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***CDMA Gives Firms Mainland Deals
(April 3)
US telecommunications giants Motorola and Lucent Technologies have finalized contracts valued at about US$20 million to expand mobile networks in the mainland following Beijing's approval of the CDMA (code division multiple access) standard.
The deals have boosted the value of telecoms and electronics contracts signed with US firms this year to about $450 million.
Xinhua news agency reported that the Beijing Posts and Telecommunications Administration would buy CDMA equipment from Motorola to build 35 base stations for network coverage in the capital. It said Lucent had also signed a draft contract with Guangdong Cellular Telecom - a subsidiary of China Telecom - to supply equipment to expand the number of CDMA base stations to 45 in southern Guangdong.
The contracts were the first confirmation Beijing had approved the use of CDMA which creates a market for makers from the United States, where the technology dominates cellular phone use.
The mainland's cellular phone market is monopolized by the European-based GSM (global system for mobile communications) standard.
The US has long rallied for Beijing to adopt the CDMA standard; President Bill Clinton pushed for support of the technology during his visit to the mainland last year.
Orders of CDMA equipment would help boost US exports and thus trim the mainland's trade surplus with the US, which stood at about $57 billion last year.
The latest deals follow signings of a number of contracts with US companies on a trade visit to the mainland by US Commerce Secretary William Daley. Included in those contracts, Motorola is to supply $100 million of GSM equipment to expand the cellular network of the Hunan Posts and Telecommunications Administration, while Lucent won a $106 million deal from China Unicom to expand GSM networks in Guangdong.
Meanwhile, California-based Qualcomm, which developed the CDMA standard, saw its shares hit a record on optimism that the cellular phone manufacturer would see a surge in revenue from the mainland.
China Unicom, the only competitor to state monopoly China Telecom, plans to spend about $2.86 billion this year to build cellular networks in 190 cities, most of which will use Qualcomm technology.
***Iridium Wins $219 Million Defense Deal
(April 2)
Iridium LLC received a boost when Motorola Inc. landed a $219 million contract to supply Iridium satellite phones, pagers, accessories and phone service to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
The DoD awarded the three-year contract to Motorola's Worldwide Information Network Services division, which is Iridium's service provider to the U.S. government. The order is a direct result of Iridium's invitation to the U.S. military to sit in on the design of the global satellite system. Those talks resulted in the DoD constructing its own dedicated Iridium gateway, rumored to have cost taxpayers about $100 million.
The news should be a welcome relief for Iridium shareholders. At the turn of the year, Iridium shares were at $40.75. They increased to $43.25 by Jan. 11, but that was the 1999 high and on Wednesday (3/31), the stock slumped to an all-time low of $15.12.
***Sun's Community Source Licensing Silicon Ships
(April 5)
Sun Microsystems announced immediate availability of its picoJava processor core via its licensing model, Sun Community Source Licensing (SCSL).
Just one month ago, Sun announced that the picoJava processor core, as well as implementations of the SPARC architecture, would be offered through SCSL. This marked the first time a company has made microprocessor intellectual property (IP) available via Community Source Licensing, a move that advances and expands rapid innovation in chip design.
The response to Sun's offering of its microprocessor cores has been overwhelmingly positive. Since the initiative was announced on March 2, more than 200 registrations for the Community Source Licensing of the picoJava and SPARC processor cores have come in from third-party vendors, chip developers, EDA software vendors, commercial OEMs, universities and research organizations. Sun's online launch of the processor cores via Community Source Licensing makes major microprocessor IP core technology easily accessible to outside developers during evaluation and development, enabling advances and rapid innovation in chip design.
Third-party vendors that have expressed interest in developing for the picoJava technology include: Aromasoft, Corp.; Cadence Design Systems, Inc.; Chiplogic, Inc.; Cygnus Solutions; Gaio Technology Co. Ltd.; Infinite Technology Corporation; jCan Corporation; Lavalogic (a business unit of TSI Telsys); LogicVision, Inc.; MetaWare; Personal Media Corp.; Phoenix Technologies; Silicon Access Technology Inc.; SureFire Verification Inc. and VAutomation, Inc. In addition, personnel at Carnegie Mellon University, Harvard University, Northeastern University, Pennsylvania State University and Rice University have expressed interest in the program.
The Community Source Licensing model allows access to picoJava microprocessor source files without fees during the initial evaluation and development phases. Via the Web, Sun will provide the key source files including microarchitecture specifications, a programmer's reference manual, an RTL verification model and a
timing-accurate simulator.Sun has announced it will continue this model, releasing certain implementations of the SPARC architectures under Community Source Licensing later this year. Ongoing registration is available at:
http://www.sun.com/microelectronics/communitysource
http://www.sun.com
***Casio Introduces the Cassiopeia E-15
(March 15)
Casio introduced the latest version of its CASSIOPEIA Palm-size PC, model E-15. This Palm-size PC features 16 MB of memory and retails at the suggested price of $399. It will be available for shipping in April.
The CASSIOPEIA E-15 is light, slim and ergonomically designed for one hand access to data. The E-15 has a large, easy-to-read display (FSTN) and features 16 levels of gray scale for software compatibility with color applications and graphics such as maps.
The CASSIOPEIA E-15 has a 69 MHz NEC microprocessor which was developed for portable computers. Other features include a CompactFlash Card Type II card slot, serial port, earphone jack, DC jack, microphone/speaker, and IrDA. The CASSIOPEIA E-15 also features a cradle, AC adapter, and NiMH rechargeable battery.
The CASSIOPEIA E-15 is powered by Microsoft Windows CE operating system. Microsoft Windows CE for the Palm-size PC includes Pocket Outlook, Note Taker, Voice Recorder, ActiveSync, PC Link, Connections (dial-up and infrared connectivity), Calculator, World Clock, Solitaire and CIC JOT character recognizer software. The CASSIOPEIA E-15 is mobile channel capable. A subscription to a service provider is necessary.
The CASSIOPEIA has a back light to provide viewing of data, even in the dark. It also has stylus note taking, one button voice record and a built-in cursor button. The computer comes with software including Menu, Schedule Viewer, Pocket Data Base, Card Backup Tool, Enterprise Harmony '99 (Palm Pilot PIM Conversion), AvantGo Client 2.0 (web browser), Audible and Financial Consultant Calculator.
***HP and ARM jointly develop real-time execution trace
tools for ARM CPUs
(March 2 )
Hewlett-Packard and ARM announced that they are developing an on-chip-debugging system that will provide a real-time execution trace for ARM core-based products.
The co-developed execution trace system consists of an embedded trace module in the integrated circuit (IC), a trace port analyser connected to the target system and trace-control extensions to the software debugger running on any PC. Combined, these elements provide real-time instruction and a data trace to engineers using the ARM CPU deeply embedded within their ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) or ASSPs (application-specific standard parts).
This trace system will provide the same visibility for monitoring the execution of internal CPUs as that supplied by "bond out" chips, without the high cost or technical difficulties.
The embedded trace module is expected to be available this spring. Debug products based on this execution trace technology are expected to be announced later this year, including a trace port analyser from HP.
http://www.hp.com/go/logicanalyzer
http://www.arm.com
http://www.hp.com.
***Gradient's NetCrusader/CORBA Provides Plug-and-Play
(March 15)
Technologies, Inc. has announced Gradient's NetCrusader/CORBA products, based on the industry standard CORBA Security Level 2 specification.
NetCrusader/CORBA supports a number of authentication technologies for proving user identities, including Public-Key Infrastructures (PKIs), Kerberos, DCE, SSL Basic Authentication and two-factor devices. NetCrusader/CORBA also provides a graphical administrative console for managing security for users and objects. Grouping users and objects into roles and domains, respectively, simplifies security management. In addition, NetCrusader provides consistent permissions management not only for object-based applications, but also for Web-based and other network computing applications.
The CORBA standard for distributed objects, published by the Object Management Group (OMG), defines the behavior and appearance of objects regardless of the hardware or software on which they were developed or on which they are running. OMG's CORBA Security Service standard specifies two levels of security for distributed object applications: Level 1 and Level 2.
CORBA Security Level 1 supports the following security features and makes them available to existing applications with no software modifications:
--Authentication
--Data Privacy and Integrity
--Authorization of access privileges
--Delegation of permissions
--Auditing and Logging
CORBA Security Level 2 supports all Level 1 functionality and provides standard interfaces to allow application-specific control of security features. For example, a CORBA-based application could programmatically make fine-grained access decisions to data and methods based on a client's NetCrusader security credentials, providing more flexibility for implementing sophisticated security policies.
The combination of NetCrusader/CORBA with leading object request brokers such as Inprise's VisiBroker and IONA's Orbix provides transparent, immediately deployable security services for distributed object applications.
NetCrusader/CORBA for Inprise's VisiBroker and IONA's Orbix is scheduled for Q2 '99.
***Motorola Buys into $200 Million Symbian Joint Venture
(February 16)
Wireless Today reports that the four-way Symbian partnership that will collaborate on developing the EPOC operating system for use in next-generation wireless handsets is complete, with Motorola paying the equivalent of about $47.2 million to acquire a 23.1 percent position in the company.
Motorola first announced its participation in Symbian last October, signing a definitive agreement to work with Psion plc, originator of the EPOC system, and with L.M. Ericsson AB and Nokia in the joint venture.
Psion holds 30.7 percent of Symbian, while the three handset manufacturers each own 23.1 percent interests. The European Commission approved Motorola's acquisition of the Symbian stake last week.
Facing what is shaping up to be a stiff challenge from Microsoft and Qualcomm with their Wireless Knowledge LLC joint venture, Symbian and its partners are working to facilitate key mobile standards, including the Wireless Application Protocol, as well as Bluetooth and Java, with the aim of eventually licensing EPOC and using it in their own products.
As part of Motorola's participation agreement, EPOC will include TrueSync, synchronization technology developed by Motorola's Starfish Software subsidiary. TrueSync's synchronization capabilities will mean that users of EPOC-based handsets will only have to enter information into the devices once to easily synchronize this data with desktop and server-based applications and services.
***Nettaxi Internet CB Connects Users for Real-Time
Conversation
(March 15)
Nettaxi announced the availability of Nettaxi Internet CB, instant messaging capabilities based on PeopleLink software.
The software enables users to communicate with others, individually or in group situations, online in real time. The result of which is the creation of a community experience-in the virtual world.
Through Nettaxi Internet CB, users can locate other members online and send instant messages or e-mail. The user simply selects a name and types a message into the dialogue box. The software also enables members to forge relationships with others based on such criteria as interests, skills, profession or location. Safety and privacy controls allow members to choose with whom they wish to communicate or to block incoming instant messages or e-mails. In addition, users can use Nettaxi Internet CB to reach online help for instant answers to questions regarding features such as Web page design and e-mail.
Nettaxi Internet CB is available for download at
***Frost & Sullivan: Booming Personal User Market
Driving Wireless Communications Industry
(March 15)
According to the latest research by Frost & Sullivan, North American Wireless Handset Markets, revenues for the wireless industry were estimated at $5.1 billion in 1998.
The explosive demand for wireless communication devices is caused by an increase in mobile workers and a larger market interest and acceptance in general.
In addition, falling unit prices, more affordable service fees, and an increasing demand for enhanced wireless functionality's such as paging, short messaging and data transfer are expected to drive the market.
For more information on the North American Wireless Handset Markets Report: 2008-62 which costs $2950 go to:
***Autodesk Reports Record Fourth Quarter and Year- end
Revenues
(February 24)
Autodesk announced financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended January 31, 1999. For the fourth quarter of fiscal year 1999, Autodesk reported record net revenue of $189.1 million versus $181.8 million for the same quarter a year ago. Net revenue for fiscal year 1999 also hit a record at $740.2 million, an increase of 20 percent over the revenue last year.
For the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999 net income was $25.1 million, or $0.50 per share on a diluted basis, including the impact of the revaluation of in-process research and development charges from the acquisitions of Softdesk and Genius, and the incremental amortization of the associated goodwill and intangible assets. Excluding these costs, net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 1999 was $26.7 million, or diluted earnings per share of $0.54.
Net income for fiscal year 1999 was $90.6 million, and resulted in $1.85 per share on a diluted basis, including non-recurring charges as well as incremental amortization of goodwill and intangible assets from prior acquisitions. Excluding these costs, net income for fiscal year 1999 was $102.5 million, or $2.10 per share on a diluted basis.
All vertical design markets posted record revenues during fiscal year 1999, with sales more than doubling over the previous fiscal year. Driven by strong demand for Mechanical Desktop and Genius products, the MCAD group led the performance of the vertical markets, with sales increasing 185 percent year over year. AEC revenues increased over 50 percent for the year, fueled by strong performance from Architectural Desktop and Land Development Desktop. The success of the GIS product family continued, with sales nearly doubling over the prior year.
The Personal Solutions Group and Kinetix also reported record results for fiscal year 1999, driven by strong demand for AutoCAD LT, 3D Studio MAX and 3D Studio VIZ. The AutoCAD brand remained strong throughout the year, with both new seat and upgrade revenues increasing over the previous year.
***GeoCities and Realnetworks Team Up
(March 1)
RealNetworks and GeoCities announced a distribution and marketing agreement which will provide more than 3 million GeoCities Homesteaders seamless support for creating and streaming RealSystem G2 multimedia content. Through the agreement, millions of Homesteaders may offer next-generation media experiences to their business partners, customers, friends, and colleagues by taking advantage of production tools and Web multimedia hosting
services.GeoCities will be installing RealSystem G2 RealServers to provide a free trial period of streaming media hosting services for their customers, enabling them to stream their multimedia content from their Web sites. Additionally, these users of GeoCities services will be provided with RealProducer G2, at no charge, for easy and simple production of RealSystem G2 multimedia content.
The agreement will allow GeoCities small business users to create a wide range of streaming video applications including customer education, promotional, real estate listings and training videos. GeoCities consumers will now be able to post home videos of friends and family, weddings, and vacations on their personal Web pages in streaming audio, video or as a slideshow.
Also announced Dazzle Multimedia will be offering an Internet Edition of its market leading Dazzle Digital Video Creator available in parallel port and USB versions, based on RealProducer G2. The Dazzle Digital Video Creator Internet Edition will allow GeoCities members to easily capture, edit, manage and publish digital video content and produce RealSystem G2-based Web pages.
***RealNetworks Announces Availability Of Content
Creation Tools
(February 23)
RealNetworks has announced the final releases of RealProducer Pro G2, the content creation tool for producing professional quality streaming media presentations and RealProducer Plus G2 for the Compaq Tru64 UNIX operating system, enabling anyone to create and publish RealAudio and RealVideo. Also available is the beta release of RealProducer Plus G2 for the Linux platform, enhancing the suite of media creation tools designed to extend the capabilities of RealSystem G2 and produce next-generation streaming media content.
The RealProducer Pro G2 is a production tool designed for creating streaming and synchronised multimedia presentations. Content creators now have the ability to add synchronised multimedia events- URL flips, RealText captions and image links to audio or video files. Advanced production features found in RealProducer Pro G2, such as graphical support for batch processing, timeline editing, integrated Synchronised Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) templates and advanced HTML templates, enable multimedia experts and novices to produce professional quality presentations.
RealProducer Plus G2 allows anyone to create and deploy streaming media Web pages, regardless of ability level and operating system choice. The UNIX versions announced are optimised for live audio and video encoding, offer professional users the reliability and stability of the UNIX operating system, as well as the remote control and administration capabilities UNIX users demand. Additionally, users can operate the UNIX versions of the RealProducer Plus G2 locally with the familiar and user-friendly graphical RealProducer Plus user interface.
RealProducer Pro G2 is immediately available for purchase and download for $499.
The final release of RealProducer Plus G2 for Compaq Tru64 UNIX operating system is immediately available as is the beta release of RealProducer G2 for the Linux platform. Both products are ready for purchase and download for $149.95 from
***Dassault Systemes Signs Agreement to Acquire Matra
Datavision's Subsidiary
(February 23)
Dassault Systemes S.A. and Matra Datavision announced that they have signed a definitive agreement whereby Dassault Systemes will acquire Matra Datavision's EUCLID STYLER, EUCLID MACHINIST, STRIM and STRIMFLOW technologies and associated expertise for FF 200 million. The Company announced the proposed acquisition on December 8, 1998.
Pursuant to this agreement, Dassault Systemes will acquire a Matra Datavision subsidiary that owns the software products and will have access to the full license of Matra Datavision CAS.CADE technology. This enables Dassault Systemes to expand its offerings, specifically in surface and free-form modeling, numerical control machining (NC) and plastic injection simulation. Completion of the transaction is subject to closing conditions, including authorization from the regulatory authorities.
As previously disclosed, Dassault Systemes, Matra Datavision and IBM will form a cooperation. It will capitalize on the excellence of each company by offering customers an enriched range of CAD/CAM/CAE and PDM II solutions, providing them with enhanced support and services worldwide, and by significantly extending development, marketing and sales teams.
As part of the deal, Matra Datavision is focusing on engineering solutions and services providing support for the CATIA, CATWEB, ENOVIA and Deneb product lines of Dassault Systemes and exclusive migration pathways from EUCLID 3 to CATIA. More specifically, Matra Datavision will continue providing its demonstrated expertise in areas such as Business Process Re-engineering. The company will protect its customer investments, notably by maintaining EUCLID 3, and by continued marketing and support of CAS.CADE and other products complementary to the CATIA and ENOVIA product lines. The immediate availability of an extended range of Dassault Systemes Solutions provides Matra Datavision customers with an evolutionary path toward next-generation solutions, specifically CATIA.
Under this agreement, Matra Datavision is appointed an IBM International Business Partner to market, sell and support CATIA, CATWEB, and ENOVIA as well as IBM's e-business Solutions. Matra Datavision will also be in charge of marketing, selling and supporting the Deneb Solutions.
http://www.dsweb.com
http://www.matra-datavision.com
http://www.catia.com
***Mirrormind Licenses NetImmerse 2.2 for Shadowblade 3D Action/Adventure Game
Mirrormind Game Studios has licensed the NetImmerse 2.2 3D game engine from Numerical Design Ltd.
The game will incorporate advanced technical features that enable more complex movement and character behavior. Mirrormind's proprietary Motion-Wave Control Interface (MWave) will give players the freedom to perform complex actions with a drag of the mouse or the press of a key.
Mirrormind Game Studios was founded in July 1998 and is based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The company consists of engineers and artists with core knowledge in different areas of game production.
***Construction of 40 Gbps Undersea Cable to Cuba
(March 15)
Quest Net announced that it has filed with the Federal Communication Commission for the authority to begin the construction of a 40 Gbps undersea fiber optic cable with capacity of over 530,000 simultaneous connections.
The system consists of approximately 180 km of undersea cable and two landing points. "Projecto Unidad," as it is known, will open broadband applications with security for educational, scientific and commercial users and greatly enhance the availability and use by the Cuban residents.
In addition, the Internet will be more readily available to residential users facilitating communication between the average citizen and the world with a primary link with the United States. With the change in the political atmosphere and the emergence of a more open relationship between Cuba and major world powers, the demand for bandwidth and voice capacity is expected to grow sharply as the Cuban economy continues to develop and diversify.
It is estimated that the overall cost of the project will be approximately $13,000,000,00 and will be completed within a year from the date of the approval by the proper governmental agencies, of which no assurance can be given. Currently fiber optic connectivity does not exist between Cuba and the outside world. AT&T has one copper cable that was installed in the late 40's, and has been in use since the United States and Cuba opened a direct phone link in 1993.
The "Projecto Unidad" system is being designed primarily for data and will only carry Internet and data traffic. Quest Net Corp. therefore will not be involved in settlement of telephone tariffs, which is a point of contention between the USA and CUBA. After preliminary contact with OFAC (Office of Foreign Asset Control), FCC (Federal Communications Commission), and the State and Commerce Departments, the management of the Company is confident that there is no violation of the Cuban Democratic Act in its proposal as Internet traffic is already widely available between the United States and Cuba. The company will not begin construction until such time as permission has been secured and the proper licenses have been obtained from both governments.
SETWAVE Communications, a New Jersey based firm that specializes in management and design of Fiber Optics undersea cables has been awarded the management contract for the construction and installation of the cable.
The Company is presently negotiating with Tyco Submarine Systems to build and install the cable. No agreement has been entered to date. TSS is the largest supplier of submarine cable systems in the world, having installed more than 155,000 miles of undersea cable.
***Joint DVD Licensing Program of Philips , Sony and
Pioneer in Operation
(February 17)
Royal Philips Electronics, acting on behalf of its system partners Sony Corp. and Pioneer Electronic Corp., has started a patent license program for manufacturers who produce and sell players and discs under the DVD system standard, created by the 10 companies including Philips, Sony and Pioneer (DVD). By acquiring licenses from Philips under this program, manufacturers will be allowed to use the Philips, Sony and Pioneer patents for their products under the DVD-Video and/or DVD-ROM standards in the worldwide market.
The licensing program handled by Philips has taken effect following a review by the U.S. Department of Justice. Under this program, prospective licensees can enter into an agreement with Philips to obtain a substantial part of the necessary patent licenses for their own player and/or disc manufacturing.
The licenses granted by Philips include rights to essential patents for DVD- Video and DVD-ROM technologies. They also include a license under MPEG2 audio patents from Philips, IRT and CCETT for the use of MPEG2 audio technology, but do not include encoding or decoding of MPEG2 Video nor any essential patents of other parties, for which separate licenses are required.
The royalty conditions of the DVD player patent licensing program are the payment of an initial fee of $10,000, of which $5,000 is creditable against running royalties; plus a royalty of 3.5 percent of the net selling price of each player manufactured and sold, with a minimum of $5 per player. An additional royalty of $2.50 for each Video CD-compatible DVD-Video player will be due.
The conditions for the DVD disc patent licensing program are the payment of an initial fee of $10,000 of which $5,000 is creditable against running royalties; plus a royalty of $0.05 per DVD-Video or DVD-ROM disc manufactured and sold.
Apart from the DVD patent licensing program, Royal Philips Electronics, acting on behalf of CCETT and IRT, has started a patent licensing program for the use of their essential patents for AC-3. The conditions of this license program are: for discs a running royalty of $0.003 per disc and for players a running royalty of $0.20 per audio channel with a maximum of $0.60 per player.
The licensing programs will provide for the payment of a reasonable royalty by the users of the patent rights as a remuneration for the considerable investments in research, development and other efforts in the area of optical recording technologies, as well as in the present and future research and development of new technologies. Under the licensing program, Philips licenses the patented technologies at non-discriminatory standard terms and conditions to all interested parties.
Additional services which may also be made available to licensees include expertly developed starter kits, disc evaluation facilities, an independent format verification service and test disc sets.
Independent from this licensing program, licensees may also need to obtain additional licenses from other companies and organizations. These include, among others, the other companies of the DVD Forum, for licenses under specific patents for DVD-Video and DVD-ROM; and MPEG LA for licenses under the MPEG2 Video patents. Manufacturers seeking to obtain licenses under any of the patents referred to above should contact the relevant licensors for further information about conditions, costs and procedures to be followed.
http://www.licensing.philips.com
http://www.news.philips.com
http://www.pioneer.co.jp
http://www.sony.co.jp/
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