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Tech News for Wednesday January 17th 2001

Introduction to DDR RAM.
Posted: 01/17/2001 Source: BX Boards Added by: Kim Heise

Most likely the next machine you purchase this year features newer and faster DDRAM memory. DDRAM memory is going to replace the aging SDRAM memory that is used in current systems. To help understand the merits on using DDRAM memory, BX Boards has posted an introduction article.

If you are planning on building/purchasing a new system you should seriously consider upgrading to a DDRAM based system. You may have to wait until the machines become more available because DDRAM PC's are difficult to find on the market.

DDR increases SDRAM bandwidth by clocking data on both edges of the DRAM clock* You hear that a lot when talking about DDR, so here we will try to put DDR into context in relation to what we term the evolution of DRAM which we've seen in the last 5 years.

Traditional DIMM modules, say PC100 memory, has a maximum throughput speed (bandwidth) of around 800 megabytes/s. PC133 extends this somewhat with its bandwidth peaking up to 1050 megabytes/s. DDR, as the name suggest DOUBLES this maximum data rate from traditional DIMMs, giving a datarate of 1600megabytes/s for 100Mhz memory (PC100 bandwidth = 800 megabytes x 2 = 1600 megabytes) and (PC133 bandwidth = 1050 megabytes x 2 = 2100 megabytes) for PC133 memory.

DDR actually has a naming convention design to show its speed, so PC1600 (200Mhz DDR) indicates a bandwidth of 1600 megabytes a second, twice that of conventional PC100 SDRAM. Hopefully if you are catching on here, you'll be able to workout that PC2100 indicates DDR 266 memory - memory that has twice the bandwidth of a PC133 module!

Intel aims at Transmeta with new chips.
Posted: 01/17/2001 Source: ZDNET Added by: Kim Heise

Intel is facing multiple assaults from all sides of the CPU market. AMD from the consumer processor market (also the portable market) and Transmeta is taking up the mobile processor assualt.

Chip giant plans to power down its 2001 mobile offerings with a slew of new low-power chips, starting with an 'ultra-low power' mobile Pentium III.
The Santa Clara, Calif., chipmaker plans to power down its 2001 mobile processor offerings with a slew of new low-power chips.

It will begin this month by launching what it has described as an "ultra-low power" mobile Pentium III chip.
With notebook sales going strong, especially compared with the current desktop market, Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) is looking to protect its mobile market share from rival chipmakers Transmeta and AMD (NYSE: AMD), analysts said.

NEW mp3 digital audio CODEC announced.
Posted: 01/17/2001 Source: Thompson Multimedia Added by: Kim Heise

The new MP3 format is most likely a response against Microsoft's new audio format which touts a smaller file footprint and better audio quality.

LAS VEGAS, January 9, 2001 - A new mp3 coding-decoding (codec) format that will provide improved sound at lower bit rates is now under development for implementation in mid 2001, Thomson Multimedia (NYSE:TMS) today announced. The new codec, dubbed "mp3PRO", provides 128kbs performance at a 64kbs encoding rate, nearly doubling the digital music capacity of typical flash memory. Using lower bit rates, mp3PRO will also offer Internet radio broadcasters the ability to lower their bandwidth costs while at the same time offering CD quality in the consumer preferred mp3 format.

New AOpen optical storage products in 2001.
Posted: 01/17/2001 Source: Digit-Life Added by: Kim Heise

Look out for some very impressive new storage products from AOpen this year. Here are some of their new optical storage products:

In addition to its currently available DVD-1640 Pro slot-loading DVD drive model AOpen will launch tray-loading DVD-1640 in April. It will feature E-IDE / ATAPI interface, 16X DVD-ROM and 40X CD-ROM speeds, and 512KB data buffer.

In May 16x10x40 IDE CD-RW drive will be released. CRW-1640 will provide 16X CD-R write speed , 10X CD-RW write speed and up to 40X read speed.

Later in Q3'2001 20x20x40 CD-RW drive CRW-2040 will appear (the numbers stay for CD-R / CD-RW write and read speeds)

New IDE CD-RW+DVD Combi drive with 10x DVD speed and 20x20x40 CD-RW speeds is planned for July.

New Apple Titanium Powerbook G4.
Posted: 01/17/2001 Source: Apple Added by: Kim Heise

Take a look at Apple's new Powerbook laptop. The display is breathtaking to say the least.

Just 1 inch thick and weighing a mere 5.3 pounds, the PowerBook G4 is a heavyweight in an ultralight body-the world’s first notebook computer made of 99.5% pure grade CP1 (meaning commercially pure) titanium.

It’s a paradigm shift with profound implications for mobile professionals: the first supercomputer you can actually take with you on an airplane. Apart from being able to watch DVD movies on a stunning 15.2-inch (measured diagonally) widescreen format display with 1152x768-pixel resolution in millions of colors, just imagine being able to carry around the kind of horsepower you’ve previously associated only with systems like the Power Mac G4. That’s exactly the advantage you get with the PowerBook G4.

Microsoft debates future of IE 6.
Posted: 01/17/2001 Source: ZDNET Added by: Kim Heise

You may or may not prefer to use Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser but you have to admit that it would be a serious marketing flaw to change the direction of the browser when you consider how much of market share the browser holds.

IE 6.0, the newest version of Microsoft's browser, still has yet to be released officially to beta. A technical preview of IE 6.0 went to a subset of testers who agreed to nondisclosure agreements last fall. And beta testers of Microsoft's next version of Windows, code-named Whistler, also are dabbling with technical preview IE builds that have been integrated into Whistler.
The first widespread beta of IE 6.0 will come out simultaneously with the release of Whistler beta 2, according to sources close to the company. IE 6.0 beta 1 will be embedded in Whistler beta 2, which is expected in February.
Sources claimed that Microsoft has been talking about opting not to release a standalone beta of IE 6.0. The sources added that debates have occurred within the company about whether or not Microsoft should make the final IE 6.0 code available as a separate product that can be downloaded or installed by CD. Instead, sources said, Microsoft has been strongly considering making IE 6.0 only available as part of Whistler.
A Microsoft spokeswoman initially declined to talk about IE 6.0 in any way, saying it was "too early to talk about features or deliverables."
After publication of the story, the spokeswoman said that Microsoft had no plans to make IE 6.0 available only as part of Whistler. "It's business as usual," she added, claiming that Microsoft also will make IE 6.0 beta 1 available for download separately once the company releases it.

The New Pentium III - Codename Tualatin.
Posted: 01/17/2001 Source: Insane Hardware Added by: Kim Heise

Just when Intel was making it clear that the Pentium 4 was the successor to the aging Pentium 3. From the description below this much is clear: The Pentium 4 will be marketed similar to the Xeon, the Pentium III for the average consumer and the Celeron for the economy user.

Tualatin (named after a river in Oregon, USA) is a gap filler for the Intel Corporation, a very vital gap filler in their processor line up. Later this year Intel's processor options for the consumer will be limited with only 3 processors to choose from. We will have the Pentium 4 as part of the High End market, the Pentium III as part of the Mainstream market and the Celeron in the Value part of the Market. There is one disadvantage to this.

By the end of Q2 this year the Pentium 4 will nearly be hitting 2GHz but the Pentium III will still remain at 1.0GHz (due to the Aluminium Manufacturing Process), leaving a massive gap between clock frequencies allowing AMD to take a large chunk of the market share. AMD will have a vast array of processors with a range varying clock frequencies that lie within the P4/PIII gap. Tualatin will bridge the performance gap between the Pentium III and Pentium 4 and allow direct competition with AMD Athlons up to and above 1.2GHz.

AMD ships 600- and 700-MHz Duron CPUs for notebooks.
Posted: 01/17/2001 Source: Silicon Strategies Added by: Kim Heise

I wonder who is going to break the 1ghz barrier for laptops?

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. here today announced 600- and 700-MHz versions of its Duron processor line for the notebook PC market.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company also announced a major design win for the processor line--NEC Corp., Japan's largest PC maker.
Tokyo-based NEC announced that its LaVie U series of notebook PCs will use the 700-MHz Mobile AMD Duron processor. Designed for consumers, the notebook PCs will include a 13- or 14-inch flat-panel displays and a 20-gigabyte drive.
The lineup will feature three models, including a one equipped with an 8-speed CD-R/RW drive and one with a DVD-ROM drive that can be connected to a TV.

Plastic transistors drive for 64 x 64-pixel display.
Posted: 01/17/2001 Source: EDTN Network Added by: Kim Heise

Hopefully this technology will actually trickle down into the consumer market or it may be the stepping stone for a more costly alternative for producing LCD displays.

Researchers at Philips Research Laboratories have made a 64 x 64-pixel liquid crystal display (LCD) in which each pixel is controlled by a plastic transistor.
Philips Research is not disclosing the exact semiconducting polymer being used or the voltage scheme but described the development as a "major step toward the realization of low-cost, flexible displays made in plastic."
However, because of the inferior performance of plastic transistors compared with conventional silicon thin-film transistors (TFTs), the refresh rate of the transistors is limited to 100 Hz, which would at present limit the number of pixels that could be driven in an active matrix.

MS using the old Blue Screen to sell Win2k.
Posted: 01/17/2001 Source: The Register Added by: Kim Heise

Even Microsoft has some sense of humor. Take a look at this:

A two-page Microsoft ad in the 6 February issue of PC Magazine proudly features the classic Win9x & NT blue screen of death bordered by a dotted line and scissors icon, next to a boxed suggestion that one should cut the familiar screen out and save it for old times' sake after upgrading to Win2k Pro.

"If you find yourself missing the downtime, cut out and tape to monitor," the adjacent boxed text recommends.

Towards the bottom of the page we find the cheerful slogan, "Goodbye blue screen; hello reliable Microsoft." ('At last,' we're tempted to add.)

Canon PowerShot G1 3.34MPixel Digital Camera.
Posted: 01/17/2001 Source: The Hardware Zone Added by: Kim Heise

Digital cameras are making significant leaps and bounds but we are still far from producing pictures that rival today's traditional cameras in terms of picture quality.

Overall, the Canon PowerShot G1 is a marked improvement over the S20 and the S10. Its newly improved form factor, especially in the rotating LCD monitor panel, chrome posterior with black anterior chassis plus the optical 7-21mm zoom lens, gives it a cool thumbs-up in terms of product design. It is also bundled with several complementing photo-editing and video-editing software, ranging from Adobe's Photoshop LE 5.0 to the brilliant ZoomBrowserX (which lets you import and export images and video clips in a convenient and stylish interface). There's also the TimeTunnel application, which lets you preview your images in a time tunnel interface (more eye-candy than anything else) and of course, the PhotoStitch app, that is smart enough to piece multiple images together to form a panoramic shot for you. The G1 transfers images to your PC via a USB connection, so speed is not a major concern here. There's also a RemoteCapture app in the CD that allows you to control the camera remotely via your computer (turning it into an expensive video PC cam no doubt).

Zalman Gold
Posted: 01/17/2001 Source: nVNews Added by: Kim Heise

nVNews has posted two pictures of a new CPU cooler called the Zalman Gold cooler. nVNews is working on a full review to see if the unusual design actually works.

Intel plans Pentium 4 push around Brookdale chipset.
Posted: 01/17/2001 Source: EDTN Network Added by: Kim Heise

Intel is making some minor changes to help improve Pentium 4 sales.

Intel Corp. Tuesday confirmed that its expected big Pentium 4 rampup will come in the second half when its new supporting SDRAM Brookdale chipset is introduced to cut desktop PC price points.
Paul Otellini, senior vice presdent and general manager of Intel Architecture Group, told financial analysts, "Brookdale will allow us to hit a lower system price" below the present 850 chipset supporting Direct Rambus DRAM Pentium 4 version.
"It's a strategy to reduce the bill of material cost (for desktop PC OEMs) to hit the market sweet spot. Brookdale will help build overall volumes as Pentium 4 ramps up," he said.
"Obviously we have to sharpen our pencils on the Pentium 4 price range to get the volumes we want to drive," he added.

Handspring Eclipses Earnings Estimates.
Posted: 01/17/2001 Source: TechWeb Added by: Kim Heise

Last weekend I purchased a new Handspring Prism and have finally said good-bye to my older Palm Pilot. Dollar for Dollar it is difficult to choose the classic Palm PDA over anything that Handspring has to offer.

Handheld computer maker Handspring Inc. posted results that charged past Wall Street estimates based on strong holiday sales of its high-end Visor models.
Handspring posted second-quarter revenues of $115.6 million, a 64 percent increase over the prior quarter and a 600 percent jump over the year-ago quarter.
Excluding charges, the Mountain View, Calif. company posted a net loss of $7 million, or 7 cents per share, for the quarter. That was 9 cents better than the 16 cents per share loss expected by analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial.

Latest Thinkpad Takes Note Of Handwriting.
Posted: 01/17/2001 Source: TechWeb Added by: Kim Heise

IBM has added a useful new feature to the latest series of Thinkpads that allows for users to store hand written notes.

IBM is to ship a laptop geared to note-taking professionals that combines a powerful computer with an electronic notepad that stores handwritten notes.
The TransNote computer folds like a portfolio, with a swiveling 10-inch touchscreen and full keyboard on the left, and an electronic slate on the right that stores handwriting and transfers it to the computer.

Hackers' video technology goes open source.
Posted: 01/17/2001 Source: ZDNET Added by: Kim Heise

You can be rest assured that the movie industry and their army of lawyers is watching this case rather closely.

The creators of 'DivX' have decided to open their code to other developers. Some are saying the technology could do for video online what MP3 did for music.
DivX, which has no relation to the failed Circuit City DVD player, has spread quickly in underground computer circles as a way to create and send extremely high-quality video files online. While no DivX programmers have been sued, the technology has featured prominently in other antipiracy cases brought by the movie industry.

Tech News for Wednesday January 10th 2001

Intel and ATI sign cross-licensing pact.
Posted: 01/10/2001 Source: EBN Network Added by: Kim Heise

ATI at one time was one of the largest OEM PC video card suppliers for most computer companies such as Dell, Gateway and Compaq. Now nVidia is making fast inroads in to the OEM market and ATI is looking for new partners.

Keep an eye on ATI's stock.

Intel Corp. and ATI Technologies Inc. today announced they have reached agreement on a broad cross-licensing deal that will settle patent infringement litigation between the two companies.
A spokesman for ATI said Intel inherited the litigation when it acquired Real3D, with which ATI was embroiled in a patent infringement dispute.
The cross-license agreement grants each company rights to certain patents owned by the other. ATI has also negotiated the right to build integrated chipsets for Intel microprocessor platforms.
Additional details of the agreement were not disclosed.
ATI, based in Ontario, Canada, has long made 3D graphics acceleration chips, including its Radeon product, that work in conjunction with Intel's microprocessors.
"ATI and Intel are recognized technology and market leaders in their respective categories and this agreement will enable both companies to build upon those unique strengths," said Dave Orton, president and chief operating officer of ATI, in a prepared statement. "For example, the agreement will permit ATI to build our technology-leading Radeon graphics into chipsets for Intel's microprocessors."

Microsoft's new project code-name "Farsite".
Posted: 01/10/2001 Source: ZDNET Added by: Kim Heise

This sounds like some serious hype to me but the future will tell.

What would Napster on steroids look like?
Maybe like a couple of the futuristic distributed file system projects now in development at various universities and companies.

Microsoft Research is working on one such beast, a project code-named Farsite. The University of California at Berkeley--with backing from the Defense Research Projects Agency, IBM and EMC--is working on another, code-named OceanStore.
This week, in fact, the lead developer of Microsoft's Farsite is attending a research retreat sponsored by Berkeley computer science students working on OceanStore.
'Serverless storage'
These research projects are years away from finding their way into commercialized products--if, in fact, they ever do.
But they do indicate that companies and colleges are anticipating that in the not-too-distant future, bandwidth advances could expand exponentially the size and complexity of applications and services that users will expect to run over the Web.
A distributed file system controls where files are stored, for example, on people's own computers or on central servers.

NVidia seeks Mac chip niche.
Posted: 01/10/2001 Source: ZDNET Added by: Kim Heise

ATI has some serious worries since they used to be the sole distributor of video processors for Apple computers. nVidia's impressive lineup of video cards have not gone unnoticed in the Apple camp and Steve Jobs was quick to jump on board.

Nvidia has hemmed and hawed and issued its share of "no comments," but the company widely regarded as the current speed leader in PC graphics has finally come to the Mac, and in a big way: Its GeForce2 MX AGP graphics card is now standard in Apple Computer's new 533-MHz, 667-MHz and 733-MHz Power Mac G4 systems, which the Mac maker announced at Macworld Expo here this week.
ATI Technologies (Nasdaq: ATYTF), which was formerly Apple's exclusive supplier of graphics chips, is now limited to providing its Rage 128 in the 466-MHz Power Mac G4 and its Rage Mobility in Apple's new PowerBooks. ATI's Radeon remains a build-to-order option at the Apple Store.

Hitachi preps first DVD-RAM camcorder.
Posted: 01/10/2001 Source: ZDNET Added by: Kim Heise

Hitachi is planning to unveil one of the first DVD-RAM camcorders which will allow for superb picture and sound recording. DVD-RAM is a digital compact disc media format that has been around for well over a year but the market has somewhat ignored the potential.

Hitachi America announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which ends Tuesday, that it will have a DVD-RAM camcorder on retail shelves by the end of January. According to Hitachi, the DZ-MV100A will be the first camcorder on the market that records images onto a digital versatile disc.

La-Z-Boy, Microsoft launch wired ‘e-cliner’ armchair.
Posted: 01/10/2001 Source: ZDNET Added by: Kim Heise

Folks, this is no joke. Read below and visit the link and hope for a sobering movement. Whatever will they think of next?

Call it Couch Potato 2.0. Luxury armchair maker La-Z-Boy Inc. and software giant Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday officially launched a living room throne for the Internet age, complete with computer jacks and equipment for surfing the Web on a television set.

Mac OS X Now Due March 24.
Posted: 01/10/2001 Source: TechWeb Added by: Kim Heise

I suspect that Apple will actually release OS X on March 24th this time because the company is very much under the gun by the media and one more delay will not be tolerated.

Apple Computer Inc.'s much ballyhooed next-generation operating system will be available March 24, CEO Steve Jobs said Tuesday.
The news came at the annual MacWorld Exposition show here.
The new OS, which has been touted for more than a year but is late, will be both more powerful and easier to use with better menus, toolbars, and other features, Apple (stock: AAPL) said.

Yamaha CRW2100SZ Lightspeed 16x write review.
Posted: 01/10/2001 Source: CDR Labs Added by: Kim Heise

The review suggests that it may be wise to wait for a more mature product or wait until Yamaha supplies firmware updates to address some issues.

Yamaha really needs to work with software companies to increase compatibility with their drive and improve their firmware so it works with CD-RW media better. Also I didn't expect the SCSI version to use more CPU than the ATAPI version of the drive. On top of that for most of the tests the drive was also a bit slower than the 2100EZ. I could go on and on about my feelings of the drive but I won't. Not everything about the 2100S is bad. The drive is still quite fast. Unfortunately the bad outweighs the good and that is why I could only give it an 7/10 for performance.

Apple Brings DVD Authoring to the Desktop.
Posted: 01/10/2001 Source: Apple Added by: Kim Heise

To be able to edit your own movie clips and record them using DVD media sounds very exciting but the price of DVD recorders still needs to fall significantly before the average consumer can jump on board.

Apple® today introduced iDVD™, a revolutionary new application that lets consumers quickly and easily create professional looking DVDs for playback on consumer DVD players and DVD Studio Pro™, the first full-featured DVD authoring tool available for less than $1,000. iDVD comes preinstalled on the Power Mac™ G4 with the revolutionary new SuperDrive, a combination CD-RW/DVD-R drive that reads and writes both CDs and DVDs. DVD Studio Pro offers professional-quality DVD encoding, authoring and writing, and is the perfect complement to Apple’s Final Cut Pro® video editing, effects and compositing software.

Analyst, CEO comments roil Cisco shares.
Posted: 01/10/2001 Source: CNET Added by: Kim Heise

I'm not sure how to read into this one. Cisco hardware pretty much runs most of the Internet traffic and barring any serious mismanagement the company should breeze through the dip.

Sometimes companies can become too comfortable being at the top for so long without any rife competition and it leads to sloppy products/services. Somehow I don't see this with Cisco.

Shares of former highflier Cisco Systems hit some turbulence Wednesday after an analyst issued a pessimistic report, and the company's chief executive described the current quarter as "challenging."
A CIBC World Markets analyst said in a research note that the networking giant's glory days may be over. In response, Cisco shares tumbled more than 8 percent in early trading before recovering.
A few hours later, however, the shares once again dipped some 8 percent after chief executive John Chambers described the company's current second fiscal quarter as "more challenging" at a Morgan Stanley Dean Witter investment conference in Phoenix, Ariz.

ABIT to launch two new home theater systems.
Posted: 01/10/2001 Source: Digit Life Added by: Kim Heise

You may not had heard of ABIT before but they manufacture and design some of the best PC motherboards on the market.

ABIT is going to launch two new home theater systems SP-51A and SP-51B. Mass production will start in March. We managed to get the specs and pictures of both systems.

Another "dotcom" bites the dust: Send.com.
Posted: 01/10/2001 Source: Newsbytes Added by: Kim Heise

This is going to be a tough year for Internet companies and expect to see plenty more companies throw in the towel. This year the market will separate the hype from reality.

These are tough times for online retailers - even those who cater to a crowd that enjoys sipping fine wines and driving exotic cars. Tony Internet gift shop Send.com Inc. announced this week that it was shutting down immediately, despite have completed a multi-million-dollar round of financing as recently as September.

TI offers royalty-free access to 22-Mbit/sec. wireless LAN technology.
Posted: 01/10/2001 Source: Silicon Strategies Added by: Kim Heise

TI is making it easier for companies to adapt the new wireless networking protocol. Take a look at this:

In a move to accelerate the use of high-speed wireless networking systems, Texas Instruments Inc. today announced it will offer royalty-free access to patents related to its proposal for a faster implementation of the IEEE 802.11b standard.

TI and other companies are now proposing higher transmission schemes for the IEEE802.11b wireless local area network (WLAN) standard, which today is set at 11 megabits per second in the 2.4-GHz frequency band. TI's proposal would push that rate to 22 Mbits per second with compatibility to existing WLANs, using technologies it acquired in 2000 with the purchase of three-year-old Alantro Communications in Santa Rosa for $300 million in stock.

Microprocessor Report slams Intel P4.
Posted: 01/10/2001 Source: The Register Added by: Kim Heise

The fact that the Pentium 4 is an embarrassment for Intel is of no major surprise. The chip has very little to offer over the Pentium 3 and is virtually impossible to purchase due to massive shortages. The P4 shortages are not due to strong sales but more due to lack of production lines.

The latest issue of influential industry rag The Microprocessor Report says that AMD's Athlon at 1.2GHz outperforms Intel's Pentium 4 at 1.5GHz.

According to a piece written by senior analyst Peter Glaskowsky, hands-on tests show that despite the AMD clock speed being less than Intel's P4, typical systems perform 12 per cent faster even given the fact that Chipzilla's systems are armed with fast Rambus memory.

The analyst burnishes this statement by saying that AMD's Athlon at 1.2GHz is generally faster than a Pentium 4 running at 1.5GHz, "but this is not a very strong statement".

Seems pretty strong to us, but Glaskowsky points to the fact that over time the Pentium 4 is bound to have the edge on AMD's Athlon, as programmers adapt themselves to what he describes as its "unusual characteristics".

He also warns that Intel has to price the chip according to the value it delivers to its customers. And he reminds us, as if we needed reminding, that when Intel introduced its MMX design five years back, that needed special optimisation too. Many applications, he adds, still don't take advantage of those.

Last modified: Friday, April 04, 2008