=============================================================
Thank you for subscribing to the SRIC-BI News mailing list.

This is a read-only mailing list alerting you to recent
news at SRI Consulting Business Intelligence (SRIC-BI).
To unsubscribe, please visit http://www.sric-bi.com/unsubscribe.shtml
=============================================================



In this issue:

* New Fuel Cell for Laptops
* First Steps toward Pervasive Computing
* Trust in Financial-Service Providers
* The Digital Future
* Mobile Learning
* Spotlight on Speech-to-Speech Translation
* A Consumer-Centric Approach to Product Categories
* U.S. Digital-Copyright Law
* China in Global Electronic Markets
* Uncertainty in the Semiconductor Market
* Signals of Change
* Correction: Credit Where Credit Is Due
* SRIC-BI in the Press

----------------------------------------------------------
(Full text of SRIC-BI publications is available to
sponsoring clients only.  To find out if your company is a
sponsor, please visit http://www.sric-bi.com/unsubscribe.shtml.)
----------------------------------------------------------


---------------------
 Recent Publications
---------------------

New Fuel Cell for Laptops

Toshiba Corporation has unveiled a prototype of a 
direct-methanol fuel cell for use in laptop computers that 
the company says will be ready for commercialization in 
2004. The new fuel cell can power a laptop computer 
continuously for some five hours with a single cartridge of 
fuel, and recharging is simply a matter of replacing the 
depleted fuel cell with a new one. (April 2003 Portable 
Batteries Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/PB.shtml


First Steps toward Pervasive Computing
Communication is likely to be the gateway to pervasive 
computing, both because of existing strong demand for 
communications technologies and because of advances in the 
technology enablers. Rapid implementation of wireless 
networks and the potential of collaboration software for 
context awareness are particularly noteworthy communications 
developments, bringing both short- and long-term effects to 
the field of pervasive computing. (Communications as the 
Gateway to Pervasive Computing) 
http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan/ScanMonthly/SM002.shtml#D03-2424


Trust in Financial-Service Providers

A comparison of MacroMonitor survey data from 1994 and 2002 
shows that financial intermediaries such as brokers and 
financial planners have had greater success retaining the 
trust of consumers than financial institutions have. 
Consumers continue to regard depository institutions as the 
most trustworthy financial institutions, but their level of 
trust has declined during the eight-year period. Trust in 
insurance and mutual-fund companies has increased 
significantly, whereas the percentage of households that 
hardly trust full-service and discount brokerages has risen. 
(Trust in Financial Institutions and Professionals)
http://www.sric-bi.com/CFD/MRsummaries/MR.VI-02.shtml


The Digital Future

A new Digital Futures report highlights developments of 
importance to businesses that depend on digital technology 
to deliver value to their customers. Among the issues that 
will affect the digital future are outbreaks of counterfeit 
hardware, a restructuring of entertainment industries, the 
coming "age wave," and the potential for user-created 
Internet content to increase the emphasis on personalization 
of content, create microniches for advertising, and 
introduce effects beyond the control of businesses and 
governments. (Digital Futures Scan: Spring 2003)
http://www.sric-bi.com/DF/summaries/DFScan0403.shtml


Mobile Learning

Advances in wireless and cellular network technologies, 
mobile devices, and learning-related  software offer 
exciting opportunities for eLearning vendors and users. 
However, these developments do not guarantee dramatic growth 
in mobile learning. Moreover, the future of mobile learning 
will vary in the United States, Europe, and Japan because of 
differences in the distribution of networks and devices in 
these regions. (Mobile Learning: A Perspective on the 
Present and the Future)
http://www.sric-bi.com/LoD/bulletins.shtml


Spotlight on Speech-to-Speech Translation

Speech-to-speech translation briefly came into the limelight 
when the media reported on the U.S. armed forces' use of 
translation devices in Bosnia in 2001 and Afghanistan in 
2002. But despite such early applications and promising 
benefits and markets, developers of speech-to-speech 
technology must overcome numerous challenges before 
targeting mainstream markets. (April 2003 Speech Interfaces 
Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/SI.shtml


A Consumer-Centric Approach to Product Categories

Traditionally, companies have defined their competitors as 
players that offer products in the same technical category. 
This view is increasingly untenable, given that products in 
different categories may offer similar benefits to 
consumers, whereas products in the same category may not 
compete directly with one another. To avoid losing 
competitive ground, companies are wise to adopt a 
consumer-centered framework for evaluating their product mix 
and their competition. (Reconceptualizing the Competitive 
Environment of Consumer Products)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan/ScanMonthly/SM002.shtml#D03-2423


U.S. Digital-Copyright Law

In the United States, the central piece of legislation in 
the battle to protect copyrighted digital materials is the 
U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If the legislation 
receives support in pending legal decisions, some people 
fear it could roll back well-established rights of reverse 
engineering and transform the competitive environment in a 
number of industries. (Digital Copyright: Clouding the 
Competitive Environment)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan/ScanMonthly/SM002.shtml#D03-2422


China in Global Electronic Markets

China's acceptance into the World Trade Organization was a 
bellwether event for the country, paving the way for it to 
apply its significant resources in global markets and to 
open its vast consumer market to companies around the world. 
The potential is particularly great in the electronics 
business, where China's ambitions have implications for  the 
materials and equipment supply chain, the design and 
manufacture of integrated circuits, and the supply and 
demand of end products and services, including software. 
(China's Role in the Global Electronic Future)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan/ScanMonthly/SM002.shtml#D03-2425


Uncertainty in the Semiconductor Market

Semiconductor-industry data for 2002 present conflicting 
messages. Most people believe that the semiconductor market 
is at its lowest ebb right now, and no one is sure when a 
recovery might begin. However, gradually rising fab-use 
rates, rising book-to-bill ratios for equipment vendors, and 
industrywide movement toward supply-and-demand parity are 
likely to bring some improvement in the latter half of 2003. 
(April 2003 Advanced Silicon Microelectronics/ULSI 
Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/ULSI.shtml


Signals of Change

Japan's activities in China will have significant impacts on 
global direct-investment flows, the health of other Asian 
economies, and U.S. and European corporate strategies. The 
April issue of Scan Monthly assesses Japan's future in 
China, along with several other signals of change. 
Additional writeups look at the implications of corporate 
instant messaging, red flags in the use of radio-frequency 
identification tags, and fraud-versus-fraud strategies for 
combating unwanted Internet practices. (Scan Monthly, April 
2003)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan/ScanMonthly/SM002.shtml#SoCs


Correction: Credit Where Credit Is Due

Last month's newsletter cited an incorrect source for two 
recent reports on the implications of nanotechnology for the 
chemical industry. The reports--Nanoscale Chemicals and 
Materials and Polymer Nanocomposites--are the work of 
analysts at SRI Consulting. (March 2003 Nanotechnology 
Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/NT.shtml


------------------------------------------
 Presentations and Press by SRIC-BI Staff
------------------------------------------

* "The Outlook for Third Generation (3G) Cellular Technology"
   by David E. Benson, Senior Consultant, in the March 2003
   Newsletter of the Silicon Valley Roundtable of the National
   Association of Business Economists

* "Do Consumers Have Too Much Debt?" by Larry Cohen, Director
   of Consumer Financial Decisions, at SmartMoney.com

http://www.sric-bi.com/news.shtml


--------------------------------------------------------------
Visit the Web site: http://www.sric-bi.com.

Copyright 2003 by SRI Consulting Business Intelligence.