What Everyone Needs

The year-end holiday buying season is the time to get your gift targets the things they need. This may tax your powers of observation, so let us tell you the 5 things that every well-equipped, connected person must have. Then you can observe which one(s) they don’t have, and fill in the blanks.

1. A multimedia access station at home. This must include the requisite equipment to play DVDs (Standard and Blu-Ray), CDs, streaming audio and video, radio (regular and HD) and television (Broadcast, Cable, or Satellite). If the gift target is totally bereft of such devices, something as simple as an iPod docking station with speakers for as little as $25 would be an excellent gift. This is assuming that they have some kind of MP3 player, at least.
2. Mobile multimedia access. Nowadays, everyone must have the capability to tweet, as well as IM, make and take phone calls, surf the web, take pictures/videos, find there location/get directions with GIS, and email at all times. These are minimums – if your target is traveling without all of the above, drastic gift-giving campaigns must be initiated at once. If they already have a cell phone, find out who the provider is and go to their web site and find out what it would cost to upgrade their current inadequate equipment to an iPhone, or a Blackberry, or an Android. Then get them a gift card or certificate to help them with some or all of the expense – they will thank you emphatically.
3. Automobile multimedia access. Your Smartphone won’t won’t help you in the car unless you have the proper equipment for connection to the sound system. Inadequate or missing sound system altogether? Go to Crutchfield.com, Radio Shack, Best Buy, Target, or any place available in your town and fill in the blanks of the target’s automobile media access center so they at least good additions if they already have the basics. Stay away from any video devices unless they are in the back seat – no one wants the guilt of having bought the device that caused the accident.
4. Office multimedia access. Most organizations allow office and technical workers to don headsets and listen to their mp3 players and phones. Nearly all offices at least allow radios. Find out if your target has the tools necessary to listen to music at work, and you will know what to do.
5. Computer hook ups are a must for the home, office, mobile theatres. Everyone should at least have one of those USB TV tuning sticks for viewing and recording TV and other video formats on any available PC. Wi-Fi is instrumental and can be provided with an 802.11N router and accompanying interface device if it isn’t already built in. Bluetooth headphone/microphone devices are an excellent way set up the portable device to handle music and phone calls at the same time, both at home and on the road. Another way to connect TV and computer devices is the SiliconDust HDHomerun Single Network Tuner, which lets the user turn any computer on the network into an HD TV and a DVR.

Next: A list of suggested items for each category.

If phrases like "Lotus Sametime", "SIP Trunking", and "Contact Centers" stimulate your taste buds, San Francisco is the place to be in early November for the 20th annual VoiceCon conference and exhibition. Not only is it a great location, all the major vendors will be there to exhibit new products and provide a glimpse of the future in business communications.

The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) is celebrating its 10th birthday, so this year's event is going to be a major event with the Big Red Feather Birthday Bash and free events to include a 2 day BarCamp and Hakathon, and evening MeetUps. Training sessions on most Apache products for all kinds of users.

Someone has finally come up with a quality speaker system for the iPod and iPhone that not only provides quality sound without headphones, but also allows wireless distribution throughout the house.

The ZonePlayer S5 will sell for $399 list and began shipping in late October, 2009, according to Sonos.

The ZonePlayer, or a bridge, is actually connected to the Internet, and uses the iPhone or iPod, with pre-loaded software, to control the source of the music, which can be any song in an iTunes library, any streamed content from the Internet, or one of the 25,000 Internet radio stations that are contained in the application.

An analog audio jack allows the playing of an audio source such as an mp3 or CD player on any or all networked ZonePlayers.

The ZonePlayer uses 5 class-D digital amplifiers, 2 tweeters, 3 three inch midrange speakers and a 3.5 inch woofer to generate what is described as "crystal clear room-filling ear-impressing sound".