Want a Wearable PC for Christmas? (MSNBC, July 26th)
Hitachi has teamed up with wearable-technology specialist Xybernaut to produce a consumer line of wearable PCs that it hopes to have in stores throughout the US by December.

A Standard for E-Comments (MSNBC, July 19th)
Annotea is a new technology that will allow users to annote web documents with comments of their own. The proposed standard is part of the Semantic Web Project devised by the W3C that hopes to improve the process of indexing and retrieving electronic data over the web.

Experts: iTV Players Need to Tackle Privacy Issue Now (internet.com, July 17th)
Even in its seminal stages of development, iTV rose the eyebrows of privacy advocates. Now, industry watchers are making it clear than playres in the iTV scene will need to address this issue, and outline exactly how user data will be gathered and used, before a widescale rollout of the technology - or suffer the same scrutiny (read: black eyes) as online marketers.

The Case for Web Services (Developer.com, July 16th)
The internet has already led to a rapid evolution in the way people communicate with one another. One aspect of the efficiencies offered by a pervasive, distributed worldwide network has largely been undervalued thus far - that being improved computer-to-computer communication. In order to facilitate this successfully, open standards and systems must be adopted.

IBM Releases AI-Equipped Help Software (CNET News.com, July 13th)
Artificially intelligent agents have taken a huge leap forward into practical reality with IBM unveiling a virtual tech help desk assistant, who is able to manage 1000s of support calls simultaneously, while seamlessly performing diagnostic checks and patches throughout a network.

The Next-Generation Internet is Already Here (NewsFactor, July 12th)
Call me a geek, but there's one thing that never fails to get a chill running down my spine, and that is talk of the Internet2 project. This article notes just how far I2 has come thus far, and where the next-gen internet aims to be a few years from now.

Online Consumers Now the Average Consumer (internet.com, July 12th)
As is common to many emerging technologies, the early adoption of the internet saw a population emerge that was inconsistent with the demographics of the wider universe. Early adopters of the internet were primarily young, wealthy males. As online market research firm InsightExpress has indicated in the study described here, though, the online audience now more accurately reflects the greater American consumer population.

Yahoo! Just Keeps on Ticking (internet.com, July 10th)
In a development that would make Dick Tracy proud, Yahoo! has aligned with Timex, Motorola and SkyTel to bring instant messaging, email, stock quotes and additional info to wrist watches.

Growing Pains (NewMedia, July 10th)
Taking a broad, unfettered view of the so-called 'new economy' and its associated elements, Ralph Thompson attempt to break down the negative stereotypes that have been associated with online businesses since the much-ballyhooed dotcom collapse, and he sees that there is still strength in the industry beyond what the press generally reflects.

Groups Attack iTV As Major Privacy Threat (Advertising Age, July 9th)
A number of consumer groups are making it known that the tracking and targeting capabilities of interactive television have the capability to lead to widespread abuse of profiling and privacy invasion. Of course, the scenario outlined here is generally accepted as not economically viable, or legal, so it's highly unlikely that the 'Big Brother' version of iTV will come to be. Nevertheless, this article makes for interesting reading as a guide to what many consumers fear most about new media technologies.

Putting People First in Mobile Tech (internet.com, July 9th)
Years of innovation within the mobile tech scene have created several cutting-edge devices and systems of infrastruture, though a research group from Stanford University is drawing attention to one area that has been neglected during this process - that being the human side of mobile commerce.

The FCC's Stance on Mobile Commerce (M-Commerce Times, July 5th)
This important article provides an analysis of the US Federal Communications Commission's role in the mobile commerce market, while questioning whether it's decisions and regulatory stance taken thus far have been a help or hindrance to innovation.

High-Tech's Special Interests (Darwin Online, July 1st)
As the internet evolves to a more mature medium, the debates concerning online and tech legislation are heating up. Consumer privacy, cybersecurity, net taxation, copyright issues and the provision of Visas for foreign tech talent are all discussed here.