Local high-tech firms strut stuff at homegrown technology show

 

Mario C. Aguilera
North County Times

San Diego -- Any hint that San Diego lacks the muscle of a technology and telecommunications leader was promptly put to rest Saturday at the third annual Insights conference.

A sense-assaulting display of wires, computers, big-screen monitors, phones and a blur of electronic gadgetry spread across 100,000 square feet of the San Diego Convention Center made up the insights "Tour of Technology."

San Diego seized the moment to roll out its brightest technology stars, from big shots like Sony Electronics and Qualcomm, to up-and-comers like The Lightspan Partnership and Gryphon Software.

Although it was the third Insights conference, Saturday was the first time the all-day speakers forum was tied to such a broad technology showcase. Last year, a handful of companies set up booths on the south side of the Convention Center, but suffered little traffic flow as a result.

Saturday's event, on the other hand, was centered in easily accessible space adjacent to the main speakers hall. "We're seeing the future here because a lot of changes ahead are tied to technology," said state Assemblyman Jan Goldsmith, R-Poway. "We can see changes ahead and a lot of technology that will do it is in this room." Tech Tour attendees were treated to a number of first-time displays and new advances. These included:

DigitalTalkTV, a start-up company looking to merge television and Internet programming. The company for the first time produced a live program and simultaneously beamed it out on the Internet. A combination television crew and computer staff of 141 helped produce "Education on the Edge," "Way Cool Interactive Stuff," and "Tour of Technology," which will be packaged for cable television distribution.


Sony Technology Center San Diego, which for the first time put all of its Rancho Bernardo-manufactured products on display. Products ranged from color television sets, the center's traditional thrust, to cutting-edge devices such as the new "TriniCom Mini 1000 video conferencing product and the WebTV Internet-television device.

Cobra Golf showcased its King Cobra II club, released Oct. 1. Doug Piper, a spokesman for the Carlsbad company, said technology and computer-aided design are behind the product's development.

Cox Communications, which displayed new high-speed cable modem technology that will be available to the public early next year. Cox held data transmission "races," in which time needed to call up an Internet page through cable modems was pitted against the same page through a conventional computer modem. The result? Two seconds for the cable modem vs. 33 seconds for the traditional modem.


NextWave Telecom Inc., which debuted a new cellular telephone based on its network of next-generation personal communication services (PCS). NextWave spokesman Jim Madsen said Saturday's event marked the first time the Qualcomm-built cellular telephone, which can be linked to a computer, was available for public use.


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