communicate

The Snap Instant Communicator is one of the weirdest little gizmos I've seen in a while. It's a push-to-talk intercom system that runs on a PC and it only works when the Snap hardware console--which is just a few buttons, a speaker, and a microphone--is plugged in to it.

The console has eight labeled lights for the people you talk to the most. Once you add other Snap users into your account and label their spots on your device, all you have to do is press the button next to a name, and if the other party accepts … Read more

Of all the ridiculous Star Trek product marketing in the world, we're surprised that a working Communicator phone hasn't become de rigueur among the nerdsome faithful. In fact, the last one we heard of was a DIY version on eBay, but even that one was just a Bluetooth receiver that still needed to connect to a cell phone.

Granted, you could get an Enterprise model, but it's not exactly convenient to lug around the convention floor. So we could only imagine the disappointment over this "exclusive" Communicator replica that can only feign conversation with sound … Read more

For Army researchers looking to give robot operators new ways to "see" via unmanned ground vehicles on the battlefield one thing is clear, legacy video doesn't cut it anymore.

It's not just broadcast quality or resolution that needs improvement, but the level of "telepresence": the sense of increased situational awareness that allows a robot driver to shoot and move and make fast decisions.

One possible upgrade is the three-axis Head-Aimed Remote Viewer (HARV), a dome enclosed, three-axel gimbal-mounted camera that slews around to match operator head movement. Wherever the soldier/operator looks, the unit … Read more

You're block captain of the neighborhood watch, a hurricane is barreling through your ward, and FEMA is still looking for its waders. But this time you're prepared.

That's because you're packing the Base X Suitcase Operations Center, a set-up for a 4- to 10-person emergency response team that puts you immediately in charge. The SOC is a self-contained wireless visual information powerhouse, according to Base X.

The system can be completely contained in three rugged cases and deployed anywhere, holding everything you need to access the Internet via Ku satellite or a commercial wireless card. Keep … Read more

The reserve price on a valuable sliver of spectrum was reached in the Federal Communications Commission's 700MHz auction on Thursday, triggering rules that would make the spectrum accessible to any device or software application.

After the 17th round in the auction, a bidder for eight licenses in the "C" block of the 700MHz spectrum auction surpassed the minimum reserve price of $4.64 billion, which had been set by the FCC before the auction began. The current bid is now at $4.71 billion. The minimum bid for round 21 is $5.18 billion, according to the … Read more

Advertisements educating people about the switch in February 2009 from analog-TV to digital-TV signals could soon be airing more often, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal.

The Federal Communications Commission, along with some folks in Congress, say more public-service advertisements and announcements are needed to educate people about the switch to digital broadcasts. They fear that people still using old TV sets that get TV signals over the air will be upset when, come February 17, 2009, their TVs don't work. According to the FCC, in January 2007, some 15.5 million U.S. households still … Read more

If you simply must send a YouTube video to every single person you are connected to, Movial says it will make that possible.

The 6-year-old company makes a white label application for a PC, phone, or any device that wireless carriers can brand as their own. Called Social Communicator, it shows all of a user's contacts and their online status. All at once, instant messages, text messages, music files, or videos can be sent to all contacts listed.

The demonstration here at Demo focused on sending YouTube videos to everyone or anyone. Individual contacts can be selected ,and even … Read more

Wireless and the Fios fiber-to-the-home broadband network continue to fuel growth for Verizon Communications.

On Monday, the second-largest phone company in the U.S. reported profits were up 3.9 percent for the fourth quarter of 2007, as it added more wireless subscribers in its joint venture with Vodafone and nearly hit the 1 million subscriber mark for its Fios TV service.

Earnings met analyst expectations with net income coming in at $1.07 billion, or 37 cents a share. That was up from $1.03 billion, or 35 cents, a year ago. Profit, excluding items such as severance pay … Read more

Sprint Nextel and Verizon Communications both see an opportunity to make a buck on their IP telephony patents after successfully suing Vonage Holdings last year.

On Thursday, Sprint Nextel said in a U.S. District Court in Wichita, Kan., that it was suing four small phone companies. Sprint alleges that Nuvox Communication, BroadVOX Holdings, Big River Telephone, and Paetec Communications are infringing on six of its patents.

Those patents, part of a larger portfolio of patents that cover voice over IP technology owned by Sprint, are the same ones used to successfully sue Vonage. The two companies eventually settled the … Read more