Wireless innovation will be brewing at Georgia Tech, as the university opens a new wireless-technology laboratory with Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. at the university's campus in Atlanta.

At Georgia Tech, Samsung will expand its work with researchers to focus on developing next-generation communication systems, especially CMOS-based system-on-chip devices for modem, digital and RF.

We see the phrase "next generation" often in tech stories, but wireless is a hot field, so let's see what they come up with at Georgia Tech.

In 1997, I bought a state-of-the-art Pentium II Gateway desktop direct from the manufacturer. I was proud of myself at the time for going direct and customizing the system according to my desired specifications.

But today, more than 10 years later, Gateway (now owned by Acer) has dropped its 1990s way of doing business and will concentrate on retail, e-tail and channel. Wasn't the Internet supposed to be the hip way to sell PCs? How things come full circle.

According to Gateway, the change in strategy should help the company cut costs.

Gateway began moving in this direction when it acquired retail PC vendor eMachines in 2004 and ran the short-lived Gateway Country store chain.

Chalk one up for print in the battle to stay alive in the world of online media.

Esquire magazine will put out a cover featuring E Ink electronic, foldable display technology on the newsstands this October. The 100,000-copy distribution of this special issue culminates the magazine's 75th anniversary.

Ford (NYSE: F) will also participate in the project, using E Ink's Vizplex flexible display technology in an ad on the inside cover flap.

This could be a nice boon for print to stay innovative and relevant as ad dollars move online.

There's been talk of a second Internet in the works for years -- yes we do have Web 2.0 -- and just as the original Internet started at the university-level, so does a project from technology solutions firm BBN Technologies called Global Environment for Network Innovations, or GENI.

GENI is a local network infrastructure for science and research projects -- think of it as a network testbed for innovation, suggests an article by the Chronicle for Higher Education. According to the academic journal, the current Internet could fall apart from all the spam attacks and viruses.

BBN Technologies today received a three-year, $4 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to build a prototype of GENI with the help of 29 university teams.

This project will provide fresh bandwidth for companies to work on experiments in all fields from economics and social sciences to computer engineering.

It will be interesting to see what form this futuristic network takes.

We know about noise-canceling headsets for audio devices and mobile phones but how about noise-canceling capabilities built into the phone itself?

An article in the July/August issue of Technology Review puts the spotlight on Mountain View, Calif.-based startup Audience, which makes the voice processors for this technology. According to Audience, mobile phone manufacturers in Japan and Korea can purchase these processors for $5 to $7 to insert into the phones.

Technology Review reports that companies such as On Semiconductor, Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) and NXP Semiconductors are developing similar technology.

The voice processor chip cancels out most other noise traveling through the microphone except for the speaker's voice.

The fact that the phone chip makes the speaker's voice clearer and doesn't totally drown out other noise for the listener alleviates a major concern I have with noise-cancellation technology -- the canceling out of sounds you hear while speaking on the phone and crossing the street.

Have you listened to an RSS feed on a mobile phone? Well, you can.

Jott Networks, operator of mobile voice to text service recently came out with Jott Feeds, a service that lets you listen to any RSS update on your handset on your way to work. It also handles feeds from your Twitter or Facebook account.

At the recent Digital Experience press event in New York, I tried listening to RSS feeds from InternetNews.com on a mobile phone. It's a bit awkward listening to the robotic voice at a slow speed, but it seemed handy for those with disabilities or if you're on a train and want to give your eyes a break.