Friday, December 12, 2003
Sony touts PSX as console, gadget hybrid
TOKYO — Sony's PSX, touted as a crossover between a video game console and consumer electronics gadget, is trying to be too many things at once and falls far short of expectations, analysts say.
The PSX, seen by The Associated Press ahead of its launch Saturday in Japan, sounds like a good deal. It combines a DVD recorder, analog TV tuner, CD player with music file and digital photo album, and the PlayStation 2 game console in one sleek box.
The machine, planned for overseas sale next year, costs 99,800 yen ($920) for the 250-gigabyte hard disk version, which can record about 25 movies. The 160-gigabyte version costs 79,800 yen ($740).
But the deal begins to sounds less attractive if you are one of the nearly 63 million people in the world who already own a PlayStation 2.
If you've already bought PS2 — or have never wanted to own one — then a regular DVD recorder could be a better option. Standard DVD players tend to have better features than the PSX, but can be bought for around the same price. And there's plenty of competition — including from Sony itself. Full Article>>>
The PSX, seen by The Associated Press ahead of its launch Saturday in Japan, sounds like a good deal. It combines a DVD recorder, analog TV tuner, CD player with music file and digital photo album, and the PlayStation 2 game console in one sleek box.
The machine, planned for overseas sale next year, costs 99,800 yen ($920) for the 250-gigabyte hard disk version, which can record about 25 movies. The 160-gigabyte version costs 79,800 yen ($740).
But the deal begins to sounds less attractive if you are one of the nearly 63 million people in the world who already own a PlayStation 2.
If you've already bought PS2 — or have never wanted to own one — then a regular DVD recorder could be a better option. Standard DVD players tend to have better features than the PSX, but can be bought for around the same price. And there's plenty of competition — including from Sony itself. Full Article>>>
Biometric Passports Take a Test Flight
Could that passport photo be a thing of the past? The UK Passport Service in January will launch a six-month trial of biometric technology. The trial, which will involve 10,000 volunteers, is billed by the UK government as the first step in its compulsory ID card plan.
The UKPS will test facial, iris, and fingerprint recording and recognition in an attempt to determine which process is the least invasive for passport holders, a spokesperson for the Home Office says. The trial will also help determine how the technology works on a broad scale, what the costs will be, and how well people will accept the technology, she says.
The UK government contends that biometrics in passports and then in ID cards will strengthen identity authentication and reduce identity fraud and related crimes. Secretary of State for the Home Department David Blunkett last month outlined the Identity Cards Bill that calls for a system of ID cards, to be created by 2010, that will carry biometric identifiers in an embedded chip, all linked to a "secure national database." Full Article>>>
The UKPS will test facial, iris, and fingerprint recording and recognition in an attempt to determine which process is the least invasive for passport holders, a spokesperson for the Home Office says. The trial will also help determine how the technology works on a broad scale, what the costs will be, and how well people will accept the technology, she says.
The UK government contends that biometrics in passports and then in ID cards will strengthen identity authentication and reduce identity fraud and related crimes. Secretary of State for the Home Department David Blunkett last month outlined the Identity Cards Bill that calls for a system of ID cards, to be created by 2010, that will carry biometric identifiers in an embedded chip, all linked to a "secure national database." Full Article>>>
How to Hold Moonbeam in Your Hand
Physicists say they have brought light to a complete halt for a fraction of a second and then sent it on its way, an achievement that could someday help scientists develop powerful new computers.
The research differs from work published in 2001 that was hailed at the time as having brought light to standstill. In that work, light pulses were technically "stored" briefly when individual particles of light, or photons, were taken up by atoms in a gas.
Harvard University researchers have now topped that feat by truly holding light and its energy in its tracks -- if only for a few hundred-thousandths of a second. "We have succeeded in holding a light pulse still without taking all the energy away from it," said Mikhail D. Lukin, a Harvard physicist.
Harnessing light particles to store and process data could aid the still distant goal of so-called quantum computers, as well as methods for communicating information over long distances without risk of eavesdropping.
The research may also have applications for improving conventional fiber-optic communications and data-processing techniques that use light as an information carrier. Lukin said the present research is just another step toward efforts to control light, but said additional work is needed to determine if it can aid these applications. Full Article>>>
The research differs from work published in 2001 that was hailed at the time as having brought light to standstill. In that work, light pulses were technically "stored" briefly when individual particles of light, or photons, were taken up by atoms in a gas.
Harvard University researchers have now topped that feat by truly holding light and its energy in its tracks -- if only for a few hundred-thousandths of a second. "We have succeeded in holding a light pulse still without taking all the energy away from it," said Mikhail D. Lukin, a Harvard physicist.
Harnessing light particles to store and process data could aid the still distant goal of so-called quantum computers, as well as methods for communicating information over long distances without risk of eavesdropping.
The research may also have applications for improving conventional fiber-optic communications and data-processing techniques that use light as an information carrier. Lukin said the present research is just another step toward efforts to control light, but said additional work is needed to determine if it can aid these applications. Full Article>>>
Tough times hit motherboard makers
AVERAGE SELLING prices of motherboards are dropping through the floor, a report said, confirming reports from distributors and other companies here that times are tougher than ever before.
According to Digitimes, selling prices slumped by 18% in November, with Asustek reporting a $65 ASP for its boards in Q3, compared to $90 in Q1 of this year.
Indeed, said Digitimes, the slump in prices has forced 80 per cent of the second tier makers to start using Elitegroup to supply their needs.
Our sources here in the UK tell us that while the chip vendors are reporting record sales, pushing motherboards into the market is an increasingly thankless task in terms of profit and revenue.
These products have turned into commodities – a trend that's been on the cards for two to three years now. One distributor told the INQUIRER earlier this week that firms which haven't diversified their product lines sufficiently face being murdered in 2004. Full Article>>>
According to Digitimes, selling prices slumped by 18% in November, with Asustek reporting a $65 ASP for its boards in Q3, compared to $90 in Q1 of this year.
Indeed, said Digitimes, the slump in prices has forced 80 per cent of the second tier makers to start using Elitegroup to supply their needs.
Our sources here in the UK tell us that while the chip vendors are reporting record sales, pushing motherboards into the market is an increasingly thankless task in terms of profit and revenue.
These products have turned into commodities – a trend that's been on the cards for two to three years now. One distributor told the INQUIRER earlier this week that firms which haven't diversified their product lines sufficiently face being murdered in 2004. Full Article>>>
Big Blue tackles new grid-computing services
IBM has unveiled services for grid and autonomic computing that will, ideally, let large institutions run their most complex applications more efficiently.
The services are designed to let corporations or research labs better harness servers, employees and other information technology resources for big tasks. Wall Street companies, for instance, run elaborate financial simulations to gauge the impact of certain investment patterns or economic changes. These simulations can take several hours, if confined to a few servers. By putting these applications on a grid that harvests idle processor cycles and memory across a corporation, the simulation can be completed in a few minutes.
"There are a lot of underutilized resources they can tap into," said Dan Powers, vice president of grid strategy and business development at IBM. “People have got applications that in many cases they want to run in more locations or quicker." Full Article>>>
The services are designed to let corporations or research labs better harness servers, employees and other information technology resources for big tasks. Wall Street companies, for instance, run elaborate financial simulations to gauge the impact of certain investment patterns or economic changes. These simulations can take several hours, if confined to a few servers. By putting these applications on a grid that harvests idle processor cycles and memory across a corporation, the simulation can be completed in a few minutes.
"There are a lot of underutilized resources they can tap into," said Dan Powers, vice president of grid strategy and business development at IBM. “People have got applications that in many cases they want to run in more locations or quicker." Full Article>>>
