Sony Electronics and GlowPoint announced the availability of Sony’s IVE or Instant Video Everywhere service powered by GlowPoint, the first comprehensive IP-based video communications solution that can be used anyplace where there is broadband access. Sony’s IVE service, powered by GlowPoint, enables users to conduct “face-to-face” video conversations with colleagues, friends and family as easily as using a telephone. The IVE service portfolio has been developed to extend across multiple Sony product lines, moving beyond the conference room and typical videoconferencing equipment to desktop or laptop computers and other video enabled devices.

Cisco Press is publishing a four-color, easy-to-read reference book for everyday users interested in learning home networking. Written in a straightforward fashion, and featuring a visual approach to learning, Home Networking Simplified walks the non-technical user step-by-step from basic Internet connectivity to a truly networked home. Authors Jim Doherty and Neil Anderson make home networking approachable by providing user-friendly features such as full-color illustrations, step-by-step instructions, and, as an added bonus, professional advice from the Geek Squad. The Geek Squad is a company of on-call troubleshooting professionals, and they include tricks, tips, and troubleshooting guidelines throughout Home Networking Simplified. All this provides content in an easy-to-understand and fun format for readers learning home networking.

Hands High Software has released WiFile Pro 2.03. This version fixes specific problems with WebDAV and iDisk on the .mac service. In other words, if you are a .mac customer, you can now use WiFile Pro to connect to your iDisk.

Watching the original “Star Wars” movie as a mathematically inclined 11-year-old, Helen Greiner, co-founder of iRobot Corp., dreamed of someday creating a robot like the heroic R2-D2. The Roomba vacuum cleaner may be incapable of fixing an X-wing fighter like Luke Skywalker’s trusty droid, but some 1.2 million of the disc-shaped robotic housekeepers have been sold in 25 countries in the past 2 1/2 years. iRobot is now the world’s largest firm solely devoted to robotics, with more than 200 employees.

The main problem with laptops is that the screen and keyboard are so close together. Without the aid of peripherals, laptop users have two choices, neither of which would win them any points for posture. They can cramp their neck down to view the monitor or they can elevate the machine to eye level, which can wreak havoc on shoulders and arms. And the wrists lose regardless, because the keyboard is so small, leading to awkward hand positioning. Laptops can cause other physical woes. People have been burned by the heat the machines generate. The temperature issue can also cause fertility problems in men who place the machines on their laps for prolonged periods. Frequent travelers can put strain on backs, hands and shoulders by lugging a laptop around.

Security experts are warning Internet users about a new piece of software that poses as a spyware-removal tool but is actually being used to persuade unsuspecting Internet users to download spyware programs and Trojans. The program, SpywareNo, is installed on Internet users’ computers without warning, can be difficult to remove and may be accompanied by malicious programs that hijack victims’ Web browsers, according to interviews with spyware experts. The company behind the new tool claims that it is the victim of unscrupulous online advertisers who bundle the product with noxious wares. But at least one spyware expert says the new application is just the latest example of so-called “rogue anti-spyware” programs that exploit user naivet

Cmate Ltd, provider of multiplayer mobile gaming, and SmarTone-Vodafone, Hong Kong’s leading mobile services company in multimedia services, announced they have signed an agreement to provide SmarTone-Vodafone’s customers with Cmate’s multiplayer mobile games. Under the framework of this agreement Cmate will launch its proprietary multiplayer platform and offer a variety of multiplayer games to SmarTone-Vodafone’s customers in Hong Kong. This will enable SmarTone-Vodafone’s customers to play against each other anytime, anywhere as well as play against Cmate’s growing community of global multiplayer users.

Sony’s latest enhancements to its Micro Vault USB storage media line include a new Virtual Expander feature that stretches the virtual capacity of the device to store as much as three times more data. The Virtual Expander feature is included in the latest Classic and Mini Micro Vault designs. In addition, Sony is introducing the Micro Vault Turbo with a rapid 28MB/sec maximum transfer speed.

We normally publish our Weekly Updates on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th of each month. This month, May 28th falls smack-dab in the middle of the U.S. Memorial Day weekend, which extends through Monday, May 30th. As a result, and to allow your esteemed editorial team to take part in a burger-munching mania, the May 28th issue of the Weekly Update will actually be published on Tuesday May 31. We hope all of you have a great weekend — and let’s not forget the brave folks for whom this holiday is intended: be strong and be safe.

palmOne launched the Treo 650 smartphone with Telcel, the leading mobile communications operator in Mexico. The Treo 650, the first all-in-one, quad-band smartphone in Mexico designed to operate with Telcel’s EDGE (Enhanced Data for Global Evolution) network, combines a compact, full-featured mobile phone with email, a Palm OS organizer, messaging, Web access and digital camera, enabling users to organize and simplify their business and personal lives all in one device.