September 16, 2005, 5:06 PM PDT
Mercedes-Benz builds a hall
Posted by: Wayne Cunningham

Showing the importance of the Frankfurt Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz built a huge multilevel showroom inside a concert hall. The Festhalle in Frankfurt, the location of the IAA, is a large convention center consisting of 10 halls. When we got to hall 2, the Daimler-Chrysler hall, my German photographer informed me that he'd previously seen the Rolling Stones perform here. The bottom level had areas for Smart, Maybach, and the S-Class. Going up a curved ramp with a blond wood floor reminiscent of the Guggenheim in New York, the top floor featured the rest of the Mercedes-Benz model line. We also found ourselves not far from the concert lights still hanging from the ceiling of the dome-shaped hall.

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September 16, 2005, 4:59 PM PDT
BMW ConnectedDrive
Posted by: Wayne Cunningham

More than any other car company, BMW is using the Frankfurt Auto Show to display its research. Along with innovations such as its hybrid and hydrogen exhibits, it's also showing off ConnectedDrive, an intriguing development in navigation technology. The ConnectedDrive system is designed to let the user plan routes on a PC, then transfer them to the car via USB drive. A BMW representative showed me the different map displays in a test car. The LCD was used to display a variety of information, such as descriptions of points of interest, photos, video clips, and a topographical route overview. The system lets the user customize the data, adding extensive notes about a point of interest, for example, or including photographs of a particular vista. And in what I think is the most intriguing development, users would be able to download routes from BMW or share among themselves. BMW could offer a twisty mountain road performance route, or someone could document an interesting journey and share it over the Internet, complete with pictures and video that would be displayed on the car's LCD. This system also makes the navigation system, which is otherwise tied down to static information on a DVD, more dynamic.

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September 16, 2005, 4:54 PM PDT
Ford hides tech offshore
Posted by: Wayne Cunningham

In the United States, Ford hasn't been known for the technology it puts in its cars. But in London, on the way over to Frankfurt, I saw advertisements for a Ford Focus with iPod connectivity and Bluetooth phone integration. At the Frankfurt Auto Show, I snooped around the Ford floor area, past the people crowding around the Iosis concept car, to the Focus, the Fiesta, and the Fusion. The Focus has been a very popular economy car for Ford in the United States. The Fiesta had its day in the states as well, though it is mostly a joke now. The Fusion is a boxy little hauler, looking like a Scion xB as designed by Jeep. All these cars incorporate tech we would expect to see in an Acura, such as Bluetooth and audio integration. These cars are designed for young, first-time buyers, and a representative from Ford Europe told me that in this market, technology is essential. Further, Ford is working on advancing its in-cabin tech to include personalization features, a number of settings that can be adjusted to fit an individual's tastes via the car's LCD.

Although Bluetooth phones haven't taken the States by storm, the iPod is extremely popular, so I wonder why Ford keeps its tech so low in its home market. Maybe Ford doesn't want to sully its tough truck image with elitest technology, but people interested in buying a Focus probably wouldn't upgrade to a truck and might appreciate some of the niceties offered overseas.

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September 16, 2005, 12:40 PM PDT
12 free tools for small business
Posted by: Dorian Benkoil

Check out this list (from Entrepreneur.com) of 12 Web goodies you can use for your business. But, as the piece says, beware: Free isn't always as tasty as it seems. For just a few bucks, the paid version can often save you a lot of headaches, or at least a lot of clutter from ads and other intrusions.

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September 16, 2005, 12:25 PM PDT
Take security out of IT's hands?
Posted by: Dorian Benkoil

Gartner group recommends businesses not relegate tech security to the tech (IT) department. "Appoint individuals who understand the complexities of business, rather than the simplicities of security," said Gartner exec Jay Heiser at the group's security summit in London. Another executive said security requires strategic thinking, not just looking at, say, firewall issues.

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September 16, 2005, 11:29 AM PDT
.xxx domain shelved for now
Posted by: Molly Wood

After intense conservative opposition, ICANN has indefinitely delayed a decision on whether to approve the .xxx top-level domain. They say the controversial discussion will be taken up again at "a future date." Like when the politicians have moved on to another juicy target--perhaps the latest Grand Theft Auto release.

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September 16, 2005, 10:02 AM PDT
Blogs are chicken soup for the soul
Posted by: Molly Wood

A recent study says that nearly half of the bloggers it surveyed use their blogs as a form of therapy. And about a third of those surveyed said they often write about self-esteem and self-help issues. I could make a lot of jokes here, but I'd probably just be compensating for my own feelings of inadequacy and self-loathing.

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