Friday, December 05, 2003
Mobile phone makers caught by surprise sales boom
Mobile phones are flying off the shelves before Christmas and sales are heading for record highs this year as the global economy recovers and low-priced models go on the market.
The bad news? Handset makers cannot keep up with demand.
In their efforts to avoid the dreaded mistake of 2001, when they miscalculated demand to the tune of 100 million units, phone producers are cautious and have run short of components.
The result is that demand is outstripping supply in most regions of the world, from emerging markets in Russia and India to saturated markets of the United States, Europe and Japan where consumers are swapping old models for fancy new ones. Full Article>>>
The bad news? Handset makers cannot keep up with demand.
In their efforts to avoid the dreaded mistake of 2001, when they miscalculated demand to the tune of 100 million units, phone producers are cautious and have run short of components.
The result is that demand is outstripping supply in most regions of the world, from emerging markets in Russia and India to saturated markets of the United States, Europe and Japan where consumers are swapping old models for fancy new ones. Full Article>>>
Dell switches to ATI for notebook graphics support
PC GIANT Dell appears to have switched to ATI for notebook graphics support, according to a report on the Anandtech web site.
The boys there say that the Anandlabs have had a Dell Inspiron 8600 using the Mobility Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB, and that when they reviewed the first batch, they had reservations about this notebook because of its Nvidia graphics support with the FX Go5650.
But Anandtech appears to have changed its tune now there's ATI graphics on board.
The same piece says that Elpida has dumped GDDR2-M and that this piece of memory won't be used with the M10 chip any more. Full Article>>>
The boys there say that the Anandlabs have had a Dell Inspiron 8600 using the Mobility Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB, and that when they reviewed the first batch, they had reservations about this notebook because of its Nvidia graphics support with the FX Go5650.
But Anandtech appears to have changed its tune now there's ATI graphics on board.
The same piece says that Elpida has dumped GDDR2-M and that this piece of memory won't be used with the M10 chip any more. Full Article>>>
NEC to invest $70m in Melbourne R&D centre
NEC will invest another $70 million in research and development over the next five years to allow high speed data technology to be provided over the copper network.
The information technology and telecommunications company said today another 63 high-tech engineers would be hired for dedicated research into broadband, 3G and Voice over Internet Protocol networks.
The new research centre, to be set up in Melbourne, is expected to create another 270 jobs in the telecommunications industry and $17 million turnover a year in exports.
NEC is the third biggest global player in broadband digital subscriber line technology which allows data to run over the existing copper phone network.
The research is aimed at bringing cheaper high speed data to residential and small business users.
NEC will start supplying broadband products to Telstra next year under a deal signed in October but only some of the high speed data capability will be available in two years. Full Article>>>
The information technology and telecommunications company said today another 63 high-tech engineers would be hired for dedicated research into broadband, 3G and Voice over Internet Protocol networks.
The new research centre, to be set up in Melbourne, is expected to create another 270 jobs in the telecommunications industry and $17 million turnover a year in exports.
NEC is the third biggest global player in broadband digital subscriber line technology which allows data to run over the existing copper phone network.
The research is aimed at bringing cheaper high speed data to residential and small business users.
NEC will start supplying broadband products to Telstra next year under a deal signed in October but only some of the high speed data capability will be available in two years. Full Article>>>
Shedding New Light on Fuel Cells
Chemists at the University of Massachusetts at Boston say they have discovered a way to double the efficiency of a solar-powered process used to generate hydrogen fuel. The breakthrough could clear the air of concerns over the environmental record of the auto industry's much-anticipated fuel-cell vehicles.
Currently, the majority of hydrogen fuel is produced through steam reformation, a process that mixes steam with natural gas. Critics of fuel-cell technologies have argued that shifting from gasoline to a fuel created from natural gas will do little to help the environment, nor will it reduce U.S. dependence on fossil fuels.
Solar processes, on the other hand, use the energy contained in light from the sun to split water molecules into separate hydrogen and oxygen molecules. The method is safe for the environment but -- up until now -- has been too inefficient to consider seriously. Full Article>>>
Currently, the majority of hydrogen fuel is produced through steam reformation, a process that mixes steam with natural gas. Critics of fuel-cell technologies have argued that shifting from gasoline to a fuel created from natural gas will do little to help the environment, nor will it reduce U.S. dependence on fossil fuels.
Solar processes, on the other hand, use the energy contained in light from the sun to split water molecules into separate hydrogen and oxygen molecules. The method is safe for the environment but -- up until now -- has been too inefficient to consider seriously. Full Article>>>
Spammers Tap Unwitting Users' PCs
Security experts have identified what they suspect to be the biggest culprit behind that seemingly unceasing torrent of e-mail spam messages and computer virus outbreaks.
The unwitting culprit, they say, is the home user with a broadband connection. In fact, it could be you.
Viruses and related "worms" typically target computers that run on Microsoft Windows and have a high-speed, always-on connection. In the past six months, a new generation of bug has emerged that contains a so-called Trojan horse program which discreetly installs itself into the innards of the PC. Full Article>>>
The unwitting culprit, they say, is the home user with a broadband connection. In fact, it could be you.
Viruses and related "worms" typically target computers that run on Microsoft Windows and have a high-speed, always-on connection. In the past six months, a new generation of bug has emerged that contains a so-called Trojan horse program which discreetly installs itself into the innards of the PC. Full Article>>>
Fast, Cheap Ride to Earth Orbit
Elon Musk has already launched two successful online startups. But it's on a rocket that his reputation may ultimately ride.
On Thursday, Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, unveiled its seven-story Falcon orbital launch vehicle in Washington, D.C., as part of the celebrations honoring the Wright brothers' flight 100 years ago this month.
While dignitaries may wax poetic about the breakthrough at Kitty Hawk, another historic memory gnaws at Musk, the restless founder of Zip2 and co-founder of PayPal. He looks beyond the dark skies to outer space, acutely aware that this month also marks 31 years -- nearly his entire lifetime -- since the last man walked on the moon. The hefty price tag on rocket launches has profoundly limited space efforts, sidelining earlier visions of space colonies and manned exploration. Full Article>>>
On Thursday, Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, unveiled its seven-story Falcon orbital launch vehicle in Washington, D.C., as part of the celebrations honoring the Wright brothers' flight 100 years ago this month.
While dignitaries may wax poetic about the breakthrough at Kitty Hawk, another historic memory gnaws at Musk, the restless founder of Zip2 and co-founder of PayPal. He looks beyond the dark skies to outer space, acutely aware that this month also marks 31 years -- nearly his entire lifetime -- since the last man walked on the moon. The hefty price tag on rocket launches has profoundly limited space efforts, sidelining earlier visions of space colonies and manned exploration. Full Article>>>
DVDs, drives don't mix, says government study
Recordable DVDs stand a substantial chance of being incompatible with DVD drives, but the situation is improving with new models, according to an ongoing government survey.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a division of the U.S. Commerce Department's Technology Administration, said its tests proved DVDs and DVD drives to be compatible only 85 percent of the time.
"This means that if a recording is made on 10 different brands of DVDs, the odds are that at least one will not work," the institute said in announcing the results Thursday. "The problematic results range from DVDs that do not work at all, suddenly freeze, or have video or audio 'drop out.'"
The study's results will come as no surprise to followers of the DVD format wars. One of the battles concerns competing formats for rewritable discs and another different formats for blue-laser technology, which promises to provide greater storage than current red lasers can.
NIST is conducting the tests in concert with two industry groups, the DVD Association and the Optical Storage Technology Association.
NIST said that although no one disc or drive was universally compatible, newer models of DVD drives did "significantly better" than the older ones.
NIST tested 14 DVD-ROM drive models, which represented about 60 percent of the installed base in America as of 2002, and more than 50 different kinds of recordable DVDs. In a second phase of the study, NIST and the trade groups will look at DVD drives new to the market. Full Article>>>
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a division of the U.S. Commerce Department's Technology Administration, said its tests proved DVDs and DVD drives to be compatible only 85 percent of the time.
"This means that if a recording is made on 10 different brands of DVDs, the odds are that at least one will not work," the institute said in announcing the results Thursday. "The problematic results range from DVDs that do not work at all, suddenly freeze, or have video or audio 'drop out.'"
The study's results will come as no surprise to followers of the DVD format wars. One of the battles concerns competing formats for rewritable discs and another different formats for blue-laser technology, which promises to provide greater storage than current red lasers can.
NIST is conducting the tests in concert with two industry groups, the DVD Association and the Optical Storage Technology Association.
NIST said that although no one disc or drive was universally compatible, newer models of DVD drives did "significantly better" than the older ones.
NIST tested 14 DVD-ROM drive models, which represented about 60 percent of the installed base in America as of 2002, and more than 50 different kinds of recordable DVDs. In a second phase of the study, NIST and the trade groups will look at DVD drives new to the market. Full Article>>>
Google wants ruling on search trademark law
Aiming to pre-empt mounting complaints of trademark violations, search company Google has asked a court to rule on whether its keyword-advertising policy is legal.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., on Nov. 26. It centers on a dispute with American Blind & Wallpaper Factory, an interior decor specialist, over the sale of keyword-advertising within search results that appear on Google and across the Web. American Blind has insisted that Google stop selling keyword phrases that the company claims violate its trademarks.
Though Google had said it could block advertisers from buying keywords that directly infringe on its trademarks, including "American Blind Factory" and "DecorateToday," the company said it could not block other descriptive phrases that American Blind wished to protect. Those phrases included "American wallpaper" and "American blind," according to the filing. Full Article>>>
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., on Nov. 26. It centers on a dispute with American Blind & Wallpaper Factory, an interior decor specialist, over the sale of keyword-advertising within search results that appear on Google and across the Web. American Blind has insisted that Google stop selling keyword phrases that the company claims violate its trademarks.
Though Google had said it could block advertisers from buying keywords that directly infringe on its trademarks, including "American Blind Factory" and "DecorateToday," the company said it could not block other descriptive phrases that American Blind wished to protect. Those phrases included "American wallpaper" and "American blind," according to the filing. Full Article>>>
