Lcd Vs Plasma Tv

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FCC's Broadcast Copy-Protection Proposal Draws Industry Fire

In comments filed to the FCC as part of its review of "broadcast flag" and other digital broadcast copy-protection schemes, computer and consumer electronics groups said there is no industry-wide consensus on how the technology should be implemented and therefore the agency should not mandate a technology solution. The Broadcast Protection Discussion Group helped develop specifications for using the so-called broadcast flag technology to prevent illegal copying of digital broadcasts. However, opponents such as the Information Technology Association of America said that the BPDG is not a voluntary standards body.

Read the full story on: EE Times

 

IBM OS/2 Alive and Well

IBM refuted reports that it was phasing out its OS/2 operating system, saying the company is merely changing the manner in which it distributes its software. A notice on IBM's Program Withdrawal section lists dozens of OS/2 program packages that IBM is withdrawing. The list includes dozens of packages of OS/2 Warp and upgrades in various languages. OS/2 will still be available through IBM's licensing program, and the IBM spokesman said the company plans to support the OS/2 OS "indefinitely."

Read the full story on: ExtremeTech

 

Nvidia and TSMC to Reveal 0.13-Micron Progress

Graphics chip designer Nvidia and its foundry partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) are set to hold a joint news conference in Taipei on December 16, at which Nvidia will showcase its latest GeForce FX (NV30) chips while TSMC will demonstrate its advanced 0.13-micron processing technology. The upcoming news conference has drawn much attention from the industry, as it is expected to mark the beginning of the 0.13-micron era for the graphics chip market. As Nvidia starts adopting the 0.13-micron process, its major rival ATI Technologies has also prepared to move toward 0.13-micron production.

Read the full story on: DigiTimes

 

Peregrine, Oki Ally to Build Sapphire RF SoCs

Peregrine Semiconductor Corp. and Oki Electric Industry Co. Ltd. will jointly make and sell system-on-chip (SoC) devices built with Peregrine's ultrathin-silicon CMOS-on-sapphire technology, the companies announced Monday. The companies will pool their resources to produce next-generation RF ICs, they said. Specifically, Oki will license Peregrine's ultrathin-silicon (UTSi) technology and serve as a second source for the jointly developed UTSi products. Oki will act as the foundry.

Read the full story on: EE Times

 

Newsletter: Microsoft's Challenges Include Office, .Net

Microsoft's top challenges next year include boosting sagging sales of Office, delivering the first .Net-enabled server and first Windows server upgrade in three years, and minimizing the spread of Linux on the server and the desktop, According to the 2003 annual list compiled by Directions on Microsoft, a Kirkland-based research house and newsletter. Last year, Directions on Microsoft identified Linux as No. 6 on Microsoft's Top 10 Challenges list, although a preliminary version of the list initially identified Linux as Microsoft's No. 2 headache. That's no surprise to Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, who both pointed out in 2002 that Linux is Microsoft's biggest threat going forward.

Read the full story on: CRN

 

NEC Expects 300mm Chip Plant Decision in 2003

NEC Corp, Japan's second-largest chipmaker, said on Thursday it would likely decide in the first half of next year whether to build a cutting-edge, potentially cost-saving chip plant using 300 millimeter wafers. This would still give the company until the end of next year to arrange financing for the costly plant if it decides to go ahead. Most big Japanese chip plants use 200 mm wafers, but world leaders like Intel and Taiwan's contract chipmakers have been shifting to the 300 mm variety, which yield more than twice as many chips per wafer and potentially offer cost savings of up to 30 percent.

Read the full story on: Yahoo! News

 

TV Screen Battle Plasma vs. LCD

Dreaming of a supersize flat screen for your home entertainment center? Plasma isn't your only option: In a few years, large-format LCDs will compete with plasma displays for your pocketbook, industry officials predict. By the middle of the decade, competition between the two formats is widely expected to be fiercest in the market for 42-inch TVs. The subject of large, skinny televisions came up repeatedly Tuesday during opening sessions of Stanford Resources' 19th Annual Flat Information Display Conference, which features presentations by analysts and by executives from display technology companies worldwide.

Read the full story on: Yahoo! News

 

IPv6, the Net's Next Frontier

The number of Internet addresses available using the current generation of Internet infrastructure built on IPv4 technology will run out by 2005, jeopardizing the continued development of both fixed and wireless Net-based services. The solution is for networks to upgrade the hardware that operators use from the current IPv4 system to the newer IPv6 system. IPv6 solves the address crunch by increasing the address space from 32 bits to 128 bits. It is estimated that this value can accommodate 10 billion devices.

Read the full story on: CNET News.com

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in ExtremeTech.

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