Cloutier admits he's no "technology freak" but knows a good thing when he sees it. Costs have come down on both equipment and rates since he first began looking into it five to six years ago. Then it might cost $25,000 per site for all the equipment as well as $150 to $250 an hour for transmission time, prohibitive for a medium-sized company. Today, Cloutier says he pays $5,000 per video-conferencing site plus $12 to $15 an hour in transmission costs.
The setup has allowed him to sell his private plane, which was costing him $80,000 a month, because he didn't need it anymore.
Catching Z-Wave
After Mike Einstein bought his St. Petersburg home recently, he began outfitting it with a low-cost, wireless home-automation device called HomeSettings, which uses Z-Wave technology. Einstein is very familiar with the system. The St. Petersburg native lives and works outside of Chicago for a company called Intermatic, a 115-year-old, family-owned energy-control business.
Einstein's St. Petersburg home, in fact, will feature products from many of the 120 companies in the so-called Z-Wave Alliance, a consortium of independent manufacturers that has agreed to build wireless home-control products based on Zensys' Z-Wave open standard. This means that any product bearing the Z-Wave mark will work with any other Z-Wave product without additional programming or equipment.
"Z-Wave technology provides very reliable two-way RF communications which do-it-yourselfers can install," Einstein says. Its low cost allows the average household to live like Bill Gates without the price tag. Intermatic's complete home-control package costs $300. By this fall, Einstein says he'll be able to control the home devices remotely through software and USB devices. Hurricane on the way? Einstein will be able to tell his St. Petersburg home -- from his office in Illinois -- to lower the hurricane shutters.
Intermatic rolled out the first of its planned 75-product home-automation line just three months ago. Its products can be found at Fry's Electronics stores throughout Florida.
MSP Technology
VWB's MediaREADY 5000 Advanced Digital Media CenterVideo Without Borders Inc. in Fort Lauderdale is using MSP (media service provider) technology to harness the power of the internet. The company's digital media center connects to the web's content seamlessly, enabling viewers to transfer web content directly to their home TV, PC or DVD player.
VWB's MediaREADY 5000 Advanced Digital Media Center also includes TV show-recording capability onto the unit's internal hard drive or DVD recorder; an advanced electronic program guide; and on-demand content.
David Novak, a VWB executive, likens his company's technology to the old-fashioned switchboard operator who would patch two lines together.
Many of the nearly 40 million broadband consumers in the U.S., Novak says, are walking into computer stores saying, "Hey I've got all this incredible content, now how do I get it on my TV?"
MediaREADY is sold at Comp USA, Tiger Direct and online through VWB.
Price: $699.
Artful Solution
COVER-UP: Art Screen turns wall-mounted TVs into works of art.What: Art Screen Masking system
Company: Cableorganizer.com, Fort
Lauderdale
The Art Screen is a large picture frame that hides that wall-mounted plasma or widescreen TV by masking it as a work of art. It consists of a hardwood frame and a special non-warping canvas with a reproduction of artwork, even photographs, of your choosing. The screen ascends or descends using a remote control device and is AMX- and Creston-compatible.
Three-year-old Cableorganizer.com introduced the Art Screen a little over six months ago and is selling at least one a week. This is one of the pricier offerings from the company, which also sells an array of cord and wire covers and other items that hide tech clutter.
"When you're getting ready to spend thousands of dollars on decorating your home or media room, the Art Screen makes sense," says Cableorganizer.com executive Paul Holstein, who founded the company with his wife, Valerie.
Price: $2,595 to $4,395
Light Touch
SHEDDING LIGHT: The OzoneLite helps cut down on airborne bacteria, mold and odors.What: OzoneLite light bulb
Company: OzoneLite, Deerfield Beach
OzoneLite is NASA titanium dioxide technology packaged in an atypical-looking light bulb now ready for the commercial market. David deMartino, one of the founders of OzoneLite, says the bulb, which is the same size as a standard light bulb, will eliminate the growth of airborne bacteria, mold, viruses, fungi, smoke and odors to make homes healthier and fresher smelling. It also lasts up to eight times longer than a typical bulb. DeMartino recently outfitted all 250 rooms at the Amelia Island Plantation after test-marketing the product for three months. The OzoneLite light bulb is available online at ozonelite.com.
Price: $39.95 per bulb or $139.80 for four-bulb pack
Safer Surfing
Raye Croghan of Tallahassee-based IDology is on a mission to make the internet safer for e-commerce. IDology has developed technology called IDLive to authenticate a user's identity. This is especially important, Croghan points out, with online beer, wine and tobacco sales. IDology's clients are the stores and e-commerce sites. To know if you're shopping on an IDology-protected site, look for the IDlive logo: "We ID on line."