Microsoft

You may remember a product from the now defunct Digital Convergence Corp. called CueCat from about ten years ago. It consisted of a cat-shaped bar code scanner and some software that would link the scanned bar code (called a cue) to digital content. The idea was that eventually any kind of printed material could have a cue in it and be linked to a web page. It was highly criticized and even named #1 worst invention of the 2000s by Gizmodo, and eventually the company went out of business. Obviously there is value to what they started though - consider the bar code scanning apps available for smart phones today. And now Microsoft is reviving the whole 'cue' idea with a new product called Microsoft Tag.

Microsoft Tag works like any bar code reader in that you take a picture of the tag with your phone's camera and then the software connects you to the appropriate content. Microsoft has its own tags though. Project marketing leader Marja Koopmans likens the tag to a "hyperlink in the physical world." Advertisers can put tags on anything they want, not just the products themselves. You could have tags

As the rivalry heats up between Apple and Google, Apple has entered talks with Microsoft to replace Google with Bing as the iPhone's default search engine. With Google CEO Eric Schmidt on Apple's board the two companies have partnered in the past, but he is no longer on the board and there is now direct competition between the two giants.

Google's introduction of the Android OS was the first sign that a serious rivalry was in the making. Now Google has introduced the Nexus One, a mobile device that will directly compete with the iPhone in the smart phone market. Apple has pushed back by getting involved in ad placement on its mobile devices, which is Google ad-serving territory. Apple has also recently refused to approve two Google apps

Microsoft today unveiled its new Explorer and Explorer Mini Mouse, both of which employ Blue Track technology, thereby ending the reign of the laser mice. Blue Track technology will allow owners to use their mice on a variety of surfaces that laser mice can't handle. According to Mark DePue, platforms engineering manager at Microsoft and co-inventor of BlueTrack Technology, "Research shows that people aren’t sitting at a desk all day, but they’ve gone mobile. In fact, 72 percent of PCs sold are notebook PCs, and consumers need a mouse that can go with them anywhere." Blue Track is the solution.

The first optical mouse debuted in 1999, rendering the trackball mice obsolete. It was able to perform on a variety of surfaces that trackballs simply couldn't handle. In 2005 the laser mouse replaced the optical mouse and was even more versatile. Now the Blue Track mouse will replace the laser mouse. Microsoft's proprietary tracking technology uses a large, blue beam and specular optics architecture

Google today proposed to the FCC an enhanced system that would allow the portion of the spectrum between analog broadcast channels to be used without interference. This so called "white space" has been left unused out of worries over interference with adjacent television channels and wireless microphones. Google proposes a new system that will "eliminate any remaining legitimate concerns about the merits of using the white space for unlicensed personal/portable devices."

Less than two weeks ago Bill Gates also urged communications regulators to free up white space for broadband use. Google and Microsoft are part of a coalition that has been lobbying the FCC to allow

Competition is heating up among companies in the speech recognition arena, and those not yet involved want in on the action, which can only be good news for the consumer. Though speech recognition has been available for personal computers since 2001, Bill Meisel, editor of Speech Strategy news, believes speech recognition "is on the cusp of a curve" in the cell phone and other markets. This is due to the competition among a plethora of companies, from startups to well established corporations.

Vlingo is one such company. Last year, Vlingo introduced a small Java application that allows you to dictate texts to your mobile device rather than thumbing them out. Unlike older speech recognition systems that confined you to a set amount of phrases, Vlingo lets you speak naturally and will adapt to