The number of Americans with large video files stored on their PCs rose from 8 percent last year to 13 percent in March 2005, according to a survey conducted by market research firm NPD Group. Of the 13 percent who had a 150MB video file on their computers -- about the size of a half-hour TV show -- each additionally had an average of 15 such files on their PCs. "What will trouble many, especially in the film and video industry, is that some consumer collections include material that is clearly pirated," said NPD analyst Russ Crupnick. "In March, we noted several dozen full-length theatrical films on computers well before their expected DVD release date, including Ocean's Twelve, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Million Dollar Baby, The Aviator, The Ring Two, and Team America World Police." NPD plans to launch an ongoing PC survey of 40,000 panelist volunteers called MovieWatch Digital in the fourth quarter of 2005, which will monitor consumer interaction with digital video files.
Ultra-Wideband (UWB) is quietly becoming one of the most strategic short-range wireless technologies in the market, moving from niche deployments into the mainstream of smartphones, cars, and smart spaces. As the ecosystem matures and next-generation implementations arrive, UWB is shifting from nice-to-have to a foundational capability for secure access, sensing, and high-performance device-to-device connectivity. UWB Technology Market Development Unlike Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, or legacy IEEE 802.15.4 implementations, UWB combines three powerful attributes in a single radio: secure ranging, radar-like sensing, and low-latency, high-throughput short-range data. This allows networking and IT vendors to architect experiences that blend precise location, context awareness, and rich interaction in ways traditional connectivity stacks cannot easily match. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, UWB is expected to be one of the fastest-growing wireless connectivity...