NEWS, ETC.
July 2002
Wednesday,
31 July 2002
Economy
Loses Steam in Second Quarter. 1.1
percent seasonally adjusted annual rate... In addition, Commerce said
GDP shrank for three straight quarters at the start of 2001, ending any
debate over whether the 2001 slump qualified as a recession.
AMD
Announces IBM DB2 Database Software Support For Linux-Based Enterprise
Database Solution on X86-64 Architecture. AMD
today announced the 64-bit enablement of IBM's DB2 database software
for the upcoming AMD Opteron™ processors based on AMD’s Hammer technology.
The enterprise-class database solution features a DB2 database on a SuSE
Linux operating system, and was successfully enabled to support x86-64
technology in two days.
Microsoft
Ships Windows 2000 SP3. Service Pack 3 includes
security and compatibility updates, plus support for automatic updates. I
do not see it on Microsoft's web site yet.
Microsoft
cancels InfiniBand Development. The
software vendor said it was dropping the technology because its customers
were more interested in Gigabit Ethernet under the current economic
conditions.
Mozilla
Browser Still Good After 32 Days. After
years on Internet Explorer, Timothy Dyck says he gave Mozilla a try
and he never plans on going back.
DVD:
The New Savoir of the PC Industry?
Tuesday,
30 July 2002
Abit
May Outsource All Motherboard Production to ECS. Abit
Computer officially confirmed on July 29 that it has outsourced production
of two low-end boards to Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS).
Kopin
Shines Its Tiny Light. If
a tiny blue light the size of a grain of sand doesn't fit your idea of
major technological innovation, then you haven't been following the curious
sub-sector of the semiconductor industry that is devoted to reinventing
how the world is illuminated.
Chipmakers
Regaining Equilibrium. For
the first time in more than a year, OEM orders emanating from several
sectors appear to be bringing semiconductor supply and demand close to
equilibrium...
Australians
Launch Hypersonic Scramjet Engine
Monday,
29 July 2002
"Drivezilla" Breathes
Fire at 200GB. Western
Digital's 200GB "Drivezilla" is about to stomp its way into
desktop PCs.
Crucial
Launches Video Card.
AMD
Cuts Prices on Athlon, Duron
Friday,
26 July 2002
New
Shuttle Computer Runs Cool and Quiet. Shuttle
released its latest "bare-bone" computer Wednesday, showing
a system that packs all of the functions of a full-fledged PC in a
case about the size of a large shoe box... uses a hybrid of copper
and aluminum piping along with water cooling to keep the processor
heat down. This allowed Shuttle to remove the processor fan, eliminating
the noise produced by a standard PC. Shuttle.
OpenOffice
for Mac OS X Goes Alpha. The OpenOffice suite includes
programs for word processing, spreadsheet, drawing and presentation
and uses file formats compatible with those used by Microsoft Office.
It is already available for Linux, Solaris, Windows and other operating
systems, and it has localized versions in more than 25 languages.
So
Far, 2002 Isn't Computing for PCs. Demand is still weak, though
the yearend season could surprise. Overall, 2003 is starting to look
like the next hope
Photons
double-up for Solar Power. Solar
cells could get an efficiency boost of 30% using a device proposed
by physicists in Australia and Germany...
Working
With a Web-hosting Reseller. The
small entrepreneurial web-hosting vendor still exists, but he’s no
longer in the infrastructure business. He’s now a reseller — a company
that buys web-hosting capacity from a larger wholesaler...
Microsoft
Holds-off Expensing Stock Options
Why
the Buzz on Hammer Just Won't Quit
Really
Mini Digital Cameras
Thursday,
25 July 2002
 PC
Maker Targets Apple with iMac-Alike. Uses an Intel Pentium
4 and and comes with Windows XP. Northgate claims Apple users can expect
a minimum of 35 per cent increase in performance at 35-40 per cent less
cost. Northgate's
web site.
AMD
Fielding 64 bits for PCs. AMD is,
so far, the only major chipmaker to announce plans for a 64-bit processor
for desktops. The average PC user probably doesn't need 64 bits just yet. Who
said so?
Microsoft
Updates Office XP, Exchange Server. Microsoft
has made available free software to help integrators tie Web services
into Office XP applications. I
do not see this update on Microsoft's web site yet.
Infineon
Cuts Deals for Wearable Chips. Chipmaker Infineon
reports it has seen "huge" interest from the textile industry
in its wearable computing technology, paving the way for everything from
identification chips to MP3 players that can be built into ordinary fabrics.
Microsoft
Offers Plug for 'Critical' SQL Server Holes
Wednesday,
24 July 2002
Dow
Up Nearly 500 Points in Late Rally. Stocks
shot higher on Wednesday, rebounding from a fierce selloff that plunged
shares to fresh 5-year lows as investors snapped up shares beaten down
by weeks of decline...
High-Speed
Internet Subscribers Soar - FCC... a
surge of 80.3 percent for the year.
PCI-X
2.0, PCI Express Specs Released to Developers. Two
versions of the PCI-X 2.0 will be released: PCI-X 266 (266
MHz) and PCI-X 533. PCI Express will allow high-end graphics
cards and other interconnects to communicate with PCs at 2.5Gbps
per lane per direction.
Pentium
4 Prices to Be Slashed Across the Board. Intel
will cut Pentium 4 prices an average of 26% by Sept. 1.
Mac,
Windows Updates On the Way. Apple
Computer and Microsoft on Tuesday took steps toward releasing important
operating system updates.
HP
Won't Sell Printers to Dell
Tuesday,
23 July 2002
Intel
Readies Early Rollout of New Pentium 4. Intel
is moving up the introduction of its Pentium 4 processor running at
3.0 gigahertz in time for the year-end holiday season.
Rocket-science
Scooter Heads for the Streets. BAE
Systems, Britain's biggest defense supplier, is to lead a campaign
to sell the revolutionary Segway single-person
transporter to the Ministry of Defense and other Government departments.
AT&T
Has $12.7 Billion Loss After Charges
Microsoft
Tools Tie Windows to Oracle, Apache
Monday,
22 July 2002
Stocks
See Fresh Lows, Fear Grips Street. The
Dow Jones Industrial average .DJI sank
234.68 points, or 2.93 percent, to 7,784.50, according to the latest
available data. It was the blue-chip index's first close under the
8,000 level since mid-October 1998.
WorldCom
Files Largest Bankruptcy in History. WorldCom's
is the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. corporate history, the Wall
Street Journal said in its online edition Sunday night, with the
company listing assets of over $100 billion, and having more than
1,000 creditors. Worldcom will conduct business as usual while it
develops a reorganization plan under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy
Code. WorldCom's
Internet Backbone Is Safe For Now.
ADSL2:
Taking the Next Step in Broadband Designs.
The ITU has all but completed the new ADSL2 standards, which delivers
improved rate and reach performance, advanced diagnostics capabilities,
standby modes, and more to broadband designers.
Real
to Steal MS Media Thunder? In
an effort to fend off rival Microsoft, RealNetworks plans to unveil
'Helix,' a new open source version of its media streaming software
that supports multiple file formats.
Microsoft
Embeds HailStorm Into .Net. Contrary
to reports that Microsoft has abandoned its HailStorm technology,
company officials have revealed plans to embed components of the
XML schema and data-access technology throughout its .Net application.
Hole
in PHP could give attacker server control.
A security hole in the PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) scripting language
used on many Web servers could allow an attacker to execute code on affected
systems or even take control of them, according to a security alert released
Monday by The PHP Group.
Might
Apple Ditch PowerPC for AMD? How's
this for a scenario: a Power Mac based on an x86-64 AMD chip and an
Nvidia nForce 2 chipset..
Applied's
Science: Building Tinier Chips. Applied
Materials' new chipmaking system adds material in layers one atom
at a time, paving the way to the creation of 65-nanometer semiconductors.
Friday,
19 July 2002
Stocks
Fall Sharply Again, With Dow Down More Than 300 Points. You
may have to log into the NY Times, but it is free and is well worth
the little effort that it takes.
Bracing
for a Network Meltdown. Companies
around the world are developing co-location facilities, interviewing
backup vendors and bolstering wireless capabilities in wake of
the potential service problems caused by WorldCom.
New
'Instant Ethernet' Powerline Device Unveiled. Phonex
Broadband on Thursday announced a new "powerline" device
that, for the first time, does not require special software drivers
for installation. Powerline technology enables home computer networking
through ordinary electrical outlets.
HP
IS Now the Leading PC Manufacturer, by a Thread. Through
its merger with Compaq Computer, Hewlett-Packard has become the world's
largest PC manufacturer for the first time, but the distinction might
be short-lived. IDC put HP's worldwide market share at 15.1 percent
and Dell's at 14.8 percent.
VIA
and SiS Announce New Product and Marketing Strategies for AMD K8 (Hammer)
Chipsets
Roll
Up for the Floppy Television. Roll-up,
flexible televisions, akin to the melting watches of Salvador Dali's
surreal landscapes... Dick Tracy's watch. Cambridge
Display Technology
China
to Build Own Version of Windows 98
A
Sneak Peek at NASA's Plans for Exploring Mars and Beyond
Thursday,
18 July 2002
ATI
Uncovers Comeback Display Chips. ATI began
its bid to regain the leadership of the graphics chip market Thursday
with new processors that boast significantly faster performance than
current ones.
MSI
Announces K7N2 Athlon Motherboard with NVIDIA nForce2 Chipset
AMD
Posts Large Q2 Loss, Sees More Losses in Q3
Dell:
PC Market Slow and May Stay So
Report:
AOL Used Unconventional Business Practices
Wednesday,
17 July 2002
MSN
Software Gets a Price Tag. The
next version of Microsoft's MSN Internet access software is due for
release by the end of the year and for some users will sport a significant
new feature -- a price tag. Parul Shah, an MSN product manager: "We
think [customers] are willing to pay for the look and feel of a product."
The
Changing Face of Cable Modems. Now potentially masquerading
as a home router and/or a VoIP gateway, the humble cable modem will
also soon capitalize on the latest Docsis 2.0-based silicon to allow
it to form the hub of a symmetric, 30-Mbit/s, multimedia and packet-voice
gateway.
New
ATI Chip Brings 3D to Life. The fastest versions of the new
chips will offer considerably higher performance than Nvidia's current
GeForce4 roster, giving ATI the edge with gamers as well as PC makers,
analysts said.
Mobos:
VIA Should Feel Little Impact From nForce2. Although Nvidia
hopes to grab market share in the AMD-platform market with a more complete
nForce2 graphics chipset line, motherboard makers say that it is unlikely
to affect VIA much in the short term.
WorldCom
Gets $2 Billion Bankruptcy Loan
Intel
to Reduce Workforce by 4,000
Tuesday,
16 July 2002
Intel
to Announce 'Massive Layoffs,' Says Report. Amid possible cuts
in capital spending, Intel Corp. is reportedly expected to announce
“massive layoffs” and other drastic cost-cutting measures today, according
to today's Wall Street Journal.
Wall
Street Bounces Back. Soothing words from Federal Reserve
Chairman Alan Greenspan calmed Wall Street Tuesday, enabling the
market to recover from a sharp early loss and at least temporarily
stabilize after Monday's volatility. And
then goes back down. Down 166.08 at closing.
Microsoft
Unveils Windows XP Media Center. Betting
that consumers are ready to accept PCs as entertainment devices on
par with televisions and stereos, Microsoft
on
Tuesday announced it would roll out its entertainment-center version
of Windows XP in time for Christmas.
NVIDIA
Unveils the nForce2 Family of Platform Processors. Designed
for PCs and motherboards using AMD Athlon XP and Duron processors,
NVIDIA nForce2 Platform Processors utilize HyperTransport... The
nForce2 SPP Platform Processors feature the industry's only dual DDR400
memory subsystem... Worth a read.
House
Backs Stiffer Cyber-Crime Penalties. The House voted Monday
to increase penalties for computer crimes and make it easier for Internet
service providers to disclose dangerous material to government agencies.
Will
XML Kill HTML? Browsers currently have
built-in formatting only for HTML. Once they can read XML (or other
markup languages), more Web authors may gravitate toward HTML alternatives.
Camera
Phones Conquer Japan, Take Aim at the World.
256Mbit
DDR: Spot Price Leap Drives Late July Contract Prices up 26%
Top
Tool Vendors Announce Support for Upcoming Hammer Processsors
SETI:
We'll Find 'Alien' by 2027
NVIDIA
and Shuttle Computer Open the Digital Media Gateway. Shuttle
is currently developing small form factor PCs using NVIDIA's nForce2...
- Built-in dual networking controllers
- Up to six high-speed USB 2.0 ports
- Up to three Firewire (IEEE1394a) ports
- DolbyDigital 5.1 real-time-encoded surround sound with S/PDIF-out audio
for home theater audio
- Video Processing Engine for MPEG2 and DVD playback
- TV-encoder and HDTV processor for optimal visual quality
- Support for multiple displays, including flat panels, TVs and CRTs
- Integrated graphics based on NVIDIA's GeForce4 MX
I, for one am not going
to get all "wrapped around the axle" with the nVIDIA hype
on the nForce2 chipset, as, admittedly, I did with the first
nVIDIA motherboard chipset. And wait and wait through delay
after delay for it to appear in products that one can buy. And
then be disappointed by the actual product. I am not going to
bother even looking hard at the chipset, and I am certainly not going
to waste my time writing an article on it, until I have product
in hand. So, this is about it from here on this subject until
it is something other than "vaporware." Products with the
chipset are supposed to ship in September. My guess, based on
past experience, is sometime next year? In fact, I am getting
rather bored with all of the unwarranted motherboard, chipset, and
processor "latest
and greatest" hype/promotion/excitement that has been plaguing
the Internet for the last couple of years or so...
Larry F. Byard (Editor)
TIA
Approves Category 6 Telecommunications Standard for Publication.
Because category 6 supports positive power sum attenuation to crosstalk
(PSACR) margins up to 200 MHz, this new cabling system offers double
the bandwidth of category 5e cabling and vastly improved signal-to-noise
margins. Category 6 cabling is designed to be backward compatible
with categories 3, 5 and 5e. Many thanks
to "trumpetr" in our forums for this news item.
Monday,
15 July 2002
HyperTransport
Lands New Backers. AMD
is using HyperTransport technology as the basis for its next-generation
chips, code named "Hammer..." Because AMD has put
HyperTransport directly onto the chip it will have a speed advantage
when communicating with other HyperTransport-equipped chips on networking
and graphics hardware...
Satellite
TV in Your PC
Friday,
12 July 2002
Dell
Boosts Q2 Revenue and Earnings Expectations. Dell
said it now expects second-quarter revenue to reach $8.3 billion,
up about 9% from last year's second quarter.
Microsoft
Plunks $500 Million Down on Partners. Kicks
off Fusion 2002 with pledges around better support, training.
Micron
Demos Next-Gen Memory Technology. Company officials showed
off a system running DDR-II SDRAM memory. Demo
system reportedly enabled data transfer speeds of 533 Mbps. That's
bits per second.
Prices
of Electronics Continue to Fall. The accelerating economic
recovery is now edging inflation higher although computer prices dropped
1.6% from May to June, telecom equipment prices were steady and all
component prices declined in June.
True
3D-Display Without Goggles
Thursday,
11 July 2002
AMD
Faces DDR-II Challenge With its Hammer Processor. DDR-II is
expected to go into production in the third quarter of next year, six
to nine months after AMD's new desktop Athlon Hammer and its Opteron
server/workstation versions launch. But the Hammer chips have the unique
architecture of on-die memory controller for the current DDR-I generation.
Jobless
Rate Jumps for EEs, Electronics Workers. 35,000 electrical
engineers were unemployed in the second quarter of this year, raising
the profession's unemployment rate to 4.8 percent...
Windows
Worm, Multiple Bugs Haunt MS Users. To
add to Microsoft's security headaches, a worm comprising three components
-- MSVXD.exe, MSVXD16.dll and MSVXD32.dll -- is on the prowl, masquerading
as legitimate MS code...
Scientists
Build Polio Virus From Scratch. The result was an infectious
agent that could destroy cultured human cells and paralyze or kill
mice in much the same way as the normal polio virus.
Wednesday,
10 July 2002
Stock
Market Meltdown. The Dow Jones industrials sank more
than 280 points to close below 9,000 for the first time since October.
Nvidia
to Flex New nForce Chipsets. Nvidia has scheduled a press conference
for Monday, at which it promises to reveal a new "digital media
platform." Analysts said the announcement is likely to involve
a new version of the nForce line...
Cable
monopolies should be regulated like phone companies, group says.
U.S.
House passes 'tech talent' bill. Looking to expand the number
of undergraduate students pursuing studies in science and technology,
the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to fund programs designed
to graduate more professionals in these and related fields.
Nanya:
DDR Shortage to Continue for Two Months. The DDR shortage is
likely to stretch on for another two months, as difficulties in upgrading
production processes limit supply and demand for DDR shoots past SDRAM
demand.
IBM's
Hard Drive Unit Lost $423 Million Last Year. One
wonders if Hitachi isn't buying a white elephant.
Moore
Says There's More to Moore's Law
Tuesday,
9 July 2002
The
64-Bit Question. Chipmakers
Intel and AMD will soon trumpet 64-bit computing, but their approaches
couldn't be more different. Good
read. One pop-up.
EBay-PayPal
Nuptial Could Improve Services. Dual users should prosper,
but nonauction customers likely to suffer, analyst says.
Remote
Control. Don't feel tied to
the office. Getting to your work computer and accessing the network
is a lot easier than you think—even from halfway around the world.
Lindows
Technology Testdrive. Lindows.com aims
to make Linux a viable alternative by creating an operating system
that's easy to work with and by providing convenient access to many
open-source applications.
MS
Passport Takes on Credit Cards. Microsoft hopes to extend its
Passport online identification system into authorizing credit card
payments.
Acer,
Asustek include AMD-based Notebooks. Two Taiwanese PC Makers
Include Athlon-based notebooks into their lines, a move that is coming
under scrutiny by Intel as it tries to fend off rival AMD.
Home
Networking Not Just For Geeks Anymore
Under
Centuries of Sand, a Trading Hub
Monday,
8 July 2002
Nvidia’s
nForce 2 Motherboard Chipset to Make its Debut on July 16.
DDR400, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, and ATA-133 support. GeForce4 MX440-equivalent
core for the integrated version...
Web
Authors Pledge Allegiance to IE. Despite attempts from Netscape,
Mozilla and Opera to crack the browser market, Web sites are tailoring
their content for Microsoft's Internet Explorer and shutting out rivals. If
it's not IE 6 compatible, it's not compatible.
eBay
Buying Online Payment Provider PayPal. Online auction giant
eBay Inc. announced Monday it is buying electronic payment facilitator
PayPal Inc. for more than $1.3 billion in stock, in a long-rumored
deal that the companies hope will make Internet trading faster, easier
and safer.
Intel
Aims Itanium 2 at High-end Server Market
Opteron
and Itanium: Two Roads to 64-bit Computing.
Russian
Space Agency Proposes an International Project to Put Human Explorers
on Mars
Astronomy's
Next Big Thing. Owl (Overwhelmingly Large Telescope)...
Friday,
5 July 2002
Home
Builder Relies on Wireless for Construction Schedules. A
wireless handheld messaging application is saving dozens of phone
calls and scheduling headaches each week for construction managers
at Amberwood
Homes in Phoenix.
DDR
Spot Prices Rise Record 15% in Single Day. According to DRAMeXchange,
256Mbit DDR spot prices reached US$5.80-6.60 on July 4, rising a record
15% in one day, while 128Mbit DDR rose over 9% to US$2.80-3.20. 256
Mbit Overtakes 128 Mbit as Mainstream DDR.
More
Accounting Shocks May Be On the Way. Since
WorldCom's revelation last week of the largest accounting deception
in corporate history, a snowball effect has kicked in, with company
after company admitting to bookkeeping irregularities...
Auction
Sites: Wire Transfers a Bad Bid. Wire transfers
are being used in many fake auctions--so many that several online auction
sites are warning visitors of the dangers.
Music
Labels Plant Online Decoys, Mull Lawsuits. The
music industry is adding more firepower to its arsenal in the fight
against online piracy, planting "decoys" on free peer-to-peer
services and considering lawsuits against individual song-swappers...
New
Spin on Transistors. The 'spintronic' transistor uses a new
principle for controlling and switching electrical current, based on
a property of fundamental particles called spin.
Wednesday,
4 July 2002
 Happy
Fourth of July to all of my fellow Americans! This will be
a long weekend off for many of us as we celebrate the 226th anniversary
of the Independence of the United States of America. Regardless
of what evil others may wish against us, 226 years from now we will still
be celebrating the birth of the land of the Free and the home of the
Brave! Larry
Tuesday,
3 July 2002
Klez:
The Virus That Won't Die? Virus alert centers are bracing themselves
for a new wave of Klez worm attacks this week: One annoying variant
of the persistent pest is expected to resurrect itself July 6... May
I suggest that everyone download the Klez
virus removal tool and run it! Boot
Windows to the Safe mode first by pressing F8 just as Windows is about
to start and choosing that mode from the resulting menu. Larry
Serial
ATA-based Motherboards Hitting Market in Late July. SiS is
set to introduce its Serial
ATA-supporting south bridge chip SiS964 in the fourth quarter,
and VIA plans to incorporate the function into its VT8235 south bridge
chip later. Intel will not integrate the Serial ATA specification into
its new ICH5 south bridge chip until the first half of 2003 at the
earliest.
Verizon
Begins Shift to Packet-based (ATM) Voice Calls. The
telecommunications company is migrating to a new switching technology
for the first time in 30 years, making a move toward integrated voice
and data services.
AMD
Lowers Q2 Sales Forecast ... Again
Tuesday,
2 July 2002
Nanoscale
Sensor Could Increase Data Storage Capacity. The magnetic sensor,
made of nickel and only a few atoms in diameter, could increase data
storage capacity by a factor of a thousand or more and could ultimately
lead to supercomputing devices as small as a wristwatch...
Study:
Web More Vulnerable Now Than Ever. With
over half of the Internet's Web servers potentially vulnerable, conditions
are "ripe for an epidemic of attacks" against sites running
Microsoft. Internet Information Server (IIS) or the open-source Apache
Web server software, Netcraft of Bath, England... I
disagree that the web is more vulnerable than it was. They
are just finding (and fixing) weakness that, for the most part, have
always been there. There are probably more.
IBM
Touting Fiber Connectivity in Latest Hardware Offerings. IBM
announced today that its virtual tape servers will soon be able to
connect disk storage to mainframes via Fiber Connectivity (Ficon),
a move that could increase performance by about 75%.
Monday,
1 July 2002
Mini
Digital Cameras. As digital
cameras evolve, manufacturers are fitting a lot more functionality
into far less space...
Worm
Exploits Apache Web Server Vulnerability on FreeBSD
Chip
Sales Grew 2.8% in May
Iomega's
New PC Storage
One
Billionth PC Has Been Sold. Industry
analyst firm Gartner Dataquest announced today that the PC industry
has shipped the 1 billionth PC. The industry reached this notable milestone
in April 2002, roughly 25 years after the debut of the first commercially
successful and widely available personal computer, the 1974 Altair
powered by the Intel® 8080 chip.
Index
|
