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Announcements

Submission + - Micron Shrinks DRAM Process Technology (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "– Micron Technology, Inc., today announced production sampling of its new 1Gb DDR2 device fabricated on 68-nanometer (nm) DRAM process technology. The new process, coupled with Micron’s 6F technology, has enabled the world’s smallest production 1Gb DDR2 memory with a die size of just 56mm. Mass production of its new 68nm 1 Gb DDR2 products is expected to begin early next year, with DDR3 and other low-power DRAM products expected to follow in the second half of the year.

“Micron continues leading the world in development of advanced memory technology,” said Brian Shirley, vice president of Micron’s memory group. “Our 68nm process technology offers our customers best-in-class die sizes, power and speed benefits for their most demanding applications.”
http://www.fastsilicon.com/press-releases/micron-shrinks-dram-process-technology.html"
Announcements

Submission + - Toshiba Shows Off 15 Nanometer Memory (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: " At the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting held in Washington D.C. this past week there were a number of significant announcements among the worlds major semiconductor heavy hitters. Perhaps the biggest was in future memory technology. Japan's Nikkei news service (subscription required) reports that The world's number three semiconductor firm Toshiba unveiled prototypes of 15 nanometer memory technology at the meeting, and expects to have mass market devices available within 4 years.

Such advancements in process technology will make 100 plus gigabit chips feasible. One thing is clear. Advancements in memory technology are well outpacing advancements in magnetic storage technology. And you thought that 8GB USB Memory key you have on your keychain was huge?
http://www.fastsilicon.com/latest-news/toshiba-shows-off-15-nanometer-memory.html"
Media

Submission + - w00t Becomes A Word (fastsilicon.com) 2

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "In a move that shows the fluidity of the english language as well as the questionable ways in which we use it, Merriam-Websters has named "w00t" as the Word Of The Year. We wonder whether or not this is the first time a word has been adopted into Merriam-Websters dictionary that contains numbers and letters. The Sacremento Bee reports...
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Expect cheers among hardcore online game enthusiasts when they learn Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year. Or, more accurately, expect them to "w00t." "W00t," a hybrid of letters and numbers used by gamers as an exclamation of happiness or triumph, topped all other terms in the Springfield-based dictionary publisher's online poll for the word that best sums up 2007. Merriam-Webster's president, John Morse, said "w00t" was an ideal choice because it blends whimsy and new technology.
http://www.fastsilicon.com/off-the-wall/w00t-becomes-a-word.html"
Announcements

Submission + - Toshiba Jumps On The SSD Bandwagon (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "Japanese firm Toshiba announced today it would launch a series of 1.8" and 2.5" NAND-type Solid State Drives and will begin mass production in May of 2008. Drives will appear ranging in sizes from 32GB to 128GB. As the worlds second largest manufacturer of NAND flash memory, Toshiba Joins it's rival Samsung in what appears to be a market with considerable growth potential. Micron Technologies is expected to join in the SSD market with mass production of units sometime during the next quarter. The increased competition along with improvements in NAND flash memory cell design should make 2008 a developing year for NAND based storage.
http://www.fastsilicon.com/press-releases/toshiba-jumps-on-the-ssd-bandwagon.html"
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - CompUSA Goes Bye Bye Forever (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "Carlos Slim , Mexican Billionaire and the worlds richest man, has decided that sinking $2 Billion into the flailing retailer CompUSA is enough and will close all of the remaining stores in the United States. Not an earth shattering suprise after last years severe contraction of retail outlets, along with the heated competition from mass market retailers. Gordon Brother's Group, a retail liquidation company will oversee the divestiture of CompUSA inventory and assets. http://www.fastsilicon.com/latest-news/compusa-goes-bye-bye-forever.html"
Graphics

Submission + - HotHardware Unveils AMD RV635 Cards with DisplayPo (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "Displayport, the new license and royalty free display standard courtesy of VESA designed to supplant DVI and HDMI on PC's, is seen in a first iteration on AMD RV635 cards outed by the guys over at Hothardware.
Since each DisplayPort cable can run multiple monitors in a daisy-chain configuration, imagine a four panel setup from a single graphics card and even possibly a single cable connection. We'll have more to come on the LCD side of the equation, soon.
Head over to HotHardware to see the future now . http://www.fastsilicon.com/latest-news/hothardware-unveils-amd-rv635-cards-with-displayport.html"
Editorial

Submission + - PCMag's Dvorak Sees OLPC As Elitist Insult (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "To say that John C. Dvorak is soft spoken, unopinionated, and "PC" would be ridiculous right? Well we say that is ridiculous with a capital "R". Today at PCMag , John chimes in with a rather scathing rebuke of the One Laptop Per Child Project .

So what to do? Let's give these kids these little green computers. That will do it! That will solve the poverty problem and everything else, for that matter. Does anyone but me see this as an insulting "let them eat cake" sort of message to the world's poor? "Sir, our village has no water!" "Jenkins, get these people some glassware!"

Though we ourselves wouldn't mind to have one of these in the lab to review and test, we're equally in agreement with Dvorak on this one. Giving "gadgets" to children in locales where basic nutrition is a big question mark seems extremely foolish, elitist, naive and borderline insulting. Read his article in it's entirety here . http://www.fastsilicon.com/off-the-wall/pcmags-dvorak-sees-olpc-as-elitist-insult.html"
Printer

Submission + - KODAK EASYSHARE 5500 All-In-One. (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "Kodak's approach is uniquely it's own. Offer rugged, well constructed printers, and inexpensive standardized ink cartridges. Though there are only three models in Kodak's current product lineup, it is Kodak's intention to stick to these standardized ink cartridges when new models are introduced in the future. The reason Kodak can get away with this is due to their patented discrete print-head technology, which decouples the printhead from it's ink cartridges. As a result, Kodak's ink cartridges are far less expensive to manufacture than competing manufacturers cartridges. Also, because Kodak is a major player in the ink and chemical business, they can manufacture their own inks inexpensively and still make decent margin on their consumables while offering consumers a less expensive printing experience. Today we delve into Kodak's top of the line model, the Easyshare 5500 AIO. Compared to the 5300, which we reviewed here, it offers a few more features. Most notably a document feed, fax capabilities, and duplex (double sided) printing. Let's see if these features are worth the additional cost. http://www.fastsilicon.com/printer-reviews/kodak-easyshare-5500-all-in-one.html"
Security

Submission + - Mozilla Responds To Microsoft's Claimed Security V (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "It appears we weren't the only people in the world looking a bit askance at Microsoft's Security Strategy Director Jeff Jones's claims of superiority on the security front with Internet Explorer compared to other browsers. Technology Strategist for Mozilla, Mike Shaver, had quite alot to say about the dodgy reasoning involved in Mr. Jones's whitepaper. An excerpt... "If Mozilla wanted to do better than Microsoft on this report, we would have an easy path: stop fixing and disclosing bugs that we find in-house. It is well known that Microsoft redacts release notes for service packs and bundles fixes, sometimes meaning that you get a single vulnerability "counted" for, say, seven defects repaired. Or maybe you don't hear about it at all, because it was rolled into SP2 and they didn't make any noise about it." http://www.fastsilicon.com/latest-news/mozilla-responds-to-microsofts-claimed-security-victory.html"
Security

Submission + - Microsoft Claims Firefox Less Secure Because Of Fr (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "In what we feel is an aggregious example of backward thinking, Microsoft's Security Strategy Director Jeff Jones claims in a rather controversial whitepaper that frequent security updates make Firefox more susceptible to exploits. From his Technet blog , Jeff writes... "Over the past few years, there has been much discussion of the need for improvements in browser security, but few hard data studies performed to support assertions concerning the security of available browsers." In his white paper he examines exploit severity, version to version trends, and forms an overall analysis of how each browser is performing relative to existing exploits over a three year cycle. http://www.fastsilicon.com/latest-news/microsoft-claims-firefox-less-secure-because-of-frequent-updates.html?Itemid=60"
Upgrades

Submission + - Samsung Develops Fastest GDDR5 Chips (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
psyph3r
psyph3r writes: "An article talking about Samsung's press release and their new GDDR5. More information here

"Samsung has been tooting their horn lately with their TB drives and SSDs. They are yet again claiming another crown with their new development of GDDR5. Samsung states in a press release that "...it has developed the world's fastest memory, a GDDR5 (series five, graphics double-data-rate memory) chip that can transfer data at six gigabits per second...""
Cellphones

Submission + - WildCharger- Multi-Device Wireless Charger (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
psyph3r
psyph3r writes: "WildCharge inc has come up with a device that powers a variety of electronics without wires. It has been receiving a lot of attention, and companies are signing on board. This may become a standard in mobile markets. Articles here and here talk about the technology. Interesting approach.

"Ever have a problem with multiple device chargers and cords splayed across the floor? One company has finally shown some innovation in the portable power market. WildCharge inc. has the world's only wireless charging system. The technology has garnered a spot on TIME Magazine's list of the best inventions of 2007. In addition, the gadget has won the International Consumer Electronics Show 2008 Best of Innovations Award in the portable power category. The device is called the "Wildcharger" and is capable of charging up to five devices simultaneously without any wired connections.""
Upgrades

Submission + - Spinpoint F1 Terabyte drives shipping

Submitted by
psyph3r
psyph3r writes: "A few online retailers have popped up stocking the "Racing Green" HD103UJ Terabyte drive from Samsung. This drive out performs the nearest competitor by 10MB/s in respect to read/write rates. In addition, it keeps pace and mostly exceeds WD Raptor performance levels, which used to be the gold standard in desktop I/O. More information here"
Upgrades

Submission + - Samsung Ships New Spinpoint-F1 TB Drives

Submitted by
psyph3r
psyph3r writes: ""Samsung has announced today that they are currently shipping their new "racing green" 1 terabyte hard drives. The new drive is under the Spinpoint F1 series with the model number HD103UJ. The claims they flaunt are bold as well. They essentially claim the crown on TB hard drives in respect to power, density, temperature, and performance. Read more here.""
The Courts

Submission + - The RIAA's Biggest Win...So Far... Jammie Thomas S (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "FastSilicon.com has been following the case of a Minnesota woman, Jammie Thomas, and her legal battle against major record labels. On October 5th in the United States District Court, District of Minnesota, a jury found in favor of the Plaintiff's. The court order states that Ms. Thomas is to pay $222,000 in civil damages for infringement of copyrighted media held by Capitol Records, Sony BMG, Arista, Interscope, Warner Bros, and UMG Recordings.

Following her loss, Ms. Thomas has begun the process of fighting the actions taken against her. Her defense filed motions for a new trial on Constitutional grounds. Specifically, the defense is arguing that at least one explicit section of current U.S. Copyright Law, defining Statutory Damages (17 U.S.C. 504 (c) ), violates Due Process under the U.S. Constitution.

The FastSilicon.com crew are not legal experts, nor do we purport to be. Nevertheless, when it comes to our current understanding of the law as it is applied to the realities of technology, and the historical paradigm shifts they create in traditional business models, we have very strong views. The current legal structure surrounding global copyright laws is clearly for the benefit of the copyright holder and anti-consumer. Senior Hardware Editor, Scott Piercy, makes no bones about this subject, as can be seen here .

Ms. Thomas has graciously offered us the opportunity to gain some insight into her predicament. Keep in mind that we are deliberately limiting ourselves to topics she can discuss. The ongoing nature of her case naturally limits the type of information that she can divulge, especially if it relates directly to her case moving forward.

http://www.fastsilicon.com/opinions-editorials/the-riaas-biggest-win-.so-far-.-jammie-thomas-speaks.html"

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