You know the practice of getting a free ride on other people’s open Wi-Fi access points without permission has become mainstream when it starts showing up in sitcoms. Recently I tuned into a show where characters down on their luck walked down the sidewalk holding a laptop like a divining rod. When they found an open Wi-Fi access point, they plunked down on the sidewalk and started surfing the Net to fix whatever fiasco they were in – all within the 15 minutes remaining in the episode, of course. They made it seem so light-hearted and harmless – the modern equivalent of stealing your neighbor’s newspaper.

There have been many analogies made about stealing a ride on someone’s open Wi-Fi access point. But the newspaper-theft comparison doesn’t adequately describe the risks being undertaken by the rightful owner.

“Bandwidth” is one of those words that went from “techie talk” to mainstream in a hurry. Today consumers want more of it, and you can’t open a publication without reading about it. And some companies are trying to convince consumers that their competitors do not have enough of it. Which brings us to our next myth to dispel about cable:

Stewart Schley, DST Correspondent

From the familiar iPod to the novel Slingbox, a parade of interesting new digital media devices marched its way through the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show. Most are variations on an increasingly familiar theme that industry people tend to think of (and sometimes fear) as a shift in the control over media consumption patterns away from corporations and toward individuals. Whether it’s an iPod that shuffles songs you love from a personal playlist, or a portable video player that lets you watch a recorded TV show while you’re jostling on the subway, new media gadgets represent an unmistakable, and irreversible, movement toward consumer control.

Working behind the scenes to enable these new devices is a common element that tends to be taken for granted: the presence of a high-speed, extremely reliable delivery network that is to new media what electricity is to the common household lamp.

A lot of attention to family tiers and continued debate about indecency on TV this week. Insight Communications became the latest cable company to announce a family programming tier, while DirecTV and DISH both hopped on the family tier train as well. Yesterday, Senator Ted Stevens convened another Senate Commerce Committee hearing about “Decency in Media.” As in the previous two hearings on the topic, the usual parties spoke – broadcast, cable, satellite, special interest groups such as Parents Television Council, and the venerable Jack Valenti.

Much of the discourse wasn’t new – the PTC stuck to its familiar call for a la carte, for instance -- but there were some interesting developments. Highlights:

High school student and DST correspondent Tony Brown made his first trip to the International Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas earlier this month and relayed the exciting sights in several DST posts. Here, in his concluding CES-related post, he highlights a few more hot CE devices and reveals what he sees as the secret for manufacturers and service providers racing to tap the lucrative 15-to-24 demographic: “If it doesn’t roam, it’s worthless.”

Imagine a world in which all of the electronics in your pocket are linked wirelessly in a grand share-all, play-all network. Better yet, imagine every gadget in your pocket integrated seamlessly into an intuitive and trendy yet sophisticated, powerful device. That future is upon us, on the verge of market integration.

Pat Esser
President, Cox Communications

A week after the International Consumer Electronics Show concluded, the coverage and discourse continue. One of my favorite comments likened CES to a Paris fashion show: Lots of flashy, extravagant items that won’t be hanging in any real people’s closets any time soon, if ever. True, over the coming months, the realities of economics and commerce will separate the bizarrely impractical from those products with true potential to capture consumer dollars.

One product that is clearly here, ready and real is HDTV – from small screens to the 100-inch-plus behemoths displayed in Vegas. To borrow from one of my favorite movies, when it comes to HDTV, “They built it and the content is coming.”

I always come away from CES with a fresh point of view on what the next several months and years will bring from a CE perspective. Usually, there’s a single device that stands out as the one “wow” thing. However, this year was more about trends, new participants in the CE revolution, future applications that can leverage our services and network (in the home or wherever our customers go), and some overarching themes – including portability, mobility, voice convergence and the digital home.

Stewart Schley, DST Correspondent

Ever stood at the lectern facing a room of stern faces, taken a deep breath…and realized you left your 27-slide PowerPoint presentation back at the hotel room? Then you still have only an inkling of what Yahoo Inc.’s COO, Dan Rosensweig, must have felt like at the Consumer Electronics Show when a technical gaffe halted what was supposed to be the public unveiling of a nifty new Internet-TV service.

An update to Friday's post about a DirecTV distributor's alleged misleading and fraudulent tactics: A U.S. District Court judge in California has granted Time Warner Cable a temporary restraining order against LA Activations, forcing the DirecTV dealer to cease -- at least for now -- its misleading telephone listings. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23. For more information, check out this article from The San Diego Union-Tribune.

This week, Cox Communications joined a growing number of cable companies that have announced a family friendly package of networks. In Cox’s family package, there’s an average of 40 channels, and the cost is around $32 per month. These networks carry G-rated shows, and to prevent a Janet Jackson-sized surprise, the company chose networks that don’t air a lot of live programming.

Offering a family package is new to the cable industry. With any new offering, there are some technical drawbacks. For example, with the family package cable companies have to install a device outside the home that prevents the signals from networks not included in the family package from entering the home. As a result, you can’t have expanded basic cable on one television in your home and the family package on another. The family package is on every TV in your home.

At least one reseller of DirecTV satellite service appears to be resorting to illegal tactics to defraud consumers. According to a Time Warner Cable press release, the company has filed a lawsuit against DirecTV reseller LA Activations. Appears LA Activations registered its toll-free number in Southern California under names very similar to Time Warner Cable, including “Time Warne” and “Time Warned,” and secured 411 directory listings for its number under those fake names. So, when consumers dialed directory assistance and asked for Time Warner Cable, some were given a number directing them to the DirecTV dealer. According to the press release, Time Warner Cable has “contacted DirecTV regarding this matter and anticipates their cooperation in ensuring other distributors of their service are not engaged in similar fraudulent activities.”

Lisa Pickelsimer
Director, Video Product Development, Cox Communications

Judging by the plethora of similarly themed video products at this year's CES, we in the high-tech and video entertainment business are convinced that video/voice/data convergence, entertainment and communications home networking, and mobile video are the future. I think we're largely correct in this conviction, but only to the extent that we can figure out how to capture lasting consumer interest in the products that deliver this functionality.

Stewart Schley, DST Correspondent

Easily the best line uttered at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show was overheard by my colleague, Leslie Ellis, who listened in as two friends walked away from a dazzling high-definition TV display from the big electronics company Samsung. “Dude, except for your cheese dip, that’s the best thing ever,” gushed one of the admirers.

Hard to top that one for sheer color, but a quote from one of the industry executives appearing on a CES panel was memorable for another reason. The assembled executives were busy addressing interesting new developments in downloadable media, portable devices and TV signals delivered over the Internet when one of them, Ken Morse of cable TV industry manufacturer Scientific-Atlanta, remarked that, “It’s all very exciting right now, but the penetration of those is incredibly small.”

Dallas Clement
Senior VP, Strategy & Development, Cox Communications

Not surprisingly, the three-day CES featured seemingly several years worth of new-product announcements and technology developments. From my perspective, I doubt many of these products will be on the shelves of your neighborhood electronics store in the foreseeable future. But the show definitely showcased some advancements that have the potential to at least begin altering consumer entertainment and communications this year.

As I predicted in my CES wish list, among the biggest buzz-makers were Intel's Viiv technology and Microsoft's Vista operating system and Media Center PC. In fact, Microsoft's presentation was one of the two events at CES that solidified Cable's increasing role in the CE revolution. The second was the CableLabs-led announcement of commitment between the Cable and CE industries on the OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP) that will spur development of two-way interactive services.

Now the hard work begins to make both announcements reality.

For some good, comprehensive recaps of all the buzz from CES, here are a few good sites:
CNET
Engadget
paidContent.org
Yahoo!

Ray Starbird
Manager, Product Development, Cox Communications

For all the advances in digital photography, the objectives haven't changed much: make the picture quality equal or surpass film, and shrink the cameras as much as possible. Progress has been measured in megapixels of resolution, optical zoom levels, and storage capacity.

In their quest to duplicate film camera functionality, digital camera manufacturers haven't taken advantage of digital capabilities to truly differentiate new products. This is recognized, however. Here at CES Kodak's CEO Antonio Perez noted they've been too focused on swapping "silicon for silver."

Tony Brown, DST Correspondent

The easiest way to find the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center is to simply follow your ears. The low rumble of hundreds of subwoofers bumping to different beats creates a cacophony of sound so low it's almost impossible to hear. Nevertheless, once you finally make your way through the sea of people in the Grand Lobby and take your first step into the North Hall, it's easy to understand how most journalists get caught up here.

Ferraris, Lamborghinis, lifted Ford trucks, lowered Escalades, rare Shelbys, Toyotas glowing with neon underneath, and a few normal looking Ford Explorers. What they have in common isn't apparent on the outside, but once you take a look inside, you know. Subwoofers, amps, speakers, tweeters, TV monitors, in-dash DVD navigation, GPS receivers–all crammed into every available space. Back seats become amp racks, trunks become mobile theaters with 20-inch screens and a full range of speakers in a molded plastic shell. If it makes noise or has a display, these manufacturers have found a way to squeeze it into a car.

As Smartphone and PDA screens grow, keyboards typically shrink. Imagine using your PDA on an airplane table with a wireless full-sized keyboard. No worries if a pocket of turbulence spills your coffee on the keyboard -- just throw it in the washing machine. That's what a company called Eleksen offers with its fabric keyboard.

David Pugliese
VP, Product Marketing and Management, Cox Communications

After covering 1.6 million square feet of exhibits throughout the North, Central and South Halls and maneuvering through a maze of humans, I want to share some of the highlights of 2006 CES. What was “big” at CES? In the annual race among the CE manufacturers to produce the biggest TV, the trophy this year goes to Panasonic for their 103 inch plasma display. LG Electronics was just behind with their 102 inch plasma display. Neither of these is available for consumer purchase – just CES display ware. The biggest available at retail is a mere 82 inches Samsung model.

Thinking of buying a new big screen? Here’s a valuable tip that can save you hundreds of dollars: If you can, wait a few months. The prices of those great LCD panel displays have been kept high due to the limited production facilities. Thanks to two new factories coming on line sooner that anticipated, we can expect a pretty big drop in LCD sets this year.

Ray Starbird
Manager, Product Development, Cox Communications

Since a number of colleagues have asked about the Starz VONGO service, I figured a few comments are in order.

In short, VONGO is a service that downloads movies to a computer and synchronizes them with a portable player. Sounds simple, right? Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, I feel the fine print conspires with business realities to cripple a seemingly compelling service. Some issues:

Tony Brown, DST Correspondent

I spent the morning at the Sands Expo and Convention Center exploring the Innovations exhibit. A new venue to the CES this year, Sands played host to Innovations, as well as a home to lesser-known or up-and-coming CE companies.

The Innovations exhibit showcases CE products that have been recognized for their design and engineering. It's a good way to get a quick glimpse at overall technological advances, and get a feeling for the direction consumer electronics are headed.

It's becoming an annual tradition. As CES kicks off in Vegas, we're again treated to a smattering of news reports trumpeting Cable's impending demise. At least, that's what the headlines herald; down in the body of most of these articles lie the scores of caveats and conditions and the reality of the precise alignment of stars necessary for the predictions to materialize. Too bad those caveats aren't sexy enough to warrant headline or lead-paragraph treatment.

To be fair, the competitive pressure is on. And it's also fair to say that if Cable is going to survive and thrive, we must innovate. And, as technological barriers to entry diminish, there definitely have been recent announcements of many new ways to deliver video. Many of these are getting heavy attention this week in Vegas.

So, about those caveats...

To start with, there's a whole lot more to providing a quality video experience than technology.

By Stewart Schley, DST Correspondent

It's only mid-morning, but already the Consumer Electronics Show is in full swing at the sprawling Las Vegas Convention Center. Sitting on an upraised stage in an elaborate black booth is Johnathan Wendel, an otherwise ordinary-looking young man who happens to be the five-time world champion PC game expert. Game geeks know him not as Johnathan but as "Fatal1ty," his alter-ego moniker. He's dueling away with a hapless opponent in a game of "Doom," part of a display cooked up by the PC devices company Creative Labs. Ignoring the virtual carnage from a booth scarcely 30 feet away, a slick-suited salesman from Excalibur Electronics shows off a new invention. It's a motorized inflatable pool lounger. Duel joysticks planted on both sides of the big blue raft control electronically propelled motors that maneuver the thing through the water.

From ever-shrinking MP3 players to cell phones that display TV to flash memory "photo albums" that blend your vacation snapshots with professional photographs, it's all here at CES. If it beeps, snaps, buzzes, records, displays, transmits or plugs in, it's part of the gargantuan orgy of electronics that's held annually here on the Las Vegas strip.

Until about five years ago, the annual CES revolved mainly around gadgets and devices that generally operated in isolation from each other: Stereos, TV sets and portable CD players, for example, were built to perform their functions ably enough on their own. But if there's a common thread that wove its way through the 2006 electronics show, it's the notion of interconnection – or the idea of networking entertainment and electronics components together so that they can allow users to do more things, more conveniently.

Tony Brown, DST Correspondent

The second half of Thursday took me through the booths of the biggest names in consumer electronics. Microsoft, LG, Intel, Texas Instruments and Belkin turned out to be the big winners of my attention.

Following Bill Gates' keynote Wednesday night, the Microsoft booth area was buzzing over the soon-to-be latest release of Windows: Windows Vista. During the "Gates Show" keynote, Microsoft demonstrated a CableCARD interface using a CableCARD supplied by Cox's Vegas system, highlighting further integration of cable and the PC. Very cool.

Tony Brown, DST Correspondent

The news reports are incapable of describing the sheer volume of the Consumer Electronics Show here in Las Vegas. With 2,500 exhibitors and over 130,000 attendees, it's the largest consumer electronics show in the world. It's no wonder, then, that the exhibitors tend to pull out the biggest guns in their arsenals for this show.

Ferraris, Lamborghinis and BMWs; the Goo Goo Dolls, Troy Aikman and Mad Mike of MTV's "Pimp My Ride;" flashing lights and curvy women litter the show floor. It's almost hard to believe at times that this is an electronics show, as the products on display often take a back seat to the showy presentations.

The neatest cable-related technologies I have seen so far deal with triple-play technologies, or products that stream VoIP, digital video content, and broadband Internet over a single broadband line.

Ray Starbird
Manager, Product Development, Cox Communications

Let the announcements begin. Here are three of the early mobile music devices unveiled yesterday, in no particular order:

Cable customers are more likely than satellite subscribers to be early adopters of cutting edge consumer electronics. That tidbit and other interesting insights into consumer behavior comes from some new research sponsored by CTAM (the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing). That study, plus ongoing coverage from CES, is at ThisIsCable.com.

Ray Starbird
Manager, Product Development, Cox Communications

Eager attendees were greeted with mostly cloudy skies this morning, with the temperature just under 50F. The forecast calls for it to climb to the mid-60s, today, so there's no chance of a repeat of last year's blizzard.

Mobility is a central theme, with manufacturers and content owners rushing to provide easy-to-consume, protected video content to phones and other portable players. My next post will include a number of early announcements in this area. Content and distribution might grab even more headlines than the gadgets this year, as indicated by the inclusion of keynote speeches from Terry Semel of Yahoo! and Larry Page of Google.

When not reading Digital Straight Talk, be sure to check out other CES coverage at PaidContent.org, CNET, Engadget, Gizmodo, and I4U.

David Pugliese
VP, Product Marketing and Management, Cox Communications

I, along with 130,000 others who are in some way connected with consumer electronics, am headed to the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas later today. For those who have not been to CES, it is clearly a full assault on the eyes and ears of attendees. From its modest beginning in 1967 in New York City with almost 200 exhibitors, this year's Las Vegas show has grown to over 2500 exhibitors. That is not surprising given the industry has annual sales of over $135 billion!

The show may not have officially begun yet, but the flood of technology announcements certainly has. Here's a couple of the early ones that caught my attention: