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The sprawling consortium of technology and media companies assembled to promote the HD DVD format of next-generation, high-definition discs could be close to collapse after a spate of defections to the rival Blu-ray Disc consortium.
As many as 20 companies that are members of the HD DVD Promotion Group could be preparing to remove their names from the alliance’s 130-strong membership list, The Times has learnt.
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Bill Gates, who built his fortune equipping the personal computer, predicts that the keyboard and mouse will soon become relics.
The founder of Microsoft Corp used his swansong to the technology industry on Sunday to spell out a vision of a “digital decade” of telephones, televisions and cars that respond to voice and touch.
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The backers of the Blu-ray high definition DVD system are predicting victory in the format wars with HD DVD.
The two rival camps have divided consumers since the two incompatible systems were launched.
But Blu-ray supporters are touting the decision by Warner Bros to shift allegiance as a tipping point.
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On December 16, 1947, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, two Bell Labs researchers, built the world’s first transistor.
Their device, called a point contract transistor, conducted electricity and amplified signals, a job then currently handled by bulky and delicate vacuum tubes and other components.
Their colleague William Shockley followed soon after with junction transistors. Although Bardeen and Brattain were first, Shockley’s device became the basis for a scientific and industrial juggernaut. Continue reading »
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BOFFINS working at the Arizona State University’s Center for Applied Nanoionics say they have come up with a low-cost, low-power computer memory that could create a terabyte-sized thumb drive.
The drive uses a new technique for manipulating charged copper particles at the molecular scale. Memory is a tenth of the the cost and a thousand times energy-efficient as flash memory.
Top boffin Michael Kozicki said a a thumb drive using the memory could store a terabyte of information. He claimed that all the current limitations in portable electronic storage flee in the face of the technology. It would be finally possible to video your life and store it. Continue reading »
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AFTER sticking its fingers in its ears and going la-la-la really loudly, HP has finally admitted that there are problems with the built-in Wi-fi on its 6000 and 9000 series Pavilion notebooks.
For a while the HP forum, here, has been all a-buzz with problems about the lappies’ Wi-fis not working. The wireless card detected the network with all the efficiency of a blind person trying to find a black cat in a dark room that was not there.
However there had not been a dicky bird from HP until hacks at ZDNet wrote an attack on the outfit for ignoring its users. Continue reading »
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This miniature budget notebook may not be preloaded with Windows, but it ably serves most on-the-go computing needs.
To me, the ultrasmall, ultralightweight computer remains the Holy Grail. Unfortunately, you still pay a premium for miniaturization. The $399 Asus Eee PC 701 (available November 1) shatters that perception, though. For a fraction of the cost of competing ultramobile computing devices, Asus delivers a highly functional portable, without the fancy specs. Continue reading »
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Hark! Today marks the arrival of Intel’s first 45nm desktop processor
To coincide with the NVIDIA’s GeForce 8800 GT launch scheduled for later today, Intel jumped the gun today with its immediate embargo lift on its high end 3.0 GHz 45nm quad-core Penryn QX9650 processor.
The Extreme Edition QX9650 desktop processor is Intel’s first 45nm offering. True to Intel’s “tick-tock” approach to processor design, all initial 45nm processor offerings will be process node shrinks of the Core 2 Duo architecture. The only feature difference between these processors and the Core 2 Duo Kentsfield processors announced last year is the inclusion of additional L2 cache, SSE4 instructions and higher clock frequencies. Continue reading »
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NVIDIA’s GeForce 8800 GT (G92) will feature high-end performance with a smaller thermal envelope and single-slot cooling. (Source: NVIDIA)
NVIDIA today launches its newest mainstream part, the GeForce 8800 GT
NVIDIA today is set to launch its newest midrange graphics card part, the GeForce 8800 GT, previously known by its codename G92. NVIDIA guidance states that its newest graphics card will be sold at a retail price in the $199 and $249 price range. Continue reading »
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Acer could be world’s third largest PC maker with Gateway acquisition complete
Acer is known as the top PC vendor in Taiwan, but here in the United States Acer doesn’t give much competition to likes of HP and Dell.
In August, DailyTech reported that Acer announced it would purchase Gateway for $710 million USD. The move specifically allows Acer to gain market share in the United States. The purchase price raised the ire of some Gateway shareholders who claim that Gateway was worth well over the selling price Acer paid. In September, Gateway shareholders had filed two separate lawsuits over the purchase. Continue reading »
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