Research teams at the Mid Sweden University forestry industry research programme Fiber Science and Communication Network (FSCN) are working on the fourth generation of paper products that can integrate paper with the digital world.
The process combines paper with printed graphic codes and electronically conductive ink that is engineered to be sensitive to pressure. Then digital information is embedded in the paper, and when it is touched, the information comes out via printed speakers.
A large display board is already in use to show how it can be used. When a person touches a picture or text, he or she hears an audiovisual advertising message and has the ability to interact with the product being marketed.
Obvious applications are for advertising campaigns, marketing, and events: other possible areas are product displays in stores.
The same technology has been used in a prototype for a 'music display board.'On this slightly bowed board, a number of music albums are printed directly on paper.
You can sample music by simply touching the front of the displayed album. The sound is then streamed right out of the paper – and, of course, music can be replaced as soon as there are new recordings to be marketed.
View a video of a large display board
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
Broadband costs around the world
As broadband delivery is a key to successful digital publications, it is interesting to note that broadband users in 30 of the world's most developed countries are getting greatly differing speeds and prices, according to a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
The report, which says 60 per cent of its member countries net users are now on broadband, points out that countries that have switched to fibre networks have the best speeds at the lowest prices.
In Japan net users have 100Mbps lines, ten times higher than the OECD average: Japan's price for broadband per megabit per second is the lowest in the OECD at US$0.22 equivalent.
In the United States, the cheapest megabit per second broadband connection is US$3.18 while in the UK it is US$3.62 equivalent
The most expensive is Turkey at US$81.13 equivalent.
Subscribers to Japan's fibre networks can also upload at the same speed they can download, which is not possible with ADSL (broadband over a telephone line) and most cable subscriptions.
According to the report, broadband prices for DSL connections across the 30 countries had fallen by 19 per cent and increased in speed by 29 per cent in the year to October 2006.
Cable prices and speeds followed a similar trend.
The least expensive monthly subscription for always-on broadband was in Sweden, where US $10.79 equivalent bought a 256kbps connection. The country with the most expensive entry point for broadband access was Mexico, where it cost US$52.36 equivalent for 1mbps.
Many countries have seen a jump in broadband speeds over the last few years as many ISPs utilising existing telephone lines push ADSL2+.
ADSL2+ is a technology which doubles the frequency band of a typical ADSL connection over a phone line, in effect doubling the amount of data which can be sent downstream to a user.
The theoretical maximum speed of an ADSL2+ line is 24Mbps, still much slower than speeds over fibre optic networks. France was the first country in the western world to use the technology, about two or three years ago.
The report, which says 60 per cent of its member countries net users are now on broadband, points out that countries that have switched to fibre networks have the best speeds at the lowest prices.
In Japan net users have 100Mbps lines, ten times higher than the OECD average: Japan's price for broadband per megabit per second is the lowest in the OECD at US$0.22 equivalent.
In the United States, the cheapest megabit per second broadband connection is US$3.18 while in the UK it is US$3.62 equivalent
The most expensive is Turkey at US$81.13 equivalent.
Subscribers to Japan's fibre networks can also upload at the same speed they can download, which is not possible with ADSL (broadband over a telephone line) and most cable subscriptions.
According to the report, broadband prices for DSL connections across the 30 countries had fallen by 19 per cent and increased in speed by 29 per cent in the year to October 2006.
Cable prices and speeds followed a similar trend.
The least expensive monthly subscription for always-on broadband was in Sweden, where US $10.79 equivalent bought a 256kbps connection. The country with the most expensive entry point for broadband access was Mexico, where it cost US$52.36 equivalent for 1mbps.
Many countries have seen a jump in broadband speeds over the last few years as many ISPs utilising existing telephone lines push ADSL2+.
ADSL2+ is a technology which doubles the frequency band of a typical ADSL connection over a phone line, in effect doubling the amount of data which can be sent downstream to a user.
The theoretical maximum speed of an ADSL2+ line is 24Mbps, still much slower than speeds over fibre optic networks. France was the first country in the western world to use the technology, about two or three years ago.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Broadband growth in India
A massive market for on-line digital publishing is in the making in India, where there are now 30.32 million Internet users in the country’s urban areas, according to a new report by JuxtConsult.
The Indian Internet population rose 28 percent from April 2006 to April of this year.
Of India’s 30.32 million web users, 25.17 million (83 percent) use the Internet on a regular basis. About 20 million Indian users access the web daily, while 5.15 million (17 percent) are occasional users who go on-line less frequently.
Broadband now reaches 77 percent of home Internet in urban India, and 74 percent of office-based Internet users.
The workplace accounts for 78 percent of Internet usage in India, up 16 per cent from last year.
It is interesting to note that Internet cafes, once thought to be the key access point for those Indians who can't afford a home computer or web access accounts, remained stagnant with 47 percent of Internet usage, up only 1 percent over the previous year.
In fact, cyber cafes only serve as the only Internet access point for just 1.4 percent of India’s regular Internet-using population.
The Indian Internet population rose 28 percent from April 2006 to April of this year.
Of India’s 30.32 million web users, 25.17 million (83 percent) use the Internet on a regular basis. About 20 million Indian users access the web daily, while 5.15 million (17 percent) are occasional users who go on-line less frequently.
Broadband now reaches 77 percent of home Internet in urban India, and 74 percent of office-based Internet users.
The workplace accounts for 78 percent of Internet usage in India, up 16 per cent from last year.
It is interesting to note that Internet cafes, once thought to be the key access point for those Indians who can't afford a home computer or web access accounts, remained stagnant with 47 percent of Internet usage, up only 1 percent over the previous year.
In fact, cyber cafes only serve as the only Internet access point for just 1.4 percent of India’s regular Internet-using population.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
More US broadband helps publishers
High-speed Internet connections now exists in 53 percent of all US households, according to a new report by the New Hampshire-based Leichtman Research Group
The report is sure to satisfy digital magazine publishers who rely on broadband to make their projects succeed.
Broadband Access and Service in the Home 2007 finds broadband services account for 72 percent of all US home Internet subscriptions, up from 60 percent in the company’s last survey.
Broadband adoption is affected by household income. Broadband reaches 68 per cent of households with annual income over US$50,000, up from 59 percent last year. By contrast, 39 per cent of households with income under US$50,000 subscribe to broadband services, an increase from 27 per cent.
In Q1 of 2007, 2.9 million US households initiated high-speed Internet service. The top 19 cable and telephone providers, which represents 94 per cent of the broadband market, account for 56.2 million subscriber accounts.
Cable accounts for over 30.7 million subscribers, and telephone companies serve over 25.4 million broadband subscribers.
Adoption of high-speed Internet services is expected to reach 70 percent of all U.S. households by 2012, according to a new report by another US research organisation. Jupiter Research. This 70 per cent of US households represents around 86 million homes.
Wider availability of high-speed service is expected to attract 36 million new subscribers to broadband by 2012. Price reductions will make the service more attractive, while higher transmission rates and bundled services will drive users to cable.
Meanwhile, dial-up service still currently serves 33 million Internet users, though two-thirds or more narrowband Internet users could soon be moving to broadband service. The shift to faster Internet service is due to high-bandwidth applications such as video and rich media applications.
The report is sure to satisfy digital magazine publishers who rely on broadband to make their projects succeed.
Broadband Access and Service in the Home 2007 finds broadband services account for 72 percent of all US home Internet subscriptions, up from 60 percent in the company’s last survey.
Broadband adoption is affected by household income. Broadband reaches 68 per cent of households with annual income over US$50,000, up from 59 percent last year. By contrast, 39 per cent of households with income under US$50,000 subscribe to broadband services, an increase from 27 per cent.
In Q1 of 2007, 2.9 million US households initiated high-speed Internet service. The top 19 cable and telephone providers, which represents 94 per cent of the broadband market, account for 56.2 million subscriber accounts.
Cable accounts for over 30.7 million subscribers, and telephone companies serve over 25.4 million broadband subscribers.
Adoption of high-speed Internet services is expected to reach 70 percent of all U.S. households by 2012, according to a new report by another US research organisation. Jupiter Research. This 70 per cent of US households represents around 86 million homes.
Wider availability of high-speed service is expected to attract 36 million new subscribers to broadband by 2012. Price reductions will make the service more attractive, while higher transmission rates and bundled services will drive users to cable.
Meanwhile, dial-up service still currently serves 33 million Internet users, though two-thirds or more narrowband Internet users could soon be moving to broadband service. The shift to faster Internet service is due to high-bandwidth applications such as video and rich media applications.
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