First, the good news. I have succeeded in getting my PC DVD player to work fully with 5.1 (six speaker) surround sound. It took a combination of Windows updates, new drivers, and a beta (i.e. unreleased) version of the DVD player program itself. The sound is awesome. Unfortunately, the beta release of the DVD program is a little buggy in other areas, but I can avoid them. What is even better is that I found out that my Star Trek episode DVDs have 5.1 sound capability. Beam Me Up!
About this time of year I like to write a column on the latest goodies on the market. It's time to start thinking about holiday presents (and, of course, getting your shopping done early). But this year the market for new goodies looks pretty dire. The economy is in the doldrums, being driven by the slowdown in the tech industry. Many manufacturers are not planning extensive new product lines for the holiday season.
Music: Very slow here. There has been no active replacement for Napster. The recording industry blew them away, and now has started to put digital copy protection in its products (CDs). Portable MP3 players have dropped in price a bit, but there is very little new function. And if the industry has its way, you may not be able to rip tracks and download them to your portable device anyway. Bottom line: paranoid yawn.
Digital Cameras: Lots of nifty new cameras on the market, and prices are continuing to gradually fall. A camera makes a great gift (even for yourself). Avoid "gray market" prices; make sure you get the full US warranty. Prices for memory cards have fallen sharply - look and you will be surprised. Bottom line: a great hobby - go for it.
Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs): This business seems to be in serious trouble. Prices have fallen on monochrome (black-and-white) units, because there is little demand - the marketplace wants color. The highly touted new features, such as Internet access, have failed to materialize. Microsoft just came out with a new version of its PDA OS, but aside from some usability features, there is little to rave over. Bottom line: a big yawn.
PCs: Prices continue to fall - it's a good time to buy. The only thing relatively new is that 15" LCD display panels have really come down in price. I have seen them as low as $350. The one I bought for my wife is spectacular. It's so thin that we were able to put it on the kitchen counter. CD-RW drive prices have fallen also; this is now the most economical form of backup. Bottom line: as the birdie said: cheap, cheap. But don't expect service. Many manufacturers have scaled back on their service policies due to economic pressures - getting a problem solved can be very time consuming and difficult.
Home Automation: There is just no marketplace here. Despite those terrible pop-up window advertisements from X-10.COM, very few people seem to want to automate their house or to put cameras in every room. Bottom line: forget it and go to the beach.
Software: This area is boringly stable. Outside of the latest overblown application suite or OS from Microsoft, there isn't much activity. There has been some progress in applications to create web pages. Even the game market is getting boring, with the same old first person shooters just dressed up. Educational software seems to be stagnant also. I think the issue here is that there just isn't much profit in selling a game or educational program for $40-$60, and the buyers won't pay much more. Bottom line: look elsewhere for that gift unless you find something absolutely specific for your needs or unless your 14 year old nephew wants a specific game.
So, what would I buy as presents? Well, you will have to wait a bit! I am going to survey the field and probably do another column on this in late October.
(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport / Oak Island area. You can visit his website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail him at bsc@bobseidel.com).