NEWS, ETC.
February 2002
Wednesday, 27 February 2002
Intel
to Drop Support of Rambus in New CPU Products. When the next
generation of workstation DDR chipsets arrive, it will mark the end
of a long and torturous episode when Intel tried to mandate Direct
Rambus as the next generation memory for the PC and workstation markets.
Intel
Discusses 'Prescott' Microprocessor. Intel has added a 0.09-micron
process desktop Pentium 4 processor, code-named Prescott, to its roadmap
slated for introduction in the second half of 2003.
Microsoft
Asks Judge to Reject States' Sanctions Plan. Microsoft told
the judge that the nine states still pursuing the case are overstepping
their authority...
Tuesday, 26 February 2002
Broadband
Legislation Set for House Debate. Hotly
contested legislation that would give regional telephone giants a boost
in the high-speed Internet market is set to be considered in the U.S.
House of Representatives this week.
Broadband
Internet Never Cometh. Masses of potential subscribers
have been choosing to avoid the steep monthly subscription costs
and startup fees of high-speed Internet access.
IP
Storage NICs May Disappoint. To achieve the speed of rival
Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel yet still carry gobs of data, these
adapters fully off-load TCP/IP processing from the host operating system
and bundle it on the NIC hardware with the iSCSI storage protocol...
Monday, 25 February 2002
IBM
Creates World's Fastest Semiconductor Circuit. Germanium (SiGe)
technology... operating at speeds of more than 110 GigaHertz (GHz)
and processing an electrical signal in 4.3 trillionths of a second.
Intel
Unveils New Xeon Server Processors. The
Xeon is the first server chip to use Intel's hyper-threading technology
and Netburst micro-architecture. Prestonia
to land at Intel chip show Intel
will unveil Prestonia--its first server chip based on the Pentium
4 architecture. Add lots of McKinley, Banias and Plumas--and you've
got a chip show.
Microsoft
Gets Down to Business. It's no secret that
Microsoft has had its eye on the market for business software. Speculation
has run high that it would make an entry since it acquired Great Plains,
a maker of accounting software for small and midsized businesses...
Hubble
to Get Makeover From Shuttle Astronauts
Saturday, 23 February 2002
Semiconductor
Alert! (Feb. 18-22). Commentary & analysis of week's chip
news.
Judge
Hands Napster Small Win in Copyright Lawsuit. U.S.
District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel agreed with Napster that more
time was needed to decide who owns the rights to musical works involved
in the recording industry's lawsuit against Napster.
A
Future for High-Speed Rail?
Friday, 22 February 2002
DVD
Successor Takes Shape Outside of Standards Forum. With digital
video disk systems selling faster than any other consumer-electronics
item in history, consumer OEMs are doing what comes natural: They're
eating their young.
Microsoft
Admits XP Media Player Spies on Users
Microsoft
Patches Three 'Critical' Software Flaws. The
patches plug holes in Internet Explorer, Windows XP, SQL Server 2000
and Commerce Server 2000.
Thursday, 21 February 2002
AMD
Unveils Platform Design For Its Next Generation Microprocessors.
AMD discloses details of the AMD-8000™ series of chipsets, which in
conjunction with AMD’s next generation processor architecture — codenamed
“Hammer”...
Key
Economic Gauge Sees Strong Recovery. "We
might be out of recession already," Ken Goldstein, the board's
chief economist, told Reuters. "The recovery could be more vigorous
than earlier anticipated."
Microsoft
Expands Shared Source Open Code Program. Trying
to protect its software empire from open-source rivals like Linux,
on Thursday said it is expanding a program to share the underlying
code of its Windows operating system.
Free
Cisco Router Security Tool Released
Wedesday, 20 February 2002
Best
Big LCD Monitors. The new 17- and 18-inch LCDs are easy on
the eyes and thrifty with precious desktop space. And they're getting
easier on the wallet.
VIA
Launches Apollo KT333 Motherboard Chipset. Bringing DDR333
memory support to the AMD Athlon XP processor...
States
Claim Microsoft Used Settlement to Squeeze PC Makers. Were
precluded from enforcing their patents against Microsoft because
of a "nonassertion of patents" provision in the licensing
terms, the states said.
Sharp
to Build LCD Plant for TV Screens. The plant, located in Kameyama,
Japan, will focus on assembly of LCD TVs with 25-inch or larger screens...
will complete transition from CRT to LCD technology by 2005... plans
to introduce 40-inch sets this year. Taiwanese
Companies Ready for LCD TV Production.
Gateway
CEO: Sales Exceed Usual Seasonal Trend
Duck
Croc
Scientists
and Psychics Hail Rare Time Symmetry. 20:02,
20/02/2002.
Tuesday, 19 February 2002
Electronics
Firms Unify Blue-Laser DVD Standards. The
new blue-laser format, which could appear in products as early as next
year, will feature up to 27 gigabytes of storage on one side of a single
12-cm disc.
Chatty
Motorola Users to Get Built-in Instant Messaging. Motorola
and AOL are working together to offer chat-happy users wireless phone
handsets with a built-in version of the AOL Instant Messenger (AIM)
service.
Microsoft
debuts Smartphones, Wireless Pocket PCs. Microsoft
and its manufacturing partners debuted gadgets based on its new Wireless
Pocket PC platform at the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes...
Judge
Tells Microsoft to Give Code to States. The judge hearing nine
U.S. states' antitrust complaint against Microsoft has instructed the
software giant to open the source code for recent versions of the Windows
operating system to the plaintiffs.
Deep-frozen
Atoms Stop Beam of Light in Its Tracks
Pig
to Human Organ Transplants on Horizon
LCD
Prices Surge as Supplies Tighten. Suppliers say popular 15-inch
displays hardest hit...
Semiconductor
Alert! (Feb. 11-15). The new silicon image sensor, which is
claimed to have resolution equal to film, is different from any current
sensor in that each pixel captures all three primary colors by determining
how deeply the photons penetrate the X3 sensor... Foveon
Press Release, ec.
Supreme
Court to Rule on Internet Copyright
Friday, 15 February 2002
Memory,
Storage and Glass in Demand. DRAM is up; storage units are
selling briskly and glass is promising to come into short supply, particularly
with the release of flat-panel iMacs.
February
outlook: Where IC Markets Are Headed
Dell
Exec: Upgrade Cycle Still On Horizon. "You've got over
150 million computers out there that are greater than three years old.
Seventy-five percent of the installed base cannot run Windows XP."
Gbit
Ethernet Competition Hits Boiling Point. Because Gigabit Ethernet-over-copper
runs over standard Cat-5 cabling, with four pairs of twisted-copper
cabling, the opportunity to replace fast (10/100-Mbit/s) Ethernet is
enormous.
Hidden
Viruses Can Circumvent Server-based Protection. The problem
has been proven on Outlook Express 5.5 and 6.0... Other versions of
Outlook and Outlook Express are likely affected... Outlook Express
6.0 and Outlook Express for the Macintosh appears not to be affected.
Researchers
Crack New Wireless Security Spec. A
University of Maryland professor and his graduate student have apparently
uncovered serious weaknesses in the next-generation Wi-Fi (Wireless
Fidelity) security protocol known as 802.1x.
Nvidia
Says it is Under SEC Scrutiny. The Securities and Exchange
Commission, together with the U.S. Attorney's Office, has authorized
an investigation and interviewed at least one former Nvidia employee.
Nvidia said it is conducting an internal review of certain accounting
practices.
Ultrawideband:
More Than A Gadget. The nation's communications regulators
approved limited use of a new technology Thursday that is capable of
seeing through walls, finding earthquake victims and even preventing
car crashes.
First
Step To Noiseless Qubit For Quantum Computers
Copy
Cat
Thursday, 14 February 2002
What
Is .NET, Anyway? Microsoft's
initial vision for its .NET suite of technology products is built
around standards-based computing that allows its products to communicate
with any other platform...
IE
Flaw Exploited for MSN Messenger Worm
Microsoft
Security Patch Said Ineffective. A
program designed to plug a common security hole is vulnerable to the
very attack it was designed to prevent, the Wall Street Journal alleged
in a report on Thursday
Design
Flaw Found in .Net Framework
Intel:
Expect McKinleys Galore at IDF. Intel Developer Forum in San
Francisco later this month... Networking chips and server chips--"more
McKinleys than ever seen before," as well as Intel's thoughts
on the shape of PCs to come.
Wednesday, 13 February 2002
Comcast
Admits To Spying on Customers. Comcast
has admitted that it stores the unique numeric Internet address of
each of its customers, along with the Internet address of every Web
page subscribers visit.
States
Request Microsoft Windows Code. The
states argued they need to see the Windows source code in order to
verify Microsoft's claim that it is not technically feasible for the
company to offer a stripped-down version of the operating system.
Tuesday, 12 February 2002
Microsoft
Battles Old, New Security Holes With IE Patch. The "cumulative" patch
made available for download Monday fixes holes in Versions 5.01,
5.5 and 6.0 of Internet Explorer. It addresses six vulnerabilities
discovered in the past few months... Microsoft
Security Bulletin. Download.
The
Latest in Wireless Routers. ZDNet reviews six wireless broadband
routers.
Motherboard
Problems Affecting Launch of DDR333. When modules were plugged
into all three expansion slots, the memory frequently slipped back
to a 266MHz frequency.
Nanotech
Brings New Hope, and Hype, to Market
Monday, 11 February 2002
MS
Server Bugs Open the Door to Hackers. Holes in Exchange 2000
and Windows 2000 could allow hackers to view the system registry or
gain control of servers. Meanwhile, Microsoft continues to struggle
with its reputation for lax security.
MSN
Messenger Vulnerable Through IE Bug. A
malicious Web site operator can hijack a user's MSN Messenger application
and perform all tasks, including sending messages and personal files.
AMD
and Intel Turn-up the Heat in Handheld Market. AMD's acquisition
of a MIPS-based start-up and Intel's introduction of its first XScale-based
embedded processors extends rivalry to the handheld computer arena.
Saturday, 9 February 2002
Semiconductor
Alert! (Feb. 4-8) Commentary & analysis of week's chip
news. Global chip sales may not have bottomed as reported... Intel...
low-power technology and McKinely...
A
look Back at the 2001 Desktop Market and Forecast for 2002
2/8 VIA
Skips Its Original KT333 Chipset, Goes Direct to Updated Version
2/8 Coming
to a TV Near You: Motorola's Interactive Wireless Web Pad. 'People
want a more interactive experience with their television that's dynamic
and engaging, but still is a lean-back experience - rather than the
lean-forward experience of typing on a keyboard and clicking around
with a mouse.'
2/8 Satellite
Broadband Finding Its Market. Satellite offers download speeds
of 400 kbps, while cable and DSL typically can provide up to 1,500 kbps
for downloads. Transmission lags, due to the time it takes for satellites
to beam and relay data, make it less than ideal for Internet gaming and
other interactive services.
2/7 FCC:
Broadband Grew Steadily in First Half 2001. 9.6
million customers had signed up for high-speed, or "broadband," Internet
access by the end of June 2001, an increase of 36 percent over Jan. 2001
figures...
2/7 Microsoft
Settlement Weighed. Justice Dept., software giant will consider
changes to settlement terms.
2/7 Sun
Gets Serious About Linux. Sun "will
ship a new class of low-end, x86-based server aimed at the emerging
edge marketplace," where the need for simple, inexpensive servers
running Linux is growing beyond mere Linux appliances.
2/7 Google
Offers Cash to Creative Coders. The Google search engine is sponsoring
its "First Annual Google Programming Contest," offering $10,000
to the person or team that can come up with the best software program
for compressing, organizing, linking or otherwise manipulating a mass
of raw search data. More
info for Google...
2/7 'Unbreakable'
Oracle9i Springs a Leak. Several
security flaws were discovered in the company's software, including one
that could allow a hacker to gain access to Oracle's database server
without a user ID or password.
2/7 EarthLink
In Tug-Of-War Over Customer's E-Mail Address. EarthLink has
threatened to cut off Internet service to a subscriber who refused to
relinquish an e-mail address she owned for nearly three years.
 2/6 Pocket-size
Computers Could Make Laptops Passé.
Pocket-size computer 'bricks' could be the next big thing... IBM
to Unveil Index Card-Size Computer Prototype Code-named "MetaPad",
the module is 5 X 3 X 3/4 inches and has the computing power of
a typical notebook computer... Press
Release & More Info.
2/6 Productivity
Growth Stronger Than Expected. But
while productivity held firm, the report showed American workers were
still feeling the pinch from the ongoing recession as the number of hours
workers spent on the job fell at the fastest rate in more than a decade.
2/6 Govt.
Report: Internet Use Is Growing. Americans'
use of the Internet is still galloping ahead at a rate of more than two
million new users per month... 54% of population...
2/6 ABIT
Launches NV7-133R nFORCE 415D Motherboard and GeForce4 Products
2/6 Nvidia
Splits PC Market With New Chips. Nvidia hopes
to divide and conquer the PC market, grabbing a bigger chunk of the mainstream
segment, with the release Wednesday of a new PC graphics chip in two
desktop flavors. nVIDIA
GeForce Press Releases.
2/6 Intel "hyperthreading" to
Debut Soon. Hyperthreading makes a single CPU
act in some ways like two chips... Hyperthreading will appear later this
quarter on two models of Intel's Xeon chip... Press
Release.
2/6 Intel
to launch 845G, 845GL and 845E together in May. Intel has informed
Taiwanese motherboard makers that it will postpone the launch of its
Pentium 4-based 845G integrated chipset from April to the week of May
20.
2/6 AMD
to Buy Designer of Chips for Portable Devices
2/6 Space
'Hotels' to Slingshot Between Earth and Mars. "Once
you put your vehicle into a cycler orbit, it continues on its own momentum,
going back and forth between Earth and Mars..."
2/6 Rewritables
on a Roll. Top 5 CD-RW drives.
2/6 OEMs
See Double-edged Sword as Microsoft Makes Its Move in Home Gateway Market.
The worldwide market for such gateway boxes-when defined as a home-based
unit serving as a WAN and LAN bridge and a router with add-ons such as
firewall protection or a DVD player-will grow from $267 million in 2000
to $7.1 billion in 2006...
2/6 New
PCI-X 2.0 Draft Specification Introduced. The new spec uses double-data-rate
and quad-data-rate techniques to dramatically increase the PCI bus bandwidth
to 2.1 Gigabytes/second or 4.3 Gbytes/sec.
2/5 Linux
Users Ready to Toast Wine. Technology that will allow Microsoft
apps on non-Microsoft platforms is almost ready for prime time.
2/5 Microsoft
Takes a Break to Clean Its Code. The
company has ordered a temporary halt in the development of new code
and has instructed its developers to go back and check for security
holes...
2/5 First
XScale-based PDA Set for CeBIT Launch. Fujitsu Siemens Computers
is expected to be the first vendor to launch a PDA based on Intel's next-generation
XScale processor.
2/5 Palm
Intros New Operating System For Handhelds. PalmSource, Palm's
operating system subsidiary, is previewing the OS 5 beta at a company
conference this week. Final delivery of the software to licensees is
set for this summer. The
New Palm OS That Goes Whoosh.
2/5 January
Motherboard Revenues and Shipments
2/5 Nvidia
to Release New Graphics Chips Today. Nvidia
will announce the GeForce4 graphics processing unit (GPU) family at an
event in San Francisco.
2/4 Latest
Intel processor Could Steal the ISSCC Show. Some interesting
info on the forthcoming McKinley processor. Inside
Intel's Monster Chip. McKinley, Intel's upcoming server processor,
will be huge, at least in terms of surface area. Intel
to Describe Technology to Enable 0.13-micron, 5-GHz Processor.
Intel claims these "building blocks" will enable the development
of 5-GHz chips at 0.13-micron process technologies--at room temperature.
2/4 AMD's
300mm fab With UMC Pivotal in Race With Intel
2/4 Wireless
LAN Worries Mount. Rollouts delayed, systems shut down as organizations
scramble for security fixes.
2/4 HP
Shows Signs of an Upturn. HP today announced markedly improved
first quarter results, much to the surprise of industry analysts and
all those in favor and opposition of the company's historic and highly
contentious alliance with Compaq.
2/4 WorldCom
Set for VoIP Push. WorldCom is juicing up its voice-over-IP service...
The enhancement will let users plug Cisco or Pingtel SIP desktop telephones
directly into their LANs, eliminating the need for separate voice and
data networks.
2/4 Studios
Race to Choke DVD Copying. Movie studios are
now racing to find a technology that will keep people from making copies
of DVDs...
2/2 Semiconductor
Alert! (Jan. 28-Feb. 1) Commentary & analysis of week's chip
news. You really need a scorecard to follow what's going on this week
in the crazy DRAM business... Micron and Hynix will likely compromise
on price of fabs... where else can the financially troubled Hynix and
its beat-up creditors go? Are DRAM suppliers 'coordinating' output...
Maybe this kind of thing isn't price fixing exactly, but it sure sounds
close to me...
2/2 Senator
Urges Judge to Be Wary of Microsoft Deal
2/1 LinuxWorld:
Group Snnounces New Standards for Linux. Linux
Standards Base (LSB) 1.1, which standardizes the core functionality
of Linux and some components. It includes a set of common API, a development
package, and testing capabilities...
2/1 Mac
OS X for the Masses. The
Aqua UI masks enough of OS X's Unix underbelly to make it an ideal
operating system for even the most inexperienced home computer user.
2/1 DDR
SDRAM Started Getting Cheaper?
2/1 Astronomers
Search for Life's Imprint -- Light Years Away
2/1 Owners
Locked Out of AOL Home Pages. Some Web sites hosted on America
Online have been hit by outages, leaving their Webmasters unable to update,
view or transfer files on their home pages.
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