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LCD TVs are what we are profiling for you this time in our test stories built around the latest technology of 'liquid crystal displays'. LCD and Plasma TVs are everywhere, but this too is all set to change soon. New technologies are beginning to appear in consumer devices opening the door to new choices in consumer electronics. As of now from thumb-nail mobile phone screens to wall-size flat panel televisions, liquid crystal displays (LCD) are currently registering their presence in the market.

However it is not the end of the road for TV technology as newer versions are all set to offer consumers clearer and brighter picture quality and even thinner screens with the added advantage of lower power consumption, a relevant consideration for the consumers.

Editorial

Exergaming is fast emerging as the possible technological option to the huge obesity problems related to the couch potato syndrome of TV viewers, as it matches on-screen action with real time physical exercise regime. This has huge market potential as it deals with two embedded consumer anxieties at one

Dr.Roopa Vajpeyi
Hony.Editor

go:the monotony of solitary exercising routines and the guilt of watching TV while guzzling junk food.

Now the consumer can have the option of combining physical exercise with leisure time activities. Gyms targeting teenage clientele, have begun to offer the opportunity to play video games combined with physical exercise. Sedentary gaming can now be replaced with proactive engagement with the TV screens and be considered for not only obesity prevention but also for improvement in fitness levels.

'Chatbot' technology is shortly going to do away with the nightmare called 'Call centres'. Very often we at VOICE get complaints against the faceless merry-go round that leads the consumer through a maze of choices to ultimately arrive at "we value

your time, but all our lines are busy, so call later". Work is going on at war footing on developing conversational software programmes or chatbots, which will at first supplement, and eventually replace human operators. This software will be able to work with routine conversational exchanges, and deal with callers more efficiently, by remaining focused and to the point.

Making ethanol from the customary sources, corn and sugar cane can now be discarded as new technological research shifts it to trees. Tree hugging has been the traditionally accepted way for India's indigenous people to protect trees in their vicinity but now it could acquire a brand new dimension when ethanol or rather 'Treethanol' will begin to be made from trees.

Treethanol technology could soon change the relationship between business and indigenous people and their forests, because for producing ethanol, there is always pressure to clear forests to make land available for sugar cane and maize crops, whereas trees can be grown round the year and require much less investment in use of water and fertilisers.

Potentially treethanol could also prove to be much more energy efficient, besides being environment-friendly. Research is on to identify ways to fragment, ferment and distil as well as refine wood to produce cellulosic biofuels, quickly and cheaply.

What we as consumers need to do is to be aware of the latest technologies and make the right choices while proactively supporting environment-friendly products. There are many more exciting and viable choices making their appearance in consumer markets, and we’ll try to keep our readers abreast of at least some of them.

Dr.Roopa Vajpeyi
Hony.Editor

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