THE MEMORY WATCH
A James' Bond Style Timepiece for the rest of us

It isn't that great a secret that I love James Bond movies and the television series "Alias." Before that it was "Mission Impossible."

Why? THE GADGETS! Those cool toys that we all dream we could play with. From the Astin-Martin with an ejector seat and missiles behind the lights to the Lotus which doubles as a submarine. But the coolest Bond gadget for my thinking is the Omega Watch with remote detonator and laser beam. I always wanted one of those.

Granted, THE LAKS MEMORY WATCH doesn't have any of those cool spy features, but what it does have is the ability to store either 32, 64, or 128 MB of data in it's flash drive. AND THAT'S COOL.



the first USB portable memory that you can wear on your wrist.

Compatible with virtually any PC/Mac with a USB port, the LAKS memory watch acts as a hard drive to which you can drag & drop files in the same tried and true fashion as it's cousin the "Thumbdrive."



The specs are fairly straight forward:

* Standard USB interface and 1m extension USB cable.
* Plug and play. Includes driver/software CD.
* LED status indicator.
* Compatible with Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, Linux 2.4 or higher, Mac OS 8.6 or higher
*Reading speed: 1000KB/second. Writing speed: 920KB/second
* Shock proof and anti-static.
* Water resistant
* Citizen 2035 movement with 3-year batterylife.
* 2 year warranty

And the best part? An Analog Watch face with real hands. In the age of being digitally obsessed, it is refreshing to be able to tell time by hour hands again.

And the watch is stylish. A black and chrome face which will go with any fashion - whether a night out with the ladies playing bacarat (like Bond) or an afternoon playing football with the guys.

The LAKS Memory Watch can also be printed with your own logo.

But here's lacking part: It's only USB 1.1 compliant and has a storage capacity of either 32MB, 64MB or 128MB. That may be enough for an average spy in training, but with industry standard being USB 2.0 and capacities reaching a half a gig (512 MB), one hopes that version 2.0 of the LAKS MEMORY WATCH will be as cutting edge as it's design purports.

ER gives it the rating of:

****

And starting at $65.00 USD (£39.99), it's a steal. And that's no secret.

CUE PETER GUN!

MOVIE BANNED? DOWNLOAD IT OFF THE INTERNET
Government entities underestimate the power of the Internet and Peer to Peer to overcome censorship.

From the Melbourne Herald Sun: The decision by Australia's film censorship board to ban all screenings of Larry Clark's sexually explicit "Ken Park" has resulted in encouraging Internet piracy of the film. So, while Australia is trying to prevent people from seeing imagery of the male anatomy, it's probably getting more "exposure" than if they had simply turned the other cheek and looked the other way.

It really is a simple lesson - one our children teach us every day ... say "no you can't (or shouldn't) have something" and that's all they will want. Ignore it, dismiss it, deflect it ... and it will quietly go away when people lose interest.

WHAT"S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE
The RIAA may be getting a day in court as well ...

THE WASHINGTON POST TECH SECTION reports that independent Internet radio stations say the recording industry's effort to wield royalty rates as a weapon to drive them out of business is tantamount to antitrust ... so they may file an antitrust suit against the Recording Industry Association of America.

Difference is, of course, that the RIAA has deep pockets to defend it's unscrupulous activities, the average college student only has his tuition.

IS WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER NOW SPYWARE?
A recent version of Microsoft's Multimedia player shows up in an AdAware screening

Imagine how surprised I was when, after a few hours of hard core surfing, AdAware and found a file in Windows Media Player listed as Spyware! That's right, folks, it may very well be that Windows Media Player is spying on you.

More as it becomes available. Meantime, if you're asked to upgrade to a new version of WMP, just say no!

802.11(McB)
McDonald's to Expand Wireless Web Plan

Ronald McDonald is goin' wireless. After the success of their pilot program in New York, McDonalds is adding wireless network connectivity to the Big Apple and 55 Golden Arches in San Francisco. Other locations will get (b) in Chicago and Canada.

Though an introductory promotion through Aug. 12 will give patrons wireless access free along with the purchase of a Big Mac Extra Value Meal, cost for a two-hour wireless connection at Bay Area restaurants will be $4.95. The goal is to offer wireless service at several hundred restaurants by year's end.

Find out more at http://www.mcdwireless.com/

ELECTRONIC GIANT BANS USE OF CAMERA CELL PHONES

In what promises to be an emerging trend to protect trade secrets, YAHOO! News reports that SAMSUNG has become the latest company to ban the use of CellPhone Cameras by their employees.

Ironically, the Samsung V205 Phone allows users to do just that. So the question begs ... how do they test it, much less make it?