Tomorrow's News Today
|
|
|
Please visit our Sponsor
| News for Monday October 8th 2001AOL cookies, web bugs to track advertising. Apparently the explanation for allowing this sort of offensive mass marketing practice can be explained away with the phrase "Well, everybody else does it...". Unfortunately the average AOL user I have worked with is not technically proficient enough with the Internet to realize that this is a invasion of privacy. AOL users are typically the casual internet user who prefers not to become involved in the low level details. What this means in a nutshell is that AOL will spam users based on web sites they have visited in the past.
Microsoft retires Windows NT 4, more to come. Although Microsoft is ramping down on Windows NT 4.0 - massive support will still remain for large companies that cannot overnight switch to Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
Six PDA makers back Intel's StrongARM RISC chip.
|
| Manufacturer | AMD | Intel |
| Processor | Duron 1100 | Celeron 1200 |
| CPU-Core | Morgan | Tualatin |
| DIE | 0.18 Micron | 0.13 Micron |
| CPU-Platform | Socket 462 | Socket 370 |
| Bus Signal Protocol | EV6 | GTL+ |
| Front Side Bus | 100 MHz | 100 MHz |
| L1 Cache | 128 KB | 32 KB |
| L1 Cache Clock | CPU Clock | CPU Clock |
| L2 Interface | 64 Bit | 256 Bit |
| L2 Cache | 64 KB | 256 KB |
| L2 Cache Clock | CPU Clock | CPU Clock |
| L2 Cache Range | 64 GB | 64 GB |
ATI announces RADEON 7000 & 7200
Posted: 10/08/2001 Source: VR-Zone Added by: Kim Heise
This is fantastic news as ATI is about to ship several new flavors of the Radeon video processor to offer some serious potential competition to NVIDIA.
NVIDIA's marketing approach was to immediately release a new series of Titanium GEFORCE 3 video processors and to announce a prize cut. I am still shocked....(sarcasm).
ATI introduced two new additions to RADEON™, the world’s most powerful and innovative family of graphics chip and board technologies, the entry-level RADEON™ 7000 and the value-line RADEON™ 7200 desktop graphics boards. Both the RADEON 7000 and RADEON 7200 are available immediately and will support Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system, which will be available on October 25, as well as Windows 2000, Windows Me and Windows 98. ATI also announced today that its current line of desktop and multimedia graphics boards will support Microsoft’s new Windows XP operating system, available on October 25.
The RADEON 7000 desktop graphics board, based on the RADEON 7000 chip (previously known as the RADEON VE chip), is a 32MB (megabytes) DDR (double data rate) board, providing solid 2D and 3D performance, excellent visual quality and DVD playback. At an MSRP of (US) $79, the RADEON 7000 graphics card offers more features and value than any other graphics card in this price range.
The RADEON 7200 is a 64MB SDR (single data rate) graphics board, and offers such features as hardware transformation, clipping and lighting (T&L) geometry, CHARISMA ENGINE™, and an on-chip hardware DVD decoder. The RADEON 7200 is based on the RADEON 7200 chip (previously known as the RADEON chip). It has an MSRP of (US) $99.
Will It Be Cash, Check or Finger?
Posted: 10/02/2001 Source: Wired Added by: Kim Heise
Here's something interesting that showed up on the Wired news site this morning which discusses the fact that you may one day use your fingerprint ID to purchase items. Since no two fingerprints are the same it is relatively secure.
The problem is that thieves will start removing fingers or hold hostages to practice their "hobbies".
Fingerprints, long stigmatized by their association with crime scenes and police stations, may get an image boost when people start using them to pay for everything from Big Macs to groceries.
That's the philosophy behind Indivos, an Oakland, California, firm that has invented software that uses fingerprint scanners to process electronic payments.
"We're putting this in front of the mainstream consumer," said Indivos spokesman Frank Pierce. "You won't need cash or cards to pay for anything. All you need is your finger and you never leave home without it."
Indivos has partnered with fingerprint sensor manufacturer Digital Persona to test the service this fall at a "major fast food chain" in California and supermarkets throughout the country, he said.
Fingerprints -- which have been used to tag criminals for more than a century -– are increasingly becoming more prominent in the non-criminal realm.
Many states now fingerprint people that seek driver's licenses or welfare benefits in an effort to detect fraud. Schools fingerprint would-be teachers to weed out pedophiles. In the corporate world, fingerprints are used as biometric keys to access buildings and computer networks. And in Pennsylvania, schools are testing finger scanners that allow students to check out library books and buy food in the cafeteria.
But the Indivos roll-out would be the first to encourage the general public to give the cashier the finger at the supermarket or fast food checkout counter.
Fingerprints are reliable identifiers because, like snowflakes, no two fingerprints are alike, said Gary W. Jones, who worked as an FBI fingerprint specialist for 33 years.
GeForce3 Titanium series review.
Posted: 10/02/2001 Source: Extreme Tech Added by:
Kim Heise
Several web masters have obtained early shipments of NVIDIA's new GEFORCE 3 Titanium video card and have posted reviews to help you figure out if it is worth the upgrade. The short answer is that it depends.....
It's now Fall, which means that the rush to ship new graphics cards for the Christmas season has begun. In past years, this has meant a veritable legion of cards based on a half-dozen or so graphics chipsets. The shakeout that's occurred in the graphics hardware industry has left the virtual terrain littered with the corpses of graphics chip makers and card manufacturers. In fact, this Christmas will see no products on store shelves from 3dfx-the first time since 1995 that the Voodoo brand name will be absent. Not only is 3dfx absent for the first time, but so is Creative Labs (in the US, anyway). Also missing in action on retail shelves with new products is Montreal, Canada based Matrox.
....
Since Fall typically brings new graphics products, Nvidia is launching the GeForce3 Titanium series. The Titanium series uses an updated version of TSMC's 0.15 micron manufacturing process, resulting in improved yields at higher clock rates. Other than the faster clock rates, though, there's nothing new in the new Titanium's.
The 20 most critical internet security vulnerabilities (Updated).
Posted: 10/02/2001 Source: Sans Institute Added by: Kim
Heise
Sometime back the Sans Institute posted a web page listing the top 10 critical internet security vulnerabilities. The site has been since updated to feature 20 items to be concerned about.
In light of all the recent virus/hacks you may wish to read this web page which covers Windows as well as Unix operating systems. This article is very well worth the read.
A little over a year ago, the SANS Institute and the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) released a document summarizing the Ten Most Critical Internet Security Vulnerabilities. Thousands of organizations used that list to prioritize their efforts so they could close the most dangerous holes first. This new list, released on October 1, 2001, updates and expands the Top Ten list. With this new release, we have increased the list to the Top Twenty vulnerabilities, and we have segmented it into three categories: General Vulnerabilities, Windows Vulnerabilities, and Unix Vulnerabilities.
The SANS/FBI Top Twenty list is valuable because the majority of successful attacks on computer systems via the Internet can be traced to exploitation of security flaws on this list. For instance, system compromises in the Solar Sunrise Pentagon hacking incident and the easy and rapid spread of the Code Red and NIMDA worms can be traced to exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities on this list.
COMSAT to Launch Aeronautical High-Speed Data Service.
Posted: 10/02/2001 Source:
In the not to distant future (hopefully) you can expect to be surfing the internet at ISDN speeds while sitting on a long flight.
It is bad enough to be cramped in a tiny seat on a nine hour flight across the Atlantic but the fact that intense boredom sets in about 15 minutes into the flight makes it almost intolerable. Being able to use the internet while flying could go along way to make the trip more sane and productive.
COMSAT Mobile Communications, a business unit of Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications, plans to be the first to offer Inmarsat high-speed data service to the aeronautical market. Currently undergoing final quality testing, COMSAT Aero High Speed Data (HSD) service is planned to be available commercially in the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions by the end of the year. Commercial service in the Indian Ocean Region is planned to begin during the first quarter of next year.
The service uses integrated services digital network (ISDN) technology and provides connections at speeds of 64 Kbps permitting users to transfer large files. Users also can e-mail and fax, participate in video and teleconferences, and connect to their corporate LAN/WAN.
The Bethesda, Md.-based COMSAT Aero HSD allows users to browse the Internet at speeds higher than those allowed by conventional dial-up modems. The service also offers secure communications over a range of terminals including STU-III, STU-IIB, KIV7, and STE.
"COMSAT Mobile's new aeronautical high-speed data service offers seamless continuity of important day-to-day activities for customers traveling in corporate, government, and commercial passenger aircraft, allowing them to maintain decision-making speed, increase productivity, and capitalize on new business opportunities - while in flight," said Kathryn Y. Holman, vice president and general manager of COMSAT Mobile Communications.
COMSAT also provides maritime and land mobile data, high-speed data, Internet access, and voice communications services to customers worldwide via the Inmarsat satellite system.
FTC cracks down on "trap" Web sites.
Posted: 10/02/2001 Source: IDG.NET Added by: Kim Heise
I still cannot figure out how certain individuals have the nerve to make money on this despicable tragedy that occurred in the US on September the 11th 2001 by scamming users into browsing questionable web sites.
Fantastic news that the FTC is starting to crack down on these "low-life parasites".
THE U.S. FEDERAL Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a complaint in Federal court against a "cyberscammer" for registering common misspellings of legitimate domains, including 41 variations of pop star Britney Spears' name, in order to trap users into sites that produced dozens of pop-up ads.
The FTC filed the complaint against John Zuccarini, who has done business under a number of different company names, according to a statement released Monday by the agency. Zuccarini registered more than 5,500 domain names designed to divert Web surfers from the sites they were trying to reach, the FTC said. When users went to the sites inadvertently, they were hit with a barrage of pop-up advertisements for pornography, gambling sites and psychic services.
The FTC estimates Zuccarini earns between $800,000 and $1 million annually from the scheme, charging advertisers whose banner ads and affiliate programs appear on his site. The FTC will seek a court order to force the defendant to give up his "ill-gotten gains," it said.
In one case, an FTC investigator visited one of the misspelled sites and 29 different pop-up windows opened, the FTC said. Sometimes the intended site would open in one of the windows, making users think that the barrage of ads was from the legitimate site. The practice could expose children to pornography and cause workers inadvertently to break company rules against visiting pornography or gambling sites, the agency said.
At the request of the FTC, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania prohibited Zuccarini's practices pending further order of the court. The FTC believes the court will force Zuccarini to shut down the sites permanently.
Sony introduces DVD changer for the car.
Posted: 10/02/2001 Source: Electic Tech Added by: Kim
Heise
Several weeks back at <unnamed electronics retailer> the dealer I spoke with about DVD in automobiles and safety assured me that the DVD feature does not function unless the parking brake is applied.
I then asked him if he also thought it was unusual to be sitting in your car (no matter how comfortable the seats) and watch a DVD movie where you could be sitting in your living room with plenty of foot room and many other luxuries.
Apparently there is some demand to watch DVD movies within the automobile. I still need to be convinced.
Whether it's taking the kids to see Grandma or driving a bunch of friends to Key West for Spring Break, Sony Mobile's new in-car DVD/CD changer will turn a road trip into a film-festival by providing hours of entertainment.
When added to a car A/V component such as an installed LCD monitor, the new changer offers playback and storage in the car for 10 DVDs and/or CDs, including CD-R/RW discs. With its RF modulator, the changer can be added to any car audio system that has an FM tuner. The unit also has pre-amplifier outputs for auxiliary input use.
``As the market leader in home DVD-video, it's only natural for us to extend our technology to the automotive industry,'' said Phil Lubell, senior marketing manager for mobile electronics at Sony Electronics. ``The new DVD/CD changer meets the needs of consumers who want the benefit of in-car entertainment without having to replace their existing stereo.''
The DVD changer offers a wealth of features aimed to please restless passengers without disturbing the driver. The option of using a wired or wireless remote allows users easy control of the unit to shuffle between discs or quickly move from a DVD to an audio CD. For safety purposes, the unit has two video outputs. The front output automatically disengages when the car is in motion to ensure the driver won't be distracted.
Available next month, the DVX-DVD 100 is expected to sell for about $1,000.
New Intel Pentium III-M processor unveiled.
Posted: 10/02/2001 Source: CNET Added by: Kim Heise
Intel is still keeping the Pentium III on the pipeline - only for laptops. Several new versions of the low power Pentium III processors have been launched to help the mobile market with improved low power consumption componets.
Can Intel's ultra-light chip spark sales?
Frank Spindler, VP Mobile Products Division, Intel
Intel wants to help popularize the ultra-portable laptop.
To that end, the company on Monday launched a set of new low-power Pentium III-M chips. They include low-voltage chips at 733MHz and 750MHz, two at 800MHz, and an ultralow-voltage 700MHz model. The chipmaker also announced a 1.2GHz Pentium III-M, which runs at 800MHz in battery mode.
The Pentium III-M, which uses Intel's new 130-nanometer (0.13-micron) manufacturing process, was introduced in late July.
Intel offers three flavors of mobile Pentium III chips: standard, low power and ultralow power. The latter two offer lower power consumption and clock speeds and are designed to be used in smaller notebooks, such as ultra-portable models weighing 4 pounds or less. All three also include the company's SpeedStep technology, which allows the chip to scale back in clock speed and voltage to extend battery life.
The new low-power chips will go into laptops in two categories: ultra-portables, or laptops that weigh 4 pounds or less, and mini-notebooks, or laptops that weigh 3 pounds or less. It's these notebooks that Intel sees as the precursor to the age of sleeker, more capable wireless-enabled notebooks. Intel's previous ultralow-voltage Pentium III runs at 600MHz.
As processor speeds increase, power consumption drops, and new wireless networking technologies proliferate, ultra-portables should make gains, the chipmaker says.
New Cisco router to target metro areas.
Posted: 10/02/2001 Source: CNET Added by: Kim Heise
Just a FYI for those of you who are keeping an eye on Cisco and are also curios as to what new market areas the company is moving into.
Cisco Systems unveiled new networking hardware Tuesday to dive further into the fast-growing market to build networks in metropolitan areas and allow service providers to offer more sophisticated Internet-based services.
Cisco is introducing a new router, the Cisco 10720 Internet router, aimed at networks in metropolitan areas, so telecommunications service providers can offer their customers new communications services such as video, phone calls over the Net and virtual private networks, which are secure Internet connections to corporate networks.
The networking giant has also repositioned its high-end Cisco 12000 series family of routers to encompass the "edge" of networks, where service providers' networks intersect with each other and local networks. Cisco, the market leader for routers, has historically sold its 12000 router family to the "core" part of networks, through which most Internet traffic travels. Routers are devices that ship Internet traffic from point to point along a network at high speeds.
As part of the strategy, Cisco on Tuesday announced a smaller 12404 Internet router that is targeted for the edge of networks and runs at speeds of 10 gigabits per second (Gbps). Cisco also released new add-on technology called "line cards," which allow service providers to offer new Net-based services.
Analysts say Cisco's strategy is aimed squarely at the metropolitan networking market, which is expected to grow from $6.3 billion in revenue in 2000 to $17.2 billion by 2003, according to industry consulting firm Infonetics Research.
"They're taking these 12000s and making them competitive and attractive for (the) metro," said analyst Deb Mielke, of Treillage Network Strategies.
Revamped anti-terrorism bill to go to House.
Posted: 10/02/2001 Source: CNET Added by: Kim Heise
It is good news to create laws to prosecute hackers but it is another task altogether to actually catch hackers in the act before the damage has been done.
This will most certainly scare the casual hacker but the professional just may feel more challenged.
A congressional committee is scheduled to begin reviewing draft anti-terrorism legislation Tuesday that could greatly expand the electronic surveillance powers of police and ratchet up penalties relating to certain computer crimes.
An earlier version of the bill, formerly known as the Anti-Terrorism Act, was held up over civil rights concerns last week. By Monday, however, a compromise was worked out, speeding the renamed Provide Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (PATRIOT) Act to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary.
The members of the House Judiciary Committee worked through the weekend and late Monday to draft the new PATRIOT act, said an aide to the committee.
"They've been working closely together...to reach an agreement," the aide said.
The result of a bipartisan effort between F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis., and John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., the new bill would add to the powers of law enforcement and intelligence communities, allowing them to gather and share information, detain immigrants, pursue those who cooperate with suspected terrorists, and freeze the bank accounts and financial networks of terrorist organizations.
The bill was modified to include a narrower definition of "terrorism" that could limit some powers granted in the previous draft highlighted by civil rights advocates. Those powers include near-blanket rights to wiretap any communications device used by a person in any way connected to a suspected terrorist; the power to detain indefinitely an immigrant connected to an act of terrorism; and the classification of any computer hacking crime as a terrorist offense.
"McCarthy all over again"
Despite that change, the newest bill still falls short of clearly defining what crimes should be considered terrorist acts, said Michael Erbschloe, vice president and analyst at technology market researcher Computer Economics.
The bill lists more than 40 criminal offenses, including computer intrusion and damaging a computer, and defines those offenses as terrorism if they are "calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion...or to retaliate against government conduct."
NVIDIA's nForce 420/220: It's finally here.
Posted: 10/02/2001 Source: Anandtech Added by: Kim
Heise
NVIDIA's new motherboard chipset has finally reached the consumer market and I must admit the specifications and performance is rather impressive. If the new chipset is coupled with NVIDIA's history of stability then we have a sure winner.
This means we have more competition and options in the motherboard chipset market. Now NVIDIA lines itself with (or against) Intel, VIA and SIS (among others...). Hopefully this translates into lower costs and better quality/features for the consumer.
Expect a motherboard chipset shakeout next year as several leaders will emerge. It is far too early to make any predictions at this point.
If there was one phrase that would best summarize NVIDIA's nForce it would be "raising the bar," since that's exactly what it does. The introduction of the nForce and the subsequent assimilation into the market raises the bar in many areas; audio, video and integrated chipsets in general. Having something as powerful as the NVIDIA APU on every motherboard will quickly sour your taste on conventional AC'97 on-board audio not to mention what the next-generation nForce with an even more powerful integrated video core will do to the expectations for on-board video performance.
There are a couple of conclusions that can be made from this article. For starters, the performance of the nForce with an external AGP card is approximately on-par with that of the KT266A. While the KT266A does come out ahead in the majority of benchmarks, its lead is usually limited to 3% or less which is honestly indiscernible to even the most highly trained eyes. For the ultimate Athlon platform in terms of performance, the decision really comes down to the KT266A or the nForce.
NVIDIA announces new GEFORCE 3 Titanium series.
Posted: 10/02/2001 Source:
In case you missed all the press releases from yesterday, Anandtech has posted a copy up on their web site.
NVIDIA EXTENDS TECHNOLOGY LEAD WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF THE GEFORCE TITANIUM
SERIES
New Series of GPUs Drives DirectX 8 and Programmable Shader Technology
Aggressively Into the Mainstream
SANTA CLARA, CA - October 1, 2001 - NVIDIA® Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA)
today announced its new GeForce Titanium series of Graphics Processing Units
(GPUs). The GeForce3 Ti and GeForce2 Ti series of GPUs deliver breakthrough
graphics technologies, each providing unprecedented levels of performance
and visual quality. These new products also utilize NVIDIA's
high-performance Detonator XP driver, incorporating special software
optimizations that immediately take full advantage of the newest features of
the Microsoft® Windows® XP operating system.
"Today's introduction of our GeForce Titanium series of GPUs continues our
quest to deliver dramatic advances in 3D technology and cinematic-quality
graphics on every PC," stated Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO at NVIDIA.
"The GeForce Titanium Series is our most aggressive product introduction
ever. We are delivering twice the performance at every price point. We are
also taking a giant step to drive NVIDIA's 'GeForce Shader Technology'
aggressively into the mainstream. The combination of GeForce3, Xbox, and
the GeForce Titanium Series will create an installed base of NVIDIA's
GeForce Shader Technology exceeding 5 million units by early next year. And
with our patented UDA driver architecture, we're bringing our industry
recognized driver quality, stability, and application compatibility, to the
XP platform. The Geforce Titanium Series will be the unambiguous graphics
platform of choice of Windows XP."
The new GeForce Titanium series consists of three new products:
* GeForce3 Ti 500 ? The GeForce3 Ti 500 is the world's
fastest, feature rich GPU and the flagship product of NVIDIA's desktop
graphics family. The GeForce3 Ti 500 offers unparalleled anti-aliasing
performance, 3.8 billion anti-aliased samples per second, and introduces
groundbreaking new 3D graphics features to the desktop PC.
* GeForce3 Ti 200 ?The GeForce2 Ti is the first DirectX 8 GPU
targeted at the performance mainstream market. By delivering 2.8 billion
anti-aliased samples per second, the GeForce3 Ti 200 brings high-performance
3D graphics and state-of-the-art image quality to the performance-minded
consumer.
* GeForce2 Ti - GeForce2 Ti redefines graphics performance for
mainstream computers by delivering 1 billion pixels/sec. rendering power and
delivering a groundbreaking 6.4GB/sec. of bandwidth for the mainstream
consumer.
New Viking 1GB, Thin-Profile PC133 memory.
Posted: 10/02/2001 Source:
Viking will be shipping 1GB RAM PC133 memory on a single "stick" over the next several weeks. No wording on the price but I suspect it will not be cheap - initially.
Last I heard is that DDRAM configurations were currently maxed out at 512MB sizes per "stick". Expect this to change.
Viking Components, Inc. announced today that it is releasing a 1GB low-profile memory PC133 Registered DIMM module for the 1U server market.
"This module offers the highest density available today in the 1.2-inch, low-profile form factor," said Shannon Biggs, Viking's Vice President of Technology. "Today's announcement is further evidence of Viking's commitment to expand our enterprise memory line and to be first-to-market with high-performance server memory solutions."
Viking collaborated with Garden Grove, CA-based DPAC Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq:DPAC) to develop the initial design. The collaboration capitalized on Viking's module manufacturing expertise, and DPAC's experience with stacking chip technologies.
"Viking has delivered the industry's first 1.2-inch 1GB module to utilize the DPAC thin-profile LP-Stack™," commented Ted Bruce, DPAC's President and CEO. "Viking's input on the design of the technology was invaluable, and has resulted in a solution which solves a memory density problem faced by many system manufacturers."
The Viking 1.2-inch 1GB PC133 Registered DIMM is available immediately.
CD copy compromise in the works.
Posted: 10/02/2001 Source: MSNBC Added by: Kim Heise
I'm curious to learn exactly how this new copy protection will work. Obviously this information will not be readily available but you can be rest assured various hackers will he directing all their attention and skill at the new CD copy protection system.
On the other side this system allows a option of copying a format of the CD in MP3 format to your local hard drive. So what is the purpose of the copy protection system? Well, it depends on the strings attached.
Anti-piracy features making their way onto CDs promise to dramatically alter the online music landscape, potentially handing Microsoft a potent weapon against the leading MP3 format and other rivals in the high-stakes battle over digital-audio standards.
THE RECORD INDUSTRY is experimenting with a new strategy for protecting CDs from being copied in CD burners or on computers. Unlike previous anti-copying measures, this plan will place two versions of an album on a single disc: one in standard CD form, modified so that it can’t be transferred to a computer hard drive, and another in Microsoft’s Windows Media Audio digital format, rigged so that files can be copied to a PC, but with some restrictions on how they can be used.
AMD unveils new Duron chip.
Posted: 10/02/2001 Source:
The first AMD chips are being unveiled to the market featuring the new Palomino CPU core. Ultimately the new Palomino core offers lower operating temperatures and voltages which are ideal for laptops and highly clocked processors.
ON MONDAY, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chipmaker announced a 1.1GHz Duron processor for the value segment of the PC market. As earlier reported, the chip matches the clock speed of Intel’s 1.1GHz Celeron, but benchmark testers have stated that the Duron could be a better overall value.
The AMD chip will be priced at $103 in quantities of 1,000. Systems based on the chip should be available in the fourth quarter, the company said.
In another week, AMD will come out with its line of Athlon XP processors for performance PCs. Formerly code-named Palomino (and “Corvette” before that), the Athlon XP will be AMD’s challenger to the Pentium 4. The new chip, which will run at 1.5GHz, will also feature a new branding scheme. The 1.5GHz chip will actually be known at the Athlon XP 1800, so as to look more sporting on shelves when compared with a 2GHz Pentium 4.
Although the new flash drives from Toshiba range from 16MB to 2GB they are most certainly ideal for portable devices and specific devices that endure extreme operating environments.
The fact that flash drives have no moving components means less power consumption and less likely to become defective from usage makes the option a likely candidate for various working environments.
TOKYO — Attempting to push its solid-state NAND flash memory as a substitute for hard-disk drives in industrial applications, Toshiba Corp. is sampling a series of flash drives in 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch hard-disk form factors.
Compatible with the pervasive IDE disk technology, the flash drives range in density from 16 Mbytes to 2 Gbytes. Toshiba is aiming the products at industrial applications, arguing that solid-state memory is inherently more durable to shock and vibration, and also more resistant to temperature, humidity, dust and magnetism than hard-disk drives.
"We are trying to cultivate new applications for NAND flash," a Toshiba spokesman said. "The current capacity of HDDs is at least 10 Gbytes or beyond, but there are many applications requiring 1-Gbyte or 2-Gbyte capacity, including ATM, factory automated machines and so on."
For such applications, "current hard drives are not the ideal solution from a view of memory capacity and strength," the spokesman said.
|
The first device is the Intel's 1.3 Megapixel 
The second camera comes in the form of a webcam-only device, dubbed the 