SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — 25 July 2005 — The first no-compromises QWERTY is here: the new Q from Motorola. Smart powerful and devastatingly good-looking the Moto Q is the ultimate power player.The world’s thinnest lightest QWERTY phone is a seamless fusion of QWERTY and phone — delivering a fully-loaded package of email, voice, and entertainment in one amazingly rich but thin device. Like its cousin the RAZR the Q’s superior voice quality makes it a stand out from the competition.

Boasting flexible mobile email featuring Microsoft’s Windows Mobile software, advanced cellular phone technology, rich multimedia capabilities and an easy-to-use one-handed navigation thumbwheel, the Moto Q is unique. An all-in-one handheld designed to deliver true seamless connectivity, the Q will help mobile professionals improve productivity through the power of seamless mobility.

“Wickedly cool – when’s the last time you heard those words used to describe a QWERTY device?” said Ron Garriques, president mobile devices business, Motorola. “Probably never. At least until now. With the Moto Q, we’ve combined the best voice, data and design technology in one ultra-thin, intelligent, hard-working, and incredibly must-have device. Today’s office space has the potential to be any place you want it to be with Q.”

Truly Flexible Email

The uber-intelligent Q leverages Microsoft’s familiar and trusted Windows Mobile software and is one of the first devices to operate on the latest release, Windows Mobile 5.0. Motorola Q delivers scalable and cost-effective mobile messaging support out of the box with Exchange 2003, and is also optimized for a variety of third party email solutions that enable an even broader set of corporate email capabilities. This provides a cost-effective alternative for businesses looking to leverage their existing infrastructure, training and support systems, while reducing the need for additional IT investment.

RAZR-Sharp Looks & Entertainment

Fifty percent thinner than its top competitors, the lightweight Q features Motorola’s renown RAZR-thin design including electro-luminescent keys and a compact “antenna-inside” shape. Moto Q also hosts a large, vibrant, color screen, ‘Net surfing capabilities, a 1.3 mega pixel camera with flash to help you take advantage of any downtime with fun, entertainment options. No need to grab another device on the weekend when you can leverage digital video and audio capabilities, along with cool new Bluetooth®-enabled accessories like RAZRWIRE eyewear, to balance work and play.

Best Phone Experience

But great email and good looks aren’t enough. True productivity demands superior voice quality too — something not always found in QWERTY devices. Leveraging Motorola’s expertise in RF technology, the new Moto Q delivers the best phone experience you can get on a QWERTY. Featuring a high-quality speakerphone perfect for conference calls, voice-activated dialing, and Bluetooth functionality the Q enables hands-free multi-tasking for today’s busy work environment.

Pricing and Availability

The Moto Q is expected to be available in Q1 2006. For additional details regarding pricing and availability, please contact your local Motorola representative.

About Motorola

Motorola (NYSE:MOT) is a Fortune 100 global communications leader that provides seamless mobility products and solutions across broadband, embedded systems and wireless networks. In your home, auto, workplace and all spaces in between, seamless mobility means you can reach the people, things and information you need, anywhere, anytime. Seamless mobility harnesses the power of technology convergence and enables smarter, faster, cost-effective and flexible communication. Motorola had sales of US $31.3 billion in 2004. For more information: www.motorola.com.

Congrats to Marco for being quick with his email. He has won a free copy of riteMail. With riteMail, you can take handwritten notes on your iPaq Pocket PC or desktop to be emailed over wireless and wireline connections, as well as fully edit, recognize, store and print them from a PC. No other electronic ink application offers unified note-taking with smoother lines, automatic shape correction and calligraphy pens in so many colors! So how do you win your own copy of riteMail? It’s simple — just visit us daily, and when you see the site turn purple, take a screenshot and send me an email. The first one who gets an email to me WINS a copy of riteMail. Make sure you visit us daily since you never know when the site will turn purple. Also in order to win you MUST be registered within our discussion forum and also your membership must reflect you were registered before you spotted the site turn purple. Winner does not have to live in the Continental USA. Winner must first send email with Name, Address, Telephone number, selected winner will be confirmed via phone or email. In the case that the first person cannot be verified, the next person in chronological order would win. Contest ends April 30, 2003

Well the site went purple at 7:50PM EST and Bob from Eureka Missouri saw it. Bob won a copy of riteMail and also a leather Vaja case with a combined value over $100. With riteMail, you can take handwritten notes on your iPaq Pocket PC or desktop to be emailed over wireless and wireline connections, as well as fully edit, recognize, store and print them from a PC. No other electronic ink application offers unified note-taking with smoother lines, automatic shape correction and calligraphy pens in so many colors! So how do you win your own copy of riteMail? It’s simple — just visit us daily, and when you see the site turn purple, take a screenshot and send me an email. The first one who gets an email to me WINS a copy of riteMail. Make sure you visit us daily since you never know when the site will turn purple. Also in order to win you MUST be registered within our discussion forum and also your membership must reflect you were registered before you spotted the site turn purple. Winner does not have to live in the Continental USA. Winner must first send email with Name, Address, Telephone number, selected winner will be confirmed via phone or email. In the case that the first person cannot be verified, the next person in chronological order would win. Contest ends April 30, 2003.

Timothy from Slashdot posted this interesting article that I thought you might be interested in. I would love to see this initiated everywhere. Quote Talaria writes “The Institute for Spam and Internet Public Policy is reporting that two new laws in Utah and Michigan are going into effect next week, creating ‘do not email’ registries for children’s email addresses. According to ISIPP, ‘Email marketers who send unpermitted messages to email addresses or domains on the child protection registries in Michigan and Utah face stiff penalties including prison and fines.'” (Note that ISIPP has a vested interest in publicizing these laws, since they offer a service intended to establish that senders are in fact within the law.) You can see Tim’s post HERE.

LANSING, Mich. –(Business Wire)– Sept. 1, 2004 SBC FreedomLink Wi-Fi Service to be Made Available at 10 Michigan State-Owned Parks, Docks, Rest Areas and Welcome Centers.

Bug spray, snacks, bottled water, swimsuits–and now, Wi-Fi-enabled laptop computers and iPAQs can be added to the list of items for Michigan vacationers – and just in time for Labor Day weekend. The State of Michigan and SBC Communications Inc. announced that wireless Internet access is now available at Holland State Park and Grand Haven State Park, the first two parks in the nation to provide this service at state campgrounds. The state’s new MiWiFi project will bring SBC FreedomLink Wi-Fi service to a total of ten state parks, docks, rest areas and welcome centers to benefit Michigan residents and travelers.

MiWiFi, powered by SBC FreedomLink Wi-Fi service, will be piloted at Ludington State Park, Mackinac Island State Dock, New Buffalo Welcome Center, Coldwater Welcome Center and Clarkston Rest Area by October. The service will be available at Charles Mears State Park, Sterling State Park and East Tawas State Dock when those locations reopen in April 2005.

FreedomLink enables travelers to use laptop computers and personal digital assistants to wirelessly connect to the Internet and corporate networks at speeds 50 to 100 times faster than a dial-up connection. Customers can gain access to a FreedomLink hot spot when they are within approximately a 150-foot range of its location.

“We are thrilled to make Michigan the first state to offer Wi-Fi Internet access at popular recreational areas like state campgrounds, providing more convenience and enjoyment for travelers and visitors to our great state,” said Governor Jennifer Granholm. “Working together with SBC companies, the State of Michigan is again showing why we are ranked number one in the nation when it comes to digital government.”

“We are delighted to provide FreedomLink Wi-Fi access at Michigan’s top recreational facilities where travelers can enjoy the convenience of high-speed Internet access in remote areas,” added Gail Torreano, president, SBC Michigan. “Travelers will benefit from using our affordable and reliable Wi-Fi service throughout Michigan and at more than 2,300 other locations nationwide.”

FreedomLink service at the Michigan recreational areas will be available for only $7.95 for a 24-hour session. Monthly SBC FreedomLink memberships are available for $19.95, with a one-year term commitment, and provide unlimited access to all FreedomLink hot spots. Travelers and vacationers will have free access to Michigan.gov, the state’s top-rated Web site. Free access is also planned for Michigan.org sometime next year.

Teri Takai, Director of Michigan’s Department of Information Technology, made the announcement on Wednesday during a presentation at the Holland State Park. “MiWiFi is a shining example of how strong partnership and collaboration can bring great benefits to our citizens,” commented Takai. “This would not have been possible without our strong relationship with the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Transportation, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and through our great collaboration with SBC companies.”

“We are consistently evaluating the feedback at our state parks in order to provide vacationers with the best possible experience,” added Rebecca Humphries, Director of the Department of Natural Resources. “This new service appeals to a certain segment of our population, making their trip to our parks even more convenient. We want everyone to enjoy their experience and learn why Michigan’s state parks are among the best and most beautiful in the country.”

The FreedomLink service is part of an integrated effort to meet customer demand for a comparable broadband experience in the home, office or on the road. To meet this goal, SBC companies plan to make available more than 20,000 Wi-Fi hot spots to FreedomLink customers by the end of 2006 and work with Cingular Wireless to utilize Wi-Fi and Cingular’s wireless network to deliver unprecedented coverage.

FreedomLink(SM) wireless connection to the Internet provided by SBC Internet Services. SBC, the SBC logo, FREEDOMLINK(SM) and the FREEDOMLINK(SM) logo are trademarks or service marks of SBC Knowledge Ventures, L.P.(C) 2004 SBC Knowledge Ventures, L.P. All rights reserved.

SBC Communications Inc. is a Fortune 50 company whose subsidiaries, operating under the SBC brand, provide a full range of voice, data, networking, e-business, directory publishing and advertising, and related services to businesses, consumers and other telecommunications providers. SBC holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which serves 25 million wireless customers. SBC companies provide high-speed DSL Internet access lines to more American consumers than any other provider and are among the nation’s leading providers of Internet services. SBC companies also now offer satellite TV service. Additional information about SBC and SBC products and services is available at http://www.sbc.com.

SBC Communications Inc.

Larry Meyer, 210-352-6959

lmeyer@sbcnews.us

State of Michigan

Kurt Weiss, 517-335-0050

weissk1@michigan.gov

OWINGS MILLS, Md. –(Business Wire)– July 13, 2004 The Peabody, Massachusetts Police Department is realizing the incredible potential of having officers equipped with wireless handheld devices to help fight crime. Outfitted with Aether’s PocketBlue(TM) handheld solution Peabody detectives and officers performing duties outside their squad cars can now access criminal information quickly and securely -increasing officer effectiveness and safety.

Case in point -Peabody detectives recently received a call concerning a disturbance at a local hotel. On arrival, the detectives discovered 22 gang members in a room, including minors, as well as a firearm and alcohol. Historically a situation such as this would take an hour or longer just to call in names or licenses for criminal history checks. Rather than march all 22 individuals down to the patrol car to perform the checks, or have them wait in the room with another officer while all the license and names were run, the detective used Aether’s wireless handheld solution to quickly enter individual names with results from criminal history databases coming back in seconds. Not only was this approach faster, but it eliminated the hassle of calling in each person’s identification over the radio, preventing the public, including other gang members, from eavesdropping with handheld scanners. As a result, the situation was far more contained, controlled and safe.

Additionally, thanks to PocketBlue, the detective was able to determine that one of the 22 was a juvenile previously reported missing by the Department of Social Services and that a firearm located in the room was unregistered resulting in an arrest made for an illegal possession of a firearm.

“Prior to deploying PocketBlue, detectives had to use the radio to call in criminal checks because they typically didn’t have access to the laptop outside their patrol cars. And since gangs and drug dealers often use radio scanners to track police activity, it can put our guys at risk,” said Detective Scott Richards of the Peabody Police Department. “Now, using PocketBlue, detectives can quickly access criminal information and send silent messages over a secure system without worrying about criminals knowing where they are and what they are doing.”

“Empowering field detectives and officers with the tools they need to make the community safer, as well as keep themselves safe, is what our company is all about,” said Mike Mancuso, President of Aether System’s Mobile Government Division. “If this turned out to be a case of kids just being rowdy, a community would not want all of their officers called to the scene. The fact that it turned out to be something more and was quickly and efficiently handled contributed to everyone’s safety.”

PocketBlue is an extension of Aether’s suite of mobile law enforcement products, which includes Aether’s flagship laptop product, PacketCluster Patrol. PocketBlue is the first handheld application that gives law enforcement a fully integrated mobile data system — providing criminal database queries, alarm capabilities, and text messaging for all connected mobile users. PocketBlue allows law enforcement professionals to check the status of vehicles, persons, boats, articles and guns without burdening a dispatcher, so they can stay focused on priority calls.

About Aether Systems Inc.

Aether Systems provides wireless and mobile data solutions that increase efficiency and productivity for the Transportation, Fleet Management, and Public Safety markets. Aether’s transportation and fleet management solutions, in use by over 600 fleets, include the industry-leading MobileMax(TM) multi-mode system. MobileMax automatically switches between land-based and satellite communications to ensure complete coverage and cost-effective communications. Aether’s public safety solutions help hundreds of Police and Fire departments in North America leverage the power of wireless for improved service to the public. The PacketCluster family of products provides officers in the field with empowering applications including direct access to motor vehicle and warrant information within seconds, and paperless reporting systems. For more information, please visit http://www.aethersystems.com

Aether Systems

Julie Garand, 508-460-4036

jgarand@aethersystems.com

How often do you go to your closet to get a pair of pants and as you look at the vast array hanging there, more often than not, you pick the same pair? Why is that? Comfort — that’s why! You have purchased a variety of pants for a variety of occasions but when it comes to wearing a pair just to relax — it’s always the same pair.

Wouldn’t you like to have a pair of pants that fit almost all occasions? And yet, be that same pair you pick when you just want to relax? Now you can — and with this pair of pants, you won’t want to wear anything else.

For years, all of us have been wearing “sweats” when we want to relax. The sheer comfort, flexibility or “stretch” of the material, that comfortable feeling we get when we wear them is probably why we would always end up slipping these on when we were at home. And yes, we would on occasion, wear them out to get the Sunday paper or pick up that pizza but rarely, if ever, would we wear them to go to the movies.

Certainly, you would never wear them out to that favorite restaurant … it just wasn’t right. So you would change pants, go out to dinner, loosen your belt, drive home and put back on that favorite pair of pants again!

NO MORE! No more games, no more having to having to say: “I need to change…ahh, let’s eat in tonight.” With these pants, you will feel comfortable not only wearing them but wearing them where ever you go — That’s right, WHEREVER YOU GO!

Plustek’s Take-Anywhere OpticSlim M12 Mobile Scanner

With all that we do in this era of electronics, we have come to discover that portability of our electronic devices is most important. At least that is the case for me and with a new era of my life that I have just begun, I have found that it is extremely important for me to be able to pick up and go when I want but when I go, I want all my “stuff” with me.

I love my iPAQs and use them daily. More often than not, I take my 4700, my Think Outside Keyboard and Mouse and I am off. Usually I can do what I need to do with just those three items but when I really go away, I need more. Yeah, like most of you, being away from my computer for any length of time is hard to do. I have always had a laptop and I used to take it everywhere. I was so happy when I got my first iPAQ because I didn’t need load myself down with all my equipment. I was able to do most things that I needed to do so I was happy.

Now I am finding myself doing an immense amount of traveling and being without my “stuff” for any length of time is hard to do. I am constantly finding things that I need to enter into my files and frankly, my iPAQ doesn’t always fit the bill. I need a laptop and I need the extras that we use daily or weekly or even monthly. For me, the basic survival kit for the road is a laptop, a wireless mouse, an external drive, a scanner and on occasion, a portable printer as well as a couple of my iPAQs and camera.

Of course size is everything when you’re traveling and when I think of what I used to carry and its sheer bulk I am amazed that I ever went anywhere. Fortunately for us, vendors are making our electronics smaller and smaller and better and better so travel has become a bit easier. Years ago I bought my first scanner. It was BIG and BULKY but it did a great job. Of course you could never take it anywhere because it was too heavy and would occupy too much space. I really liked it and used it all the time to copy pictures and to do a little OCR work. About five years ago I bought a second scanner…it was time because my old reliable was starting to find its way to “scanner heaven”. This new scanner was only an inch thick and could scan a full page document. Great quality, excellent software and it was portable (so to speak). It was very thin and light weight and of course I could slip it into one side of my brief case easily.

But the days of the brief case are gone for me so I needed an even better solution for portability. I needed a scanner that was even smaller but one that had the same or better quality than I was used to. Finding the right scanner was going to be a difficult task, or so I thought. Some months back, I stumbled upon a news item about a product that Plustek was introducing. It was their Take-Anywhere Mobile Scanner. I like the item so much and the initial specs that I posted a news item that did very well with our readers. So much so that I decided to take another look at it just to see if it would “fit the bill” for my travel needs. Well folks, it did! This scanner is just incredible! It is extremely portable, very light weight and is a terrific work horse! So how is the quality you say? For OCR work, it is better than I have ever had before and for pictures, it provides me with the ability to make great copies of photos while on the road.

Claudius needs help! He is on a mythical island called Pixelus, and he needs to navigate a variety of temples recreating the beautiful mosaic floors by replacing missing tiles. There are an increasing number of mosaic puzzles which Claudius must complete to please the gods and escape the island.

So the question is:

DO YOU WANT TO HELP CLAUDIUS?

And the answer is:

YES YOU DO!

This is a terrific game where you have to slide tiles into missing spots where tiles used to lay. It looks easy — but it definitely takes some thought. Just as you think you get the “hang” of it, a puzzle comes up that really challenges your logical thought process — I like that and have found it to be quite addicting!

It was an easy download, a quick install and I was up and ready to play.

But how do I do that? Simple!

There was a great tutorial on how to solve the puzzles — it gave me a good start. On occasion, if you get really stuck, you can ask for a hint to get one (or all) of the moves to keep you going. Essentially, you just need to slide a tile onto the missing spaces where tiles were once laid. It sounds simple but there are places that you need to build a backup to stop a tile from sliding beyond where you want it to be. After you get the tile placed, you need to remove those that you used because there are other tiles that need to be placed and you have JUST THE RIGHT NUMBER AVAILABLE. When a puzzle is solved, it displays the completed mosaic in full color.

So were there any puzzles I took a “peek” at their solution? Yep!! — and I’m glad they were there because it really gave a good insight into how to solve them. Now I won’t look — I’m stubborn! Of course the last puzzle I solved took 192 moves, but it was worth it because I did it! So now I’m of to make it in a significantly quicker time and seriously fewer moves!

When you complete a puzzle, you will get a Bronze, Silver or Gold star. You can choose to go on but if your like me, you go back and do it over and over to get the best time and the fewest moves. It is here that your frustration level increases and the adrenline starts to pump — GOLD — the only way to go!!

There are over 200 puzzles to solve and I have been impressed with the detailed graphics as well as some pretty neat music. I haven’t even come close to completing them, but they are good, it is fun and I believe that this will definitely be one of YOUR favorites!

The first Smart Personal Objects Technology (or SPOT) Watches, that I saw two years ago were bulky and just not appealing for users. The face and body design were much heavier than their digital counterparts and they sometimes required a lot of charges depending on how many times you accessed channels. What’s more, there was a limited amount of choice that you had with the channels, as these first generation devices shipped with personal messages, calendar updates, and customizable content in the news, sports, weather and financial arenas. The latest versions of Smart Watches from Fossil are more visually appealing devices that have been completely redesigned to accommodate these shortcomings, which definitely add to the mainstream appeal of the timepiece itself as you will read in this review

The first thing that you’ll have to do upon opening the box is charge the watch by placing it on the charging cradle for four hours. This is crucial not only to replenish the battery but to establish the wireless connection the watch uses to update its information, such as synchronizing displayed time with an atomic clock. Using an antenna embedded within the watch band (located in the clasp), the Smart Watch receives updates via a wireless network based on FM radio signals. This means that you may wind up running into the same signal issues that you might have with a stereo (weaker or stronger depending on building material, natural topography, etc), but you’ll essentially be connected to the network wherever you go. Fossil has done a fabulous job with the overall engineering of this watch and makes a great business casual watch to wear day in and out.

Connecting to MSN Direct provides you with access to continually updated national news and weather channels, along with a calendar (options included with the watch right out of the box). Any one of these features can be accessed at the press of a button, with what’s called the Glance feature. MSN Direct has just recently offered a limited version which costs the end user nother. However, to take advantage of the watch’s full capabilities, MSN Direct offers the Smart Plan. For 39.95 a year, you’ll gain access to eleven separate categories of information. Along with your calendar, weather and news, you’ll be able to track stock quotes, find movie listings at nearby theaters, or get sport scores, track horoscopes, find winning lottery numbers, read daily trivia or download new digital watch faces.

All of the above items are easily configurable via a simple web based interface, and it’s easy to add or remove sections at will thanks to pull down menu screens. What’s more, any changes you make are beamed out to your watch in a matter of minutes. I also thought adding the option to receive personal messaging via MSN Messenger as well as calendar updates via Outlook for twenty dollars more a month was a good choice. This feature was quite easy to add since it was a 2 meg download with an outlook plugin. Users will notice that any changes within the week will be sent wirelessly to the watch.