The mass adoption of cellphones as the only household phones people use began three years ago. The trending continues apace: A combined 29 percent of Americans either have only cellphones, or else pair them with a landline phone which they never use for talk.

The reasons for this aren’t surprising, but the source of the latest research is:

Such families often either have their landline hooked exclusively to a computer or rely so heavily on their cells that they ignore landline calls because they are probably from telephone solicitors, said Stephen Blumberg, senior scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and an author of the report.

Um, the CDC? The disease people? Why exactly they were commissioned to looking into telephone usage pattern is a mystery. Will the decline of a landline housephone lead to a lessening of germ transference via dirty earpiece/receiver? One can only hope.

As for viewing the landline as a junk-call magnet, I can relate to that. When I still had a landline phone myself (three years ago now), it had devolved into exactly that: A number that I never gave out, so I could always be assured that any incoming calls on it were ones I didn’t want to take. A relatively expensive filter, but its function was reflective of the state of personal telecommunications by this point.

Funny thing. It was a miserably rainy day the last time I was inspired to post an iPod Random 8 list, and so it is again today. Must be a trend.

Anyway, here’s the latest shuffle-determined string of output from my iPod Touch (or “iTouch”, if you prefer). Length of said string synced to 8trk, which I’m told is progressing nicely.

1. “Let Me Think About It (club mix)”, Ida Corr vs. Fedde Le Grand - That I am the true way towards ecstasy.

2. “F-cking Boyfriend (Peaches Remix)”, The Bird And The Bee - When you lay down with me, you never slept that night.

3. “Mysterious Ways”, Angelique Kidjo - She sees the man inside the child.

4. “Mer du Japon (Remix by Kris Menace)”, AIR - J’en perds la raison (I lost my mind).

5. “Relaxation Spa Treatment”, Dan the Automator - [instrumental, no lyrics]

6. “Good Love”, Isaac Hayes (as Chef from “South Park”) - You’ll recommend me to your mother, your sisters, your aunts and your nieces.

7. “Let’s Stay Together”, Al Green - Loving you whether, whether.

8. “Colours”, Donovan - Freedom is a word I rarely use.

Xobni (pronunciation above) is a software startup that makes Microsoft Outlook into something closer to user-friendly.

But, since I haven’t used a local email client of any kind in years, I don’t care too much about all that. What I do care about:

“Xobni” is “inbox” spelled backwards. Not all that original, but creative nonetheless.

Sezmi is an upstart pay-TV service that’s pitching itself as something close to a one-stop video-entertainment hub for the household:

Sezmi’s system takes some explaining. At its heart is a TV set-top box that receives video content in three different ways. Two are available through other means: digital over-the-air local broadcasts, the kind that are available to anyone with a digital TV and a rabbit-ear antenna; and Internet downloads through the home’s broadband connection.

The third delivery method would be unique to Sezmi. It plans to have local TV stations use vacant portions of their airwaves to transmit basic cable channels like Nickelodeon and Discovery. Given the limited spectrum available, the stations won’t be able to transmit a full lineup, and only some of it will be in high definition. Sezmi plans to mitigate that by having stations send out the most-watched shows and have the set-top boxes save them on their hard drives, making them available for viewing on demand.

Some noise is being made about this three-pronged delivery system being overly complex. My sense is that it doesn’t matter how complicated it is, as long as it works. Consumers aren’t going to care how it all comes together; all that’ll count is that it pipes in the content that people want, and at a competitive price.

The company is on the right track in branding itself as “TV 2.0″, as that conveys an expansion of standard cable or satellite. It should take that messaging one step further with a simple value proposition that goes something like: “Local, cable, and VOD — plus YouTube. All on one screen. Sezmi.”

In a sense, Sezmi would be a TV provider that’s media-agnostic. You wouldn’t have to switch from one screen (television) to another (computer monitor) to consume all manner of video content — you’d access it all from your remote control. That’s crucial in achieving the long-anticipated melding of television and Web:

In general, Sezmi’s attitude toward Web content is to integrate it seamlessly into the overall universe. Individual repositories or “zones” of Web video, such as YouTube, can create their own XML Sezmi page. In a demonstration of the technology, a local news page was organized in a basic layout of weather, news, traffic, and featured stories, with a video box in the lower right-hand corner and additional data to the top right.

Of course, the tricky part will be getting the infrastructure and carriage in place. Sezmi is building limited content agreements and presenting itself as an ideal partner for regional ISPs and telecom providers, but it’s got to have a presentable channel/content lineup to offer up. And even then, it won’t be easy:

The company faces a lot of competition. Apple TV is going to be more attractive now that it can get movies on the same day as they go on sale as DVDs. Vudu also has a lot of movies on demand available. Tivo’s Series 3 box can appeal to high-definition video junkies. AT&T is rolling out its DSL-based IPTV service nationwide, promising interactivity and movies on demand. And Digeo will have its Moxi boxes out later this year as well. It’s a crowded market and Sezmi will need big partners or a big advertising budget to overcome all the noise.

In the face of this, Sezmi has all the signs of being a short-lived attempt at next-stage television. It could be fun to watch anyway, especially as elements of its approach influence the rest of the industry.

While rushing through the Upper East Side today, a sign in an electronics store display caught my eye:

DIGITAL CAMERAS
YOUTUBE-ENABLED

I half-suspected that this was a snake-oil claim. But in fact, Casio’s Exilim camera line touts its YouTube-branded point-click-upload onboard software interface, which is designed to make recording and posting of videos seamless. Furthermore, Casio got an exclusive on this YouTube-by-association feature.

Of course, this ain’t news, as Casio rolled out the Exilim almost a year ago.

But it’s news to me. And I think it’s indicative of the times that a camera’s ability to play nice with YouTube is such a powerful sales hook that it’s front-and-center in valuable window display territory. In fact, I’m thinking this is a crucial feature for selling to younger consumers, how might otherwise need convincing to get a dedicated camera versus just using their cameraphone.

A pretty clear tipping point in communications and media growth is an industry shift from time/unit-rate to flat-rate billing. The growth of the Web, for instance, really exploded once America Online, the dominant ISP of the mid-1990s, phased out per-minute dialup access plans in favor of an unlimited monthly flat-rate subscription fee (the model most of us still have for today’s broadband connections). The lifting of the built-in restrictions that a la carte pricing forces creates a more ubiquitous all-access service, one that users more tightly weave into their everyday lives.

It’s taken a while, but that offering concept is finally creeping into the wireless phone industry with unlimited talk and data plans, playing off consumer tendencies:

“Consumers avoid these services because they want to know how much they’ll pay at the end of each month,” says Jeff Kagan, a Marietta, Ga.-based telecom analyst. “No longer fearing extra costs, of any kind, is going to drive real change in the marketplace.”

That’s something that’s proved often: Price predictability. Consumers won’t necessarily balk at a set monthly charge, even if it’s inflated. But a variable charge causes anxiety, even if it’s affordable — it’s irrational, but a line item that “flashes” on the monthly household bills scares people away. Removing that factor also removes a psychological barrier, leading to unfettered usage.

It’s still a work in progress. For me, an unlimited plan doesn’t make much sense, as I never get even remotely close to my base-package of monthly minutes right now. I would counterbalance that with extremely heavy data use, mainly plain old Web access; but doing so on the existing handset interfaces doesn’t appeal to me. There’s always the iPhone option, but probably not for another couple of years.

What’s the longer-term prospects of this industry shift? Will players like Blackberry become superfluous when everyone’s personal communications hub meets all accessing needs? Will everyone obsessively check their email, MySpace/Facebook pages, etc. on the go? Would this lead to a more-rapid phasing out of all wired Web setups (at least in residential settings)? For now, price predictability means usage unpredictability.

I just flew Delta down to Florida, and the flights were a pretty big disappointment. I was on older jets both departing and arriving, and so there was no in-seat entertainment and little legroom. It was enough to make me decide to bypass Delta in the future.

However, if the airline actually does install these British-made Cozy Suite space-saving and -creating staggered seats into its coach sections, as is being reported, I’ll have to give it another chance. I’ll have to wait a couple of years, but what the hey — I don’t travel all that much anyway.

What makes these oddly-configured airline chairs so unique?

The Cozy Suite manages to stretch legroom by two inches while fitting airplane seats into the standard economy class 32″ pitch. It does this by offsetting the seats diagonally: they still point forward, but each chair sits behind its neighbor. This staggered arrangement also means that there is space to put in a padded side section to lean against and get some proper mile-high shuteye.

Anything’s better than what’s currently in place. The only thing I can see a problem with: As you’d guess from the design (and as confirmed by the manufacturer), these seats don’t recline. The ergonomic cocoon shape supposedly obviates this usual necessity; have to see that to believe it.

You know about the heady brew that is the new-car smell. Can that olfactory sensation apply to other purchases?

Because I got a Motorola MOTOKRZR/K1m phone a few weeks ago, and I swear I can smell the freshly-unwrapped scent that it had out-of-box. It’s certainly fading, but it’s there.

Others have detected this smell-sation as well. I think the phone manufacturers should bolster it if possible; failing that, incorporate it into marketing messaging. It’s one more way to subtly promote new-phone sales.

Much as my first Jelly session was photographed and Flickr’d, this past Friday’s Jellyness was video-recorded and Viddler’d.

Viddler‘d? Yes. Just watch:

Somewhere around the midway point of this compilation, you’ll see yours truly, wearing a green-and-white long-sleeved tshirt. I consciously decided to dress down this time, as I felt I stuck out last time in my shirt and tie. It helped that I made Jelly the main event of that Friday. The wardrobe choice came back to bite me late in the day, when I had to make a last-minute face-to-face meeting, but little (if any) harm done.

You’ll also notice me brandishing my XO Laptop, that I said I’d bring. Despite the oohs and ahs, no one was interested enough in the little Linux box to actually crack it open. I had figured as much beforehand.

Unfortunately, the videocamera (which was, in fact, one of those super-cool Flips) didn’t capture my triumphant snag-free upgrade of WordPress 2.5 onto PopulationStatistic.com. Good thing I blogged about it, right?

I had to leave around 1:30, after spending the better part of the morning at House 2.0. So I didn’t get to participate in the Wii gamebreak, nor the wrap-up potluck dinner. I believe the next Jelly is coming up in a couple of weeks, so maybe I’ll stick around for the extracurriculars then.

So far this year, there’s been little action on the initial public offering market for Web/tech companies, and it’s bugging the heck out of venture capitalists, who claim that that’s bad for the overall economy:

Entrepreneurs are optimistic by nature, but they will need more than that in the current market. Many tech companies live and die by venture capital funding, and venture capitalists need an exit strategy. The current IPO market is not much of one, and the chances for buyouts by other companies may become slimmer in the current credit environment. Lack of exit options keeps VCs in deals longer, which increases their own risk and makes them less likely to fund other promising ventures.

Actually, I don’t think the buyout market is that bad, even with tightening credit. There’s always stock deals, that can turn out to be much more lucrative in the long run. Combine that with the prospect of continuing work as part of a larger-but-simpatico company, and most up-and-coming tech entrepreneurs happily will opt for being acquired over playing a high-finance money game.

We’ve already seen how strategizing for eventual buyouts by the Googles and Microsofts of the world has changed the rules for valuations in tech startups, and now that dynamic is impacting the established investment procedure for VCs. The old money guys are just mad that they’re being left out of the action now.

Are the logos above twins? Apparently, they are to Steve Jobs: Apple Inc. is suing New York City to prevent its eco-friendly GreeNYC campaign from using an apple symbol, contending it’s too similar to the computermaker’s mark.

I’m usually sensitive to even a whiff of intellectual property infringement, as most people seem willfully ignorant on the very concept of look-and-feel mimicry. But I have to say, I don’t see much merit in Apple’s suit here. The “infinity apple” design obviously looks like an apple, as intended; but I think the resemblance to the home of the iPod ends there. There are enough points of distinction between the two images that it’s hard to see confusion widely setting in.

Plus, consider the context here: New Yorkers are used to seeing Big Apple messaging all the time. If the GreeNYC ads were somehow to roll out in other parts of the country, I might see the concern. But since that’s not going to happen, and the City audience can distinguish between the two apple-themed concepts, I don’t see a problem.

Less seriously, this could be a signal that Apple is getting ready to unveil some sort of environmentally-optimized gadget, and were prepping a green apple logo of their own. Under-ripened marketing, perhaps.

Time for a new spew of shuffled-up tracks out of my iPod Touch. It’s a rainy April Fool’s Day here in New York, and that has nothing to do with this little exercise, but what the heck.

My last listing was back in January, indicating that this musical roundup has taken on a quarterly schedule. It’s anything but intentional, believe me.

As always, the Number Eight is brought to you by 8trk. Coming any day now, I hear.

1. “Starlett Johansson (Narctrax remix)”, The Teenagers - You don’t believe in monogamy.

2. “The Race Is On”, George Jones - Heartaches are going to the inside.

3. “We Are Your Friends (Lee Cabrera’s ‘Lower East Side’ Remix)”, Justice vs. Simian - You’ll never be alone again.

4. “Welcome To The Terrordome”, Public Enemy - Crucifixion ain’t no fiction.

5. “Fat Albert (TV show theme)”, Bill Cosby - And Bill’s gonna show you a thing or two.

6. “The One I Love”, R.E.M. - A simple prop, to occupy my time.

7. “Ch-Check It Out”, Beastie Boys - Sport that fresh attire.

8. “Sympathy For The Devil (Soul To Waste remix)”, Laibach - [instrumental, no lyrics]

I’m sure many a corporate notebook-computing jockey is tittering over the idea of “going topless” — with “topless” in this case meaning laptop-less, referring to an effort among Silicon Valley companies to make face-to-face meetings more productive via elimination of distracting portable monitors.

And actually, since I just used the suggestive “tittering” when describing a term suggestive of exposed breasts, I guess I’m part of the problem.

But at least I’m not part of this problem:

It’s not exactly attention deficit. Linda Stone, a software executive who worked for Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp., calls it “continuous partial attention.” It stems from an intense desire to connect and be connected all of the time, or, in her words, to be “a live node on the network.”

Etiquette has suffered in the process. “Face-to-face meetings have become a low priority because they’re constantly being interrupted by technology, and many people can’t figure out what to do,” said Sue Fox, author of “Business Etiquette for Dummies.” “What’s more important — the gadget or the person, or people, you’re with?”

I’ve said before that we live in the Age of Distraction. Having an interactive source of constant distraction in your pocket makes it official.

Since no one seems to be buying them for everyday use, Segway is repurposing its namesake hi-tech scooter for niche uses. First up: The X2 Golf model, a sort of golfcart replacement.

Like its siblings, it’s a personal mobility machine, but it sits on big, soft turf tires and offers a golf-bag carrier on one side and a handlebar-mounted scorecard holder.

They forgot to include a cupholder, for the inevitable beercan-cradling…

As if golf could get any dorkier. No telling if this helps or hinders the efforts to reinvigorate participation in the sport.

From the start, the strategy behind iTunes has been to spurn the subscription model in favor of straight track/album sales. It’s made them the market leader in digital music, so you’d think it’s the right idea.

So why is Apple now allegedly contemplating unlimited access to the iTunes Store with every iPhone and iPod sold, to be covered in a sticker-price increase for the digital media devices?

Here’s the structure of the concept:

This latest concept is similar to Nokia’s “Comes With Music” program set to launch later this year. Nokia is reportedly rolling an $80 fee into the price of compatible phones for one year of access to Nokia’s music store, which includes music from labels like Universal.

Apple’s plan is different in several respects. Since the average iPod owner buys about 20 tracks from the iTunes, Apple wants to make the premium about $20, arguing that it should cover the average consumer’s downloads. Then the owner can make unlimited music downloads from the iTunes Store for the life of the device. Once downloaded, the tracks are yours to keep, even if you get rid of the original iPod or iPhone. And since iPod and phone owners tend to replace devices fairly regularly, the record labels would be getting the fee whether or not the consumer makes any further downloads. Silicon Alley Insider did the math and thinks it’s a good deal all around. But according to the Financial Times’ sources, the labels are looking for numbers closer to the $80 Nokia is reported to be paying.

Is this enough of an incentive to overcome the jacked-up price? Apple’s devices already sell at a premium compared to competitor gadgets, and while that hasn’t stopped the iPhone and iPod from becoming ubiquitous, how high can they go in price point before consumers decide to pass?

Plus, this plan sort of assumes that a new owner will need the unfettered iTunes access to start loading up their iPhone or iPod. In fact, most people probably already have at least a modest digital music/movie collection on their computers that they can immediately start transferring to their new toy. Or is an unlimited iTunes offer a subtle way of veering people away from P2P networks?

It’s not a necessity, but the thrust of the idea seems to be the use of an iPhone/wi-fi connected iPod as the primary conduit for obtaining music off iTunes — not the traditional computer-to-iPod route. That in itself indicates that Apple sees a major shift in how people are getting their music (perhaps backed up by solid data from their servers).

When I first got my iPod Touch, I was amazed that I was able to manipulate the touchscreen controls and keyboard so effortlessly and so quickly. I was afraid that my fingers wouldn’t be thin enough to accurately tap the onscreen keys, buttons and sliders, thus making my experience with my shiny new toy less than ideal.

Well, for some odd reason, the last few days have seen me regress in my iTouch adroitness. I’ve had to tap on the little sucker’s screen twice, three times even, to fast-forward to the next track or adjust the volume. Keyboard typing has been better, but even there I’ve been less accurate than usual.

In short, I’m completely off.

Have I gained weight in my digits? Unlikely. At least I hope so. I wouldn’t want to resort to having my fingers surgically “whittled” thinner, like some people have, just to cut down on my iPoding errors. It seems like an extreme solution.

I realize that the term “killer app” has long since strayed from its computer-tech origins as a shorthand for “killer application”, i.e. a gotta-have-it program that ignites usage by a wide audience.

Still, I don’t think I ever before ran across the use of “killer apps” as a descriptor for bar food. But that’s what Applebee’s is calling its new menu of “Ultimate Trios” appetizers in TV commercials.

I don’t have an specific linkable proof of this usage, but I did find this semi-drunken Twitter citation. It’ll have to do as far as corroborating my recollection.

Killer apps, in the form of chicken wings and mini-burgers. Has geek-chic jargon come so far that it’s now effective in mass-market food advertising? Regardless, unique as it is, it’s not the first time the concept of killer appetizers occurred.

The One Laptop Per Child project seemingly has a new mission statement: Today the developing world — tomorrow Birmingham, Alabama:

Birmingham’s City Council has approved a $3.5 million plan to provide schoolchildren with 15,000 computers produced by the nonprofit One Laptop Per Child Foundation, which aims to spread laptops to poor children in developing countries.

The foundation says the deal marks the first time a U.S. city has agreed to buy the machines, which also are headed to such countries as Rwanda, Thailand, Brazil and Mexico in addition to Peru and Mongolia.

The jokes about how Alabama is trying to elevate itself to Third World levels of development are obvious. More seriously, there are reservations about if the XO Laptop is well-suited for American kids, or even this school district specifically:

Birmingham school board member Virginia S. Volker likes the idea of laptops for students. But she said [Mayor Larry] Langford didn’t think through the plan before committing millions of tax dollars to pay for the machines. Birmingham schools lack wireless networks needed to get the laptops online, she said, and the system doesn’t have enough technology workers to train teachers, much less students, on the computers.

No wi-fi? Good night. The students can communicate with each other via the mesh networking, but it’s acknowledged that these machines’ primary purpose is to hook hungry minds up with the Web. If that can’t happen — and there’s no good wired solution for hooking up the XO to the Internet — these machines will become instant paperweights.

Plus, as I assessed by test-driving my XO, the oddball software interface simply isn’t up to snuff for educating kids — especially not American kids who are at least vaguely familiar with a Windows-like computing environment. I hate to say it, but Birmingham would almost be better off rehabilitating some old donated Wintel machines.

I’m surprised OLPC is supporting this move, as it seems guaranteed to backfire into negative PR. Either the foundation is delusional about a success here, or else it’s strictly going for the money.

In addition to making you look vaguely hip, those iPod-tethered earbuds also mark you as a potential crime target, according to the Urban Institute. The Washington-based think tank argues that the mainstream popularity of the iPod sparked a noticeable increase in violent crime over the past few years.

Actually, this isn’t a new idea. Back in 2005, the NYPD suggested the same correlation between the spread of iPods and subway crime. And I believe the supporting ideas were that a tipping point had been reached back then: The iPods were widespread enough that a sustainable criminal resale market had developed, making it worth the while of thieves to swipe the media players.

But did it lead to an epidemic of iCrime, with people suddenly eschewing Apple’s ubiquitous gadgets? No. And I don’t expect any shifts from these findings. If anything, it’ll only pave the way for a cloned report about an uptick in iPhone crime in a year or two.

Capitalizing upon a sales volume that ranked it as the third-largest music retailer in the U.S., Apple’s iTunes finished up 2007 as the No. 2 music seller in America, right behind Wal-Mart.

And again, since iTunes sells nothing but digital downloads, this underlines the death of the shiny plastic disc:

Meanwhile, an estimated 1 million consumers did not buy CDs in 2007, and 48% of U.S. teenagers didn’t buy any CDs during the year, up from 38% in the year before, according to NPD data.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if we see the same things continuing into 2008 because what our research is showing is that teens are continuing to check out on the CD,” [NPD analyst Russ] Crupnick said.

I’ve alluded before about the fundamental divide in the tech world between software developers and hardware engineers, i.e. code monkeys and wire-grabbers. I’ve always gotten the sense that they operate in pretty much separate worlds.

That assumption is proved out by the discovery by Princeton researchers of a decidedly low-tech way to crack government-grade encryption: Flash-freezing the memory chips so they retain the in-transit unprotected data, then simply stripping the info off them.

Granted, it’s not the easiest maneuver. Remote hackers can’t try this — someone has to physically steal the computer, and then within minutes spray the innards with liquid nitrogen. This is strictly a professional-level corporate espionage move.

Still, that’s probably the most dangerous target to leave unguarded. And it comes back to a fundamental lapse in how advanced computer functions work:

“The software world tends not to think about these issues,” said Matt Blaze, an associate professor of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania. “We tend to make assumptions about the hardware. When we find out that those assumptions are wrong, we’re in trouble.”

Expecting 100% bulletproof security is unrealistic, but is it too much to ask for a little bit more in the way of coordination?