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DirecTV purchases installer & service provider 180 Connect
In exchange for purchasing 100 percent of 180 Connect's stock at $1.80 per share, DirecTV will take control over one of its largest installers, while in a separate deal, UniTek USA is taking over all of 180 Connects old cable TV servicing units and certain DirecTV installation markets in exchange for Unitek's installation business in several areas. All this swapping and dealing should be complete in the third quarter, when a large number of customers in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Arkansas, Virginia, Hawaii and western Pennsylvania can expect their first DirecTV visit, to come from an actual employee of the company. Check out the PR for all the business details and locations involved and let us know if you think a shakeup from your cable or satellite provider's customer service would be welcomed.
ED unveils programmable, home-serving U-ROBO bot with RFID
While domesticated robots are becoming a (frighteningly) common inclusion in techno-friendly homes, Korean 'bot manufacturer ED has a home-ready robot that sports a plethora of communication venues including ZigBee and RFID. The ED-7270 (dubbed U-ROBO), touts a sophisticated similarity to the pioneering R2-D2, and can complete a myriad of in-home chores by using the included software to program its pathways, actions, and movements. While we aren't sure if the "ubiquitous robotic companion" can manhandle a broom or cook dinner, the innards are fairly potent nonetheless; beneath the U-ROBO's cute outfit is a 1GHz Intel Pentium processor, 512MB of RAM, WiFi, Ethernet, USB 2.0, ZigBee cooridinator, RFID reader, and a RS-232 serial port. It also rocks a 6.4-inch touchscreen, programmable display beneath his "eyes," voice recognition, motion / light detectors, and an eight-axis motor that has no qualms wheeling up slopes or braving extreme temperatures. Although we don't know precisely when these intelligent robots will start mopping our floors (or taking over our domicile), we're sure the undisclosed price will keep them in the hands of the rich and famous for awhile anyway. [Via AVing]
