Cisco Systems disclosed that it acquired IPTV startup Arroyo Video Solutions for $92 million. Cisco’s acquisition of the privately held on-demand video provider is intended to give the company a leg up among cable companies and other carriers looking to deliver video-on-demand beyond TVs to other devices such as PCs and mobile phones.

Proporta provides an impressive array of memory options for PDAs, MP3 players, and mobile gaming consoles. Their newest product is the brand new Proporta SD Card with Built-in USB. The same size as a standard SD Card (so it will fit into your PDA, Proporta SD Music Player, camera etc.), this card includes a USB extension. So you can now connect directly from the card to your PC, Mac, or laptop without adapters, cables, or wireless. Quick and simple, this product is perfect for transferring data from your mobile device to your laptop or desktop. The Elite Pro CompactFlash offers a memory grade for professionals who require high write speeds and low power consumption, giving you better performance and speed in your flash based memory. The Proporta Aluminum Memory/SIM Card Holder is made out of smooth aluminum with a brushed finish, and has the same specifications as a normal credit card.

Consumers spend more on gadgets every year, yet few electronics companies have figured out how to turn a decent profit. Now two authors and a growing list of academics and analysts say the consumer electronics business needn’t be so brutal for product makers. George Bailey and Hagen Wenzek recently wrote the book Irresistible! Markets, Models and Meta-Value in Consumer Electronics to explain how consumer electronics companies can improve with breakthrough technology, strategic partnerships and–though it may sound obvious–paying attention to customers.

If you’ve been following our Broadband-over-Powerline (BPL) coverage these past weeks, you can see we’ve come up with more questions than answers. As part of our attempt to expose all sides of this issue, we’ve been looking for true experts who can help us understand the issue. As part of that research, we turned up Glenn Elmore. We’re very grateful for Glenn in helping us understand this issue in far more depth than we’ve been able to thusfar. As a radio amateur and a BPL researcher, Glenn’s getting us answers as close to the core of the problem as we think we’re going to be able to find.

Read this Computing Unplugged article.

Throughout our research into BPL, we’ve talked about interference issues. In his in-depth interview, elsewhere in this issue, Glenn Elmore introduced the question of data rate across the various technologies. In this short, highly technical article, he shows how that data rate applies over a variety of “last-mile pipes”.

Read this Computing Unplugged article.

VoiceIt Technologies announced the release of VoiceLib SDK 2.0 for PalmOS. VoiceIt Technologies, a solutions provider for smartphones, provides a simple to use Voice Recognition SDK for the Palm Operating System, and is ready to support the newly released Palm Treo 700p smartphone.

SanDisk unveiled the world’s largest capacity flash-based MP3 player, the 8-gigabyte Sansa e280 that boasts award-winning audio, photo viewing and video clip playback capabilities. Priced at $249.99, the e280 is the latest evolution of SanDisk’s flagship e200 series. The 8GB device sports a microSD expansion slot allowing expansion to 10GB of music–or 2,500 songs–with an optional SanDisk 2GB microSD card, making it the largest capacity flash-based MP3 player on the market. In conjunction with the rollout of the e280 and in preparation for the holiday season, SanDisk has lowered its prices on the entire Sansa e200 line of products, including the existing 2, 4, and 6GB models.

There are less than two weeks left in the NS Basic Programming Contest, with a first prize of a Samsung Q1 Ultra Mobile Computer. NS Basic’s 7th annual Programming Contest ends on September 1, 2006. There are three categories: Windows CE, Palm OS and Desktop. All registered NS Basic users are welcome to participate in the contest.

Handheld computer and phone maker Palm is to unveil the latest version of its Treo smartphone next month as it attempts to revive sales hit by tough competition and problems with previous models. The California-based firm said in July the new version will operate on Vodafone’s high-speed third-generation (3G) network and be powered by Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system, however details about the handset’s functionality remain sketchy.

New air travel safety concerns have made it more likely that you’ll have to send your laptop as checked luggage. The threat was terrorism, so it’s understandable why passengers on some trans-Atlantic flights suddenly found themselves trying to find a way to stash their electronics, including their laptop computers, iPods, cell phones and BlackBerry devices, into their checked luggage. Some of those items, such as cell phones, will travel fine there, but others, notably your laptop computer, aren’t designed to handle the stress of luggage handlers and baggage sorting machines. Your chances of getting your laptop back intact aren’t exactly great. eWeek’s Wayne Rash offers his tips and suggestions for laptop luggage survival.