Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Samsung's 4GB Flash Memory


Posted by Hello
Samsung Electronics Co. has begun mass-producing 4-Gigabit (Gb) NAND
flash memory using 70-nanometer micro-processing technology for the
first time in the world. This is an upgrade from 90-nanometer design and
this technology will allow Samsung to offer products with larger storage
densities at more affordable prices.

The 70nm 4Gb NAND writes data at 16-megabytes per second, 50% faster
than 2Gb NAND built on 90-nanometer technology. A memory card made
up of 16 of these chips allows real-time storage of eight hours of high
definition video images.

The 4Gb NAND flash -- which has the highest density in the market --
uses SLC (single level cells) measuring 0.025 square micrometers, the
smallest in the business and 1/314,000 of a grown person’s hair, which
store a single data per cell.

The global market for NAND flash memory this year is estimated at $8
billion, with 4 Gigabit products accounting for 30 percent of sales.
Samsung has led the NAND flash memory market since 2002. Last year,
the company accounted for 54% of global sales.

Samsung has also announced a replacement for the current hard disk
solutions. The SDD system is based on a 2.5 inch structure with 16
NAND Flash memory modules with capacities of 4 or 8 GB of memory.
At the end of this year, Samsung will also propose a SDD solution of 1.8
inch which will offer the same storing capacity.




Monday, May 30, 2005

AMD vs Intel

The introduction of Pentium D is not only expected to give Intel an edge
against their prime competitor AMD, but also bring around a revolution in
the world of personal computing. This just might be the first dual core
processors of their kind, which would be affordable and targeted at the
common computer user. Analysts predicted that 2006 would be the year
where the consumer takes to the dual core processors in a big way,
however with Intel’s plan to sell millions of units this year itself; we might
see that happening a lot sooner.

The three models launched: Pentium D 820 at 2.8GHz, Pentium D 830 at
3.0GHz and Pentium D 840 at 3.2GHz will have prices of 241, 316, and
530 dollars for 1000 units. In comparison, AMD processors are priced
almost double these processors. The “slowest” AMD Athlon X2 (2.2 GHz
4200+) is priced at $537. Intel’s complete package also comes with
hardware for surround sound, high-definition video and improved graphics
performances, which further make the deal more lucrative.

Another important aspect that has to taken into consideration is that Intel
also offers 945 chipset platforms which implement technologies like:
surround sound, high-definition video and improved graphics
performances and, as discussed yesterday, Active Management
Technology (AMT).

But it is quite possible that AMD could rebound from current situation soon.
Now with Intel taking the price advantage, there are few options available
for them. They have normally excelled at providing excellent speeds at
economical packages. If they can price their Dual Core processors
cheaper than Pentium D, it would be a win-win situation for the end
consumer! The company is expected to launch their desktop range of Dual
Core processors quite soon.

On Friday Intel stock(INTC) closed at $27.39 (Price-to-Earning Ratio is
21.9) whereas AMD stock closed at $16.21 (Price-to-Earning Ratio is 180).




Sunday, May 29, 2005

Intel Chips Support AMT

The management or troubleshooting of a corporate network of PCs has
always been a major headache for technical support staff. The new Intel
945 and 955X chip sets support this by AMT technology. AMT means
Active Management Technolgy. If all PCs in a office are already linked up
in a Local Area Network (LAN), it will now be easy to troubleshoot them
even when they're shut down.

AMT allows the system administrator to do that easily through a web
browser. From another PC, he or she would be able to access the dead PC
that has 945 chip in it. With its web browser, a web page is displayed for
the administrator to log in the dead PC. The dead PC which has an IP
address is in fact not so dead as it is still connected to the power source
and the internal network component is still on standby for a "Wakeup"
initiation from remote PC to take control of it. The demonstrator, after
logging in the dead PC, can change the PC log of what happened before.

In fact, one can actually MAP a remote drive to the local system (which
monitors the dead PC). One can remotely administer the hard disk drive
(HDD) of the dead PC and can even remotely install the operating
system and remap the screen to the remote PC.

With AMT one will be able to download software updates onto a PC and
even take inventory of their network through a protected part of the
technology that is transparent to the user.




Saturday, May 28, 2005

Netscape 8 disturbs IE

Microsoft urged the Netscape 8 browser to remove it from their systems.
It is causing certain parts of Internet Explorer to stop functioning
correctly. Specifically, after Netscape 8 gets installed in a computer, the
Internet Explorer is no longer capable of rendering XML. This means that
RSS feeds or XML files with XSLT transformations applied will display as
blank pages, instead of their content.

Microsoft suggests that users uninstall Netscape 8. However, since users
whose choice is Netscape may not be bothered that it breaks Internet
Explorer which they do not use in first place.

However, this is not a good impression that Netscape is giving to its thin
user base. First of all they launched a browser with known security holes,
now they are intervening in parts of the Microsoft Operating System. Also
a number of downloaders have complained of the problems arising in
'profile manager' feature of Netscape.

AOL have stated that they are in the process of producing a patch to
resolve the issue which should be out next week. Two updates in the
course of two weeks is not good news for this supposedly secure browser,
especially if it wishes to regain its popularity it enjoyed quite some time
back ...




Friday, May 27, 2005

Pentium D from Intel


Posted by Hello
"I won't say it is as exciting as the Internet was about 10 years ago, but it
comes pretty close." - Gerald Holzhammer, vice president of Intel's Digital
Home Group.

Intel has announced the launch of its new dual-core processor, Pentium D,
for use in desktop PCs. The Pentium D is Intel's second dual-core
processor, following the introduction of the Pentium Extreme Edition in
April and comes just a few days ahead of rival AMD's launch of the Athlon
64x2 dual core PC chip.

The new Pentium D 840, 830, and 820 chips are less expensive than the
Pentium Extreme Edition, and will introduce dual core technology to far
more users than the Extreme Edition chip. Pentium D prices range from
$241 to $530 in 1000-units quantities with speeds from 2.8 gigahertz to
3.2 GHz. Supporting chipsets range from $38 to $42.

The new processor and chip set will be outfitted in business desktops
produced by HP, Dell and Lenovo. Dell's new Dimension 9100 supports
either the dual-core 800 series chips or the 600 series Pentium 4 chips.
Hewlett-Packard is making the dual-core 800 processors available on
several existing models in its Pavilion lineup. Lenovo Group's ThinkCentre
A52 and M52 desktops will be available later this year with the dual-core
processors and the new chip sets.