Technological advances have changed the underlying nature of products in the consumer marketplace and will continue to do so in the coming ten years. Examples abound, including the placement of computer chips in previously-existing products; the creation of new distribution methods that fundamentally impact consumers’ rights regarding existing products; and the creation of new products using cutting edge technologies. At the hearings, panelists discussed some of the changes most likely to occur in the next ten years and their potential effects on consumers.
This topic was considered during the following panels:
Key Changes Predicted in the Next Tech-ade
RFID Technology in the Next Tech-ade
New Products, New Challenges
See the Tech-ade Agenda for more information on these panels and for links to the panelists’ presentations.
Related concepts
- Analog to digital television switch: On February 18, 2009, full power television stations will stop analog (traditional magnetic wave signal) broadcasting and switch to digital (a new signal that transmits information as “data bits”) broadcasting. This switch was authorized by Congress in 1996 in order to free up airwaves for other uses. Many stations are already broadcasting digital television, which has higher picture and sound quality. After the switch, older analog television sets will continue to function if they are equipped with a converter box or connected to a multichannel pay service (such as cable or satellite) that can perform a digital to analog conversion.
For more information, check out:
DTV.gov, the FCC’s consumer guide to Digital TV
- Digital Rights Management (DRM): DRM refers to technologies used by publishers of digital files to control access to and distribution of those files.
For more information, check out:
Urs Gasser, Legal Frameworks and Technological Protection of Digital Content: Moving Forward Towards a Best Practice Model (2006)
Derek Slater, Meg Smith, Derek Bambauer, Urs Gasser, & John Palfrey, Content and Control: Assessing the Impact of Policy Choices on Potential Online Business Models in the Music and Film Industries (2005)
- Nanotechnology: Nanotechnology is technology that controls matter on the nanometer scale (a nanometer is one billionth of a meter). At this scale, the physical, chemical, and biological properties of materials may be fundamentally different, potentially allowing unique functions not possible at the normal atomic level.
For more information, check out:
Nanotechnology to Be Studied by the Food and Drug Administration, October 18, 2006
- Click wrap agreements: “Click wrap” or “click through” agreements often appear in connection with software available for download on the Internet. Many times, when a user installs software, he or she is asked to scroll through and either accept or reject a product license. Acceptance of the agreement is required in order to download the software. A click wrap agreement is meant to substitute for a legally enforceable paper contract.
Other related materials
Martin E. Abrams and William Halal Answer Questions on the Tech-ade Blog!,
November 4, 2006
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