Screening Calls
To date, North Americans have had only spotty access to data transmissions over their cell phones. But once US cellular services start supporting data - using the widespread CDMA standard - everyone will want a hybrid smartphone like Innovative Global Solution's NeoPoint 1000. The $300 überphone is about the size of a conventional cell, but it can synch with your desktop's personal-information manager, and display contacts and Web pages on its 11-line screen. The phone also uses Tegic Communications' T9 software to let you write emails on a phone keypad.
OK, you may not get the full browser experience, and you certainly aren't going to compose the Gettysburg Address while on the go. However, the NeoPoint 1000 is going to considerably lighten your load, built as it is for road warriors and those craving a whole lot less heft on their belts. Man, I can't wait.
Release: June. Innovative Global Solution: +1 (619) 458 2800, www.igsolution.com.
Smells Like Teen Commerce
When I was 15, I resented not being able to drive, vote, or drink. Not that those things were at the top of my list - it was just the idea. If I were 15 now, I'd complain that being too young for a credit card keeps me from shopping online.
But a San Francisco start-up named Doughnet aims to offer Net shopping to teens everywhere - and crack open a lucrative ecommerce market. The idea is this: Parents visit the Doughnet site and set up spending accounts for their offspring, who are then free to shop at participating online vendors. No special software is needed, just a browser. The vendors make a few server tweaks that let them automatically draw from teens' accounts, and Doughnet earns a percentage of the sales.
When you shop through the service, a frame atop the browser window tells you purchases will be deducted from your account; otherwise, you experience the same sites everybody else does. Back at doughnet.com, you can view your balance, play stock-market games, or help out charities.
Unfortunately, parents get to monitor and control their kids' shopping, including how much is spent at a particular store and how much goes into savings or charities. This would definitely bug me, but I'd be jazzed about buying parent-annoying stuff from barnesandnoble.com and Music Boulevard.
If you are a parent, the pitch goes something like this: Your kids will learn early on to manage money responsibly, and thus will be less likely to plunge into credit card debt after leaving the nest. The hole in Doughnet's logic? Your ungrateful wretches will probably drain their accounts quick-like and then nag you mercilessly for more. At least you won't have to pick them up at the mall.
Release: June. Doughnet: www.doughnet.com.
Double-Timer
Unless you've got spare computers at your disposal, the only way to run Windows 95, NT, and Linux is to partition a hard drive and multiboot. It's a pain: Every time you switch operating systems, you've got to reach for the reset switch.
With the VMware Virtual Platform you now can run two or more OSes simultaneously on your desktop. Since they're running concurrently, you can even cut and paste files between compatible systems. If you're running Linux and get an MS Word attachment, for instance, just hit a hot key and open the file in Win95. Or toggle between two versions of Windows - reserving one as a testbed for risky business like editing the system registry.
Installing the $299 software on Linux and Windows NT machines is simple. And performance rocks: You'll hardly notice that you're powering two (virtual) machines at once.
Release: May. VMware: +1 (650) 856 3300.
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