Sure, the march toward the ridiculous in the nanometer scale has continued unabated, but silicon can (probably) take us only so far. Some scientist types at Yale have developed a new fabrication process using bulk metallic glasses (BMGs), which are “amorphous metals” that can avoid crystalizing when cooled in a specific way. The upshot is that the metal — while seeming solid — acts as a slow-flowing liquid, with no structure beyond the atomic level. The BMGs can therefore replace several steps in the chip-stamping process, since they’re more durable than silicon, but are more pliable than normal metals. Right now the folks at Yale are making patterns as small as 13nm, with better processes to come.

[Via Physorg]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

New fabrication technique uses amorphous metals for building computer chips and killing machines originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Feb 2009 23:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

In a press release recently issued by Qualcomm, the company states that it’s taking direct aim at the sub-0 smartphone market with a new chipset on offer. The platform — known as the MSM7227 — is apparently designed with higher-power, lower-cost handsets in mind, offering HSDPA / HSUPA radios, a 600MHz CPU, 320MHz application DSP, 400MHz modem processor, hardware-accelerated 3D graphics, Bluetooth 2.1, and GPS support integrated in a 12mm x 12mm chipset. The MSM7227 can also supposedly handle 8 megapixel camera and 30 FPS WVGA encoding / decoding with ease, and is capable of supporting Android, S60, Windows Mobile, and BREW platforms. Given the company’s recent foray into Snapdragon and other pricier options, it’s interesting to see them taking a shine to the low end of the market. We know that ASUS are planning on launching a cheaper Eee phone sometime soon, and they’re currently snuggling up to Qualcomm for chip duty on an Android device. Is this the year we’ll see the rise of the smartphone version of the netbook (cheap, plentiful, almost disposable)? Only MWC knows for sure.

[Via The Inquirer]

Filed under: Cellphones

Qualcomm makes a play for the sub-0 smartphone market with new chipset originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Feb 2009 21:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Okay, so AMD is not doing so well. At least from what the stock market would tell you.

For those of you who don’t know, AMD just released their new socket: AM3. The only difference from AM2+ is DDR3 support, which is slightly hindered. Overall, this will be good news for AMD. Their recently released Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition will appeal to enthusiasts overclockers, who have been hit by the financial crisis. The one thing that’s sorely missing from their line-up is a flagship AM3 product. It’s rumored to be the Phenom II X4 945 or 950, which will have an unlocked multiplier and will most likely run at 3.0 ghz or higher.

This is what they need to combat Intel. I’ll admit, Intel makes great processors…at a price. They’re better overclockers and usually kick the crap out of AMD in the benchmarks. When it comes to gaming, AMD is about equal really because the GPU takes over at a certain resolution (1600×1200 and higher usually.)

Here’s what tigerdirect.com says:

That’s good news for AMD. The 940 is selling well at newegg.com also. The only problem is that the 920, the lesser clocked version (not a black edition, either,) is not selling well at all. Unfortunately for AMD, the consumer sees no reason to buy it because they can simply drop $40 more and get a better processor that will definitely overclock better. If I were them, I’d drop that processor quickly.

I have a theory of why they haven’t even announced their next flagship processor yet. Here it is: The DDR3 issue that the new AM3 processors have is forcing them to hold off on releasing that flagship processor. This way, they fix the problem and unleash the new processor, allowing it to be used to it’s full potential.

AMD has just gotten out of the fabrication business and can now focus on getting it’s balance sheet in order. I’m sure that even Intel fanboys are hoping AMD survives because without AMD, those same fanboys would be forced to pay much more for their processors. Not to mention that innovation would come to a stand-still. Of course, Intel would still transition to a new fabrication process because that’s in their interest (lowers production costs, etc.) Beyond that, I think their tick-tock strategy would fall apart because they wouldn’t have any loyal opposition to drive their R & D department.

I’ll make a prediction: AMD is on the rise. AMD may not equal Intel in sheer performance (i.e Core i7 965 and 975 extreme edition,) but it will definitely be back in a position of power with the consumer with it’s price/performance ratio strategy that is especially relevant in this economic downturn. We can finally say it: AMD is back and ready to kick some Intel ass (So to speak.)

Samsung has plastered MWC’s host city of Barcelona with huge ads depicting its new Ultra Touch handset, alongside the previously unannounced Omnia HD and Beat DJ. We’ve spotted both of these handsets previously, the former being a dead ringer for the incredibly-specced Acme i8910, and the latter being that M7600 set which sports a Bang & Olufsen amplifier in a Ocean-like form factor. There’s nothing else revealed by the ad, but we’re obviously expecting to find out a lot more this coming week once the show proper gets underway.

[Via Phone Arena]

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung’s Omnia HD and Beat DJ unveiled in massive MWC ad originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Feb 2009 15:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hugh Pickens writes “On the 200th anniversary of his birth, President Abraham Lincoln’s popular image as a log-splitting bumpkin is being re-assessed as historians have discovered that Lincoln had an avid interest in cutting-edge technology and its applications. During the war, Lincoln haunted the telegraph office (which provided the instant-messaging of its day) for the latest news from the front; he encouraged weapons development and even tested some new rifles himself on the White House lawn; and he is the only US president to hold a patent (No. 6469, granted May 22, 1849). It was for a device to lift riverboats over shoals. ‘He not only created his own invention but had ideas for other inventions, such as an agricultural steam plow and a naval steam ram, [and] was fascinated by patent cases as an attorney and also by new innovations during the Civil War,’ says Jason Emerson, author of Lincoln the Inventor. But Lincoln’s greatest contribution to the war effort was his use of the telegraph. When Lincoln took office the White House had no telegraph connection. Lincoln ‘developed the modern electronic leadership model, says Tom Wheeler, author of Mr. Lincoln’s T-Mails: The Untold Story of How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph To Win the Civil War. At a time when electricity was a vague scientific concept and sending signals through wires was ‘mind boggling,’ Lincoln was fascinated by the telegraph and developed it into a political and military tool that allowed him to project himself to the front to monitor and track what was going on. ‘If he were alive today, we’d call him an early adopter,’ says Wheeler.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

gclef writes “Buried deep in the details of the US stimulus package is an interesting provision that might go a long way toward helping Open Source software break into the medical area. It says that the Secretary of Health and Human Services should study the availability of open source health technology systems (PDF, page 488), compare their TCO against proprietary systems and report on what they find no later than Oct 1, 2010. Slashdotters may also be interested in the language that starts on page 553 of that PDF to see just what the final package says about broadband.” The stimulus plan was approved by the Senate on Friday and is expected to be signed by President Obama by Monday.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

bfwebster writes “Here in Denver, we have E-470, a toll section of the 470 beltway, that uses the usual transponder attached to your windshield. Fair enough, and I make use of it, particularly in driving to the airport. But they’ve just implemented new technology on E-470 that allows anyone to drive through the automated toll gates. If you don’t have a transponder, it takes a photo of your license plate and sends a monthly bill to your house. As a result, the company that runs E-470 plans to close all human-staffed toll booths by mid-summer. And as an article in this morning’s Rocky Mountain News> notes, ‘Such a system could be deployed on other roads, including some that motorists now use free. The result: a new source of money for highways and bridges badly in need of repair.’ You can bet that legislators, mayors, and city councilpersons everywhere will see this as an even-better source of income than red-light cameras. You’ve been warned.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

nitro writes “A fairly in-depth technical report by the security researchers at TippingPoint was released on how to reverse engineer the proprietary protocol for controlling a USB missile-launching toy system. They develop an iPhone application to control the device. ‘The hardware is coupled with a simple GUI controller written in Delphi (MissileLauncher.exe) and a USB Human Interface Device (HID) interface written in C++ (USBHID.dll). The toys lost their allure within minutes of harassing my team with a barrage of soft missile shots. That same night I thought I would be able to extend the fun factor by coding up a programmatic interface to the launchers in Python. … One interesting thing is that we have a lot more granular control of the turret movement now than we did with the original GUI. I wrote two simple loops to count the number of possible horizontal and vertical ticks and the results were 947 horizontal and 91 vertical versus 54 and 10 from the original GUI respectively. Granular control allows you to slowly and quietly reposition the turret for stealthy attacks.’”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

pigah writes “The Fair Copyright in Research Works Act has been reintroduced into Congress. The bill will ban open access policies in federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These policies require scientists to provide public access to their work if it has been funded with money from an agency with an open access policy. Such policies ensure that the public has access to read the results of research that it has funded. It appears that Representative John Conyers (D-MI), the author of the bill, is doing the bidding of publishing companies who do not want to lose control of this valuable information that they sell for exorbitant fees thereby restricting access by the general public to an essentially public good.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Stickster writes “Back in 2007, IP Innovation filed a lawsuit against Red Hat and Novell. IP Innovation is a subsidiary of Acacia Technologies. You may have heard of them — they’re reported to be the most litigious patent troll in the USA, meaning they produce nothing of value other than money from those whom they sue (or threaten to sue) over patent issues. They’re alleging infringement of patents on a user interface that has multiple workspaces. Hard to say just what they mean (which is often a problem in software patents), but it sounds a lot like functionality that pretty much all programmers and consumers use. That patent was filed back on March 25, 1987 by some folks at Xerox/PARC, which means that prior art dated before then is helpful — and art dated before March 25, 1986 is the most useful. (That means art found in a Linux distribution may not help, seeing as how Linus Torvalds first began the Linux kernel in 1991.) Red Hat has invited the community to join in the fight against the patent trolls by identifying prior art. They are coordinating efforts through the Post Issue Peer to Patent site, which is administered by the Center for Patent Innovations at the New York Law School, in conjunction with the US Patent and Trademark Office.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.