Technology

How does a company build off of tradition and into the future of a constantly evolving technological society? Innovative branding always helps. Intel is moving into the future with the goals of being seen as a company focused on the following marketing categories: mobile, digital home, enterprise, and health. Through new brand images like "Viiv" (rhymes with jive) and "Intel. Leap Ahead," Intel hopes to instill in their consumers a stronger connection to the company's mission to "discover and instigate the next 'leap' in technology, education, social responsibility, and manufacturing." The image Intel projects is one that shows how their products make life better, richer, and more convenient for everyone. These lofty goals of brand image are being actualized partially by their product, but also by Intel's exhaustive efforts to educate consumers on what they are doing and how their products can change lives. Enter Intel's interactive educational programs.

One might ask what could possibly be interactive in the computer chip producing industry. The small chips that run our computers influence our lives on a daily basis and yet we fail to recognize the source of this power. Intel has changed this trend drawing attention from their phenomenal product, accessibility, brand recognition, and truth. One of the ways Intel is spreading their name is through their highly interactive, educational museums. A visit to the Intel Museum is a one-hour, self-guided experience that features state-of-the-art, computerized, tours in seven languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Korean). Activities in the museum include learning labs, interactive Intel timelines, chip zooms (where viewers can zoom in on computer chips to learn more about the inner structure of chips), Intel culture theatre (shows what its like to work at Intel) and much more. Intel also offers the experience of microchip production. All of the experiences offered in the museum show how Intel is already changing the world through technology; helping the customer recognize the influence Intel has on their daily lives. In addition to their museum project, Intel is intensely involved in educational pursuits.

For educators visiting their museums with students, Intel provides interactive pre-visit packets along with post-visit jigsaw puzzles and scavenger hunts to help ensure a memorable experience. If an institution doesn't have the means to make it to an Intel museum, teachers can still take their students on a virtual tour by using the internet. In any case, Intel is educating both the young and old on products that are a major part of their life by associating their brand with education, innovation, excitement, and determination. This example reveals one of the many ways Intel is engaging their customer's cultural interests. In addition to education, Intel has a vast Environmental and Safety department working on projects such as computer recycling (an estimated 130,000 computers are disposed of daily!) with companies like eBay, Apple, Microsoft and HP. Intel has been active in producing means to not only reduce the environmental consequences but to follow the old boy scout adage of "leave it better than you found it." Intel is achieving this through a focus on proper chemical disposal and reconfiguration, water use, waste recycling, employee safety and wellness, and building waste reduction goals into new manufacturing technologies.

If technology really exists to help make our lives easier and more productive, why does it have to be so complex and frustrating? Phillips thinks it shouldn't be. Their company thrives on the idea of simplicity, a notion with the power to "transform a task into an opportunity and a burden into a pleasure." Phillips thinks that simplicity is a good goal for technology, and according to them, "it just makes sense." They started on a simpler path after realizing that the digital revolution, which is supposed to make our lives easier, isn't. Phillips did some pretty in depth studies and found that about 30% of home-networking products are returned because people can't get them to work. And 48% of people haven't bought a digital camera yet because they see them as being too complicated.

It all started in January 2003, when they began conducting research to find out if everyday people shared their vision. They questioned "1,650 consumers and 180 customers in 120 in-depth interviews, 24 focus groups and 1,439 quantitative interviews," and talked to people from the UK, the US, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Brazil, China and Hong Kong. Their research findings showed that people everywhere, regardless of race, religion, or income want nice products that make their lives easier. Like Phillips says, "the world is already complicated enough; you want simplicity." The Phillips brand now reflects the belief that simplicity can be a goal of technology because it just makes sense.

And they've got some cool new products that exemplify their mission. In Simplicity Today you'll find categories like Ambient Experience, lighting, television, and medical equipment. Their Ambient Experience products are geared towards making hospitals (and medical procedures) less scary. The Ambient Experience focuses on light, imagery, and sound projections while at the same time emphasizing patient education and non-invasive equipment, like an open MRI machine that doesn't make you feel confined or claustrophobic. They also have a Cineos Flat TV that features Ambilight, where a projected background color fills your room and matches the dominant colors on your TV screen. Simplicity Tomorrow offers a look into how things could be, and features products like Air Trees, Momento, and Mood Mix. The air trees are really just futuristic fake plants. They're there to add a certain look to your room in addition to cleaning the air and adjusting the humidity. The Momento ball is like an old school crystal ball with a twist. It lets you upload movies and pictures that then play in a slideshow kind of a format. Mood Mix is a lighting system that lets you control the colors and light intensity in each room of your house with the touch of a finger.

Each of these products is designed to give people what they want; intuitively designed products that are fun to use. Phillips is capitalizing on the idea that technology is great, but it's only worthwhile if it can efficiently accomplish a goal. In this case, Phillips products are making technology work by satisfying the end goal of a better customer experience. It just makes sense.

Much of the laundry done in India is still washed by hand. During this process, the majority of the time and water needed for such a task is used to rinse clothes out; on average, people use four buckets of water just to rinse their garments clean. To make matters worse, many parts of India are dry and without an overabundance of available water resources. Surf Excel saw this and figured they could better adapt to their surroundings, by cutting down on the water and time needed to do laundry. Although Surf Excel is one of many products that Hindustan Lever Limited (India's largest packaged mass consumption goods company) markets, it didn't fall by the wayside. The company focused their attention on Surf, intent on making a better experience for their high volume customer base. The Surf Excel scientists got to work, figuring out how they could reduce the amount of water their users needed. What they found is that reducing the amount of foam the soap produces is a key factor in cutting water usage. The problem is that people connect foam to cleanliness, so their soap still had to produce a rich lather. Eventually they managed to find a foaming agent that suppresses lather when the concentration of surfactant active is lower - in other words when washing is complete and rinsing begins - a discovery that ultimately cut down on the amount of time and water needed by about 50 percent. Surf Excel, while already being a popular laundry detergent brand, has shown it's commitment to making life more efficient, and that translates to a good idea in any language.

Apple epitomizes cool! After all Macs are probably the only computers that people buy because of the eye-candy factor. Apple has become one of the hottest companies of the 21st century, their sleek, sexy design concepts, made up of elegant, clean lines and their clever focus on design and entertainment offerings are quickly turning them into a cult brand. It's amazing to see how Apple's clients become clients for life, probably because they have so clearly defined their market and purpose (in addition to building a compelling user experience). Their success is linked to the fact that customers are increasingly using their computers for more than work. We spend so much time in front of these machines that they're becoming lifestyle centers, and Apple have mastered providing the best possible experience. After all, wouldn't you rather sit in front of sleek Apple station all day? Apple excels at offering exactly what clients want instead of trying to do what everyone else is doing.

Apple has innovation written all over it. Just looked how they took the world by storm with iPod and iTunes. They've completely changed the way we talk about music. Then there's Apple's successful flagship stores. According to Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, in his keynote at Macworld, the company's 135 retail stores have just had their first $1 billion quarter, with 26 million people visiting during the past three months. That many people aren't drawn to their stores just to buy computers. Apple has built a whole brand experience around their stores, and customers are eating it up. The stores are slick, modern, and visually stunning. They're built around interactivity and are filled with people playing with equipment. They're different from their dreary competitors, and are creating experiences that are resulting in growing sales.

So what's Apple going to do next? Other than their landmark deal with Intel, they're now developing their Mac's into entertainment centers. No longer will computers just be work places, they'll also be music, video, TV, and photo centers. We can throw our TV's away, because our computers will be able to handle that job, and much more. Even better, now we'll be able to access those facilities, even at the office. We certainly look forward to seeing these products launched.

You've probably heard about Onstar, the vehicle GPs from General Motors (GM). They've been getting a lot of press lately about their continual drive to make this service quicker, easier, and more all-inclusive. Recently GM announced that they'll be switching the technology they use from a Web based platform to a service-oriented architecture (SOA). For those of you who are less tech savvy, this basically means that they're streamlining their software to make room for an increased number of more efficient customer calls. In addition to the benefits Onstar customers will receive, GM will also reap benefits from the switch by saving a whole bunch of money . . . we're talking millions, if not billions of dollars over a period of a couple years.

If you're not familiar with the Onstar program, allow us to fill you in. Onstar was started in 1995 by GM, EDS, and Hughes Electronics Corporation. Each of these companies played their own role in Onstar's development with GM providing the vehicles, EDS supplying the systems development, information management, and customer services, and Hughes Electronics working on the satellite technology and vehicle electronics. Onstar's official debut was at the 1996 Chicago Auto Show, and released the first Onstar equipped vehicles (1997 Cadillac DeVille, Seville, and Elderado models) less than a year later. Over the last ten years Onstar has managed to acquire almost four million customers and numerous awards. In 2005, Onstar won three Telematics Update Awards and the highly desired 21st Century Achievement Award from the Computerworld Honors Program. In February of 2005 they reached their 500-millionth minute mark, and managed to increase their sales by 30 percent over 2004. GM has announced that they plan to include the Onstar service in all of their U.S. and Canadian vehicles by 2007, hoping to capture more buyers who are looking to purchase vehicles from auto leaders like Toyota and Honda.

As more and more users subscribe, Onstar is being perceived less a feature that people "like to have" and is being seen more as a necessity. Their emphasis on customer safety makes them an obvious choice for families, and they've capitalized on the desire parents have to keep their kids safe. Onstar partnered up with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in 2004, and reminded customers to "buckle up" during the National "Click it or Ticket" and "Buckle Up America" campaigns. They've also been heralded for retrieving stolen vehicles that contained children, and helped the police capture an FBI fugitive on America's Most Wanted. In addition, Onstar is branching out, meeting the needs of many. They offer a TTY helpline for subscribers who are hard of hearing, deaf, or speech impaired, in addition to offering their services in English, French, and Spanish.

Onstar's commitment to customer care can be most readily seen in their advertising campaign. In these commercials on both TV and radio, potential customers hear stories about how Onstar saved a life, or made an unpleasant situation less bad (think locking your keys out of the car in -20 degree weather). And these stories aren't just fluff. Many Onstar customers have come forward to testify the value of this service, citing examples like "mom got into a car accident in the middle of nowhere and was unconscious, but I knew I was supposed to push the blue Onstar button." This story came from a seven year old boy and remains one of the most heart-string tugging Onstar experiences to date. Onstar was also there in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, providing free telecommunications, route support, and emergency assistance to thousands of subscribers who were relying on Onstar as their only means of communication with the outside world.

If you feel like Onstar is too fancy or too expensive, think again. They offer a couple different programs equipped with slightly different features (and prices). Their basic program, Safe and Sound, runs about $17.00 per month and provides services like Accident Assist where Onstar will offer instructions on what to do following a minor accident; Air Bag Deployment Notification: here Onstar can tell as soon as an airbag deploys and will work to communicate with the driver or send emergency help if it's needed; Roadside Assistance, Remote Door Unlock, Stolen Vehicle Tracking, and Driving Directions to name a few. Their higher end service, Directions and Connections, includes all of the features that Safe and Sound offers as well as Hands Free Calling and Virtual Advisor that will offer weather and traffic reports in addition to stock quotes for about $35.00 per month.

While Onstar's goal is to make their drivers feel more secure, some people think that they're the first step towards an Orwellian "1984" future. The idea that someone always knows where you are and can contact you at any time is kind of like living with Big Brother. So, if you don't like the feeling of being tracked, we would suggest that you don't subscribe to their service. People are entitled to their privacy and we respect that, but Onstar can do some pretty helpful stuff. Some people really like the feeling that someone is there with them, in fact, Onstar receives plenty of personal calls from drivers who are simply lonely. In our increasingly automated world it's kind of nice to know that you're only a button push away from another human being.

As technology makes hardware smaller, thinner, and more discreet it also has the ability to make it more intelligent. As we continue to increasingly rely on new technology to store and communicate the mounting volume of information we process daily, it makes sense that the technology we spend so much of our time with is finally getting to know us. This is the future: machines that interact with humans on emotional, psychological, and physical ways. NEC, a technology design firm, is creating new products and concepts that push human/machine interaction in ways not previously seen.

Take a look at the Kotohana Emotion Communicator. This is a concept that involves two electronic flower terminals that are capable of communicating our emotions to others using color. The flowers gather information about our emotions through vocal patterns and then turns those tones into a variety of pigments that represent mood. The result - a high tech, out of the ordinary mood ring. The idea is that personal dialogue is enriched by sharing emotions through communication devices that work from remote locations.

There's also the Flacon Virtual Storage Bottle that stores huge volumes of digital images, and allows the user to select pictures and videos according to anniversaries and emotions. This super designed virtual glass canister is equipped with a projector, allowing the user to display their memories in a time efficient, organized manner.

If you think Kotohana and Flaccon sound cool, check out the Wacca Visual Memory in a Bracelet. Wacca enables users to wear their memories like watches or bracelets. The process of viewing the captured images works like this: users look into "the landscape through an opening, this bracelet will capture visual images in the angles adapting to the distance from the viewers' faces through distance sensors installed in the device. Furthermore, users can browse through the visual images on its viewer and also display them just like a picture frame." Sounds pretty cool - now all we have to do is wait for these products to be launched.

Ambient mood lights change physical environments into emotional experiences using sound, color, movement, and light. Their goal is to make the world calmer by communicating information in a pretty and serene way. The plan for Ambient started from the tremendous and never ending information we're constantly bombarded with that ultimately leads to stress and a feeling of never getting to relax. Ambient realizes that everyone has different needs when it comes to the information they care about the most. For example, some people want to know how their stocks are doing, others need to stay in touch with an aging or ill family member. Some are more concerned with the weather for their vacation and still others are waiting for the email about the new job opportunity. Ambient believes that this kind of information should be able to be accessed with a mere glance, similar to the way we read the clock on the living room wall. The products that Ambient designs are elegant, futuristic, and usable. They engage sound, air pressure, motion, light, smell, and other media that work with out innate senses in order to communicate information.

So for those of us who think that the future is still far away, it's time to recognize that it's happening right now. Ambient is a company that makes products their customers enjoy - really enjoy - using. Ambient has managed to take everyday info like the weather and turned it into an en emotionally responsive experience that people look forward to encountering. Gotta love technology.

Most of us have problems hitting our snooze buttons in the morning. For some of us conventional alarm clocks work, and for others nothing but being flipped out of the bed will do. Gauri Nanda was a lifelong over sleeper who was chronically late to classes (and that's bad news when you're a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), she needed a more potent alarm clock and thus Clocky was born. While Clocky began as a school project, it quickly grew into a real live product thanks to tons of media attention and word of mouth advertising. Guari Nanda has since started Nanda Nanda, a company that focuses on making technology products that are fun to use and make sense for human beings.

Clocky is an alarm clock that actually hides from you if you don't wake up when you're supposed to. The second you hit the snooze button, Clocky rolls off of your nightstand and finds an obscure place to hide by bumping into object until a suitable resting place is found. The idea is that next time the alarm sounds, you'll be forced to get up and find Clocky because he won't shut up until you turn him off (think of it as a groggy hide and seek game) â€" and don't worry about settling into a routine, Clocky finds a new spot to rest everyday. Clocky was designed to be a stress and obnoxious free alarm clock designed to be amusing, and a better fit for the way humans work. In the original prototype, Clocky was made out of old school shag carpet that both kept Clocky intact when rolling off of tables and also communicated the spirit of this fun, whimsical creation. Clocky features 1) Wheels that allow movement on carpet or wood 2)an LCD standard time display 3 a Snooze Bar - Hit it once and get up before the next alarm or else Clocky will run away and 4)a Motor Off Switch that gives you the option to have Clocky stay put one morning.

Clocky is a fun, fresh alternative to the much-dreaded world of alarm clocks. By creating a product that rises above the norm, Clocky has shown that even the process of waking up can be better, more engaging, and experiential. Inventions like this remind us to always work to innovate and improve.

With all the ways that technology is making our lives easier, better, and more healthy, it's a wonder that it hasn't really changed people's homes all that much. Making groundbreaking technology work for homes, apartments, and hotels is the mission of Innovative House (IHOUSE). For the last four years Innovative House has been researching and developing smart systems that work to put today's most advanced technology to work for comfort, security, and quality of life in an easy and hassle free way that makes life more fun. Five hundred fine living apartments in Brazil have already been equipped with Innovative House's smart package in the last year.

We think Innovative House's Smart Hydro bath is one of the cooler products they offer. Innovative House promises that you've never had a bath this relaxing thanks to user-selected preferences that control a myriad of options. You can prepare the bath remotely using a cell phone or a conventional phone â€" and when your bath is ready for you, it can call you and let you know. By using exclusive software, a Pocket PC turns into a complete remote control for your Smart Hydro bath. Users can activate their bath via online that allows them to follow the selection of water level, temperature, amount of bath essence and light intensity in real time. Smart Hydro has a memory to store your favorite settings, a voice system to notify you when your bath is ready, and best of all, it's self-cleaning. A simple command from the instrument panel is all it takes to get a water/detergent solution circulating through your tub â€" and it automatically empties the tub upon completion of the cleaning. The physical design of Smart Hydro tubs is pretty neat too. They use an acrylic body that maintains shine, and side windows that enable you to view the always-clean interior. There's also an LED internal illumination system that provides mood light and ambiance, making the experience complete. Thereâ€^TMs also a Hydromassage Function that focuses on the lower back using 7 jets with customizable pressure. The Smart Tech Support system assures that whenever your tub is turned on it monitors it's own vital systems, immediately informing tech support and getting any problem solved before the owner ever even knows that they exist.

Innovative House is making home life better, more comfortable, and super high tech, and their unique innovations on common household fixtures make them a company to pay attention to. Innovative House is quickly bringing the future into our homes today, proving that technology isn't always a cold, faceless machine, but rather a tool we can use to relax and simplify our lives.

World famous camera manufacturer Leica is offering an a la carte system that lets you design your own Leica camera from the ground up. There are nine different configuration steps that take the average user about ten minutes to complete. At the end of the configuration, customers can save and/or print their order â€" either to take to a Leica dealer to place an order for manufacturing or to start a fresh configuration. The picture of the camera that you build and the price you're quoted should reflect the exact specifications of each final product. Leica offers three different surface finishes for your Leica in addition to lots of other choices â€" because of all the options it's important for each customer to take the time to view all of their options.

Whether you like black or brown, prefer traditional or more trendy, you can let your personal taste shine through. You can choose the focal length of your lens, and the magnification of your viewfinder. You also have the ability to pick out the best bright line frame set that most closely corresponds to your lens choice. You can also choose to have the camera engraved or not, to have the Leica name branded on top of your camera or not. And if you're unsure about the choices you've made, you can print out a PDF document that represent a variety of possible configurations.

Leica knows that film cameras are quickly becoming a thing of the past. There are, however still purists left who don't want to live without good old-fashioned film and darkroom chemicals. Leica a la carte has essentially created a reward for all of their loyal, film based customers by putting something totally unique and custom made in the palm of their hand.

Has technology been a cause of frustration in your home? Perhaps just when you want to begin using the home PC you find your teenage son chatting away tirelessly with no apparent end in sight. Enter Motorola IMfree, a compelling innovation that was created with situations like these in mind. IMfree builds off the idea that technology should connect individuals rather than being a cause for frustration.

So who gets freed up with this product? The answer is you, no matter who you are. The IMfree product connects wirelessly to any "base" allowing up to seven users per unit. From there, users can chat with the hand held device with up to six people. With this portable device, kids (or adults) can chat from anywhere in the houseâ€"or yardâ€" as long as they're within 150 feet of the internet-connected base station. Through IMfree, not only will your teenagers needs be met, but with the home computer in less demand, other family members can get their work done at the same time.

Sounds great right? Everyone is connected and happy, but what about parental control? IMfree is equipped with Parental controls that enable you to determine when the IMfree device can be used and which chat invitations can be accepted. Motorola recognizes the needs families have to stay connected catering specifically to those needs through a convenient, wireless technology. With IMfree, the family computer is available for the family once again and the kids don't have to miss a single LOL or OMG moment.

How could technology better enhance your life? What types of products are out there that will really make a difference? Well, whether you're trying to figure out what a digital camera is or if you're already a technological junky, the Samsung Experience showroom is the place for you. The new 10,000-square-foot Samsung Experience showroom in Manhattan has over 300 products, including next-generation gear like computers controlled by hand gestures. A recent self-proclaimed tech-savvy visitor, who upon entering the showroom, began to wonder just how knowledgeable he really was saying, "I need to digest all of this. I might be here for a while. I hope they don't mind." Not only does Samsung not mind, they're hoping visitors will come, stay, and play with all of the incredible gadgets available on the market.

Samsung has realized that this is the new face of retailing: companies like Samsung, Sony and Apple are building stores that aren't about shelves and checkout lines. Rather, they're designing them mainly to be cool places to hang out. The goal is to get shoppers to buy into the notion that using these products makes them part of a unique community; actually buying the products comes later. In fact, although it sounds weird, you can't actually buy anything at Samsung Experience. Samsung realized that anyone who is serious about buying electronics and getting the best possible deal is most likely to shop online. So, rather than try and sell on site they just set up a place where you could go and check things out and ask your questions without feeling pressured to buy. It completely eliminates all the guilt of going to Circuit City or Best Buy to scope something out but then doing a Froogle search and paying way less for it than you would have in the store. What Samsung does sell is the fascination and excitement that surrounds the technological world. People need a place where they can be wowed without worrying about having to buy something.

The Samsung Experience is about "selling the dream of using the product, not selling the product." If customers can have a positive, interactive experience with a product, then they'll be sold on its possibilities. For this reason, the Samsung exhibit acts as a gathering place where customers can catch the same dream Samsung has for technology's future. Best of all, the Samsung Experience is a "living, breathing commercial." It's set up to have "use areas," so there are several environments where you can experience Samsung products where they would be used, such as an office, bedroom, or living room. Samsung is confident that if their potential customers can just catch a glimpse of what life is like with their product they will be sold on the idea of buying it.

When customers actually experience the benefits of technology they don't need any outside salesman trying to convince them. And, if you're too far from New York, try checking out their interactive website! Samsung is getting it right, discovering the power of an experience in electronics.

Americans are always looking for a way to simplify life's basic transactions. In many cases, they want to have a great social interaction, in others; customers simply want to get what they want as unobtrusively as possible. Case-in-point: the video rental industry. The traditional rental system requires several steps for renting a movie. First, you need to get a membership, then walk through a large store searching for just the right film until finally you check out at the counter. This was the system until companies like Netflix Inc. changed the market and showed that consumers would rent movies over the Internet and have them delivered by mail. Yet, in spite of the benefits of this process, many movie renters rent spontaneously, not having the time to wait for their favorite film to make it through the mail. Enter Redbox.

Redbox is an interesting brand extension for McDonald's, adding yet another quick and easy product to their already jam-packed lineup. Redbox, based in Oak Brook, Ill., will challenge video rental stores and Netflix by making the rental process as simple and cheap as using a Coke machine. Right now, Redbox machines are stocked with the latest Hollywood releases that are updated every Tuesdayâ€"the day when movie studios issue new DVDs. Currently, Redbox machines hold only about 100 films, forcing them to stick primarily to new releases. But, with larger machines that are in the works, Redbox might set aside space for older but still-popular films making them even more attractive to everyone's needs and taste.

So here's how it works. Redbox charges a dollar a day, plus local sales tax, there's no need to fill out a registration form before renting or become a member of an exclusive club. All the user needs is a valid credit card, each renter swipes the card and picks their movie using a touch-screen video monitor that avoids the painful search process that can take hours in the video store. After selecting the film they'd like to see, the DVD emerges from a slot, packed in a simple plastic case. The experience is quick, cheap and easy, all of the things people are looking for in movie rental transactions.

The return process is just as easy as renting. Since Redbox disks can be returned at any Redbox in the United States people don't need to go back to the original location to return their movies. All of the machines are connected to Redbox headquarters through a broadband digital network, so the company always knows which movies are most popular and which machines need servicing. When returning a disk, simply slip it back into the machine and go on your way, if you're movie is late, you donâ€^TMt have to worry about forever increasing late fees. Instead, the customer is charged another dollar every day the movie is out. After 25 days and $25, the renter can keep the disc.

McDonald's launched Redbox in Denver last summer. Of the 550 Redboxes now operating, 181 are in Houston and 145 are in Minneapolis. Most are located at McDonald's restaurants, but the company is testing them in alternative locations, including drugstores and supermarkets. So far, users have rented 2.5 million movies through Redbox with about 80 percent of first-time users returning as repeat customers. About half of all renters return their movies after just one night, while only 1 percent of customers pay $25 to keep the movies.

We expect to see more and more Redbox locations popping up all over as customers catch on to the simplicity provided by the basic technological system for renting movies. Traditional stores beware, for as Redbox gains steam in the market its disruptive idea might overturn the larger, more established markets of movie renting.

Instant messaging is a growing trend that just about everyone has gotten into. In fact, it has become such a huge market that just about every big Internet company is providing a type of online communications product, which leads to several problems. First, people have too many client applications to run at one time (skype, msn, AOL, Yahoo, Google Talk, Meetro, etc…solutions like Trillian attempt to solve this). Second, if you're away from your base computer, you may not be able to access the software needed to run your Instant Messenger program. Meebo solves this by allowing you to log into AOL, ICQ, MSN and Yahoo instant messaging services from their web page making your messaging wants satiable from anywhere anytime.

Meebo is slowly starting to catch on in the tech-world with little to no advertising having been done. Word of Mouth Marketing is all this company needed because people need solutions to the Instant messaging problem. Meebo slipped in the back door, fulfilling this niche which will most likely grow incredibly in the near future. As they utilize new technology to connect people from more locations, the Meebo community will only continue to expand.

PlayStation 2 is just for kids right? It's for those who are too lazy to get out of the house to do something productive like build a tree house or learn a new sport? If this is your response, maybe you should reconsider. With PlayStation 2's new game EyeToy: Kinetic, adults will now want to compete with their kids for time in front of the screen; except in this case you'll have no worries about wasting your time. PlayStation 2 hopes to invite those who have grand intentions to get a great workout, but who have little time or money to hire a personal trainer and go to the gym every day to make their lives easier through this new game.

EyeToy: Kinetic is a highly personalized workout program in the form of a video game that's designed to improve stamina, body condition, and relaxation. Its fun, effective, and based on a holistic approach to exercise that will help you achieve your fitness goals, beat stress and boost energy, no matter what your fitness level. So whether you're looking for an intense workout, stretching exercise, or eating and relaxation tips, just jump in the game!

Here's how it works. The EyeToy USB camera is a groundbreaking conceptâ€"it sits on top of your television and registers the motion of your body, transforming it instantly to on-screen action. It's simple to set up: it plugs straight into the PlayStation 2 console and picks up your image so that you can see yourself on your TV screen, essentially making you a part of the game. As your body movement controls the game, you don't need to worry about any button bashingâ€"interaction is accomplished by moving your body.

This program provides access to an incredible array of workouts providing both the convenience of working out from your home with the benefits of a personalized program complete with a trainer and training tips. The personal trainers, who motivate you throughout your exercises, will guide you through a tailor-made 12-week training program so you can stick to your goals. The game also allows users the opportunity to incorporate a diverse set of exercise disciplines, from Martial Arts to Aerobics and Dance, with Yoga and Tai Chi sequences. There are four specific zones users can enter in order to improve in the specific area of need: the Cardio Zone, to improve cardiovascular fitness; the Combat Zone, to increase reaction, speed, physical strength and flexibility; the Toning Zone, which concentrates on all-round body conditioning and toning; and the Mind and Body Zone which promotes good posture, balance, breathing, and relaxation. Each of these zones incorporates a wide selection of motivational music to help you along.

We like this innovative concept by PlayStation 2 because of its ability to provide for the personalized needs of its users in an uncomplicated and inexpensive way, by building off of existing systems potential users might already own. This concept reveals both the educational and physical benefits the video game industry can have on the lives of its users. So if you're short on cash and time and don't want to short change your life, check out PlayStation 2's new game and join the world of "gamers."