I’m starting to get tired of iEverything.  I thought it was great how we can hook up our cars with the iPod.  I loved the ability to connect a digital camera to the player.  I didn’t mind when some company sold stuffed animals with iPod docks in them.  But this has ended it for me - an iPod dock on a piano? 

At Musikmesse 2007, which wrapped up not to long ago in Frankfurt, Germany, a company called PianoDisc unveiled the iQ.  The iQ is a player piano that has an iPod docking system so the “instrument” can play itself from the iPod’s melody.  For those of us who thought the player piano was a lame excuse for an instrument anyway, this adds digital injury to insult.

I’m a big fan of the digital music revolution, but this product doesn’t really make sense to me.  Someone should establish a protocol that requires iPod accessories keep some sort of musical or artistic integrity.  To each his/her own, I guess.  Check out AVING for some great pictures of the iQ.

Cool News:

Check out Wired’s “Console Portraits: A 40-Year Pictorial History of Gaming”, which has some very cool images of everything from the Magnavox Odyssey to the PS3.

Last week textually.org reported that next year Japan is going to set up “an experimental high-tech wireless zone” on one of its islands.  Drivers will be notified of movement of nearby pedestrians via sensors and hospitals will be able to monitor heart rates of live-at-home elderly 24 hours a day. 

I know, I know, Wal-Mart is the devil, but in a huge leap for VoIP, the retail giant will be adding a Skype section in its stores that will sell the brand’s handets, headsets, Web cams and other equipment.

Huh?:

Whoops - IBM loses tapes with employee data.  Not good for one of the leading providers of data management and backup solutions!

Japan is at it again.  Now they have created an entire store that is a giant t-shirt vending machine.  I don’t really see the point of this.  Don’t we go to shops for the customer service and interaction?  I would suggest just staying at home and shopping online!

In a disgusting development, an Australian video game designer has created a game based on the VT massacre.  He’s even soliciting donations, saying he’ll take the game down from his Web site if he earns a certain amount of money.  This is just as nauseating as the terrible game that was made after Columbine.  Repulsive.

Finally, last week CNET News.com reported on a “New gang war raging on the Internet” where a Web turf battle is raging on.  Although a serious matter, I find it kind of amusing and wonder how some governing agency will end up stopping (or attempting to stop) the botnet battle for spam supremacy!

AVING, Consumer Electronics, Consumer Tech, data backup, data management, Gaming Console, IBM, iEverything, iPod, iQ, japan, Magnavox Odyssey, Musikmesse, PS3, Skype, VoIP, Wal Mart, Wired

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls . . . I would like to welcome you to the world of Mo. Here we will discuss consumer electronics’ impact on the world and what companies are doing to make that impact a good (and quite often bad) one.

This is my first post and I’d like to start off easy by highlighting some of the stories that grabbed my attention over the past week or so:

Last week Wired ran an interview called “Spying in the Death Star: The AT&T Whistle-Blower Tells His Story” that featured Mark Klein, the retired San Francisco AT&T technician that brought the telcom heavyweight’s involvement in the NSA wiretapping to light. It’s a very interesting interview where he talks about why he came forward and how AT&T was aiding the US government.

Japanese vending machine company Apex Corp introduced a new system that will vend free drinks if customers watch a 30-second commercial. This is an interesting development for marketers trying to find different ways to reach consumers in a world filled with advertising noise. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Japan, but it’s pretty noisy! Link 

On a similar note, Mad4Mobile Phones has a patent for phones that will display Google ads.  Another huge jump in targeted advertising.  Link 

On May 9, John Fontana over at NetworkWorld wrote a story about Microsoft and Best Buy facing racketeering charges in a seven year-old case.  The charges allege that consumers had MSN accounts activated and were being charged unknowingly when they bought a new computer.  Fascinatingly, Microsoft began to offer customers refunds for this in 2003 and say the charges are just “procedural”.  Read more here. 

Finally, in one of the most important announcements of the 21^st century, Spinal Tap is reuniting for the Live Earth concerts on July 7.  You can read more and watch the group’s new 15-minute film here.

advertising, AT&T, best buy, Consumer Electronics, Corporate Responsibility, japan, live earth, microsoft, NSA, phone, racketeering, San Francisco, spinal tap