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The WAVE Report on Digital Media
3D --- Media Creation --- Shared Space ---Published by 4th Wave, Inc.--- Issue #0429------------------7/30/04 |
The WAVE Report is Searchable on
http://www.3dlinks.com
http://www.wave-report.com
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0429.2 Story of the Issue
ICBA 2004, First International Conference on Biometric Authentication
0429.3 Current Events
0429.4 Internet Telephony
Skype v.1 Launches with more than 7 Million Users from 170 Countries (in less than 1 year)
0429.5 Microprocessors
AMD Redefines Everyday Computing with the AMD Sempron Processor Family
0429.6 Industrial Expansion
0429.7 Displays
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***Cloudmark's SpamNet Named ``Editor's Choice'' in PC Magazine's July 2004 Desktop Anti-Spam Product Review
SAN FRANCISCO
July 29, 2004
Cloudmark Inc. announced that Cloudmark SpamNet, the first and largest SpamFighting community in the world, received PC Magazine's "Editor's Choice" in the most recent anti-spam product review by scoring the first ever zero false-positive rate in addition to blocking over 95 percent of the testers' junk mail. For the second consecutive showing in PC Magazine, SpamNet achieved the highest overall accuracy rate among all anti-spam solutions tested, maintaining its undefeated status in all competitive reviews conducted within the last six-months.
The only product to receive Five Stars for accuracy in the February anti-spam product round-up, Cloudmark solidified its status as a benchmark in this July review. By again scoring the highest levels in accuracy, SpamNet is now the undisputed leader in the fight against spam beating its nearest competition in the false positive category by over 60 percent.
Real-time community ensures consistently high accuracy and zero false
positives
Cloudmark SpamNet's success is attributable to a combination of superior technology and the largest SpamFighting community in the world, with more than a million users in over 72 countries collaborating in real-time to stop spam. Available for both Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express, SpamNet automatically prevents anywhere from 95-100 percent of spam from reaching a user's inbox. If a spam message does slip through to a user's inbox, they simply click the Block button to remove the message from the inbox, which notifies the entire SpamNet community immediately. This automatically stops that spam message from being sent to other members of the SpamNet community. Similarly, if a user thinks a certain message is not spam, they can click the Unblock button and share that intelligence with the network.
To establish trust and reputation for each user in the network, SpamNet uses its Truth Evaluation System (TeS). An individual user's trust rating is sent alongside every message submitted by SpamNet community members, eliminating flawed submissions and gaming of the system. Because a group of trusted users has to vote a message as spam for it to end up in the Spam Folder, SpamNet is able to achieve its benchmark, zero false positive rate. This real-time automated approach is also the reason that SpamNet instantly protected and continues to protect its community from the variants of the current MyDoom virus.
-- To try SpamNet FREE for 30-days, visit
http://www.cloudmark.com/spamnet
-- To view PC Magazine's SpamNet review, visit
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1473816,00.asp
****ICBA 2004, First International Conference on Biometric Authentication
By John Latta
Hong Kong
July 15 – 17, 2004
Biometrics is about bringing personal identity to a digital infrastructure. It became clear at ICBA that many biometric applications are emerging. At the same time, in spite of 40 years of research, the practical use of the technology is still in narrow applications. Biometrics has many dimensions: technology, privacy, security, scalability and ubiquity, which are barriers for use. This is the discussion here at ICBA.
First International Conference on Biometric Authentication, ICBA 2004
It is not mere coincidence that the first ICBA is being held in Asia. Hong Kong, with a population of 6M is leading in research and applications of biometrics. This is the biometric parallel of broadband in Korea. The conference is being held at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Its Biometric Research Center is headed by Professor David Zhang. An example of their research is in palm prints, palm biometrics done in real time. Further, the laboratory will have a book published in 2005 on biometric fusion. The work on real time palm biometrics has received numerous technical awards. There is also a close linkage between the universities here and the practical applications of biometrics by the Hong Kong government.
The welcoming address was given by Marion Lai, Acting Permanent Secretary, Commerce Industry and Technology, Hong Kong Government. She described the Smart ID project to provide a secure smart card with embedded biometrics to each of the Hong Kong citizens and residents over the next 4 years. It is expected that 6.3M cards will be issued. But the card is more than a government ID card. It is a means to support e-commerce and many other functions that rely on personal identity and authentication. This is a use of biometrics which will place Hong Kong in a leading position as a digital infrastructure city.
ICBA 2004 has 160 participants from 24 countries. This reflects not only the diversity of efforts in biometrics but the role that Hong Kong plays in the technology.
Biometrics as a Grand Challenge
Anil Jain, Professor, Michigan State University, opened the first session. He made a statement that many in the U.S. government see biometrics, even fingerprints, as a solved problem. Wrong. It is his view that this is far from the case and that there should be continuing research to develop the technology and its use it in practical applications. The WAVE spoke with Professor Jain about his view that “Biometrics: A Grand Challenge” should be frame of reference for regarding the research needs to extend biometrics usage. He is delivering a paper on this topic at the International Conference on Pattern Recognition in August 2004. Key points that Professor Jain made include:
Identifying individuals has been critical to the fabric of human society.
As society becomes electronically connected to form one large global community, it is increasingly necessary to carry out reliable person recognition, often remotely and through automatic means. Surrogate representations such as passwords and cards, such as credit cards, no longer suffice.
Biometrics, which refers to the automatic recognition of individuals based on their distinctive anatomical and behavioral characteristics, could become an essential component of effective person identification solutions. This translates into three functionalities which use biometrics:
Positive Identification
Large Scale Identification
ScreeningHowever, the complexity of designing a biometric system is based on three factors:
Accuracy
Scale – size of the database and
UsabilityThis leads to the following challenges:
Accuracy
A biometric system will have a low false match and false non-match rate. It is Professors Jain’s view that there is a gap between the accuracy of biometric systems and what is needed.
Scale
In short, how does the number of identities in the enrolled data base affect the speed and accuracy of the system? This can further be seen in terms of two applications. The 1:1 match problem where one person is compared against one set of enrolled records. This is not seen as a database problem. However, the much more practical condition is 1:N where there is the need to uniquely identify and individual among many in a database. The problem is one of scaling.
Security
Security is expected when a biometric sample is presented by its true owner and this is matched by the biometric system. The shortfalls include the ability of an attacker of a biometric system to gain acceptance of a false identity. The second condition is one where the individual biometric identity has changed, such as scarred fingerprints, and the individual is not recognized.
Privacy
There are many issues here that go well beyond biometrics. They include concerns that an individual’s actions can be tracked and that personal records can be compromised.
Professor Jain classifies biometrics as a Grand Challenge. Under the HPCC program of the government such a challenge is:
“a fundamental problem in science and engineering with broad economic and scientific impact.”
Biometrics Attack a BIG Problem
Professor Jim Wayman, San Jose State University gave an overview of the applications and performance of biometric systems. One system he highlighted was US–VISIT. This provides one of the best examples of the scale of a biometrics program which has high value:
US–VISIT to use a biometrics based system for the entry, status and exit of foreign nationals into the U.S.
The U.S. has nearly 1B border crossings a year that include both entry and exit. The Mexican border land crossings alone are over 200M.
The US–Visit program exists to collect, identify and verify foreign nationals entering and exiting the U.S. This program is already in place at major airports. The video cam, for the taking of pictures, and fingerprint readers, are present at the immigration entry counters.
The U.S. has also mandated a biometric based passport for foreign nationals entering the U.S. This is years away, however.
ISO has also in process a Biometric standard: ISO/IEC JTCI SC37. There are 6 working groups divided into the following areas:
WG1 – Vocabulary Harmonization
WG2 – Technical Interfaces
WG3 – Data Interchange Formats
WG4 – Application Profiles
WG5 – Test and Reporting
WG6 – Societal and Cross-jurisdictional aspectsWork has been underway since December 2002. Portions of the standard could be out in 1 – 2 years.
Fingerprint Competition – This is a hard problem.
D. Malo, University of Balogne, presented the results of FVC~2004, the 3rd Fingerprint Verification Competition. This competition was on algorithms, not complete systems. There were 43 participants, 6 from academia, 8 independent developers, 29 companies and 19 who were anonymous. The results were evaluated using 7 indicators which were grouped in the following: accuracy, efficiency and memory use. What was most striking was that an individual scored the best against all the corporations. Much more remains to be done in fingerprint biometrics. The competition was but an example of the point made earlier – biometrics is not a solved problem.
Bimodal Biometrics Applications – Big or Small
There are many forms of biometrics. Here at the conference the following were cited: DNA, fingerprint, signature, face, iris, palm, voice, teeth, feet, typing styles, gaits and odors. In terms of applications, these technologies only fall within two bins in terms of scale: big or small. Big means large scale, 1M or greater, enrolled participants and usually 1 to many for identification. Thus, an individual can be determined from the biometric out of the total population of enrolled. Small applies to data sets which are usually 250 or less. The various competitions seen here at ICBA in fingerprints, face and signature have been done with these small training and test sets. A number of applications and commercial deployments have been described. One conclusion stands out. The only biometric technology which supports the big criteria is the fingerprint. Second, and a very distant second, is facial recognition, yet, in spite of trials, it has no large scale deployment. There is only one biometric that is widely accepted for mass deployment – fingerprints.
Biometrics – The Foundation of Trusted Identification and Verification
of Individuals
As we discussed earlier in this report there is a missing component in a digital infrastructure – personal identity. This also has a scale dimension from small to big. For computer security, such as log on, the biometric problem is trivial. This is a small scale verification problem. However, the verification of an individual who logs onto a computer will not suffice for the big scale requirements in a digital infrastructure. For example, one of the issues is the independent verification that the individual with the biometric is the same person that is present in the digital infrastructure. There are many other factors such as the quality of the biometric, the creation of a trusted source of the biometric identity that assures that the person enrolled is the same as that represented, speed of response and cost. It is here where the big implementations of biometric applications set the standard for performance and usability. One might ask – what has US-VISIT to do with biometrics for networked computer implementation and operations? US-VISIT operates on a large scale. Hong Kong Immigration establishes a trusted identity on a large scale.
Based on the papers at ICBA and the WAVE’s conversations with individuals at the event, we list in a table below some of the attributes of biometrics. One can turn this column of attributes into a matrix of biometric technologies by adding columns to the right which represent each type of biometric. Examples, include DNA, fingerprint, Iris, facial and more. The development of the matrix allows one then to evaluate a biometric against applications and to do a comparative assessment of biometric technologies.
Attributes
Enrollment
Time
Quality
Failure to Enroll
Invasiveness
Verification
Production
OperationsVerification/Authentication (1:1)
Time
Accuracy
Quality
Invasiveness
Remote OperationsIdentification (1:N)
Time
Accuracy
Quality
Invasiveness
Verification
Remote OperationsExtensibility
Scalability
System Integration
Standards
Experience Base
User Acceptance
Privacy
CostEnroll
Operations
We will examine this table to better understand how this relates to a digital infrastructure.
Enrollment is the collection of the biometric and the verification that the individual being represented is actually that individual. The enrollment process does much to determine its practicality. For example, DNA is a unique identifier but the invasiveness of collecting body samples and the time to process are major impediments, in spite of its accuracy. But, facial biometrics are easily collected, even unknowingly.
We separate Authentication/Verification from Identification. The latter is the ability to take a biometric and identify the individual. While Authentication is the determination that the individual is or is not the one being represented. This has significant implications in the implementation of a system to accomplish each. The certainty of the identification is more complex. Identification based on a fingerprint is the determination of the individual from just this biometric. For many applications the time and cost of these functions will determine if they are acceptable. Some fingerprint identification operations are being accomplished in seconds against a database of 1M or more.
One must also consider the underlying technology to grasp the implications of this table. For example, as we discussed above, fingerprints are the only biometric that has scaled upward to large. This is invasive in that in the enrollment process the individual has to consent to its collection. Yet, history and experience have determined that quality fingerprints are a reliable biometric. Facial photographs are much less invasive but they suffer from low reliability. That is, the high degree of variation in both the enrollment and identification process results in significant questions if it is capable of large scale application. The quality of a facial image as a biometric varies by lighting, resolution, optical distortions, age and facial characteristics which can be changed by the individual, such as glasses and shaving by males. The iris is seen as just a reliable a biometric as fingerprint but it is much more invasive.
If we assume a biometric has acceptable quality and the public will use it, such as fingerprints or iris, the next set of considerations, as shown in lower portion of the table, will determine if the a biometric is practical. This includes the complexity of the implementation and its cost. Another factor is the ease, and cost, within which the system can be designed, implemented and operated. For example, the Hong Kong Smart ID card is a replacement for an existing ID card but not tied to criminality. While US–VISIT has a responsibility to do identity against travelers but to also check against undesirable persons, i.e., terrorists.
Our discussion to this point is focused on a single biometric. Yet, as we will see below, multimode biometrics or fusion biometrics are seen to have considerable value. Combining one or more biometrics could lead to more effective use of biometrics. The problem is that little research has been conducted in this area to validate such a conclusion.
Hong Kong Immigration – Making Biometrics Work
Raymond Wong of the Immigration Department of the Hong Kong government showed how biometrics can have practical application on a large scale. At the center is the Smart ID card, which has embedded in it two fingerprints, the thumbs, and a photo. The only biometric supported, however, are the fingerprints, while the photo is only for visual verification. The smart card is capable of being extended to support other functions that they call e-cert. Such extensions are at the option of the card holder. This being a trusted document, the design and implementation is more robust than money printing. One element which is different is the cryptographic key management to ensure a card which is impossible to copy. What is impressive about the Smart ID card is that it is one component of an overall system that has at its center biometrics for authentication of the individual.
Some of Raymond’s points include:
For a biometric system to be practical it must:
Support identification,
Support verification,
Be accurate and fast, and
Be automated.The Hong Kong Immigration Department has broad responsibilities. These include not only entry and exit but birth, death and marriages.
Identity cards have existed here since 1949. With the Smart ID card, we are now on our 6th generation card.
The enrollment phase includes two visual inspections of the person and the papers. Enrollment can be scheduled on the Internet prior to visiting the Immigration Tower where all the processing takes place.
ID card production takes about 10 days and over 1M Smart ID cards have been generated to date.
The ID cards have extensive security measures from the embedded optical content, the printing of the information on the card and the cryptographic key system.
One of the first applications of the Smart ID card will be at the border crossing point with mainland China. At the Lo Wu crossing, 100,000 individuals pass a day. By the end of 2004 an automatic passenger clearance system will be installed. There will be 120 of these automated gates that will check the individual using the Smart ID card with a finger print scan.
Also to be installed is an automated system at the truck crossing point. This allows a truck driver to cross the border without leaving the cab of the truck.
Experiments are also being conducted with a facial recognition system. A prototype system has been assembled that uses a Tablet PC. This is enclosed in a portable case that has an OCR passport reader. Immigration inspectors can walk up to an individual, scan the passport, retrieve the facial image and visually assess if the individual matches the one on the passport.
Efforts are underway on the e-Passport. The plan is to get approval for this project by end of 2004 and to implement by the end of 2006 or early 2007. The e-Passport would have a photo and fingerprint on the inside cover page. [It was implied that the design would be similar to the Smart ID card.]
For biometric technology to be sustainable, it needs to meet this criteria:
Robustness – will not change over time
Distinctiveness – unique among the population
Availability – easy to obtain
Acceptability – non-intrusive
Mature – well established
Culture – fit with the culture of the users
Hygiene – be hygienic in use
Processing Speed – fast in operations
User Safety – safe to use
Making Biometrics Research Relevant
Much of the discussion of ICBA has been from an Asian perspective. Yet, surprisingly there are quite a few from the U.S. here – possibly as many as 20. Edwin Rood, of the Biometric Knowledge Center, West Virginia University, gave an interesting talk about directions for biometrics research in the U.S. His points included the following:
There is a problem in biometrics research. It is an interdisciplinary technology and does not fit well within the departmental structure of research in universities. As a result, it has not received adequate research funding.
The research issues which need to be addressed include:
Technologies
Measures of Effectiveness
Societal Implications
Economics and WorkforceTo examine these issues, NSF held a workshop in April 2003 to examine the Biometric Research Agenda. This workshop produced a report from 50 individuals that assembled for this purpose in Morgantown, WV, over 3 days.
The driving conclusion was the critical need to understand and exploit existing biometric technologies with respect to modeling and scaling, quality of biometric data, fusion of modality and results and system performance.
This means there is enough data on existing biometric methods but we do not have adequate information on how it can be used effectively. The bottom line then became:
Modeling and Scaling,
Quality of Biometric Data,
Fusion of Modality and results, and
System performance.[Note how many of these related to the big systems discussed earlier.]
From this, Edwin extracted that tends in research should lead to fewer efforts on single mode biometrics and greater activity in multimodal, systems, measures of effectiveness, societal effectiveness and economics and workforce.
A rather interesting analysis was then performed. Edwin reviewed the papers presented at the biometrics conferences, including ICBA, and found the trends wonting. That is, the papers presented are almost exclusively focused on single mode biometric technologies. Systems issues, such as those addressed by Hong Kong Immigration Department and US-VISIT are not addressed in the research efforts.
To respond to this need, the Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR) has been founded. Its members include:
St. Lawrence University
West Virginia University
Michigan State University
Clarkson University
University of PittsburgThe research portfolio at CITeR has some interesting efforts, such as:
Multimodal Biometric Systems
Statistical Basis for Multimodal Systems
Socio-Legal Assessment Study
Biometrics Business Case Study
Strategic Business Directions in Biometrics
Challenge of Biometric Fusion
Josef Kittle, University of Surrey, UK, gave a keynote presentation on “Fusion of Intramodal and Multimodal Biometric Experts.” It was one of the most interesting of the conference. One example in facial recognition was based on color channels. Three different methods related to the color channels netted TER, total error rates, of 5.8, 5.8 and 4.8. But when combined using a fusion process, the TER dropped to 1.9. This is an intramodal fusion because the same biometric modality was used, i.e., facial. Another example used face, voice and lips for the biometrics. In this case the HTER (1/2 TER) varied from .74 to 13.3. When it was fused and all modalities were used, the HTER dropped to .15. The last example was the fusion of face and voice with the HTER of 1.8 and 1.23. But the fused HTER was only .28.
Logic draws us to the expectation that the use of more than one and even multiple biometric measures would result in lower error rates. Professor Kittle showed that. The real challenge comes in operational environments. In these environments:
Not all sensors are assumed to be able to collect their respective biometric for every individual in the authentication/identification process,
The potential for fusion is limited to the number of biometrics used at the time of enrollment, and
Some biometrics are of higher reliability that others.
Operational expectations are that the use of biometrics will force the evaluation in the direction of the biometric with the highest confidence. Note that this is the case with Hong Kong Immigration which has both finger prints and images. The images are not used as a biometric. In fusion, we would expect that the weights applied to the sensors used for authentication/ identification should be based on the reliability of the biometric. The WAVE asked the question: How does one compensate for these issues in operational environments? In response, it was stated this is one of the issues to be addressed in the R&D of multimodal systems.
The promise of fusion also carries with it the need for more research.
Sensors for Biometrics
The WAVE spoke with Jean-Francois Mainguet, the developer of the swipe sensor. This is embedded in the HO iPAC h5450 and h5550 PDAs. All the major fingerprint systems use either an area or swipe sensor.
His perspective was interesting:
In consumer or PC related products, price is the driver over everything, including security and functionality.
There are many kinds of silicon sensors to detect fingerprints. These rely on capacitive effects, imaging, thermal and RF to detect the ridges in the finger. Sensors can be area or linear. In the case of linear, the fingerprint recording is reliant on the motion of the finger over the sensor. This motion creates the area image of the finger. While area sensors rely on a fixed finger position, usually over a glass surface.
The linear, swipe sensor, has the advantage of smaller silicon die area. This means lower costs.
There are compromises that drive the area sensor to smaller die area. ASIC chips are purchased from the fab based on the cost of a full wafer. The larger the sensor, the more the die area used per chip and thus the higher the sensor cost. In an effort to drive the costs down, the active sensor area may be reduce. This lowers the area of the finger imaged. Some sensor areas have been reduced to the point that the quality of the fingerprint sensing has been compromised. This only increases the probably that the sensor can be spoofed and an impostor can gain access.
There is nothing such as absolute security.
The silicon sensors are all subject to being fooled, i.e., the acceptance of an impostor. Some of the techniques are simply based on materials applied to the finger before imaging. If the same sensor is used for enrollment as for authentication the ability to spoof rises.
The expectation of decreasing imaging sensor costs are difficult. For example, using N-1 and N-2 semiconductor fabs to reduce costs can be futile. As the process technology continues to advance there is less incentive to use the older fabs. Futher, the imaging sensor has also become a platform for integrating electronics on the die. This can include USB interface for example. Thus, there is no Moore’s Law for sensors. The reason is that the die area, in both the area and linear sensors, is fixed by the need to directly image the finger.
The fingerprint sensors are in the early states of development.
WAVE Comments
A 100 year old technology is going digital. This was an excellent event to gain insights into the status of biometric research. Research plays an important role for providing the technology base for emerging applications of biometrics. At ICBA we saw projects both big and small built on biometrics research.
Biometrics based on fingerprints is only the beginning. The recent big scale biometric projects discussed here are examples where biometrics can have a societal contribution. We note that there is a close coupling between biometrics research and these practical projects. Hong Kong is a leader in both research and application. The U.S. is struggling with its research agenda while some of the signs are positive as reflected in the NSF funded assessment.
It is clear that biometrics can have value when applied on a mass scale. At the same time this is where the challenges lie. Earlier we spoke of the Grand Challenge which is posed by biometrics and the presentations only reinforced this. However, this will not happen in a vacuum. Much of the core science is missing. Many of the practical business issues have also not been addressed. Paramount in the mind of the public is privacy issues.
Given that the digital infrastructure will not become less hostile, biometrics is likely to play an increasing role. Yet, the challenges for the application of this technology remain formidable. Only a big project will have the necessary impact. As we have seen at ICBA, this crosses political, geographic and cultural boundaries. In reality, the technical issues may be minor compared to the latter boundaries.
The 9-11 Commission Final Report in Audio Only from Audible
WAYNE, N.J.
July 29, 2004
Audible, Inc. announced that it has produced an audio edition of the Report by The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the The 9-11 Commission).
The Report is twenty hours long in audio and is available from http://www.audible.com for $9.95. Read by five professional narrators over a three-day period, the audio version of the Report is ideal for busy people who don't have enough time to read the report but who can listen to it. This is the only audio version of the Report that can be listened to while in the car, at the gym, or anyplace where one can't read but where one can listen.
Audio downloaded from audible.com can be transferred to any AudibleReady portable audio player, be burned to an audio CD, or listened to at the computer desktop. Visitors to www.audible.com or
http://www.audible.com/911hearings
can also download, for free, all of the 9-11 Commission testimony and public hearings. All of the testimony audio has been provided to Audible by content partner C-SPAN.
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, an independent, bipartisan commission created by congressional legislation and the signature of President George W. Bush in late 2002, was chartered to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks.
***Skype v.1 Launches with more than 7 Million Users from 170 Countries (in less than 1 year)
Luxembourg
July 2004
Early adopters and other motivated consumers tired of expensive phone bills have embraced a new way of communicating and a new and free form of staying well connected with others.
After 11 months of innovations and testing, Skype, the P2P Internet Telephone Company, is releasing the first consumer version of its software, which allows unlimited, high-quality calling over the web. By taking advantage of the 100 million broadband connections around the world, Skype users don't need to worry about the length or distance of their calls.
Beta testers praise the easy to use technology because it demands no long-term commitments and makes start-up instantaneous. Skype includes features for free that have neither been traditionally available or free.
Using Skype is just a matter of downloading the software and plugging in a headset or microphone and speaker. Within minutes, consumers talk with other Skype users -- anywhere in the world -- at no charge. The new addition of SkypeOut lets users pay as they go in calling out to phone numbers anywhere in the world -- for pennies.
Skype's beta software attracted more than seven million unique users from 170 countries since August 2003. In addition to the features Skype users know today -- conference calling, superior sound, presence and MyPicture and profile customization, Skype Out and file transfer debut with Skype v.1.
***AMD Redefines Everyday Computing with the AMD Sempron Processor Family
SUNNYVALE, Calif.
July 28, 2004
AMD announced the availability of AMD Sempron processors, a new family of processors that redefine everyday computing for value-conscious buyers of desktop and notebook PCs. The AMD Sempron and Mobile AMD Sempron processors are designed to deliver best-in-class performance and a full-feature set to meet the evolving day-to-day computing needs of home and business PC users.
The day-to-day computing needs of home and business users have evolved from basic e-mail, Web browsing and word processing to downloading music, photo editing, movie viewing, Web conferencing, and advanced office productivity. AMD is delivering the AMD Sempron processor family to meet the evolving everyday computing needs of notebook and desktop computer users.
Lenovo Group Ltd. is currently offering AMD Sempron processor-based desktop systems in China. Acer, Medion, Twinhead, and many more OEMs and system builders are also expected to offer AMD Sempron processor-based notebook and desktop systems in the second half of this year.
AMD Athlon 64 processors, for those who need performance computing, will continue to be offered for outstanding 32-bit performance, capability for tomorrow's 64-bit applications, and Enhanced Virus Protection in conjunction with the upcoming Windows XP Service Pack 2.
Availability
AMD Sempron processors 3100+, 2800+, 2600+, 2500+, 2400+, 2300+ and 2200+ are available immediately. Mobile AMD Sempron processors 2600+, 2800+, and 3000+ designed for full-size notebooks and Mobile AMD Sempron processors 2600+ and 2800+ designed for thin and light notebooks will be available in August 2004.
Pricing
All mobile processor pricing is in 1,000-unit quantities, while all desktop processor pricing is in 1,000-unit PIB quantities. The Mobile AMD Sempron processors 2600+, 2800+, and 3000+ designed for full-size notebooks are $84, $108, and $120, respectively. The Mobile AMD Sempron processors 2600+ and 2800+ designed for thin and light notebooks are $107 and $134, respectively. The AMD Sempron processors 2200+, 2300+, 2400+, 2500+, 2600+, 2800+ and 3100+ are $39, $45, $61, $74, $85, $109, and $126, respectively.
***Samsung Takes NanoTech Investment to Phase Two; Initiates Construction for FAB Expansion to Introduce New Capacity for Next Generation Technologies
AUSTIN, TX
July 23, 2004
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. broke ground on the second stage of the expansion of its Austin memory chip fabrication plant. The 34,000 square foot expansion of its manufacturing area is part of a succession of investments that will equip its Austin plant for next-generation advanced semiconductor fabrication technology.
Samsung's three-year investment plan of $500 million announced May 2003, will upgrade, expand, and increase capacity to produce nano-scale semiconductor memory technology at the Austin plant. The nano-tech upgrade investments will enable Samsung Austin Semiconductor to deliver 0.1-micron geometry designs down to 0.08-microns at a capacity of 50,000 wafers per month for manufacturing giga-density DRAM devices.
Currently, the Austin plant manufactures several types of memory chips including 16, 64 and 256-megabit chips in the .123 micron feature size. The northeastern Austin plant has about 970 employees.
Phase-two involves the construction of a linked fabrication line, a means to increase the total capacity. The outer shell and the clean room of the new extension, initiated this year, will be followed by equipment set-ups by July 2005.
Samsung plans to increase employment of approximately 300 to join Samsung over the three-year term.
The additional 300 jobs, with an average wage of almost $53,000 per year will put more than $15 million per year into the Austin economy, according to a recent economic impact study conducted by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. That spending plus the associated spending on equipment and materials will mean as much as $753.3 million to the Austin economy in direct and spin-off effects when the fab is totally operational, according to the study. The Chamber report said that during the construction phase, the expansion could generate about $135.2 million and create over 1,100 jobs on the project, most of them temporary.
Samsung Austin Semiconductor, established in 1996, is Samsung's single semiconductor fabrication plant outside of Korea. The Austin plant has been a successful link between the Korea-based electronics company and its long-term business relations with customers in the U.S.
DisplaySearch Report Indicates Blended July Large-Area LCD Prices Fell for the First Time in 18 Months: Rate of Decline Expected to Peak in July and August
AUSTIN, Texas
July 28, 2004
DisplaySearch indicated in their latest "Monthly Large-Area LCD Pricing Report" that blended large-area (10" and greater) TFT LCD prices dropped for the first time in 18 months, ending a remarkable streak of price increases at individual sizes and gains in share at larger sizes leading to record profits for TFT LCD producers. Blended large-area prices fell 3% from $295 to $285 in July and are expected to fall another 3% in August to $275, and then decline at 2% per month through the end of the year as demand responds.
This reversal in pricing is a result of weakness in the LCD monitor market that is fueling larger than anticipated price reductions in notebook PCs and LCD TVs as panel suppliers look to stimulate demand. The market shifted at the beginning of June when leading LCD monitor brands suddenly reduced panel orders, claiming reduced LCD monitor demand, rising inventory levels and excessively high panel prices. The weakness in demand is a result of seasonal declines, rising street prices in a price sensitive market and the emergence of the $499 bundled 17" CRT/desktop PC which is growing in popularity. With LCD monitor inventories at high levels, brands are delaying future panel orders as long as possible to get the best pricing. With panel suppliers not expecting this situation, panel inventories have also risen, increasing pricing pressure. Panel suppliers are reacting by reducing utilization and pricing at levels desired to reach target street price points expected to re-invigorate the market. However, brands are not expected to immediately pass along these price reductions in order to correct their margins, develop sales campaigns and fill the pipeline at new cost levels. As a result, monitor panel volumes will not quickly rebound and a sequential decline is likely in Q3'04, causing the large-area TFT LCD surplus to rise to double-digit levels in Q3'04. If component constraints are considered, the surplus is expected to be 6%.
Demand should eventually recover for the back to school and holiday season, supported by lower prices. In addition, with many CRT producers are already at full capacity and not expecting to boost capacity further, desktop monitor suppliers will look to LCD manufacturers to meet their full year volume targets. Notebook PC and LCD TV volumes are also expected to benefit from lower prices, resulting in slower price reductions from September to December.
15" monitor panels fell the fastest of any LCD monitor panel in July, down 7% to $215, and are expected to fall another 7% in August to $200 and reach $180 by the end of the year, enabling $299 street prices at double-digit margins for LCD monitor brands. 15" XGA monitor and notebook panel prices are now priced the same, with 15" monitor panel prices expected to be priced $11 below 15" notebook panels in December.
17" monitor panels fell 6% in July, and are expected to fall another 6% in August to $260. 17" SXGA prices are expected to continue falling, reaching $230 by the end of the year and enabling $349 street prices at double-digit margins.
While the near-term looks negative for LCD makers, with panel prices now falling faster than expected, the volume outlook for 2005 will be higher than previously forecasted, narrowing healthy surpluses and presenting a potentially more stable pricing environment as demand accelerates.
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Copyright 2005 4th WAVE, Inc.
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The WAVE Report may be redistributed in full for individual readership and posted to newsgroups, Web, and FTP sites. This publication may not be reprinted or redistributed for profit. Short quotes are permitted but must be attributed to the WAVE Report. 4th Wave retains the copyright to the WAVE Report.