Dallas Morning News

Many analysts and consumer advocates say consumers should prefer a European-style system, where carriers operate open networks and let device and application makers compete directly for customers.

"The carriers don't want to have service providers dealing directly with consumers because it would relegate them to a commodity provider of information transfer," said John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates in Dallas.

"It would be a better arrangement for customers, ...read more

Netflix, which pioneered online DVD rentals five years before Blockbuster got into the business, announced its "Watch Now" downloading option in January. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Amazon .com Inc., Apple Inc. and Starz Entertainment Inc. also have started versions of download and streaming video services in the last year.

Downloads are still a tiny part of the video business. Spending on Internet rentals and download-to-own movies amounted to an estimated $55 million last year, acc ...read more

Online storage doesn't have to replace local storage such as an external hard drive. The two methods can actually complement each other, making the most important files accessible without an Internet connection while keeping the rest of the valuable data somewhere safe, said Michael Cai, an analyst with Parks Associates, a Dallas market research firm.

"I definitely think online storage and backup solutions have a future, but I don't think it's an either/or situation," he said.

Apple users represent the future of computing, said Kurt Scherf, principal analyst at Parks Associates. Just as Apple's customers have done for years, mainstream consumers are creating more digital content – videos, photos, music and more.

"There's no question the PC industry and their partners, including those developing software and peripherals, those digital rendering devices, are now seeking to capture the attention of consumers," Mr. Scherf said.

From the article "Still ...read more

High-definition TV and gaming are also helping bring people together, said Kurt Scherf, principal analyst at Parks Associates.

When consumers talk about buying HDTV, they say, " 'Boy, this is the opportunity where we can bring friends and family together. This is the Super Bowl. We want to host the neighborhood party,' " Mr. Scherf said.

From the article "Digital dreamland," by Crayton Harrison, Terry Maxon, and Victor Godinez.

Consultant Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst at Parks Associates in Dallas, agreed that not all early adopters are alike, even though they may be similar in many ways. He cited the case of the people who first built computer networks in their homes.

"The home network adopter is clearly more tech savvy than most other people because they had to be," Mr. Scherf said. "These were people who had to be absolutely comfortable with technology because Geek Squad didn ...read more

In the next few years, technology manufacturers will figure out ways to make the devices easier to use, said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst at Dallas research firm Parks Associates.

"We have found that there is a definite underlying demand for a kind of multiroom distribution of music," Scherf said. "They have a market to tap into if they can design the features right."

From the article "Free your music, Wireless devices can send digital tunes througho ...read more

And when several companies get together to do research, internal squabbles can develop. For example, two groups of technology companies have been battling over standards for a wireless technology called Ultrawideband, slowing development of the technology, said Michael Cai, an analyst at Dallas research firm Parks Associates.
The Ultrawideband rivalry was so bad that when Parks Associates invited one of the two organizations to a conference, the group demanded that its competito ...read more