Nintendo’s latest innovation, the Nintendo DS, is a dual-screened, handheld video game system for interactive entertainment. One screen allows for touch input using a stylus, while the unit includes both voice recognition and multiplayer wireless features. The sleek silver-and-black system sports a sharp, angular design.

Consumers immediately will be able to pick up and play the new system, as it comes with a free software feature, PictoChat, embedded in the system hardware. PictoChat allows DS owners to write messages with an on-screen keyboard or the stylus and send them wirelessly to other DS users nearby. And a Nintendo DS in sleep mode will spring to life if it senses another DS in transmitting range, alerting users to each other’s presence and setting the stage for an impromptu conversation or game session.

More than 100 companies have signed on to create games for Nintendo DS, while Nintendo itself is already developing its first 20 titles. While the complete lineup of games planned for the launch of Nintendo DS will be announced in the near future, in effect, Nintendo DS already boasts a library of more than 550 games because it is compatible with single-player modes of games made for the Game Boy Advance SP.

Nintendo DS will make its worldwide debut in North American stores on Nov. 21 and then in Japan on Dec. 2. The system will be available in Europe in the first quarter of 2005. It will sell at a street price of $149.99.

HP Introduces iPAQ h6340

Extending the iPAQ handheld line, the new h6340 bridges the convergence between voice and data with integrated quad-band GSM/GPRS, WLAN and Bluetooth wireless technology. The iPAQ h6340 provides manageable, secure access to corporate data, e-mail and the Internet. The h6340 includes an innovative feature that automatically connects to the fastest available network and automatically switches to an alternate network if the initial connection is lost.

The iPAQ h6340 also enables e-mail and messaging capabilities. When matched with Microsoft Exchange 2003, e-mail, attachments, calendar updates and more can be automatically sent and synched with the device over a Wi-Fi or a GPRS network. The h6340 is expected to be available for purchase from Sept. 30 through all channels.

Record Your Family’s History

Totem (totem-software.com) has released Totem 1.0, consumer software that makes it simple to record, share and cherish your family’s living history. Totem is the first software to transform a personal computer and a webcam into an efficient system for conducting interviews and creating multimedia biographies.

Totem eliminates all the difficulties associated with traditional methods of conducting interviews and collecting stories. There are no tapes to organize, digitize, review, or transcribe. The software lets many people share the same computer and record video, audio and image files directly to it.

Totem is easy-to-use and intuitive. It includes hundreds of free questions designed to help you conduct thorough and meaningful interviews. Interview questions were created in cooperation with the Polisher Research Institute, a leader in geriatric care and research.

Totem provides all the tools needed for digital storytelling. Each user has a password-protected account, allowing the system to be easily administrated. Organizing collected information is simple. Once recorded, video, audio and image files can be edited and described with keywords making them easy to search for and to sort. When it comes time to share, entire collections or individual files can be burned to CDs and distributed along with Totem’s free media player.

With Totem creating multimedia biographies and managing large or small-scale documentation projects is easy and affordable. Totem is available for download as a free trial and retails for $60.