This may sound freaking crazy, but in two years, we will be
using laptops powered by fuel cells. No, this isn’t some
web-ring/chatroom/nerd convention fantasy; it is a projected date
of delivery by the maker of the popular Satellite line of notebook
PCs ““ Toshiba.

File sharing has a new face on college campuses and other
networked environments ““ Direct Connect. Due to selective
pressure from lawyers representing the entertainment industry, file
sharing programs have continually improved and become more
efficient to avoid legal problems.

My birthday is coming up, and I’m going to have a few
hundred dollars to blow on something, so I figure I’ll blow
it on video games since I’ve been out of the loop for about a
year now.

Sometimes I wonder how there could possibly be so many jobs for
lawyers “¦ but then I start researching my next column and all
I can find is lawsuits.

O ver in Japan where not everyone has Internet access, cell
phones take on such desktop duties as e-mailing and even Web
browsing. The same is true in Europe, where the wireless network
has replaced traditional landlines.

Microsoft and its domineering copy protection ways strike once
again.
A few months ago I wrote about the new Media Center version of
Windows XP, a bit of technology that makes video recording,
audio/video playback, and picture viewing much more plausible in a
home theater setting.

Last weekend was the Consumer Electronics Show 2003, the annual
show where companies reveal their plans for the year as well as
some of the strangest prototypes imaginable.

Many of us at UCLA spend a lot of time in Starbucks drinking
coffee or tea and talking. There’s also the occasional
guy/girl with his/her Mac or ultra portable computer sitting beside
his/her nonfat grande latte.

It’s sad but true ““ MP3 players have amounted to
piles of steaming dung for the four years they’ve seen the
light of day. OK, Mac users have had the iPod for about a year, but
let’s be honest, how many people own a Mac?

The future looks blue. And I’m very excited about it. By
simply changing the color of a laser, the consumer electronics
industry will finally have the next generation’s answer to
VHS.