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| Tech News for Friday June 30th 2000.Intel
to launch 1.1GHz Pentium III. I must say Intel's marketing department does a fantastic job of touting new products. It's still virtually impossible to pickup at 1GHZ Pentium III CPU due to production shortages and now they advertise an even faster chip. Intel Corp. is preparing a July launch for its 1.1GHz Pentium III chip.The chipmaker released to its PC maker partners, this week, the launch date for the new desktop chip. Those PC makers will be able to start shipping 1.1GHz desktop systems, starting on July 31 The forthcoming processor, as expected, is actually a 1.13GHz or 1,133MHz chip, according to Intel. The new chip, like Intel's 1GHz Pentium III, announced in March, will be available in limited quantities at first. Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) is touting the launch of the new chip as evidence of its "technology leadership" versus its competition. IBM,
Sun Settle Java Licensing Dispute. It's time companies stop modifying Java standards independently every two minutes because it makes life miserable for us IT developers. How are we ever able to release compatible Java products with all these new standards being introduced by competitors? The same week that Microsoft proposed a new Java-like programming language, Sun Microsystems settled its differences with IBM over Java licensing. IBM's status as a licensee of Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) was unclear last week, when IBM public relations personnel circulated among reporters an analyst report outlining the licensing dispute between the two companies. However, IBM (stock: IBM) by June 30 was listed on Sun's website as a J2EE licensee. "The misunderstanding and the miscommunication has been fixed," said Scott Hebner, director of e-business marketing at IBM, on Friday. Doctors
Implant Chip To Restore Sight. For the first time doctors
have successfully implanted silicon microchips beneath human retinas, Illinois
scientists said Friday. This procedure holds promise for millions of people with
failing eyesight. Three patients suffering from retinitis pigmentosa -- a
hereditary condition in which the retina gradually degenerates -- became the
first recipients of the artificial silicon retina implant. Though doctors will
not know for weeks whether their patients' vision will be restored, initial
signs suggest that the chips have not been rejected. Cisco
buys voice tech unit of Telecom Italia. MILAN--Telecom Italia said today that it has sold 80 percent of Italtel to a group led by Cisco in a deal valuing the voice technology subsidiary at $956 million (1 billion euros). The Italian telecommunications operator said the sale to Cisco and investment group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice will raise $765 million, with a positive effect of some $286.7 million on Telecom Italia's consolidated earnings in 2000. The terms of the deal were to be outlined at a news conference here. The deal had been widely expected following leaks to Italian news agencies during a recent Telecom Italia road show in the United States, where it was originally due to be presented. Reports said the announcement was delayed for last-minute further negotiations Windows
Millennium Review. Several reviews are showing up all over the internet with the final release of Windows Millennium. As usual ActiveWin has done a superb job of discussing what users can expect when the final version is shipped to the public in September. The Millennium edition of Windows is aimed to help PC home users to enter into the next millennium with a big bang as Microsoft has focused its efforts to make Windows Me the user-friendliest, easy-to-use and multimedia-rich operating system of all the time. Windows Me has been developed and tested by Microsoft numerous months to ensure its reliability but does it have what it takes to make you want to pay out more money for a operating system that may well be too similar to Windows 98 and Windows 98 SE. Read on for our comprehensive review of this new operating system, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (WinMe). Matrox
G800 Specs. The VR-Zone has posted some details on Matrox's upcoming G800 video card:
Tech News for Thursday June 29th 2000.Netscape
4.74 Soon. Netscape's FTP server
recently put up their '4.74' directory, hinting that a new version will be
released shortly. The latest version is expected to be released any day now, so
keep checking back. You may browse Netscape's FTP here
to keep updated on version 4.74's status. nVidia
launches dual-display GeForceMX. This is very exciting news and I had no idea that nVidia was planning a dual display GeForce based video card. This means you can plug in two monitors at the same time and get the high performance you have been expecting from nVidia. Here's a clip from the press release: GeForce2 MX Is First GPU
Designed to Deliver Powerful Graphics and New Digital Capabilities for
Mainstream PC Market Tech News for Wednesday June 28th 2000.Intel
Announces Pentium 4 Processor. SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 28, 2000 - Intel Corporation today announced the Intel® Pentium® 4 processor brand name for its new generation of desktop microprocessors (formerly code-named Willamette).
The new Pentium 4 name builds upon one of the world's most recognized brands to convey the most powerful personal computing experience. Scheduled to be introduced in the second half of 2000, the new Pentium 4 processor is based on revolutionary technology designed to maximize performance today and in the future, keeping consumers on the cutting edge of the Internet. IBM
aims to put computers on the wrist. But the coolest toys weren't on the show floor but reserved for a CNET News.com backroom briefing on emerging technologies Among the items unveiled was the IBM WatchPad. Still in prototype and not yet close to reaching the market, the watch is capable of synchronizing data and images with a portable computer or PC via wireless connections. Sporting a surprisingly crisp VGA screen, the WatchPad is capable of handling text, photos and animation. An animated watch face, for example, is circled by clear bars that fill up when there is an appointment. A touch of the finger brings up the appointment details. Because the WatchPad is coming out of the same division producing the IBM MicroDrive, storage is not expected to be an issue, even with such a tiny size. IBM last week unveiled a 1GB version of the MicroDrive. TEAC
Breaks New Ground. Along with the new CD-RW, TEAC will also begin shipping an external USB CD recorder, that records at 4X and rewrites at 4X, reading data at 32X. It comes bundled with an Adaptec software suite, and retails in stores for $249.00 USD. USB
2.0 DVD-RAM drive unveiled. During the 4.7GB DVD-RAM introduction hosted by Hitachi, Panasonic and Toshiba, PC Expo attendees viewed a technology demonstration in which multiple MPEG videos were played from a DVD-RAM drive connected via a USB 2.0 bridge. The demonstration featured an FPGA bridge developed by In-System Design (ISD), an I/O design and engineering firm specializing in Universal Serial Bus (USB) bridging solutions. In-design's bridge technology makes it the first company to apply USB 2.0 to full-motion video, and the first to develop a successful application of USB 2.0 to storage devices supporting data transfer rates up to 60 MB/sec. ISD believes it will also be the first company to market with a USB 2.0 solution, and is readying designs for limited delivery in third quarter 2000, with volume production planned for fourth quarter this year. ``DVD-RAM raises the bar in the storage and delivery of digital content, and has the potential to overwhelm conventional I/O design,'' said Dana Berzin, Marketing Manager for Panasonic Industrial Company. ``We are looking to companies such as In-System Design to help unleash the power of DVD-RAM and make it a pervasive storage solution for content producers, businesses and consumers.'' VIA Chipset
Roadmap. Via is the competing motherboard and chipset maker to Intel that has some very impressive new chipsets in the pipeline. Via's early motherboard chipsets were plagued with performance and compatibility issues but that is something of the past. The company is making fast inroads into Intel's domain with very impressive motherboards and chipsets for both Intel and AMD CPU's. Insane Hardware has posted a
roadmap for Via's upcoming new chipsets and I must say the VT8633
"Pro266" Northbridge chipset with 266mhz DDRAM support looks as if it
will make leaps and bounds over the competition. Look out for that one in Q4
2000. VIA
Announce Support For ATA-100 Drives. With disk transfer rates soon to exceed 66Mb per second, enlarging the ATA interface to 100Mb per second is necessary to avoid data bottlenecks. The ATA-100 standard removes such bottlenecks associated with data transfers, especially sequential operations and manipulations of today's massively complicated files, allowing PCs to send and receive data more rapidly between their system and hard drive. Ultimately this means that the time necessary for booting up and opening applications is reduced for end users. The ATA-100 interface also enhances data integrity during transfer through improved timing margins and the use of Cyclical Redundancy Check (CRC). VIA's ATA-100 support is backward compatible with existing ATA-33 and ATA-66 standards. Microsoft
& Intel Embark On 64-bit Windows. The performance benefits of 64-bit Windows and the IA-64 processor will also enable users and IT managers in the financial services industry to perform greater levels of analysis and to process large amounts of data more efficiently. A native 64-bit operating system based on Windows, the 64-bit Windows operating system is designed to address the most demanding business needs of today's Internet-based world, including e-commerce, data mining, online transaction processing, memory-intensive high-end graphics, complex mathematics and high-performance multimedia applications. The Itanium processor is the first in a family of Intel IA-64 processors. The Itanium processor will complement today's Intel Pentium® III processor and Pentium III Xeon™ 32-bit processor families with new features for high-end scalability, performance and abilities to address large memory issues. And combined with SunGard software, Microsoft 64-bit Windows running on Intel Itanium processor-based systems can supply the financial services industry with the technology it needs to meet the demands of an ever-changing market. Comparison of 64-bit and 32-bit Architectures
DSL
Chipset May Double Coverage Area. Excess Bandwidth introduced Tuesday a two-chip symmetric DSL processor that is said to exceed the range and data rate specifications of new U.S. and proposed international standards. The EBS720/710 chipset supports two new symmetric DSL standards for 1.5- and 2.3-megabit-per-secondsymmetric service: HDSL2 and G.shdsl (ITU G.991.2). Both standards provide for high-speed, symmetric connectivity over a single twisted copper wire pair, while offering outstanding reach, stability, and robustness. The solution from Excess Bandwidth, Cupertino, Calif., also allows systems to provide a DSL coverage area nearly double that of competitive solutions. "We see high-speed symmetric DSL as the logical next-generation technology for the deployment of high-capacity Internet and voice services to small- and medium-size businesses," said Steven Dines, president and CEO of Excess Bandwidth, which last week agreed to be acquired by Virata (stock: VRTA) for $315 million in stock. EU
Blocks WorldCom/Sprint Deal. The Commission, the European Union's executive branch in Brussels, said in a statement the merger would havecreated a dominant position in the market for top-level universal Internet connectivity. It also said the companies' proposal to divest Sprint's Internet business was insufficient to resolve the competition concerns resulting from the merger. This move within a day of a decision by the U.S. Justice Department to sue to stop the deal. Oracle
admits it hired agency to investigate Microsoft. I think it's fairly low for one company to hire private investigators to dig up dirt on a competitor regardless of the reason. Software maker Oracle Corp. acknowledged it hired a detective agency to investigate allies of Microsoft Corp. and disclose internal documents to the media about Microsoft’s political activities. THE DETECTIVE
FIRM, Investigative Group International Inc., used controversial tactics against
technology trade associations and other groups allied with and supported by
Microsoft — in one case, offering to buy their office trash — in an
elaborate yearlong operation. Oracle confirmed its use of IGI in a statement
late Tuesday, saying it was necessary to expose underhanded attempts by
Microsoft to fight the Justice Department’s landmark antitrust case against
the software giant. (Microsoft is a partner in MSNBC.) The new disclosures suggest Oracle, which is on the brink of eclipsing Microsoft as the technology industry’s hottest software maker, waged an elaborate clandestine battle against its rival even as Microsoft was under siege from the federal government in its landmark antitrust case. Tech News for Tuesday June 27th 2000.Palm
adds new expansion slot. Palm Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) is adding a postage stamp-size expansion slot to its popular handheld devices and will roll out the latest version of the gadgets early next year, company officials plan to announce Tuesday. The slot technology will enable users of Palm organizers to plug in memory chips that can increase the device's storage capacity, as well as so-called Bluetooth modules that allow short-range wireless connections with other devices. New Microsoft
Language Tries To Upstage Java. I wish companies like Microsoft would stop making various "flavors" of Java because it makes the compatibility issues more and more complicated. Since Internet Explorer holds about 85% of the browser market it seems that Microsoft's standard will become highly supported rather quickly without much competition. Microsoft pulled the standards rug Monday from under Sun Microsystems, announcing it has submitted to an international standards group a new programming language that simplifies the integration of Web applications between enterprises. C#, pronounced "C sharp" and a hybrid of C and C++, already has been turned over to ECMA, said officials from Microsoft (stock: MSFT), Redmond, Wash. They also said C# is a key technology in Microsoft's recently unveiled .NET platform for building e-commerce and other Web-based applications. C# is aimed at C and C++ developers to improve productivity for the development of Internet applications, said Bill Dunlap, Microsoft's product manager for Visual Studio. Microsoft designed the language "to take full advantage of the underlying [Internet] platform, no matter what hardware or software you are running," Dunlap says. To do this, Dunlap said, Microsoft knew it must embrace standards for Web app development, unlike "some of our competitors." Dunlap did not mention Sun (stock: SUNW) by name, but his reference to the company was implied. Sun, Palo Alto, Calif., had submitted Java, also a cross-platform language, to ECMA last year, but then withdrew the submission, saying that the standardization process would take away Sun's ability to control the evolution of the language. Sun opted instead to continue developing Java specifications through its own Java Community Process, a move that angered IBM (stock: IBM), Hewlett-Packard (stock: HWP) and other licensees who believed the JCP gave Sun an advantage over competitors. Software
Lets CE, Palm Devices Swap Data. This is a very smart move for making inroads into the huge Palm computing market. BSquare (stock: BSQR) is preparing to ship a software application that lets Windows CE-based and Palm (stock: PALM) OS-based devices exchange data using infrared signals, the company said Monday. EZBeam 1.1 can transfer contacts, appointments, tasks, and text files between the two operating environments. The software works with many CE-based devices, including the wireless handhelds, Symbol 2700 series, Pocket PCs, web-based appliances and Auto PCs with infrared ports, the Bellevue, Wash.-based company said. PalmPilot users do not need any additional software. EZBeam 1.1 will be available in July, and single-user licenses are expected to sell for $19.95. Weekly
CPU prices. Tech-Review has updated this week's CPU price list and there are some interesting developments. I see the much valued 550e P3 is no longer on the list which means it is no longer produced or the supply has dried up after ceasing production weeks ago. Also there are a couple of price jumps in the OEM arena to around $20 or more. Also, the new AMD "Duron" processors have not shown up on the market as of yet. View the latest price list here. |
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