Toshiba service calls up PCs with phones

New software from Toshiba Corp. will let you edit documents, send e-mail and reboot your Windows computer remotely through a mobile phone.

That’ll let you get work done wherever you may be, including commuter trains or bus stops.

Toshiba is planning to offer the service in Japan by the end of March through CDMA1X mobile phones offered by KDDI Corp.

Similar services with other carriers, including overseas, are in the works, Toshiba officials said.

The idea of accessing personal computers through mobile phones isn’t new, but the software has been limited in capability. Toshiba says its Ubiquitous Viewer handles virtually all the Windows PC functions.

Prices have not yet been decided, Toshiba said.

Technology

Music fans tuning into digital options

The recording industry reports a tenfold increase in the number of people legally downloading music from the Internet and the first significant revenues brought in by digital sales.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, or IFPI, also says it will continue its campaign of suing people who illegally download music. The federation sees such illegal downloads as severely eroding the profits of its 1,450 member record companies across the globe.

The IFPI says that music fans in the United States and Europe legally downloaded more than 200 million tracks in 2004, up from about 20 million in 2003.

That contributed to estimated digital music revenues of around $330 million in 2004, up sixfold from the previous year.

“Digital music is now in the mainstream,” said John Kennedy, IFPI’s chief executive.

The IFPI says there are more than 230 online sites where consumers can buy music legally, up from 50 a year ago.

Industry forecasts for future digital growth vary. Some analysts suggest that 25 percent of record company revenue could come from digital sales by 2010; others put the figure at less than 10 percent — up from 1 percent to 2 percent now.

Motley Fool

Name that company

I trace my history back to 1795 and a bourbon-making grain mill operator named Jacob Beam. Today I’m a leading consumer brands company, with brands that focus on home and hardware products (Moen, Aristokraft, Schrock, Diamond, Omega, Therma-Tru, Master Lock and Waterloo), spirits and wine (Jim Beam, Knob Creek, DeKuyper, The Dalmore, Vox, Geyser Peak and Wild Horse), golf equipment (Titleist, Cobra and FootJoy) and office products (Swingline, Wilson Jones, Kensington and Day-Timer). Based in Lincolnshire, Ill., I employ more than 30,000 people and my annual sales top $7 billion. Who am I?