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The article cites that NAND flash density has already reached 16 gigabytes per die and beyond with two-byte per cell multilevel-cell technology using 50- and 40-nanometer process nodes. However, despite the impressive growth in bit density, program performance of NAND flash has remained in the 10 megabyte per second range.

The article offers information on the growth in the sale of Apple Inc.'s products in the market. When Apple started selling iPod six years ago, the personal computer market was not aware that chief executive Steve Jobs was sneaking a Trojan horse into Microsoft Corp.'s seemingly impregnable fortress. By the begining of this decade, Apple's share in the market shrunk by less than 5% prompting observers to forecast erroneously the company's impending demise.

The article presents a perspective pertaining the issue concerning Microsoft Corp. As it lost an appeal on European Commission antitrust, the approximately 1 billion dollar fine for which Microsoft remains liable does not close the issue, the entire technology industry. The outcome of the case could influence the competition among the dominant players in the technology industry, forcing them to share or open their technology to outsiders or refrain from certain competitive practices.

The article reports that Vietnam is attracting computer companies from all over the world. Located on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, the Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) has attracted $1.4 billion in investment. Intel Corp. is going to set up its largest factory there. Other companies to set up their businesses there include Nidec Corp. The park will house 40 companies and will create 20,000 jobs. The government is building a legal framework for technology companies.

The article discusses several issues regarding the hard drive industry. It is argued that the projection that perpendicular recording technology adopted by hard drive makers in 2006 will be viable until 2015 causes an expensive transition among them. It cites that Western Digital Corp. acquired media maker Komag Inc. In addition, John Best of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies believes in the possibility of getting to a terabit per square inch.

The article reports on the disagreements among the members of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) High Speed Group that could delay the work on a 100-Gbit/s specification in the U.S. It cites that computer companies lobby for an additional suite of 40-Gbit/s standards, while telecommunication firms insist any 40-Gbit Ethernet standard be compatible with existing 40-Gbit optical transport network. In addition, networking companies desire to end any 40-Gbit standard.

The article presents information on the decision of Cavium Networks Inc. and Freescale Semiconductor Inc. to separately introduce major multicore processor lines for high-end embedded applications. The next-generation multicore processor lines will provide a preview in the networking, storage, wireless and other embedded markets. An embedded-processor line for the storage and communications markets based on a 64-bit architecture from MIPS Technologies Inc. will be launched by Cavium.

The article reports developments in the computer industry with reference to Via Technologies Inc. and the Video Electronics Standard Association (VESA). Via Technologies has unveiled its platform for ultramobile personal computers (UMPC) which target users who are always on the move. Meanwhile, VESA is expected to be finished with the first draft of its Net2Display specifications by September 2007 which is aimed at building thin-clients that can handle full-motion video.

The article that Sun Microsystems Inc. has a number of processors that may help it edge out rivals Intel Corp and International Business Machines Corp. in the high-end server market in the U.S. Sun will have to compete with dual- and quad-core versions of Intel's Xeon X86 server chips made in a 45 nanometer process. Information about the impact of the new processor on the company is discussed.

The article presents information on possibilities of Ada 2005, a new version of computer programming language, in the computer industry. The language, which was approved by the International Organization for Standardization in early 2007 is applicable in embedded systems. The new language is designed by AdaCore.

The article presents information on intellectual-property theft (IP theft) in China. It is stated that though intellectual-property theft is a common phenomenon in this nation, it will not affect the business process of multinational chip designers and manufacturers, since they have safeguards to prevent IP theft. Chipnuts Technology Inc. is using isolated servers, through which engineers gain access to designs. Microsoft Corp. is the most important victim of IP theft in China.

The article analyzes problems that hinder the growth of multicore computer architectures in the computer industry. It states that lack of tools are blocking the progress of multicore computer architectures, even though plenty of software solutions are emerging. These solutions are not using effectively due to expertise shortage and lack of parallel-programming tools.

The article presents information on cost related problems in the computer chip manufacturing industry. As per the article, high manufacturing cost hinders ordinary chip makers from the business while allowing elite group to develop leading-edge IC designs. According to a new estimate, production cost ranges between $20 million and $50 million, which is not affordable to ordinary manfacturers. It is stated that another problem is emerging in the form of process variation.

The article reports on the highlights of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Apple Computer launched the iPhone which merges an iPod, cell phone and mobile Web device. Sony Corp. unveiled the Internet Video LinkHD which attaches exclusively to the back of the company's Bravia flat-panel TV sets.

The article reports on the efforts of industry groups in the U.S. and Japan to implement new procedures and standards for notebook lithium-ion batteries to prevent the recurrence of the recall of notebook lithium-ion batteries. Many notebook computer makers have announced recalls of the Sony Corp.'s lithium-ion batteries. In the United States, OEM companies are coordinating for efforts to combat the problem. In Japan a government-led plan is addressing the issue with local vendors.

The article reports on the joint venture between electronics companies Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Intel Corp. to define interconnects for their multicore processors. The two companies have been working to use interconnects to weave separate webs of partnerships as keys to success in the computer industry. Industry observers believed that both companies need significant industry support for their multicore plans if they are to succeed.

The article reports that Infiniband Trade Association (IBTA) has added support for Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) for use in computer clustering to storage networking. The group has completed the specification that will enable Infiniband handles iSCSI storage traffic. Some vendors speculated that Infiniband will be popular in the storage network market.

The article reports on the development of Niagara microprocessor from Sun Microsystems Inc. in the U.S. The Niagara T1 is an eight-core processor for server and server blades, executes four program threads per core and effectively looks like a 32-processor subsystem-on-chip. The designers improved the memory interface by switching from four standard DDR2 memory interferences to four dual-channel.

The article reports on the innovation of ultramobile portable computers (PC) by various computer manufacturers in Taipei, Taiwan. The Microsoft Corp. is focusing in the ultramobile PC market and introducing its first product in the form of Samsung's Q1 tablet computers. The Via Technologies Inc. is offering a CoreFusion system in a package that combines C7-M microprocessor with integrated north and south bridges.

The article reports on the doubling in speed of the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Express by Intel Corp. which is from 2.5 Gigabits per second to 5 Gigabits per second called version 2.0 that will be launched by the end of 2006. Ramin Netashi, technical program manager of Intel and the designer of the new PCI, noted that the design has a tight budget. Features of the new PCI include an access control on pocket routing and protection from hackers.

The article reports that two 32-bit ARM-based embedded processors will cause designers to make a difficult choice of whether to use an off-the-shelf ARM 9E-based solution from STMicroelectronics or develop their own solution with the Cortex-R4 ARM core from ARM Ltd. STMicroelectronics has launched the STR910F family which employs the ARM966E-STM core.

The article reports that Tzero Technologies Inc. has introduced a two-chip ultrawideband (UWB) chips set that replaces the serial USB applications with an Internet Protocol-networking, point-to-multipoint approach to distributing broadband video in the home. Its Ultra-MIMO architecture for antenna diversity allows for better range, link availability and through-wall RF penetration compared to MIMO in an 802.11 wireless network.

The article provides information about the operations of the Bejing, China-based computer peripherals and consumer electronics company, Huaqi Information Digital Technology Co. Its products include the Aigo line of MP3 and MP4 players, liquid crystal display monitors, digital cameras and USB thumb drives.

The article reports on the global expansion plans of the Beijing, China-based personal computer peripherals and consumer electronics company, Huaqi Information Digital Technology Co., in efforts to emulate the strategies of Sony and Samsung, in becoming a household name with cutting-edge technology. Its most popular product lines are low-margin MP3 players and USB flash drives.

The article reports on the team up of semiconductor and embedded-software companies to squeeze original equipment manufacturers out of the next-generation network equipment. Wi-Fi chip players Broadcom, Marvell Semiconductor and Agere Systems are working with NextHop Inc. to bring reference designs with preloaded code to contract manufacturing companies Accton, Alpha and Delta. If the team up would succeed, it will put Taiwan-based original design manufacturers in the driver seat.

The article presents information on the new product, PCI bus plug-in introduced by Ultraview Corp. According to the company the product has an unprecedented storage depth and an ultra-long bursts of wideband spectra. The company claims that the product exhibits an order of magnitude deeper storage than other available boards with a capability of continuous acquisition at up to 1.5 Gsamples/second. It stores up to 16-billion samples of uninterrupted analog data. It is a combination of storage speed and memory depth, which can be engendered new classes of continuous intelligence gathering, medical imaging and single-shot testing applications.

The article presents information on lithography simulation process. Two announcements were made in January 2006 that extend lithography simulation to optical proximity correction (OPC) verification and IC custom layout. Mentor Graphics Corp. will roll out Calibre OPCverify, a software and Sigma C Software AG, will announce the production release of Solid+, a computer software. While OPCverify provides a fast full-chip verification, Solid + is a 3-D product used for detailed analysis of critical areas.

The article reports developments on computer software resilience and hardware fault tolerance. It has been said that a software environment should be created that will enable the system to return to the point at which the transaction was interrupted in cases of failures. Thus, various techniques have been developed including memory segmentation and partitioning, state checkpointing and passive replication.

The article presents the 2006 business forecast on the computer industries in the U.S. Forecast on the compound annual growth rate for Electronic Design Automation Cos. between 2004 and 2009 is 7.6 percent, 35.7 for Electronic System-Level design, 6.3 percent for Input Circuit Computer-Aided Design and a 5.8 compound annual growth rate for computer board Computer-Aided Design.

This article focuses on the acquisition of International Business Machines Corp.'s PC operations by China's largest PC maker Lenovo Group Ltd. According to a study conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, last year China overtook the U.S. as the world's biggest supplier of information technology goods. The merged company has a mix of desktop and notebook sales in the Chinese market. According to Peter Hortensium, senior vice president in charge of Lenovo's notebook business, their first goal was to deliver on their promise that there would be no customer-visible changes after the acquisition.

The article focuses on Ajay Bhatt, electronic engineer and innovator. Bhatt still remembers the he presented the proposal regarding the interconnect technology to Intel Corp. president Paul Otellini in 2000. Bhatt believed this technology, which later became PCI Express, could take the mainstream computer industry into the gigahertz era. Otellini accepted Bhatt's proposal and asked him to drive the industry initiative. After five years of hard work, the PCI Express is now taking the computer world by a storm.

The article reports that a cross-industry debate over the next-generation high-definition (HD) optical-disk format turned uglier last week after Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. publicly backed the HD-DVD standard over its Blu-ray rival. The dispute threatens to bifurcate the computer industry. Many believe Microsoft Corp. stands to gain the most from siding with HD-DVD. Microsoft has already succeeded in promoting its proprietary video codec-now SMPTE's VC-1-into both of the next-generation optical disk formats.

The article states that Stanley Hyduke, president of Aldec Inc., sees a not-so-distant future for the semiconductor industry in which companies are running thousands of simultaneous simulations to cope with the verification bottleneck, even going so far as to conscript enterprise computers that typically go unused at night to help with the task. Even though companies are spending up to 70 percent of design time for verification on advanced designs, he said, there are still far too many application specific integrated circuit respins and product cancellations due to poor design quality.

The article informs that Agilent Technologies Inc. is making a multipronged assault on high-speed serial interconnect, addressing buses and backplanes of 2.5 Gbits/second and beyond. The effort by Agilent's digital verifications solutions group involves pulse-generation systems and bit-error-rate testers from the high-speed digital test group, as well as protocol analyzers covering a gamut of storage-area network test and specific buses such as PCI Express. The launch of the 81141A pulse generator is merely the first step in an effort that will upgrade serial bit-error-rate test (BERT) for next-generation PCI Express board designs, said BERT marketing manager Michael Droemmer.

The article presents information on the block diagrams for most moderate-sized systems-on-chip. As far back as the Motorola 6805 family, chip makers have attempted to make computer peripherals as interchangeable blocks, so that any combination could simply be dropped into a design flow. But with the growing complexity of intellectual-property integration at finer geometries, this approach has become too expensive for less-than-stellar opportunities. Now, STMicroelectronics believes it has another alternative that will be particularly valuable to some customers.

The article presents information on this week's Los Angeles, California, Siggraph conference. The Khronos Group was expected to announce a new effort today to set an audio hardware acceleration standard for embedded systems like handsets. The new effort from the 80-plus-member consortium comes at the same time as its release of version 2.0 of OpenGL ES, an application programming interface (API) for 3-D graphics on embedded systems--primarily cell phones. Khronos voted in late July to create a working group to write an API for accelerating audio on embedded systems.

The article focuses on the Inspiron 600m notebook from Dell Computer Corp., which combines the portability of a thin-and-light laptop with the value of a mainstream consumer notebook. Various software packages come preinstalled including Windows XP Home, WordPerfect Productivity, Windows Media Player, Adobe Acrobat Reader, CyberLink PowerDVD, McAfee VirusScan, and Music Match. In its basic configuration, the 600m weighs less than 5.3 pounds and is only 1.2 inches thick when closed. Complementing the portability is the Inspiron 600m's standard set of connectivity options to keep the consumer covered in both wired and wireless scenarios.

The article presents an interview with Gadi Singer, an executive of Intel Corp. Singer helps Intel's diverse product groups develop "platforms" that include multiple chips and software, architectures that contain multiple CPUs and operating modes, and devices that represent the convergence of computing and communications capabilities. According to him, his role is primarily around technologies and capabilities. Convergence is happening and is a major force that drives what people design as well as how people design. Convergence is having systems with strong computing and communications capabilities that are tightly integrated together. Within wireless design, the challenges include better coverage and broader communications.

In this article, the author reflects his views on the future prospects of computer architects. With even Intel Corp. throwing in the towel on making faster CPU cores and switching its focus to on-chip multiprocessing, it appears that the age of the architect is over. It was good while it lasted. According to the author, microprocessor architects managed to re-create almost the whole history of the mainframe computer industry; from the first primitive vacuum tube state machines to the massive super-scalar architectures of the last IBM 360s. They used all the tricks, from microprogramming and stripped- down pipelines with load-store architectures to speculative execution and branch prediction. Best of all, hardly anyone was unkind enough to comment that all this ground had been covered already, just at a lesser level of integration.

This article focuses on the electronics industry in the U.S. When the Sunnyvale, California, company opened shop in Bangalore about five years ago, it was getting harder to find qualified engineers in the U.S. But today this scene has changed and now it is not necessary for these companies to outsource their work to India. The technical depth of U.S. engineers, the breadth of industry-leading companies and a culture that spurs innovation continue to argue in favor of keeping certain design work onshore.

Features National Instruments Corp.'s PCI-5124 board, a pheripheral component interconnect bus version of the company's predecessor PXI-5124 12-bit, 200-Msample/second PXI-based digitizer. Key features; Memory size; Price; Web site.

Focuses on software issues to be in place for 2005 by Cisco Systems technology analyst Peter Ecclesine in California. Installation of a new system-in-package receiver for the global-positioning system; Explanation on the sluggish implementation of the location-based services; Proper descriptions of the network.

This article presents information on PCI Express. Among new efforts, PCI Express is coming on strong. Express is nearly as well-known and popular an interconnect as Ethernet, according to a straw poll of focus group participants drawn from a cross section of communications and computer companies. Engineers from Network Appliance Inc. and Sun Microsystems Inc. said they hope 10-Gigabit Ethernet could become a dominant backplane interconnect in a couple of years--if current standards efforts pick up their pace. INSET: EEs bid adieu to parallel PCI.

Presents the details of the Cell processor from IBM Corp., Toshiba Corp., and Sony Corp. Power architecture of the device; Inclusion of an embedded streaming processor and dynamic multiplier to revolutionize distributed computing architectures; Schedule for the demonstration of the device to the public; Cost of the development of the device.

This article reports that there was plenty to cheer about at Supercomputing 2004, held in Pittsburgh, last week, as both custom and off-the-shelf designs took major steps forward in performance and market reach. But a team of top computer experts warned that the pipeline for fresh ideas in computer science is nearly dry and urged the U.S. government to make big changes in its procurement and research activities to prime the pump. Other industry watchers voiced concern about nagging problems in supercomputer software and benchmarking.

Reports on the advancement and development of Tokyo-based Seiko Epson Corp.'s multilayer writing boards by using its inkjet printing technology to print metal wiring patterns directly onto the layers. Usability of the simplified production process; Functional operation; Use of the Mach heads, a newly developed insulator ink by Epson research and development team on forming the 20-layer wiring boards; Dimension of the wiring board.

Highlights the changes requested by the designers in the electronic engineering industry at the International Cadence User's Conference held in the U.S. on September 2004. Concerns gathered from user feedback; Issues on the need to have a better response time on product change requests; Support for development of tool quality for software and hardware developers.

Reports on the wired and wireless development in Korea. Percentage of Koreans that have acces to the Internet; Services offerings; Projected profit from the satellite DMB in industrial production by 2012.

Discusses a tools-centric view of embedded Linux computer operating systems. Requirements of embedded Linux; Benefits of Linux; Availability of tools designed to support device driver development; High evolution of Linux combined with an increasing array of available Linux desktop solutions; Inclusions of Linux tools; Increase disk space requirements.

Reports on Virginia Technologies Inc.'s development of a software framework that could be the foundation for all future military radios. Features of the Software Communication Architecture; Custom machine computing architectures.