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The WAVE Report on Digital Media
3D --- Media Creation --- Shared Space ---Published by 4th Wave, Inc.--- Issue #0515------------------4/15/05 |
The WAVE Report is Searchable on
http://www.3dlinks.com
http://www.wave-report.com
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0515.2 System Storage
0515.3 Biometric Security
Digital Defense Unveils New Self-Contained Biometric Security Card
0515.4 Pen Technology
0515.5 Hardware Standards
0515.6 IM Vulnerability
IMlogic Threat Center Reports Instant Messaging Client Vulnerability Affecting The MSN Client
0515.7 Online Sales
Online Retail Spending Surpassed $22.1 Billion During the 2004 Holiday Period
0515.8 Intrusion Prevention
0515.9 Technical Conferences
LinuxWorld Summit New York Spotlights Industry Business Leaders at May Summit
0515.10 Semiconductor Advances
0515.11 VoIP Telecommunications
VoIP and Wireless Plans Altering the Competitive Landscape of Long Distance Markets
0515.12 Wireless E-Mail
Gartner Says Wireless E-Mail Will Be a Built-In Application on All Smartphones by the End of 2008
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0515.1 Story of the Issue
***PMA 2005
John Latta
Orlando, FL
2/21 – 22/05
PMA is the major photo exhibition in the US. All the large photo equipment suppliers are present. Even some of the ODMs such a Premier and Asia Optical from Taiwan are here. PMA is the opportunity to announce products and Nikon and Canon are using the opportunity. The show is geared to the retail sellers but there is much to look at and sample.
Having been at PMA for 3 years in a row it is striking how fast film has fallen. The action is in digital. But this crowd is could care less about the cell phone camera. Digital is about cutting edge technology, personal enjoyment of pictures and sharing.
The Shift to Digital
PMA has industry statistics posted around the floor. Here are some extracts.
Total Camera Sales (US)
2000
Digital – 4.5m
Analog – 19.7m2005
Digital – 20.5m
Analog – 4.6mHousehold Penetration of Digital Still Cameras (US)
2000 – 8%
2005 – 52%Digital Prints by Method (US) - Share
2000
Online – 4%
Retail – 6%
Home – 90%2005
Online – 8%
Retail – 40%
Home – 52%Digital Prints by Method (US) - Amount
2000
Online –
Retail –
Home – .4b2005
Online – .7b
Retail – 3.1b
Home – 4.0bTotal Number of Prints Made (US)
2000
Traditional – .4b
Digital Prints – 29.9b2005
Traditional – 7.7b
Digital Prints – 18.2bDigital Images Not Printed vs. Printed (US)
2000
Not Printed Digital Images – 1.9b
Digital Prints – .4b2005
Not Printed Digital Images – 12.3b
Digital Prints – 7.7b
In 5 years, digital has completely flipped in its position with film. One of the surprising statistics is the emergence of the retail location to print images. This implies that some of the digital consumers do not want to print at home but use traditional means. Another characteristic of digital is that many prints are not made – the selection is done in advance.
Portable Media – Hot Category
The WAVE found 9 portable media devices which stood out. The devices we found included:
Mustek, PVR-H140
SmartDisk, FlashTrax
PQI, Mpack
PQI, Mpack - 600
Archos, AV4100 - 100GB
Iriver, PMC-120
Epson, P-2000
Nikon, Coolwaker
Olympus, m:robe 500
Here are some notable observations.
These are very flexible devices that build on the iPOD for ease of use. A list of the functionality included in some but not:
DVP = Digital Video Play
DVR = Digital Video Recorder
DPP = Digital Photo Player
DMP = Digital Music Player
DVoR = Digital Voice Recorder
DPS = Direct Printing Supported
RM = Remote Control
TVO - Television Out
FMT = FM Tuner
GPS = Supports GPSOne unit even has 5.1 sound.
There is a drive to support Wide Format displays and two units have such displays.
We found no units which support editing such as cropping. This is left to the printers or a PC.
At least the Olympus m:robe 500 allows the playback of music with the picture playback on the television.
Price points varied from $293 to $799 with the major factor being hard drive capacity, which went from 20GB to 100GB.
RAW format support from many of the cameras is included in many of the units.
One vendor stated that consumers just do not want to carry around all the recording media required to support both the large file sizes and multiple days of shooting while on, for example, vacation. Thus, a small device which allows on to empty the recording media, at least at the end of the day, is an important function. Higher resolution cameras continue to drive up the file sizes which play into the media organizers. Another driver is the ability to share images in a slide show on any TV. Most allow for easy organization of images and their playback on a television.
A number of individuals that we spoke with view 2005 as the year that this product category will take off. As one stated – “MP3 just does not cut it anymore.”
Already this is not a simple market category. These are boxes with many functions and connections. Yet, most were driving for simplicity in use, if nothing else as easy as the iPOD. The key market requirement, which all perceive, is portability. This is one’s “media center.” As one vendor said, “I have 1,000s of songs on it already.” The best analogy of such a media device is the Sony Walkman. These fit that intent but they all support many media formats in addition to audio.
JVC Expands Everio Product Line
At Photokina, the WAVE was impressed with the Everio products which combine still imaging with video recording all using a Microdrive and superior MPEG-2. Now JVC has added the GZ-MC500 which is based on a 3-CCD recorder and also which supports 5mp still images and video. The camera also has a 10X optical zoom. On a 4GB Microdrive and 720 X 480 interlaced images it is possible to get 60 minutes of recording. The price will be $1,799 with availability in March 2005. Impressive.
Are Mega-Pixel Wars Over?
The WAVE went searching for an answer to the question – have the grinding megapixel wars concluded? It did not take much to get the camera companies to respond to this one. In general there was a consensus that they have. At 4 – 6mp the consumer has all the pixels needed to do a 4” X 6” print. What is most important is price point not resolution. Note that the focus was on consumer cameras not the high end DSLR cameras.
Canon
The industry is reaching a plateau in resolution. That range is from 4 – 7 mp. If a 7mp camera costs more than a 4mp they will not buy it. Price is the market driver. Most consumers do not know what resolution means. One of the problems is that consumers see the market hype. Look at these stickers – pointing to the sticker on the front of the camera – this has at the top the resolution. The real drivers are the camera features. We are already putting RAW capabilities into the smaller cameras. Watch for s shift in resolution to features.
Nikon
We have not seen the end. There is no justification for the push to higher resolution but it will keep on.
Olympus
The band for cameras is 5 – 7mp. We have reached the upper end with the current cameras.
Konica
The resolution sweet spot is 4 – 6mp and the price range $300 - $600. The consumer market will settle down in this range. The reasons being that the market will not allow the price to rise, this is the consumer upper limit for a digital camera. The consumer cannot see the difference gained from higher resolution. Consumers print 4 X 6 and a very few 8 X 10. They just cannot tell the difference to justify the higher resolution.
Hitachi – Microdrive Becomes More Competitive
Is the Hitachi Microdrive at the end of its legs? Did the WAVE get an ear full when we spoke with Hitachi. According to them, the microdrive is better positioned than ever.
Personally having 6+ Microdrives this is impressive technology that gets used at every trade show. But recently the professionals seem to be leaning to CF as the density rises. The rise in storage density slowed in the Microdrive and was impacted by the Hitachi buy out from IBM. There continue to be concerns about ruggedness of Microdrives, especially with professionals. The WAVE Report spoke with Hitachi and it was an excellent opportunity to hear the Microdrive story.
The Microdrive is here to compete very effectively with Flash. One of the reasons is the acquisition by Hitachi. As opposed to IBM, which had high costs, our costs under Hitachi are much more reasonable and under our control. This is the reason we have been able to be much more cost effective against Flash in the last 12 months. For example, the 6GB drive will be announced at this event and it is priced at $299. We will go to 8GB by the end of 2005 and have on our roadmap to go to 20GB in this form factor.
The reliability of the drives has risen dramatically. We found that the 340MB and 1GB drives had a reliability problem. When the drive was removed, while it was running, the point of grasp actually stopped the head from retracting. This effectively killed the drive. We finally found this at one customer site which had 9 drives fail. It was due to this problem alone. We redesigned the drive to place the head differently and made many other improvements. The reliability went up by a factor of 10. Now the errors are at .4% with .2% due to handling and .2% do to the drive itself.
There are places that the drive is best not used. Environments of high vibration, such as next to a large motor, and extreme temperature. At altitudes above 13,000’ it should not be used But these conditions are a small part of the use situation for most drives. In 2004 the market in CE use of the Microdrive just exploded. Our production in Thailand, which is where all the drives are made by hand, went from 2 lines to 12 lines. We have the capacity to make Microdrives.
One of the factors which impacts the drive, its performance and cost, is size. For example, cell phone companies want to put a full movie on a drive. We have a version that is an OEM package of the same drive which is slightly smaller. However, we do not feel that size reduction, i.e. a smaller platter, is the way to go at this time. The Toshiba .8” drive will not be competitive. One of the reasons is that going to .8” decreases the area for storage by one half.. Thus, with the same aerial density this drive will only store one half of what a Microdrive will. Presently our 4GB Microdrive is at 56.5GB/sq in. For the Toshiba drive to accomplish 4GB it must double the aerial density. Further, the Toshiba .8” drive does not get a proportional reduction in BOM and construction cost with a smaller platter. It still needs all the same components and this is sets the baseline drive cost. With a net reduction of one half the area the Toshiba drive will have a hard time competing.
With our road map at Hitachi and the cost structure here, we feel we are well prepared to compete with Flash and other technologies for some time to come.
Olympus Total Image Solution
Olympus was showing a suite of products to allow one to manage, archive, print and display products from an Olympus digital camera without ever using a PC. This includes:
S-HD-100 – 40GB storage unit
PS 100 Printer
IR -300 Camera
IR-500 Camera
S-DVD-100
The system will go on sale in 1 – 2 months. The printer costs $179 and uses dye sublimation. The camera can actually crop the image and thus image cropping can be done in the system. The DVD recorder archives the images on DVD. The level of integration made for a slick concept but it seems there are too many boxes.
WAVE Comments
The cumulative impact of digital cameras, iPOD, integration of video and still formats, cell phone cameras and portable storage devices is coming together to form a new market category. All the market contributors deal with personal content except the iPOD. This links to the market premise frequently cited by the WAVE:
Consumers value most that which they create, beginning with children.
Thus, content creation by consumers is more valuable than creative content.
What emerged at PMA was the union of personal content creation (PCC) with the top two market contributions of iPOD (fashion and simplicity) and sharing of personal content. Such devices are first driven by portable backup storage and have expanded well beyond this. The sharing of content is central to the creation of personal content and these devices help enable this.
It is unlikely that PCCs will be cannibalized by still cameras, cell phones or video cameras because of power and size constraints. With mass storage, which is greater than any of the devices above, the PCC has an advantage in that it can store more and do more with the personal content than can be done on specific function devices.
PCCs will be fashionable and very easy to use. iPOD set this as a market entry criteria. We saw some of this in the devices at PMA but the market will be the ultimate evaluator of accomplishing this. We could well see that PCCs become the ultimate fashion statement and are embedded in clothing. This is not fanciful as one has only to look at the clothing in the Motorola booth at 3GSM to see how serious this has become.
PCCs are critically missing mobile connectivity. That doesn’t mean that they must have a cell phone built in. One vendor spoke of adding 802.11 in the next version and this is getting close. Wireless should allow for all forms of sharing and output. At 3GSM we saw IXI Mobil which makes the cell phone into a Personal Mobil Gateway and this is another means to accomplish connectivity. Bluetooth is another connectivity option. PCC should have no wires to accomplish its functions. Major barriers here are the lack of wireless printers and video displays.
As companies seek to gain early market share it will be a features race. But that race will be less important than the ease of use race which most will not notice until after a leader emerges.
This is very much a “learn from the market” product category. Those who watch from the side doing endless design refinements before coming to market will be eclipsed by those in the market generating a continual stream of new products. The market will determine the winners and those that move the fastest based on lessons learned have more favorable odds.
***FalconStor Announces Compatibility with High Performance, Scalable Storage Solutions Based on Intel 64-Bit Processors for Windows and Linux Platforms with Compelling Price/Performance Ratio
PHOENIX
April 12, 2005
FalconStor Software, Inc., has announced compatibility with Intel processors based on 64-bit extension technology. FalconStor is one of the first storage vendors to offer 64-bit versions of its software solutions for both Windows and Linux operating systems.
The first public demonstration of these new FalconStor 64-bit solutions occurred during SNIA's Storage Networking World event in Phoenix, Arizona.
FalconStor 64-bit solutions and systems, which are based on Intel 64-bit processors, will be able to leverage vast amounts of RAM and processing power to significantly boost application performance and overall capacity. In addition, the company is investigating innovative ways to leverage the power of 64-bit computing in the development of new features, based on customer requirements, in future versions of its IPStor software, iSCSI Storage Server and VirtualTape Library solutions.
The new 64-bit version of FalconStor's IPStor technology utilizes the memory and processing power of 64-bit based processors (for NAS, caching, snapshots, encryption and compression) to deliver cost effective network storage services that are easy to deploy and administer. Within the 64-bit computing, IPStor supports four (4) times more virtual disks per system, than under the current 32-bit system, leaping from 4,000 to 16,000 virtual disks. With FalconStor's iSCSI Storage Server for Windows Storage Server 2003 on the 64-bit platform, the performance of iSCSI targets achieves the speed of wire, equivalent to a hardware-based HBA, and I/O throughput is dramatically increased as a result of greatly improved caching capabilities.
With the 64-bit version of IPStor solutions, performance increases can be realized during the software compression mode. The PCI-X buses and front side bus on a 64-bit appliance take full advantage of faster 4GB PCI-x Fibre Channel (FC) HBAs, which will be supported in future FalconStor solutions. On 64-bit appliances, more FC HBAs and target ports can be installed on 133 MHz PCI-x slots, increasing the overall performance of a FalconStor 64-bit solution.
http://www.falconstor.com/2005SNWIntel64support.asp
***Digital Defense Unveils New Self-Contained Biometric Security Card; Bioprivacy Guaranteed by Cutting-Edge Enrollment and Authentication Technology
OMAHA, Neb.
April 12, 2005
Digital Defense Group has developed a completely self-contained, wireless, biometric security device that grants secure building and computer access through the use of a fingerprint, without compromising a user's biometric privacy during enrollment or authentication.
Digital Defense unveiled and demonstrated the new device, called the Factor4 biocard, at the 2005 CardTech/SecurTech Conference at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
Factor4 and a related product, IronGate, scheduled for release later this year, are the first such biometric security access products to take the form of a credit card. They feature a self-enrollment process whereby a user's unique biometric signature is generated based upon minutiae points of the fingerprint itself. This patent-pending technology eliminates the need for a centralized database or external software, thus providing the highest level of authentication and biometric privacy available.
According to Digital Defense, Factor4 and IronGate biocards will revolutionize the security industry. Not only do both biocards provide the highest level of security available, they also eliminate the need for any external hardware or software and ensure complete biometric privacy. From enrollment to authentication, a user's personal data never leaves the card.
Digital Defense began research and product development of a wireless, self-enrolling biocard in 2001. More secure than passwords or PIN numbers, this self-enrolling, self-contained card requires no external hardware or software, protecting a user's privacy at all times.
To enroll, cardholders simply register their fingerprints by waving the card over an access plate and placing one or more fingers on the card's scan engine. Once the card is registered, only then can a 1:1 authentication take place through the wireless transmission of a multi-frequency band sending only the digital certificate. Because of this 1:1 authentication, the card is useless if lost or stolen and the biometric template cannot be breached.
Both the Factor4 and IronGate models are interoperable and compatible with HID 125 KHz interfaces and MiFare 13.56 MHz, supporting the 14443 Type "A" parts 2, 3, and 4, as well as the newer PayPass ISO/TEC 14443 contactless payment card system adopted by MasterCard and Visa. Both cards are multifunctional, meaning they can be used for both building and computer access.
Factor4 and IronGate are battery powered. They can be recharged wirelessly using a small black box that can double as a wireless interface to a personal computer. By placing a finger on the biometric engine, the user can log onto his or her computer using the biocard.
IronGate is identical to Factor4, but provides an additional transmitter for an added range of up to three meters with a proprietary dual band RF tunnel, making it ideal for garage or gate access and other long-range transmissions. IronGate is scheduled to be released later this year.
http://www.myDigitalDefense.com
***Logitech Digital Writing System Integrated with Salesforce; Digital Pen-Based CRM Tool Increases Efficiency, Expedites Capture and Sharing of Mission-Critical Sales Data
FREMONT, Calif.
April 13, 2005
Logitech has announced that the Logitech io2 Digital Writing System is now available for use with salesforce.com's market-leading on-demand customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. Talario Corporation, an expert in the deployment of digital writing solutions, is the first company to offer a Logitech pen-based solution for Salesforce, with its new xPaper Explorer for Salesforce.
The integration of the Logitech io2 Digital Writing System with Salesforce can increase the efficiency of a mobile sales force and enhance an organization's investment in its CRM service. Sales professionals can capture mission-critical customer information with their digital pen on a paper form while interacting naturally with their clients -- without typing away on a laptop during the meeting. When they return to the office, they dock the pen and it seamlessly transfers that information electronically into Salesforce -- eliminating the need to type notes into the system, and improving the speed with which time-sensitive information can be distributed though a sales organization.
The integration of Talario's digital writing system with Salesforce is made possible through Sforce, salesforce.com's on-demand integration platform. Talario's xPaper Digital Paper Solution for Salesforce, which is a Certified Solution found within the On-Demand Marketplace at www.salesforce.com, features standard pages that automatically work with Salesforce. Talario also offers customizable paper forms that can reflect an organization's unique Salesforce fields.
Logitech's digital writing technology can help organizations prevent failed CRM implementations by humanizing the process of data capture. While many CRM solutions require individuals to change their behaviors in order for it to function properly, Logitech's digital writing system relies on the oldest form of data capture: using pen and paper.
http://www.logitechio.com/iobusiness
***DMTF Releases SMBIOS 2.4; Widely Used Management Specification Updated to Address Hardware Advancements
PORTLAND, Ore.
April 12, 2005
The Distributed Management Task Force, Inc., the industry organization leading the development of management standards and integration technology for enterprise and Internet environments, has announced the release of the version of the System Management BIOS (SMBIOS) Specification, Version 2, Release 4. The widely implemented SMBIOS standard addresses how motherboard and system vendors present management information about their products in a standard format by extending the BIOS interface on x86 architecture systems. SMBIOS 2.4 includes revisions to the standard to address the evolving hardware architecture, including updates to processors, system slots and memory devices.
SMBIOS is designed to allow developers of management instrumentation to provide generic routines for translating from SMBIOS to the format used by their chosen management technology, whether it is the DMTF's Common Information Model (CIM), the DMTF's Desktop Management Interface (DMI) or another method. This eliminates the need for more error-prone operations, like probing system hardware for presence detection. In addition, the specification allows BIOS developers to implement the necessary extensions that will allow the hardware on their products, and other system-related information, to be accurately determined by users of the defined interfaces.
About the DMTF
With more than 3,000 active participants, the Distributed Management Task Force, Inc. (DMTF) is the industry organization leading the development of management standards and integration technology for enterprise and Internet environments. DMTF standards provide common management infrastructure components for instrumentation, control and communication in a platform-independent and technology neutral way. DMTF technologies include CIM, communication/control protocols like the Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) initiative, and core management services/utilities. Information about DMTF's standards and activities can be found at www.dmtf.org.
http://www.dmtf.org/standards/smbios
***IMlogic Threat Center Reports Instant Messaging Client Vulnerability Affecting The MSN Client; Offers Immediate Guidelines for Protection
WALTHAM, Mass.
April 12, 2005
IMlogic is warning customers that a vulnerability exists for version 6.2 and version 7.0 beta of the MSN IM client. The vulnerability is caused by an error within the processing of GIF images. The vulnerability can be exploited by sending a modified emoticon or display picture to a user.
Once successfully executed, the vulnerability allows a remote user to launch malicious code on an infected computer with all of the same permissions and privileges of the infected user.
To protect your organization, ensure that all desktop systems have been updated with the latest security patches and that all out of date clients have been blocked from accessing the MSN network. IMlogic IM Manager(TM) provides the capability to block out of date clients ensuring enterprise security against client vulnerabilities. Microsoft has issued a security patch for the most recent vulnerability that can be accessed through the MSFT Technet site at:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS05-022.mspx
For companies not currently using IMlogic's IM Manager to securely protect and filter IM messages, a free downloadable product released from IMlogic - IMlogic Detector Pro - can be used to immediately block IM traffic and stop the potential for spreading this worm. Companies can download IM Detector Pro at no cost directly from IMlogic's Web site. A helpful install wizard simplifies the process and guides users through each step.
http://www.imlogic.com/imdetectorpro
To learn more about the MSN client vulnerability visit the IMlogic IM and P2P Threat Center at:
http://www.imlogic.com/im_threat_center/index.asp
***Online Retail Spending Surpassed $22.1 Billion During the 2004 Holiday Period
DUBLIN, Ireland
April 13
Research and Markets has announced the addition of Holiday 2004 Postmortem: Retain New Customers Through Retail Basics to their offering.
Holiday shopping is a time when many consumers try online buying for the first time, making it an ideal opportunity for retailers to acquire new customers. The key is for retailers to turn these first-time buyers into repeat buyers.
Holiday 2004 Postmortem: Retain New Customers Through Retail Basics claims that online retail spending during the 2004 holiday period (November and December) reached $22.1 billion, an increase of 22% over the 2003 holiday period.
The increase was driven largely by an influx of new online buyers: 17.7 million consumers made an online holiday purchase for the first time in 2004. It is predicted continued strong growth for online retail, forecasting that 2005 online retail sales will surpass $79 billion, up from $66 billion in 2004.
This report enumerates the top online retail categories, analyzes the reasons much online purchasing happened later in the season than in years past and recommends tactics retailers can use to influence the many consumers who may purchase late in the season but often begin their research early.
Key Questions this report answers:
- How much did consumer s spend online during the 2004 holiday season?
- What were the key drivers of online holiday sales?
- What tactics can retailers use to retain first-time holiday shoppers throughout the year?
This report offers data on the following:
1. Online Holiday Sales and Buyers, 2000 to 2004
2. Factors that Would Motivate First-Time Buyers to Purchase from a Site Again
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c15632
***The Planet Blocks up to One Million Internet Attacks Per Hour with the World's Most Advanced Intrusion Prevention System
DALLAS
April 13, 2005
The Planet, an Internet hosting company, has announced that its 400 Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) is helping the hosting giant block hundreds of thousands of attacks per hour at its datacenters. The new IPS has also helped the company block up to one million attacks per hour during Internet worm and botnet storms.
The system combines ultra-high performance with accurate, reliable protection from next generation worms, rogue applications, and attackers to deliver the most powerful network protection available to The Planet's 10,000 customers, hosting 1 million Web sites on 23,000 servers.
According The Planet, the combination of ISP-class performance and comprehensive protection from deep-packet inspection is amazing. The system provides up-to-date protection for more than 1,000 exploits and vulnerabilities, including the three most common Internet attacks observed at The Planet - the persistent MS-SQL Slammer-Sapphire worm, the family of phpBB exploits, and attacks against Microsoft RPC services.
But the real proof of the TippingPoint 2400's power is in the performance. The system at The Planet's D2 Data center digests more than 1.5 million packets per second (pps), while the system at the D4 Data center digests more than 2.5 million pps.
***LinuxWorld Summit New York Spotlights Industry Business Leaders at May Summit
FRAMINGHAM, Mass.
April 13, 2005
IDG World Expo has announced the line-up of lead sponsors for LinuxWorld Summit New York 2005 - a conference driven version of the company's LinuxWorld Conference & Expo scheduled to take place at the New York City Marriott Marquis on May 25 and 26.
LinuxWorld Summit New York includes a highly-focused, contemporary, conference program with panel and speaking tracks designed to meet the needs of IT professionals, developers, and business executives. The event will also showcase an exclusive selection of the preeminent vendors in the Linux and Open Source arena highlighted by breakthrough technologies, innovative tools, and relevant IT services.
Platinum sponsor Nokia is joined by silver sponsors IBM, Novell, Sybase, Alebra, Aspeed and WRQ as lead underwriters for LinuxWorld Summit New York 2005. Media sponsors include InfoWorld, OSTG, LinuxWorld Magazine, Linux.com, LinuxQuestions.org and Linux Magazine.
Two days of sessions and keynote presentations will explore issues around building a business on Linux and Open Source software; tackle Linux and Open Source security; and address data center and virtualization issues surrounding Linux. Speakers at the conference are the leading industry experts, thought leaders and visionaries from companies and organizations such as: Sourcefire, Dell, IBM, Novell, HP, Nokia, CIO Magazine, ETrade Group, AMD, Sybase, OSDL, netForensics, Enterasys, Cassatt and many more.
http://www.linuxworldsummit.com
0515.10 Semiconductor Advances
***Arrowhead Announces Patent Grant on Spintronic Technology for Use in Next-Generation Semiconductor Devices
PASADENA, Calif.
April 13, 2005
Arrowhead Research Corporation has announced that the U.S. Patent Office issued U.S. patent 6,879,012, Giant Planar Hall Effect in Epitaxial Ferromagnetic Semiconductor Devices. The patent is exclusively licensed to Nanotechnica, Inc., Arrowhead's majority-owned subsidiary, by the California Institute of Technology.
The patent covers ferromagnetic semiconductor-based methods, devices, and compositions. The technology enables measurements of magnetic spins and enhanced magnetic switching effects, which could play a key role in development of future semiconductor devices based on "spintronics."
Traditional semiconductor devices operate by storing information as charge - an electron's state represents 0 or 1. In contrast, spintronics taps into the spin of electrons to store or transmit information, which enables next-generation devices for memory, disk storage, magnetic sensors, and quantum computers to be smaller, more powerful, and have longer lives than today's products.
0515.11 VoIP Telecommunications
***VoIP and Wireless Plans Altering the Competitive Landscape of Long Distance Markets
PALO ALTO, Calif.
April 13, 2005
Domestic and international long distance service providers need to equip themselves with the appropriate tactical strategies as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and wireless media change the competitive scenario and technological dynamics of the market.
With new VoIP offerings entering the mainstream market, it is expected to emerge as a strong contender for traditional circuit-switched telephony services. Paid subscribers of VoIP have grown from just over 130,000 in 2003 to over 1 million by the end of 2004.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, North American Domestic & International Long Distance Markets, reveals that revenue in this market totaled $66.64 billion in 2004. It is projected to come down to 60.89 billion in 2011.
It is expected that in 2011, 30 percent of the international long distance demand will shift from switched wireline to VoIP. The economical cost structure and low retail prices have been a major contributor to VoIP's growing popularity in the international long distance markets.
In fact, international long distance calling is up to 50 percent cheaper through VoIP plans. With zero access fees, almost all VoIP offerings have a flat rate plan, which combines local and domestic long distance calling rates that are far below the typical bundled plans of circuit-switched telephony services.
Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) decision in November 2004 that bars the United States from imposing telecommunication regulations on the Internet phone providers also expects to bring down costs for both local and long distance services.
While VoIP is expected to take up a significant portion of the international traffic, wireless mediums that account for a majority of domestic long distance minutes are positioned to overtake wireline demand.
Other emerging trends such as the falling prices, flat rate, and high minute bucket plans are making domestic and international long distance calling far more affordable for customers. However, the changing revenue models and bundling of long distance with local access and other services such as wireless, Internet access, and video make it increasingly difficult for providers to maintain long distance as a separate service line.
With the entry of cable multiple service operators (MSOs) and VoIP providers that offer voice services, long distance service providers need to accept bundled solutions as a tool to up-sell and gain a competitive edge in the market.
North American Domestic & International Long Distance Markets, part of the F188 subscription, analyzes the current dynamics in the North American long distance markets. The study identifies key market and technology trends, industry challenges, and factors that drive overall growth. It also includes revenue forecasts, demand analysis, and strategic recommendations that assist service providers in capturing market share.
***Gartner Says Wireless E-Mail Will Be a Built-In Application on All Smartphones by the End of 2008; Analysts Examine the Future of Wireless Technologies During the Gartner Wireless & Mobile Summit, April 11-13 in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES
April 12, 2005
IT departments should plan now for wireless e-mail on all supported handheld devices, as wireless e-mail will be a built-in application on all smartphones by the end of 2008, according to Gartner, Inc.
Gartner analysts presented the future of wireless applications during the Gartner Wireless & Mobile Summit. Gartner analysts said wireless e-mail is becoming a mainstream application alongside mobile voice communications, but the variance between those who can communicate via voice and those who can communicate via e-mail is still significant.
At this time, wireless e-mail adoption is limited by high monthly prices charged by operators for data services for Research In Motion's Blackberry, combined with a poor understanding of the key benefits of wireless e-mail to the organization. Gartner analysts said this is no different from the early days of mobile voice. The period from invention of mobile voice to mass adoption was lengthy, but mass adoption of mobile e-mail should be much faster.
While some companies may have difficulty justifying wireless e-mail on its own, it does have an impact on the frequency of use of other types of communications. If traffic transference can be established, the adoption of wireless e-mail may be cost neutral.
http://www.gartner.com/us/wireless
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