tech rock star

8 January 2013 by Steve Blum
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“Actually, music is harder.”

“Hell yes, it's a good time to be an entrepreneur. I don't want to be a rapper anymore,” said will.i.am, founder and chairman of i.am.plus and, incidentally, a music icon. “I don't want to make money, I want to make change.”

His passion for solving problems and creating opportunities was shared by the other panelists this morning at CES's Next Generation of Innovators keynote panel.

“What's cool about the world now is that you can build something that millions of people use, without any money at all,” said David Lieb, CEO and co-founder of Bump Technologies.… More