By Staff and wire reports
Published February 9, 2004
Has the print on your computer screen gotten too small? Is that auto-alert you've set up too faint? Can't find your cursor?
Hey there, Microsoft says, maybe it's not the technology troubling you, but the inevitable signs of aging.
Microsoft has begun a marketing campaign aimed at workers the software company says "may be entering the "awkward age of computing.' "
The technology it's touting, such as text magnification, speech recognition and filter keys, already exists in Microsoft products and was developed mainly for disabled users. But with the U.S. work force getting older, Microsoft figures more people are finding their computer has become "awkward."
The technology behemoth has set up a Web site (www.microsoft.com/enable/aging/) and hopes to attract baby boomers and their employers with tips, studies and cartoons that poke fun at getting old. The target audience is workers over age 40 - a group that includes Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who will turn 50 next year.
"Whether it's rock 'n' roll or hot tubs, or now face lifts and Viagra, the boomers have had a strong impact on changing our culture, and so we do believe that they will change the culture as they move later in life," said Madelyn Bryant McIntire, director of the Accessible Technology Group at Microsoft.
Matt Rosoff, an analyst with the independent research company Directions on Microsoft, said the campaign is also a good way for the company to try to get more use out of products it's already spent money developing.
Other software companies, such as ScanSoft and DataHand, also offer products aimed at making computers more accessible. But in general, there aren't many companies focusing on computing and the aging work force yet, said Jim Emerman, chief operating officer of the American Society on Aging in San Francisco.
Older users, he said, "might not be the ones playing the video games and using the instant messenger, but they can't be left out of the loop when it comes to technology because their work life depends on it."
New batteries pack power in a smaller shape
Batteries do more than run portable electronic devices; they influence the form of the devices they power, because designers must make room for them in digital cameras, music players and other products.
A new line of batteries from Duracell is intended to help ever-shrinking digital devices become even smaller.
The new batteries look like smaller, flattened versions of 1.5-volt AAs and 3-volt Ds.
"Device designs are growing smaller and smaller by the day," said Jim O'Donnell, vice president for new products at Duracell.
The CP1 lithium prismatic battery is a rectangular disposable battery less than a quarter-inch thick that will cost $8 to $12 when it is released in March. The LP1, an alkaline prismatic battery that resembles a thick stick of chewing gum, will cost $5 a pair when it reaches stores this summer or early fall.
The first products to use prismatic batteries include the Atrac CD Walkman Player from Sony, the iRiver SlimX 550 digital audio player and the Nikon Coolpix 3700 digital camera. One benefit of the batteries' flat profile: They won't roll away when you drop them.
Souped-up Tamagotchi digital pets return
Japan's popular digital pet from the 1990s is coming back. And this time Tamagotchi will be able to date, fall in love and even have babies.
Launched in 1996 but discontinued in 1998, Tamagotchi was an egg-shape, pocket-size gadget with a cartoon pet that appeared on a screen. Owners reared it by punching buttons that would feed the creature, play games with it or groom it. In time, the pet "grew" from an infant into a virtual adulthood, and better players could make it live longer.
The new, souped-up Tamagotchi Plus goes on sale in Japan on March 20 for $19, and will be introduced overseas this summer.
It will be able to communicate with other digital pets through infrared signals, and owners can have them compete in eating contests or give flowers and other presents. Tamagotchi Plus is programmed to cultivate intimacy, moving from friendship to love to marriage. In some cases, a child pops up on the displays.
Masashi Umeda, a spokesman for Bandai Co., the Japanese toymaker that produces Tamagotchi, acknowledged that matching the device's initial popularity will be a challenge. Forty-million Tamagotchis were sold worldwide.
Gadget colors brighten as economy heats up
Shopping for a new cell phone or computer?
Shades of silver, chrome and black still dominate the shelves, but get ready for more gadgets in bright blue, orange, gold and yellow - colors consumers are clamoring for as the economy improves.
At least that's the assessment of color design experts including some at PPG Industries Inc. who recently unveiled what they expect to be the hottest shades and textures for new products.
"We're starting to see more color," said Kathy Willis, global color stylist, industrial coatings for the paint, glass and chemical giant. "People are starting to tire of silver as the economy picks up."
So don't be surprised if that portable DVD player or liquid-crystal display TV you're eyeing comes in a shade called "burnt orange," Willis said.
Consumers who feel more positive about spending are more willing to indulge in bolder colors, especially for cutting-edge tech products such as handheld organizers, laptop computers and cell phones.
"We see a lot happening with yellows, blues and greens that are yellowed," said Allen Ferrell, a colors and trends manager for a Colorado outdoor furnishings and equipment company. Ferrell also is president of Color Marketing Group, a national association that makes annual color forecasts.
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