The digital home should be easy to use, easy to set up, and easy to add new devices. So believes Don MacDonald, VP of Intel’s Digital Home Group. In a short but fast-paced presentation, MacDonald showcased a variety of technologies aimed at home PC users, ranging from Intel’s Viiv technology to PC gaming on the upcoming Conroe CPU. The session began with a demo of setting up a Viiv system, including getting it on the network, adding a digital music adapter, and streaming applications. Already booted, but not configured, the Intel platform took less than 4 minutes to set up.

Toshiba unveiled the first high definition laptop computer with an HD DVD optical drive for the new generation of DVD disks and a high resolution display. The portable computer, introduced at the CeBIT electronics trade fair, is the latest model under Toshiba’s Qosmio range of high-end audio-video computers. The computer will retail for a price between 2,500 and 3,500 euros and will be available in all countries within a few weeks.

Computer users in Toronto will be able to connect to the Internet from park benches, buses, or almost anywhere downtown later this year under a plan to turn the central city into a wireless fidelity, or Wi-Fi, zone. A city-owned agency, Toronto Hydro Telecom, will install transmitting and receiving units on light standards in a six-square-kilometer central-city hotspot over the next 10 months, making wireless Internet access available to anyone, anywhere within the zone.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found a way to extend the power life of mobile computers. Instead of using batteries, they draw power from an electronic device called an ultracapacitor. The approach is still several years away from being used as the main electricity source for commercial laptops and handhelds, but is already used for backup power in many small consumer products. The old Palm III used an ultracapacitor to retain its memory while the AA batteries were changed.

Senforce Technologies has launched enforce iNAC (intelligent Network Access Control). An extension of its endpoint security products, Senforce iNAC adds critical network protections that ensure all PCs are policy-compliant and threat-free before they can obtain access to the network. Senforce ESS (Endpoint Security Suite) and Senforce iNAC provide a two-prong approach. Senforce’s ESS provides policy-enforced endpoint protection for all desktop, mobile and wireless PCs. Agent-based ESS protects enterprise PCs with inward-facing endpoint integrity, advanced firewall, virtual private network enforcement, Wi-Fi connectivity control, and local data storage protection for control of small storage devices like USB thumb drives and others. Senforce iNAC ensures that endpoint devices are free from threats and in compliance with IT security policies before they are allowed on the network.

On Tuesday, Cingular launched its Cingular Video on-demand streaming video service, allowing users to view video clips of various types of content, including television shows and movies, on 3G-capable Cingular mobile phones. Cingular’s 3G phones go for $99 with a two-year service contract, after a $50 rebate, according to MobileTechReview, and users must purchase a $19.99 Media Net Unlimited data package to use Cingular Video. Premium content like HBO will be available by monthly subscription.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been covering the changes in the Palm OS and its apparent eventual migration into something called ALP. As is always the case when trying to understand something new and relatively poorly documented, we got some of our facts wrong. Fortunately, we’ve gotten some excellent clarification on ALP from two PalmSource executives who would know: Maureen O’Connell, Senior Director, Corporate Communications and David “Lefty” Schlesinger, Director, Core Tools and Technologies. These two comments provide some excellent clues about what we might expect in the future from PalmSource.

Read this Computing Unplugged article.

Intel Marketing Director Brad Graff showed CNET News.com several of the Ultra Mobile PC devices, including an example of the kind of hardware that will ship in the next few weeks as part of the Microsoft effort. As earlier reported, the first devices have a 7-inch touch screen, standard x86 processors, and can run full versions of desktop operating systems including the Windows XP variant being used for Origami. In later generations, probably next year or later, the devices could have the pocket size, all-day battery life, and $500 price that Microsoft and Intel are aiming for, Graff said in an interview. The first generation of devices are likely to get about three hours of battery life, he said.

Palm is showcasing Treo smartphones and Palm wireless handhelds, as well as a range of other tools that meet the federal government’s need for platform choice and enterprise-strength mobile solutions, today through Thursday at FOSE (Federal Office Systems Expo. The new Palm Treo 700w smartphone is the first Treo smartphone to run the Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system. Palm also will show the Palm Treo 650 smartphone and the Palm TX wireless handheld.

The first devices using a wireless version of the Universal Serial Bus connection technology will begin arriving in the third quarter, the leader of an industry group overseeing the standard said Monday. Wireless USB promises help for consumers frustrated with PCs sprouting a profusion of cables linking their PCs with printers, digital cameras, music players and external disk drives, said Jeff Ravencraft, chairman of the USB Implementers Forum and an Intel technology strategist. Wireless USB permits the same 480 megabits-per-second data transfer speed as the current wired USB 2.0 standard, but requires small radios inside PCs or devices rather than the cables.