Consumer Electronics Daily News

Warpia Simplifies Home Theater Setup with StreamEZ, a Wireless HDMI Streaming Kit

Warpia, a premier technology brand dedicated to delivering innovative connectivity solutions, announces the StreamEZ, a wireless HDMI streaming kit that will allow users to wirelessly bring audio and video content to their HDTV via an HDMI output. A truly plug and play kit, users will be able to connect the StreamEZ to their PC/Laptop or any device with an HDMI port such as Cable/Satellite boxes, Blu-Ray/DVD players and game consoles to enjoy wireless high definition streaming.

“Warpia StreamEZ is the first product on the market to offer the versatility of PC streaming combined with wireless HDMI functionality for set top boxes and Blu-Ray/DVD players,” says Mike Walsh President of Warpia.  “The StreamEZ is a solution that provides consumers with maximum entertainment options whether they are watching a movie from their set top box or streaming content from their PC, they can now do it without the clutter of cables.”

For PC/laptop users, the StreamEZ allows any PC content such as videos, pictures, movies and presentations to be viewed via an uncompressed HDMI signal in full 1080p (1920 x1280) resolution. Additional content from popular video streaming sites such as Hulu, Netflix, CinemaNow, YouTube and Amazon Video on Demand can also be streamed with ease. For multi-takers and parents, the Warpia StreamEZ allows one to conduct work or other activities such as email and web surfing on their laptop screen while simultaneously streaming video to their TV.

In A/V applications such as Cable set top boxes or Blu-Ray players, the unit will no longer need to be close to the HDTV.  Just plug the StreamEZ into the units HDMI output and avoid the hassle and considerable cost of having to run new cables. 

Additional features and functionality include:
•    Works with both PC & Mac (Mac Laptops require Mini Display Port to HDMI Connector not included)
•    30ft Wireless Range
•    1080p (1920 x1280) capable with HDCP enabled streaming
•    Wireless Audio up to 5.1 Surround Sound, 48kHz, 24-bit
•    No drivers or software installation required
•    Kit includes wireless HDMI transmitter dongle, wireless HDMI receiver unit, USB A-Mini to USB cable to power transmitter, 90 degree HDMI elbow connector and WHDI remote control

The Warpia StreamEZ will be available for purchase starting March 1, 2012 for $219.99 SRP at www.warpia.com/products/streamez-swp700. For more information about the Warpia StreamEZ and the full line of Warpia streaming solutions visit www.Warpia.com.

Warpia, a premier technology brand dedicated to delivering innovative connectivity solutions, announces the StreamEZ, a wireless HDMI streaming kit that will allow users to wirelessly bring audio and video content to their HDTV via an HDMI output. A truly plug and play kit, users will be able to connect the StreamEZ to their PC/Laptop or any device with an HDMI port such as Cable/Satellite boxes, Blu-Ray/DVD players and game consoles to enjoy wireless high definition streaming.

“Warpia StreamEZ is the first product on the market to offer the versatility of PC streaming combined with wireless HDMI functionality for set top boxes and Blu-Ray/DVD players,” says Mike Walsh President of Warpia.  “The StreamEZ is a solution that provides consumers with maximum entertainment options whether they are watching a movie from their set top box or streaming content from their PC, they can now do it without the clutter of cables.”

Qualcomm and Microsoft to Provide Developers with Snapdragon-Based Windows on ARM Test PCs

Qualcomm Incorporated  today announced that its Snapdragon™ processor will be joining Microsoft Corp.'s Windows on ARM developer seeding program. Qualcomm is working with Microsoft to provide test PCs to select developers in order to test and optimize apps for forthcoming Snapdragon-powered Windows on ARM PCs and tablets. This invitation-only program will combine a pre-release version of Windows on ARM with next-generation, high performance Snapdragon S4 test PCs. These test PCs are not representative of commercial form factors or the final Windows on ARM experience; they are designed to give developers early access to building and testing Windows Metro style apps on Qualcomm's latest technology.

The Windows on ARM developer seeding program will help ensure that Windows Metro style apps available in the Windows Store work great on all Windows 8-based PCs, including those with Qualcomm's ARM-compliant Snapdragon processors.

"Microsoft's development tools and the Qualcomm Snapdragon test PCs will enable developers to build and test Metro style apps for Windows on ARM PCs," said Stefan Kinnestrand, director of business planning, Windows Division, Microsoft. "Based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor, these systems will equip developers to create Metro style apps and offer a rich set of hardware peripherals that plug in and help enable seamless user experiences on the Windows on ARM platform."

Qualcomm, with Microsoft, is among those leading the shift to anytime, anywhere connectivity. The Snapdragon mobile processor will offer a combination of processing performance, rich multimedia, GPS, high-performance graphics, wireless connectivity and power efficiency with Windows on ARM. 

"Qualcomm is committed to the Windows on ARM ecosystem and knows that enabling developers is a crucial factor for its success," said Luis Pineda, senior vice president of product management, computing and consumer products at Qualcomm. "We are now providing Snapdragon S4 test PCs with built-in 4G LTE, activated in some regions, to software application developers."   

Qualcomm's participation in the Windows on ARM developer seeding program provides select developers with the latest generation Snapdragon S4 test PCs running a pre-release version of Windows on ARM. These test PCs contain Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 processor with second-generation high performance, power efficient CPU, hardware accelerated Adreno^® graphics, full multimedia, GPS, sensors, and peripherals that will enable development and test of next-generation Windows Metro style apps for the coming wave of Windows on ARM PCs.

Blizzard Entertainment Announces Staff Reductions

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that it has conducted a review of its business based on current organizational needs. Following a completion of the review, the company is conducting a global reduction in workforce of approximately 600 employees. The company anticipates approximately 90% of the affected employees will come from departments not related to game development. The World of Warcraft^® development team will not be impacted.

“Constant evaluation of teams and processes is necessary for the long-term health of any business. Over the last several years, we've grown our organization tremendously and made large investments in our infrastructure in order to better serve our global community. However, as Blizzard and the industry have evolved we've also had to make some difficult decisions in order to address the changing needs of our company,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Knowing that, it still does not make letting go of some of our team members any easier. We’re grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the people impacted by today’s announcement, we’re proud of the contributions they made here at Blizzard, and we wish them well as they move forward.”

Blizzard's current development and publishing schedules will not be impacted. The company will announce specific release plans for Diablo^® III in the near future, and it’s continuing to drive aggressively toward beta testing for World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria^™, Blizzard DOTA, and StarCraft^® II: Heart of the Swarm^™. Blizzard also remains committed to maintaining its high standards of quality for customer service delivery. In addition, Blizzard is still recruiting and looking to hire qualified developers for a number of open positions. Further details are available at http://jobs.blizzard.com.

Automotive Human Machine Interface Solutions Poised to Tap Synergies Between Driver and Car

To deal with the issue of driver distraction, the automotive industry is turning to a multi-modal human machine interface (HMI) approach, wherein all the interfaces play an equal role. The main aim here is to prioritise information and reduce driver workload.

According to a new analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.automotive.frost.com), Strategic Analysis of European and North American Automotive Human Machine Interface Market, 16 million cars will be equipped with basic voice interface, 6.9 million with advanced voice interface, and 1.2 million with multifunctional knobs in Europe by 2017. Meanwhile in North America, 13.6 million cars will have basic voice, 6.8 million advanced voice, and 0.9 million will be equipped with multifunctional knobs by 2017.  

The integration of varied comfort and safety user interfaces into a single system is a growing trend. Multi-modal HMI solutions will help reduce complexity, while focussing on the consumer demand for different interfaces.

"OEMs and suppliers are constantly working on prioritising the information coming from infotainment systems and smartphones in order to minimise driver distraction and increase safety," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Krishna Jayaraman. "The primary aim of HMI is to simplify the driver's interaction with the car; OEMs are actively looking at finding an optimal solution to this challenge by providing the same styling of HMI solutions across their product line to minimise distraction as well as the driver learning curve."

The majority of in-vehicle functionalities require a substantial amount of information to be presented to the driver. This contributes to the problem of inattentive driving, while increasing the risk of traffic accidents. Therefore, effectively managing information flows is a big challenge.

"Information has to be split among different vehicle displays and the input channels have to be ergonomically positioned," says Jayaraman.

Designing a user interface that is simple, accessible, less distractive, and affordable presents a key challenge. The location of the user interface and the type of information depending on the driving conditions are the main issues in the development of an efficient HMI.

HMI solutions have to be designed keeping the primary task of driving in mind. Offering redundant interfaces for an application will ensure a fail-safe environment where, even if one of the interfaces stops working, there will always be another option that will assume control.

HMI controls are strongly co-related to vehicle comfort and ease of use. OEMs need therefore, to offer solutions to which consumers are accustomed. This will decrease the length of the learning curve and make it easy for drivers to use different functions with controls they are familiar with.

"At present, many innovative HMI solutions are offered as an optional package in the medium and low segments," concludes Jayaraman. "To maximise on growth potential, it will be necessary to offer innovative HMI across all automotive segments as a standard feature."

If you are interested in more information on this study, please send an e-mail with your contact details to Katja Feick, Corporate Communications, at katja.feick@frost.com.

Strategic Analysis of European and North American Automotive Human Machine Interface Market is part of the Automotive & Transportation Growth Partnership Service programme, which also includes research in the following markets: Executive Analysis of European and North American Automotive App Store Concepts and Services, Strategic Analysis of European Market for Low Cost OEM Navigation Systems and Strategic Analysis of the European Automotive Human Machine Interface Market. All research included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

Consumers Unlikely to Abandon Wallets in Favor of Paying With Smartphones

While the number of smartphone users has exploded to nearly 50% of all U.S. consumers, a new survey conducted by Radius Global Market Research shows that the majority of Americans remain quite skeptical of smartphone generated payment solutions and in the near-term are not likely to give up traditional forms of payment.

"There's been a lot of speculation about how quickly consumers are moving to a wallet-less existence. Based on our recent survey, it won't be anytime soon," says Chip Lister, Managing Director of Radius. "The benefits of convenience, speed, and portability, are resonating with a niche population of younger consumers. But even with this segment there are important obstacles that must be addressed before pay-by-smartphone technologies will be widely adopted as a replacement to more traditional modes of payments."

Security tops the list of consumer concerns about mobile payments.  Half of all American consumers say potential security and fraud significantly influence their likelihood to use smartphone technology to make purchases in the future.  In comparison, only 14% say security and fraud don't influence their future likelihood to make those purchases.

Interestingly, the segment most likely to make purchases via smartphone, consumers under 35 and those identifying as digitally savvy, are also the most likely to be concerned with security and fraud issues.  Fifty-four percent of consumers under the age of 35 are concerned with fraud.  That figure rises to 62% among digitally savvy consumers.

"The more the consumers know about smartphone technology, the more they worry about the security of mobile transactions," says Lister. "While marketers have done a good job at promoting convenience, they will also need to boost messaging efforts to address security concerns in a way that convinces digitally savvy consumers."

Complicating messaging efforts further is the fragmented nature of mobile payment service delivery. Several branded product and service providers are involved in executing a single smartphone generated transaction.  Responsibility for flawless delivery is spread across several partners.

"Consumers appear to be very aware of the entire delivery chain associated with mobile payments," says Lister. "The company you keep will be extremely important in marketing efforts. Individual brand reputations of retailers, device makers, software developers, service providers, and financial institutions will be scrutinized. In consumers' minds the complete transaction is only as strong as the weakest link, especially as it relates to security."

"Consumers don't currently view banks and credit card companies as leading the way in the effort to develop innovative payment technologies," adds Lister. "To remain competitive in the very near-term, it may be important for marketing efforts to lead with smartphone/technology brands."

Radius's study was conducted in the first quarter of 2012 and surveyed U.S. households. The firm's proprietary Know More™ panel represents over 3.4 million households, with over 6 million consumers in the U.S. and over 1.5 million consumers in Canada, the U.K. and Europe, Australia and Scandinavia.

LightSquared Undertakes Search for New CEO; Affirms Intent to Build Wireless Network

LightSquared today announced that Sanjiv Ahuja has resigned his position as chief executive officer. He will continue to serve as chairman of the board. Doug Smith, currently chief network officer, and Marc Montagner, currently chief financial officer, will be named as interim co-chief operating officers, while the company completes the search for the new CEO. In addition, Philip A. Falcone, CEO and CIO of Harbinger Capital Partners, has been appointed to the company's board of directors. The CEO search is expected to be completed in the near future.

"Sanjiv has shown great leadership in bringing the LightSquared vision to this point, including leveraging his experience in the telecom industry to sign dozens of critical partnerships across the country," said Mr. Falcone. "As the company takes the next step forward, we continue to be excited about the prospects and look forward to working with new leadership to accomplish our goal of building and operating an innovative, competitive wireless network."

"LightSquared's objective, through its wholesale business model, is to provide increased competition and lower prices in the telecommunications industry, and to bring broadband cellular phone service to rural areas that currently don't have such service and that has not and will not change. That has been our vision from day one," said Mr. Falcone. "The absence of affordable and reliable wireless service options is frustrating for consumers, particularly in these challenging economic times."

"We are, furthermore, committed to working with the appropriate entities to find a solution to the recent regulatory issues. We, of course, agree that it is critical to ensure that national security, aviation and the GPS communities are protected. I am confident that working together, we can solve this problem and bring the American consumer the lower priced 4G wireless alternative they need and deserve," Mr. Falcone added.

Mr. Falcone noted that the company is also taking an aggressive approach to its finances to ensure that it has adequate financial runway while it works through these issues.

"During my tenure at LightSquared, we all worked tirelessly to create the nation's first open wireless broadband network and provide consumers with a new wireless broadband experience," Mr. Ahuja said. "That work continues and I wish the company and its fine management team well as they work to achieve this important goal."

As chief network officer, Mr. Smith is responsible for LightSquared's network design, deployment and operations, and is the lead architect behind developing the technical characteristics necessary to bring to market a competitive high-speed wireless network. Previously, he held a number of leadership positions at Clearwire and Sprint Nextel, managing technical, engineering and network operations.

As chief financial officer, Mr. Montagner is responsible for the company's daily financial operations and oversees investor and bondholder relations. He has nearly 25 years of experience in financial and corporate development for the wireless communications sector, including working for such companies as France Telecom, Morgan Stanley, Sprint Nextel and Banc of America Securities, the investment banking arm of Bank of America.

"Doug and Marc have been recognized leaders in the industry and bring an exceptional combination of experience, intellect and character to the management team," Mr. Falcone said. "They also know our opportunities and challenges as well as anyone, and are uniquely suited to lead the company forward. I look forward to working closely with them to bring affordable, reliable and high-speed wireless connectivity to all Americans."

Microsoft Outlines Evolved Security, Privacy and Reliability Strategies for Cloud and Big Data

Today at the RSA Conference 2012, Scott Charney, corporate vice president of Microsoft Trustworthy Computing, shared his vision for the road ahead as society and computing intersect in an increasingly interconnected world. In a new paper, "Trustworthy Computing (TwC) Next," Charney encouraged industry and governments to develop more effective privacy principles focused on use and accountability, improve end-to-end reliability of cloud services through increased fault modeling and standards efforts, and adopt more holistic security strategies including improved hygiene and greater attention to detection and containment.

Ten years ago, the computing ecosystem was at a crossroads when Bill Gates introduced TwC and called for industry collaboration. Today, technology and society are more interconnected than ever. Big data's strain on privacy protection, the shifting relationship between government and the Internet, and the evolving threat model all raise new challenges for industry and governments globally.

"We are at another inflection point, with expectations for better security, privacy and reliability growing at an exponential rate," Charney said. "Now is the time for industry and governments to develop and adopt strategies and policies that balance business and societal needs with individuals' choices."

The Cloud and Big Data

The proliferation of devices and cloud services has resulted in a massive aggregation of global data, also known as big data. While offering many potential societal benefits, this collection of data poses unique challenges. From a security perspective, big data represents a valuable target for attackers. As the cloud and devices become more integrated with society, people also become increasingly dependent on the reliability and availability of data and services to function. Finally, the massive increase in the amount and types of data available for collection, analysis and dissemination has strained traditional rules to protect privacy.

One solution for the privacy challenge is for government, industry, academia and consumer groups to collaborate in updating current privacy principles to address the world of big data. These revised principles should place a greater focus on appropriate uses of data. They should also include an "accountability" principle to help ensure organizations use and protect data in ways consistent with individual and societal expectations. Together, these principles can help reduce the burden on the consumer and shift greater responsibility to the data collector.

"Microsoft has long been a contributor to the global debate and discussion on the future of privacy," said Malcolm Crompton, managing director of Information Integrity Solutions Pty Ltd. "The global framework proposed by Scott Charney tackles head-on many of the difficult realities of today's environment. It's a great contribution to the dialogue."

The Role of Government

The advent of big data has also been challenging for governments. Any transformative technological change that recasts the way people live will engender deeper government engagement. This is because governments' relationship with the Internet is a complex one. In the TwC Next white paper, Charney said governments globally are simultaneously users of the Internet, protectors of individual users as well as the Internet itself, and exploiters that capitalize on the power of technology for a variety of purposes.

In times of need, governments may use online services to keep citizens informed, and first responders can react more effectively than those not using cloud-based services because they have GPS devices, mapping capabilities, street views, videoconferencing and other cloud-based services. Such benefits only materialize, however, if these systems meet reasonable expectations of overall service reliability.

Recognizing this fact, governments may play an increasingly active role in many aspects of the Internet. Some nations are looking at legislatively mandating the adoption of information risk-management plans for those managing information and computing systems.

The Evolving Threat Landscape

While the quality of code has improved and infection rates have declined for products developed under Microsoft's Security Development Lifecycle, the threat landscape continues to evolve. Opportunistic threats have been supplemented by attacks that are more persistent and, in many cases, far more worrisome. While some of these attacks have been called "Advanced Persistent Threats," that term is often a misnomer. Some are advanced, but many are not; attack vectors are often traditional and unsophisticated. What marks these attacks is that the adversary is willing to persist over time and is firmly resolved to penetrate a particular victim.

"The new security challenges today are to some extent the same as the old security challenges. They've just been magnified," said Alan Levine, chief information security officer at Alcoa Inc. "An organization may be targeted by a determined adversary who has the time, skills and tenacity to prevail."

Companies must improve their basic hygiene approach to counter the opportunistic threats and make even persistent and determined adversaries work harder. This can be accomplished by designing systems not just to prevent attacks and recover from them, but also to detect successful attackers quickly and contain them so that their unauthorized access or disruption is limited. This new paradigm of protect, detect, contain and recover can serve as a practical foundation for managing risk in the age of persistent and determined adversaries.

More information about Microsoft's vision for TwC Next is at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/security.

Sony Tablet P Available on AT&T; 4G Network

AT&T today announced Sony Tablet™ P, a dual screen, multi-functional tablet ideal for mobile communication and entertainment, will be available beginning March 4. The 4G tablet will be sold for $399.99 with a two-year service agreement in more than 1,000 AT&T company-owned retail stores and online at www.att.com.   

The new Sony Tablet P pushes the design of a tablet even further by elevating the user experience to entirely new levels. The unprecedented dual-screen layout of Sony Tablet™ P allows its two 5.5-inch displays to be used for different functions such as playing video on one screen while using the other as a controller, or checking email on one screen while using the other as a keyboard. Customers can also combine the displays into a single large screen and its unique folding design means it can fit easily into a pocket or purse.

At launch, users will be able to download apps optimized for the dual screens of Sony Tablet P via Sony's "Select App," including games, entertainment and lifestyle applications. In addition to optimized apps, Sony Tablet P users will have access to the full suite of Android applications via Android Market. Like its predecessor, Sony Tablet P is PlayStation™ Certified and provides access to the full suite of Sony Network Entertainment services. Sony Tablet devices are distinguished by four key features that set them apart from any other tablets on the market. These include: uniquely designed hardware and software, a "swift and smooth" experience (which includes Sony original features, Quick view and Quick touch), network entertainment services and cross-device connectivity.

Running on Android 3.2, Sony Tablet™ P is 4G**capable and Wi-Fi compatible. With a qualifying data plan, users of Sony Tablet™ P also have access to AT&T's mobile broadband network and unlimited access to AT&T's nearly 30,000 hot spots nationwide. With both 4G and Wi-Fi, customers can browse the Internet, access digital content including videos, games, and check e-mail, while on the go, nearly anytime. 

Data Plans

Customers who sign a two-year service agreement have two postpaid data plan options to choose from, including:

• AT&T DataConnect 3GB: $35 for 3GB
• AT&T DataConnect 5GB: $50 for 5GB

Customers may still choose from the existing monthly billing options, or prepaid options, with no long-term commitment.  The Sony Tablet P without a long term contract will cost $549.99.

The prepaid plan options include:

• AT&T DataConnect 250MB: $14.99 for 250MB
• AT&T DataConnect 3GB: $30 for 3GB
• AT&T DataConnect 5GB: $50 for 5GB

SonicWALL Earns NSS Labs' 'Recommend' Rating in 2012 Next-Generation Firewall Comparative Testing

SonicWALL, Inc., a leading provider of intelligent network security and data protection solutions, today announced that NSS Labs, the recognized leader in independent security product testing, gave the SonicWALL® SuperMassive™ E10800 its highest rating of 'Recommend.' To achieve this ranking, SuperMassive excelled in one of the industry's most comprehensive, real-world tests of next-generation firewalls and secured a leadership position in NSS Labs' Security Value Map™ (SVM).

Tweet This: SonicWALL's SuperMassive E10800 is the highest overall protection Next-Generation Firewall to earn the NSS Labs "Recommend" rating. http://clicktotweet.com/UGpjt

The NSS Labs Next-Generation Firewall Product Analysis showed that the SonicWALL SuperMassive E10800 running SonicOS 6.0 is the highest overall protection next-generation firewall to earn the NSS Labs 'Recommend' rating.

"Those that consider the SonicWALL brand to be associated with SMB UTM products will need to reevaluate their opinion," said Vikram Phatak, chief technology officer at NSS Labs. "For high-end multi-gigabit environments looking to upgrade defenses from their current firewall to a next-generation firewall, the advanced architecture of the SonicWALL SuperMassive E10800 running SonicOS 6.0 provides an extremely high level of protection and performance."

"There's no two ways about it: SuperMassive E10800 had the best combination of performance, effectiveness and value of any firewall tested," said Patrick Sweeney, vice president product management and corporate marketing at SonicWALL. "We're throwing down the gauntlet and establishing SonicWALL as the leader in enterprise, data center, service provider and government deployed next-generation firewalls!"

NSS Labs designed the test to focus on the following four areas:

• Security effectiveness
• Performance
• Stability
• Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

The SuperMassive E10800 was measured by NSS Labs at 18.9 Gbps of inspected throughput. Additionally, the SonicWALL device yielded the highest level of real-world HTTP Connections per Second (CPS), ranging from 55,000 to 238,000 CPS for session lengths spanning 44KB to 1.7KB. The E10800 exhibited less than 30 microseconds of latency under UDP test traffic conditions.

According to the NSS Labs Next-Generation Firewall Product Analysis, the SonicWALL SuperMassive E10800 "offer[s] some highly evolved features suitable for large enterprises and multi-tenant / service provider deployments, making it straightforward to apply complex policies in a targeted manner across multiple nested groups of firewalls in large-scale deployments."

Designed to meet the needs of large enterprise, government, university and multi-tenant / service providers, the SonicWALL SuperMassive E10000 Series delivers scalability, reliability, and deep security at multi-gigabit speeds. Utilizing SonicWALL's Reassembly-Free Deep Packet Inspection® engine to scan every byte of every packet, this single integrated solution delivers full content inspection of the entire stream and superior intrusion prevention, malware protection, application intelligence, control and real-time visualization, and inspection for SSL encrypted sessions while ensuring high performance and low latency.

For more news on Dynamic Security and Next-Generation Networks, follow SonicWALL on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Caregivers Need to Know About Telecaregiving and High-Tech Monitoring Tools

Nanny cams aren't just for kids anymore.

Interactive cameras, motion detectors and even smart toilets can be useful telecare tools to see if Grandma and Grandpa are taking their meds, or to determine if they are beginning to lose their ability to lead normal lives.

But only if certified caregivers know how to use the telecare services and interpret the results.

"Caregivers need to be trained and tested on the proper use of these new telecare systems and technologies to ensure that patients are getting the best possible care," says Dr. Cathleen Carr, executive director of CertifiedCare.org, one of the nation's largest organizations to educate and certify caregivers.

"The use of cameras to monitor adults who might need caregiving is becoming a more common occurrence," said Carr, who has been invited to draft legislation on caregiving standards to be presented to the Ohio state legislature. "Families need to get the peace of mind they need to make intelligent decisions for their loved ones."

High-tech devices can be a cost-efficient way for the elderly to lead normal lives with minimal help from caregivers. It can also lower the price of care that would otherwise require expensive in-home caregivers or warrant sending them to assisted-living centers.

Remote care technology can help prolong the amount of time an at-risk person can safely live on their own.

Also, technology can show and tell the truth where people don't or can't.

"Cameras don't lie, but people do," she said. "Elderly people have their pride and they don't want to admit they are having trouble doing simple tasks like taking their medicine or cooking food properly or letting the dog out of the house. That's where monitoring devices can help families determine if extra care needs to be given."

For many family members, this is a new concept and their first reaction is, "What is telecare?"

Carr says telecare can help a family identify the needs of their loved ones and see what kind of care is needed. It is a vital tool for people who live long distances from their relatives.

"Telecare provides a sense of security for the senior. It shows them that they are not all alone in the world. It provides an opportunity for friends, family or third-party caregivers to see what is really going on in a day in the life of a senior," she said. "Of course, it should not be exclusively relied upon once certain needs are identified."

Telecare devices can help caregivers find out if clients are:

• Not doing everyday tasks, like sorting mail or paying bills.

• Taking their medicine

• Putting something on the stove, but not coming back into the kitchen for long periods.

• Leaving perishable food on the counter.

• Forgetting to put away food.

RFID tags can be used to track supplies, medication, and objects that get lost (i.e. glasses, canes, keys).

Motion sensors can detect when a person gets out of bed or what time the client wakes up and goes to sleep. Sensors can also show when the refrigerator is opened or if medicine vials have been opened.

Telecare can also help spot other signs of someone not being able to cope properly.

For example, if a person answers the phone when the doorbell rings.

"People appear to function on their own, but their wires are beginning to get crossed or frayed," she said.

A properly trained and licensed caregiver who understands telecare can help a senior stay at home longer so they can preserve their independence, maintain a level of safety and save money, said Carr.