Techo Rama

The Conrad Quilty-Harper over at http://www.engadget.com/have posted the first review of a Pico-ITX motherboard. I am not pretty sure how they had their hands on a mother-board so soon however I am guesstimating they acquired a sample board from a retailer somewhere. Apparently a few retailers got some boards as samples. So how did it do? From what I can tell, pretty well. The motherboard is extremely tiny and consists of performance, which is at some place between Nano-ITX and Mini-ITX motherboards. Video playback seems to be solid though there appear to be tribulations with video acceleration. A few further vulnerabilities are a full-size battery enclosure on the bottom, an insubstantial DVI cable, a dearth of a Mini-PCI slot, and single SATA port. Further tribulations comprise a price, which is said to be high and the dearth of available cases. Presently there are no availability of cases and things are also not positive due to a narrow user base. Hence from VIA in actual fact requires to get involved and introduced a small number of cases similar to their reference case so fans are having a starting off point. A new remarkable point that occurred was that the motherboard is capable enough of being sprinted but for the fan, which is below par, while the fan ought to not occupy much room. I even now hope high for the PX motherboards however I can make out many info that is expected to be knotty in the long run. It looks as if the people at Mini-ITX were pleased with it, which hints at a good sign, however they got their share of tribulations through the review. Read

Microsoft is ready to bring an Internet TV platform for Windows Media Centre. Microsoft has not yet released any data on its upcoming service, but the company reported to Engadget that the it is planning to launch Internet TV on or around September 27th, 2007. Microsoft will bring on-demand advertising supported content in different categories, including Sports, Entertainment, News, Top Picks, Music, and Movies. The quality of video is not as good as HD, but still it is better than standard definition. With the Microsoft’s Media Center capabilities into Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate, software providers can make extra money by providing ad-supported online video. Best of all, the service can be delivered as a normal software update. With the Internet TV, it might be possible that you can save your extra cable bills. I hope, most users will now eagerly wait till September 27, when Microsoft will launch this service on Windows Media Centre. Image: Digital BackCount

Taiwan based research institute, the Industrial Technology Research Institute has developed a new global memory card standard, named the Multiple Interface Card (miCard), which is especially designed for smaller consumers gadgets like digital cameras, mobile phones and any device with a USB plug. The company has designed the card to transfer pictures, songs and other data between gadgets and PCs. The miCard will transfer data at 480Mbit/sec and it will improve over time. It is expected that first miCards would be able to store 8GB of data but the maximum capacity is expected to top out around 2,048GB. Now users do not need separate card readers due to the compatibility with both USB and MMC slots. The MMC card fit on most consumer electronics, while USB connections are built into a wide range of IT hardware, including laptops, desktops, printers and home entertainment gear. The MultiMedia Card Association (MMCA) has approved the stamp of card and it is expected that it would be available in third quarter of this year. Currently, 12 Taiwanese companies have signed on to manufacture the miCard. The companies, who have already committed to make miCards include A-Data Technology Inc., Asustek Computer Inc., BenQ Corp., Carry Computer Eng. Co., C-One Technology Corp., DBTel Inc., Power Digital Card Co. and RiChip Inc. Image Credit: Digit Times Via: Avirans Place

Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing one of the dedicated semiconductor foundries has partnered with the Mentor Graphics Corporation to offer a series of new mixed-signal Technology Design Kits (TDKs), which supports 65-and 90-nanometer process technology available from Chartered. Now, validated kits are available to use with Mentor Graphics IC studio design platform. These open source design kits enable IC design companies to set up their design environments and immediately focus on mixed signal design and productivity gains on leading edge technology from Chartered. The new TDKs will deliver the entire analog mixed-signal IC design flow to customers using the Common Platform technology processes. These kits will provide all the foundry data files and models for use with front-end and back-end IC design tools from Mentor Graphics. It allows designers to work within unified design cockpit of Mentor’s ICstudio design environment to easily move between designs in front-end logical and back-end physical domains. Chartered and Mentor Graphics are planning to broaden the TDK offerings to encompass 65 and 90 nm process variants and also extend the development to 45nm. These TDKs are tuned with the Common Platform technology processes to enable chip designers to immediately begin creating, simulating and verifying mixed-signal or analog transistor-level designs targeted for manufacturing at Chartered. The design kits includes following: 1) Pre-configured symbols and netlist configuration files for schematic capture 2) Eldo analog simulation models for functional verification 3) Process definition files and device generators for schematic-driven physical layout 4) Pre-validated Calibre DRC 5) Calibre LVS and Calibre xRC extraction rule files for final physical verification and parasitic extraction prior to chip manufacturing Image Credit: ITAC & Math Works Via: Tech On

Now, computer makers can take advantage of volume availability from Winbond’s SpiFlash memories. Winbond Electronics Corporation America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Winbond Electronics Corp has introduced the new member in its X family of Serial Flash memories. The W25X16 and W25X32 SpiFlash memories with 16 and 32 megabit densities are in-housed in a space saving, cost effective 8-pin SOIC package. The W25X16 and W25X32 SpiFlash memories are utilizing Winbond’s 0.13um Winstack technology. The new devices are featured with the popular Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) to support both Single-SPI” and “Dual-SPI” operation for achieving the industry’s highest performance among Serial Flash memories. The W25X16 and W25X32 also include uniform 4K-byte erasable sectors. The smaller 4K-byte sectors allow efficient memory allocation and data storage in many Intel based PC applications. The W25X16VSSIG (208mil SO8) and W25X32VSSIG (208mil SO8) include 16-pin SOIC, 8-pad WSON, 8-pin DIP and Known Good Die (KGD) on wafer. The W25X16 and W25X32 ideal Serial Flash solutions supports variety of electronic applications, including desktop and notebook PCs, DVD players and recorders, WLAN and DSL equipment, digital TVs, set-top-boxes, printers, and industrial-control systems. According to Robin Jigour, vice president of Serial Flash marketing at Winbond America, Serial Flash offers considerable advantages in pin-count, space and system cost as compared to parallel Flash. The company will will introduce a new class of high-performance Serial Flash memories later this year. Image Credit: Fujitsu & Sequoia Via: Tech On

I’m not clear in my mind whether Toshiba can brag that the SD-L912A is the first HD DVD-RW writer for laptops however it most likely won’t be the last. Yes, it is capable of merely doing 1x readable/writable speeds, and it takes almost 2 hours to fill a 30GB dual-layer disc. However, should we be astonished? Remember how sluggish the first CD-ROMs were? The additional benefit is it is well suited with DVD and CD ROM formats. The Toshiba SD-L192A HD DVD-RW is almost 12.7 mm thick and supposed to be available in July. Image Read

According to engadget.com it seems that a new Tablet PC purveyor is coming to occupy itself in the increasing rugged space. The XT1100 rugged Tablet PC pics and specs have of late popped up on FCC’s site. It features average looking specs, so at least price ought not to be a problem if you are making a plan to make purchase of a rugged portable computer. The 10.4-inch XT1100 comes pre-loaded with Windows XP Pro and features 1.5GHz VIA Eden ultra low voltage. Some info can also be availed on ACA’s site, but there is so far no word on its pricing and availability. Below are the filtered details of its sports and specs: (1) Rugged spec: IP64, 3 feet drop, MIL-STD-810F (2) One PCMCIA Type II slot, support CardBus 2.1 (3) Two RS232/422/485 ports (factory option) (4) Via Eden processor – 1ghz or 1.5ghz (ULV) (5) One RJ11for 56kbps v.92/k56 flex modem (6) 10.4 inch SVGA or VGA touchscreen (7) One RJ45 for 10/100/1Gb Ethernet (8) Two USB 2.0 host connectors (9) One Stereo Headphone Jack (10) One internal stereo speaker (11) One Stereo Headphone Jack (12) One Docking Connector (13) Dedicated numeric pad (14) One internal mono mic (15) One Microphone Jack (16) One CF Type II slot (17) Via CX700M chip (18) One VGA output (19) One DC-in Jack (20) 1gb ram – max (21) Optional GPS (22) Bluetooth Image Read

Intel has launched the first ever mobile extreme part, the Core 2 Extreme X7800 mobile processor. The Intel Core 2 Extreme X7800 mobile processor operates at 2.6 GHz, with 4 MB of shared L2 Advanced Smart Cache and an 800 MHz Front Side Bus (FSB). Intel’s new Core 2 Extreme X7800 mobile processor is based on Merom core but it is fully unlocked for improved overclocking and performance. The company has removed support for Intel Dynamic Acceleration (IDA) on the Extreme series. The Intel Core 2 Extreme mobile processor has unlocked bus ratios, which offers technical flexibility to those users who desire more capability to customize the system. The device has dynamic FSB support and it has additional power management features to enable it to down to C4 and DC4 state. The Extreme X7800 is based on 65nm technology and it has also power-saving features like the dynamic front-side bus and the ‘Enhanced Deep Sleep’ mode. The X7800 also features ‘Advanced Media Boost’ for better performance with respect to video editing, music, and photography. The X7800 is based on the same Merom core as the top-of-the-line Core 2 Duo T7700 with the only difference being a 200MHz boost in clock frequency and the unlocked multipliers. First, the Extreme X7800 processor based laptops will appear on the US market, while it is not confirm when they would be available in the Asia-Pacific region. The Intel Core 2 Extreme X7800 mobile processor is available to OEMs now at a cost of $851. Image Credit: RSL & Laptoping Via: Ministry OfTech

Last year there was environment-friendly TVonics DVR-150 PVR, and recently the same company has come up with the upgrading of the specs with the release of its DVR-FP250 Freeview PVR. The latest product comes with a bigger hard drive up to 250GB as of 150 GB in addition all the traditional functionality of both Freeview and a PVR, incorporated in single box. It features two Freeview tuners. So, the chief selling point of the most recent product is not so much the functionality, which will be made out on any self-esteeming PVR, however the actuality that it’s making use of a lot less power to get the similar results. TVonics maintain that in standby mode, their unit makes use of 3.5 times less power than likewise products on the market, at only 3.5W likened to an 11W industry average. When on, the DVR-FP250 makes use of 14.5W likened to an industry average of 28W. Okay, therefore it’s not a key cutback while positioned against the similarities of plasma TVs, refrigerators, kettles and the like, however any saving must to be first-class, chiefly while this is the type of application that requires to be in standby mode while not being used. Nonetheless, the DVR-250 can be grabbed now for £189.99 ($376) by those in quest of OTA recording capabilities across the pond. Image Read

Gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) will soon be commercially available, as recently Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc (TAEC) in collaboration with its parent company, Toshiba Corp, have made this announcement. The GaN HEMT is basically an X-band device which is mainly used for radar and medical applications. TGI8596-50 and GaN HEMT power amplifier are internally matched and functional in the 8.5GHz to 9.6GHz range generating an output power of 50W. Major highlights of this device are three-dB compression point of 47.5dBm, linear gain of 9.0dB, and drain current of 4.5A. According to the business development manager, Microwave, Logic & Small Signal Devices, in TAEC’s Discrete Business Unit, Homayoun Ghani, “GaN HEMT amplifiers have the potential to achieve significantly higher gain and output power than GaAs FETs at comparable frequency and input power.” If you are looking for the samples of the 50W, X-band TGI8596-50 GaN HEMT then need not bother, as they are easily available. Image:toshiba Via:techon