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See it on TV, click on it, wear it

…placed in strategic view, a practice known as explicit product placement. But, until recently, viewers had to work at identifying the shoes or earrings characters wore.Because of the Internet, the selling of more than 20,000 products that are not easily recognizable or never identified in a script, called shopping-enabled entertainment, is taking off, driven by consumerism and celebrity worship.''There are thousands and thousands of products that are naturally embedded in these shows,'' said Ashley Heather, a new-media entrepreneur and chief executive of Entertainment Media Works, which last March started an entertainment shopping site, StarStyle.com.StarStyle lets fans buy a soup-tureen set from Nora Walker's pantry on the ABC series ''Brothers & Sisters,'' the polka-dot halter dress like the one that Diane Keaton's Daphne character wears in the film ''Because I Said So'' or a velvet blazer like the one Taylor Hicks wore on ''American Idol.'' (Many products are the same as what the stars wore, but sometimes a similar, less expensive version is offered and identified as such.)Viewers can shop by show, character, product or brand. Starting Tuesday, SeenON! will feature a ''Look for Less'' Oscar tie-in, selling versions of the dresses, shoes and earrings worn on the red carpet.As more consumers use digital video recorders and watch fewer commercials, ''brands are looking at ways to connect with viewers,'' said Travis Schneider, the founder of StarBrand Media, which started StarBrand.tv in 2004. ''It's a marriage of consumers' fascination with celebrity culture and new technologies that is allowing this to happen,'' Schneider…
…VEGAS, Feb. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony's new AM/FM CD receiver for the car with Bluetooth(R) technology (model MEX-BT2500) multi-tasks as both a CD player and a wireless streaming device.

Drivers can make safe, hands-free phone calls, listen to MP3 formatted CDs or wirelessly connect to Bluetooth-compatible digital music players on the road.

"This car stereo offers more functionality for less," said Brennan Mullin, director of marketing for mobile electronics at Sony Electronics. "With Bluetooth hands-free technology and audio streaming capabilities, you can't afford not to have it in the car. This is a perfect solution so drivers can communicate on their cell phones while driving."

Call 'Em on It

The MEX-BT2500 head unit, the company's second audio-streaming AM/FM CD receiver with wireless Bluetooth(R) technology, is easily paired with compatible Bluetooth enabled cellular phones. Up to five different phones can be linked to the receiver so the whole family can enjoy connectivity. An integrated microphone behind the faceplate eliminates the need for additional wiring, so the installation process is as quick and easy as an ordinary car stereo. Additionally, noise cancellation and echo reduction technology serve to enhance phone call clarity.

Music on the Road

Music-storing phones with Bluetooth…


AAP General News (Australia)
01-09-2007
NSW: Young drivers face night passenger restrictions=3

Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association CEO Chris Althaus said mobile phones
were not the most common or significant distraction faced by drivers.

"Research shows that drivers are more distracted by other passengers, car stereos and
in-car entertainment systems, MP3 players such as iPods, and eating and drinking while
driving," he said.

"Research from Monash University shows that distraction was more pronounced during
car stereo tasks than using hands-free mobile phones."

AAP pc/hn/it/jlw

KEYWORD: PPLATE N/L 3 (SYDNEY) REOPENS

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

…Stephen Cawley

PC Live! Editor Stephen Cawley has some more hot tips for using your computer. As well as encouraging children to enjoy computing, parents may want to know of some useful web sites where they can learn without too many tears. We provide the links

THE new HP Photosmart 850 digital camera offers high resolution, a greater zoom capability and digital imaging innovations for under EUR700.

Excellent image quality is supplied by its 4.13 megapixel total resolution, and its 56x total zoom - 8x optical plus 7x digital zoom allows photographers to get closer to the action.

The electronic viewfinder mimics the viewfinder of a SLR camera.

Images and video can be previewed, reviewed and edited on the 2in LCD display.

A 16Mbyte Secure Digital (SD) card is included to store the images.

Intuitive manual controls enable users to customise the camera settings for precision photography.

The camera operator can set the exposure, ISO, colour, white balance, aperture and shutter priority, resolution and compression. The Photosmart 850 also allows users to capture up to 60 seconds of video with audio.

The HP Photosmart 850 comes with HP Photo & Imaging Software, …

…developing the desire to hack people up, make horror movies or become a ghostbuster.

Today, I'm not scared when I wake up; I'm just annoyed. I've learned to ignore the sound of dogs yapping and this saves me from the desire to garrote my neighbor with his own dog leash.

So, the other night when I got out of bed after two hours of lying wide-eyed and manic-brained, it wasn't the barking of dogs, the chirping of tree frogs or the splash of water through the creek that woke me up. It was the voices coming from the living room.

Over a low mechanical hum, I heard a preacher animatedly reading Bible verses. "Can I hear an 'amen'?" he cried.

"Amen," I sang out in a voice that would make Father Vito proud. My pupils dilated in an attempt to see in the ghostly light emitted by the red, blue and green LEDS of our entertainment system. The voice was preaching from a dark TV screen, apparently caused by my failure to exit TiVo with the proper sequence of button-pushing earlier in the evening. I had been warned that failure to execute the proper procedure might result in the TV turning itself on in the middle of the night in order to record something that, in its infinite wisdom, TiVo thought I might like.

Panicking, I picked up the remote and hit the mute button while saying "shhh!" to the invisible evangelist. When his exhortations had been shushed, I heard the other machines that toil away when we're asleep. The dishwasher was in the rinse cycle, thanks to Keeper,…