The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, for example, has called for full-scale Internet-based telephone services.

Much to the dismay of the country’s telecommunications companies, and delight of the Internet service providers, the agency has proposed that consumers should be able to call from their Internet-connected PCs to any landline and mobile phones. And vice versa.

The Indian government’s latest move is expected to lower further the country’s telephone call rates, already one of the lowest in the world. Leaders of the country’s mobile phone industry, however, promptly voiced their displeasure with the government’s IP telephony plans. After all, the government just recently issued national licenses, each costing millions of dollars, to several mobile phone companies.

The government, for its part, has claimed that the country’s traditional telephone services providers will not be hurt by the proposed IP telephony policy, which some observers is most likely to be implemented.

A couple of weeks ago, Japanese electronics giant Toshiba showed off the XD-E500, a DVD player that enhances the appearance of DVD on high-definition TVs. Reporters who attended the product launch-cum-demo session noticed a subtle improvement in DVDs played on HDTVs. Some industry analysts believe this is a smart move by Toshiba whose HD DVD technology lost a few months ago to Sony’s Blu-ray Disc format in the battle for the next-generation DVD standard. After all, market surveys held in the U.S. revealed that American consumers are satisfied with current DVD technology. Majority of respondents also believe that there was not much of a quality difference between DVD and Blu-ray Disc technologies.

Most TV viewers love watching TV commercials as much as they look forward to April 15 each year. For us, those short but pesky TV spots are a necessary evil that comes with sticking our eyes on the TV screen, and putting our brains on suspended, inanimate status.

Once in a while though, some gems emerge from this mental equivalent of a harsh, barren desert. Outshining other TV ads with their wit, sense of humor, and sometimes with their timely and meaningful messages, these TV commercials become part of consumers’ daily lives. Some of them even become part of popular culture.

A couple of these "meaningful" commercials were those featuring children dancing and singing with glee as they eat vegetable dishes prepared by their moms using some pre-mix concoctions. Anecdotal evidence reveals that many children have taken to eating vegetables, either "sinabawan" or "ginisa," thanks to these TV ads.

Now, if only all TV commercials were as colorful as these vegetable-pushing commercial spots instead of those promoting skin-whitening products and services.

That’s all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.