The WAVE Report
Issue #0217------------------5/13/02

The WAVE Report archive is available on http://www.wave-report.com

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0217.1 Hot Topics

0217.2 Story of the Issue

0217.3 3D

0217.4 Cable Broadband

0217.5 Bluetooth

0217.6 Digital Content Creation

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0217.1 Hot Topics

***Samsung Employs DuPont Displays' Holographic Reflector To Enhance
External LCD on Cell Phone
(May 10)

DuPont Displays, a supplier of display enhancement and holographic
reflector technology, and Samsung Electronics, a manufacturer of cell
phone handsets, have joined forces on Samsung’s new mobile phone line,
specifically the SCH-X250 and SPH-X4200. Holographic reflector technology
from DuPont Displays has been applied to the external display of Samsung’s
new SCH-X250 and SPH-X4200 mobile handsets to improve viewability and to
add a variety of color options.

The new phone models include Samsung’s CDMA2000 1X enabled SCH-X250 mobile
phone, and the first model to be enhanced with a red holographic
reflector, the SPH-X4200. The handsets are a folder type phone featuring a
color LCD display on the inside cover and an external display on the
outside cover for viewing of incoming call information. This external LCD
display incorporates DuPont Displays holographic reflector technology for
enhanced brightness and to add color to the phone.

Samsung launched its first color handsets in June of 2001.

DuPont Displays display enhancements will be on display at the 2002
Society of Information Display Show in Boston.

http://www.samsungelectronics.com

***VIA Debuts Tablet PC Design at WinHEC Taipei 2002
(May 8)

VIA Technologies, Inc, a developer of silicon chip technologies and PC
platform solutions, today demonstrated its new VIA Tablet PC design at the
WinHEC 2002 event in Taipei, Taiwan.

The VIA Tablet PC design is a slate-style portable PC, combining a
'digital ink' system with a 10.4" electro-magnetic digitizer portrait
screen to form a digital notepad. Less than one inch thick and weighing
just over one kilogram, the VIA Tablet PC design is lighter and less bulky
than most laptops. It supports the full functionality of Microsoft
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, as well as a connectivity features including
USB 2.0, IEEE 1394 and optional 802.11b wireless support.

The VIA Tablet PC design utilizes an array of VIA's low power
technologies, including a choice of the VIA C3 EBGA and the VIA Eden ESP
processors, as well as the VIA Apollo Pro266T DDR SDRAM chipset. This aids
longer battery life and quieter operation, and reduces system cost.

At the heart of the VIA Tablet PC design is the VIA Apollo 2002, a
double-sided mainboard specifically designed by VIA for thin and light
portable applications. It is powered by a choice of VIA C3 or VIA Eden ESP
processors, which have highly efficient thermal properties that enable
passive 'fanless' cooling. The main board also includes the VIA Apollo
Pro266T chipset, with support for high bandwidth DDR SDRAM memory running
at 2.5 volts compared to 3.3 volts for standard SDRAM.

I/O integration affords a variety of connectivity options, including high
speed USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394 ports, a PCMCIA slot, a RJ-45 port, and
infrared functions. VIA companion chips are incorporated into the VIA
Tablet PC design; for example, networking capabilities are enabled through
the VIA Tahoe VT6103, onboard audio through the VIA 6-channel audio codec,
and IEEE 1394 capability with the VIA Fire II VT6306.

http://www.via.com.tw

***Pulse To Offer Veepers 3D Characters on 2.5G and 3G Mobile Devices
Using TI's OMAP Processors
(May 6)

Pulse, a provider of online emotive interface technologies, announced
today it is working with Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) to offer
personalized interface technology on 2.5G and 3G mobile devices that use
TI's OMAP application processors. Pulse Veepers (see WAVE0216) on TI's
OMAP processors will help users interact with multimedia messaging,
enterprise, entertainment and instant messaging wireless applications.

Veepers has the ability to create 3D people and other characters with
automated text-to-speech and built-in lip-synching functionality, as well
as proprietary rendering, compression and streaming capabilities. Pulse
technology supports RealNetwork's RealPlayer, Apple QuickTime 5 and the
leading browsers for Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh PC platforms.

Pulse is a member of TI's OMAP Developers Network, a group of software
developers writing wireless applications for mobile Internet devices. OMAP
developers have access to a variety of tools and support to enable
application development, plus the opportunity to collaborate with a range
of developers designing applications such as multimedia, security,
location based services, mobile commerce and gaming.

http://www.pulse3d.com
http://www.ti.com


0217.2 Story of the Issue

***NGN Ventures
4/23 – 25/02
Burlingame, CA
by John Latta
4th Wave

NGN Ventures, like its sister conference NGN, continues to be one of the
best conferences in networking technology and economics. John McQuillian
brings his keen industry insights and blunt assessments into a conference
forum not heard in other venues. Unfortunately the economics of the
industry impacted this event. We estimate the attendance was 50% to 60% of
last year. As John stated, we are in a telecommunications depression.
Everyone is feeling the pain. Yet, there continues to be promising
technologies. We also experienced wonderment at how start-up companies
have adapted and try every trick in the book to stay alive as they look
for signs of an upturn.

Here at the NGN Ventures conference the emphasis is on early-stage
companies. There are two high points of each event: the industry overview,
with which John begins the conference, and his summary at the end. The
scope of NGN is so large and the technology and economic environment
sufficiently dynamic that the focus of these events change from year to
year. One year considerable time may be devoted to ATM and another year to
IP converged networks. This year the emphasis is less on the ILEC vs. new
competitors, given that virtually all the DCLECs have died, and more on
emerging markets such as seamless wireless connectivity and multi-service
networks.

Networking Economy Continues to Slide

At NGN in Boston about 6 months ago the state of the networking economy
was grim now it is depressing. Here are statements made during the first
day’s events, mostly by John McQuillian.

IT is no longer a growth industry but a mature one (Reference
the state of IT stocks).

Networking is no longer a growth industry but a replacement
industry.

We need to stop saying “this is a tough market.” We should be
saying “this is the market.”

Capital expenditures in the telecommunications sector fell
30% in 2001 and will fall another 30% in 2002. “Buyers have
deep pockets but short arms.”

We are also suffering from a failed public policy in
telecommunications.

In one year $1T in market value was lost in the networking
and telecommunications sector, and in the NGN market sector
in one year the value went from $500B to $40B.

On the venture investing side it is even worse. VC backed
startups that went public numbered the following:
1999 500
2000 250
2001 37
2002 4 (to date)

VCs are even returning funds to Limited Partners because they
cannot invest funds with a probability of return.

The incumbent players in telecommunications, i.e. ILECs, are
in the driver’s seat and have no competitive pressure.

It remains to be seen if the Internet is a market or a
business.

Economic recovery is at least 6 – 12 months away. However,
the CapEx bubble has burst and we are likely to return to
spending only at 50% of the prior levels.

The ILECs and cable companies have free reign in the market.
Open Access in cable is dead.

A very interesting transition has occurred:
In the past the focus has been how to use voice
infrastructure for data; now the opposite is happening,
how to use data networks to carry voice.

This is putting pressure on the ILECs, who are dependent
on voice revenues, to examine how they will compete.

75% of the startup optical networking component companies
will fail.


Seamless Wireless Networking

A bright spot at the conference is the emergence of wireless networking.
In fact, the brass ring is for “seamless wireless networking” (SWN), which
has been stimulated by the success of 802.11b. That this technology has
been driven to commodity status much faster than anyone expected has been
a surprise. The existence of a standard, multiple chip set vendors, and
success in early enterprise deployments has fostered broader expectations
for WiFi.

hereUare Communications

The most interesting talk was by Clark Dong, CEO, hereUare Communications.
They are seeking to be the solution provider for the creation of an ultra
high-speed global wireless network. The role hereUare is seeking is to be
is the enabler for networks between the network owners such as Voicestream
and Wayport and the customer owners such as Go America. To accomplish this
they offer enabling and interchange solutions. On the enabling side this
includes: access control, back office, tailored pricing products and
standards compliance. The interchange solution includes a framework for
standard contracts, roaming clearinghouse support and support for 3rd
party products. This is a network glue company that sees the increasing
opportunity to link cellular telephony with local broadband wireless.
Clark described their role as being the union of the conventional ISP and
a cellular service operator. Another trend he felt that will grow with
increasing importance is the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO). This
operator will have strong local presence and potentially a lifestyle
brand, such as for teenage users. At the same time, he sees that the
industry will support multiple MVNO’s in the same geographic area.

These concepts go well beyond what exists today. Clark Dong listed these
as: the isolated network islands model and pure roaming clearinghouse
model. For the SWN network to exist the network deployment must grow,
there must be an underlying infrastructure to link the networks and there
needs to be a back office structure. hereUare Communications is seeking to
play a role in making this happen between those that serve the public and
those that run the networks.

We saw from a totally different perspective, approaches that are
supportive of this vision, from fabless semiconductor companies. At NGN
Ventures both Mobilian and Atheros presented their views of multi-standard
silicon. Atheros recently announced that it is sampling the first chip set
that supports 802.11a/g/b. An interesting technology example was also
cited by Atheros. They have demonstrated, with Mercedes Benz, the ability
to download to a moving car using 802.11a. A use for this could be the
downloading of maps when the car enters a new town. On the chip side,
Mobilian described its TrueRadio, which is a systems level, on chip,
integration between Bluetooth and 802.11b to virtually eliminate
interference problems. It was also stated that the BOM for a complete
wireless solution must be <$35.

Stretching Technology and Services

The networking and telecommunications depression has turned the market and
technology upside down. At NGN Ventures, we saw a number of innovative
approaches to leverage existing physical plants. Some of the emphasis is
on multi-service offerings. For example, how can companies use IP-based
networks to provide traditional ILEC services such as ATM and FR? One of
the reasons why this is important is that IP services typically cost much
less than switched services. If the IP networks can be used in other ways
it opens additional revenue streams and undercuts the ILECs. However, this
is a carrier view and misses the point that an ISP can take. If there are
multi-service offerings at Layer 3, which the ISPs normally interface to,
can this be used as a platform by the ISP to also offer new services? Yes,
however, the underlying network and OSS at the ISP must support these
services. Put in another way, the ISP begins to look like the combination
of an ISP + telecommunications carrier + cable MSO. Now the ISPs data
center takes on a whole new look.

Actelis Networks

The company addresses the seemingly ludicrous question: Fiber Performance
over Copper. Using multiple existing copper pairs from 2 to 16 they are
able to deliver up to 100Mb/s on existing copper plant. Further, this
meets all the carrier requirements and standards and they claim five 9’s
reliability. This approach goes after a soft spot the carriers have today:

It is too expensive to deploy new fiber;
There is a continuing demand for bandwidth and
There is a gap in digital service offerings from T-1 to T-3.

Thus a solution that works from 10 – 45Mb/s for virtually any company or
individual with existing telephone wiring can have bandwidth well beyond
T-1.

Actelis Networks uses what they call spatial division multiplexing to gain
these rates. Other technical components include: CDMA across copper pairs,
FEC, and dynamic bandwidth management. They claim better than 10**-10 BER
with distances up to 21,000 feet.

One might view this as DSL on steroids but the technology goes well beyond
DSL. This is a company to watch because it provides a significant
performance improvement with marginal system costs.

Narad Networks

This is another virtual fiber company but focused on the cable plant. They
did not provide even top-level detail on the technology being used. What
was being suggested is that the cable plant, with adequate bandwidth using
their technology, can create a services computing model. It is here they
use Microsoft Windows as an analogy. Where Windows provides the essential
operating system for the WinTel platform they claim that the same analogy
applies to their “Services Operating System,” which links the cable-based
broadband network with the network services. Their software supports a
Broadband Bus, virtual memory in the form of scalable storage, and
inexpensive processing as part of the service control point. Integral to
their network proposal is a SAN and residential gateway. With both
adequate intelligence in the gateway and storage in the SAN they can
support VoD, network based PVR, interactive games and on-demand storage.

It is not clear how the cable MSOs will greet such a proposal but it is
certainly creative. What Narad Networks does is to completely reposition
not only broadband delivery, but the role of the home within the network
architecture. In this context the ISP takes on a whole new meaning in
servicing the “Windows of cable.”

Multi-Service Edge Products

MPLS is alive. We have been tracking this technology for two years and it
appears to be getting serious. A problem with IP is that it is best effort
and virtually all past efforts at QoS have failed to gain market traction.
MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) is a means to assign a label to an
aggregate stream of user data. This stream is then passed along a Label
Switch Path (LSP), which can provide priority for the stream based on what
is assigned in the label. In order to work, the characteristics of the
data must be preserved up to the first router that supports a LSP and can
take the data on the last router that supports LSP. That is, if the
routers at the core do not support MPLS it is ineffective. Thus, an
important component for implementation of MPLS are the edge routers, which
accept voice, video and traditional IP data. What was surprising at NGN is
that there were four presentations of products that are either in
development, beta or shipping. It was also stated that there are 20
start-up companies in this space. MPLS is complex technology that has been
winding its way through the IETF and it appears that MPLS is getting real.

The significance of MPLS is that it brings traditional switched services
normally seen at Layer 2 to Layer 3, which is where ISPs interface to the
network. MPLS also turns the networking market upside down because IP
service providers will be able to offer traditional telecommunications
services on a par with switched services but using the IP network. This
can be a direct threat to the ILECs. Further, it also opens up the ISPs
markets. This again has significant implications to the network
infrastructure present at the ISPs. The Data Center may come to look more
like a CO.

Equipe Communications

Equipe has a core platform that supports native ATM and MPLS switching. It
supports up to 200Gb/s of data switching.

Laurel Networks

Laurel is targeting tier 1 service providers seeking to expand their
offerings, using the ST2000 Service Edge Router.

TiMetra

TiMetra will announce its product in the fall. They are focused on a
software-based MPLS router that is based on network processors.

Integral Access

Integral Access has a product called PurePacket, which is shipping. They
describe this as helping create the new Internet, which has a core that
fully supports MPLS.

IP Networks Grow Up

In the sessions on NGN IP routers, Data Centers and OSS it was impossible
to not see black and white. Enthusiastic companies presented innovative
technologies, especially those that make IP network carrier class, which
we call white and the black is – who will place any orders for this? Over
and over the market disadvantage of the start-up companies was cited.
Given the end of the CLECs the only major buyers left are the ILECs and it
is very difficult for start-up to make a sale to them. In session after
session these criteria stood out:

(1) The only equipment ILECs are buying, maybe, is that which
has an assured ROI of less than a year;
(2) The equivalent of telecommunications products DOA comes
when they are associated with a back hoe (trenching) or fork
lift (replace a rack of gear); and
(3) Start-up companies with the best chance of winning are
those that keep the burn rate down, stretch cash and hold on
until 2004. It is not about innovation but the ability to
hang on.

Yet, in spite of these contrasts we were impressed with the increasing
maturity of IP networking equipment. This not only will allow the Internet
to keep pace with the network growth but increase reliability, broaden
service offerings and lower costs. This is especially important for those
looking to build a new network or make a significant upgrade. Networking,
especially IP networking, is headed for a sea change and those buying
stand to gain much. It was stated that those who make investments in
today’s environment in new technologies are the early adopters and first
movers to gain market share.

Caspian Networks

Larry Roberts, the Chairman and CTO of Caspian Networks gave a talk on
Next Generation Core Router Challenges. Larry did invent the Internet and
predates any claims by Al Gore by roughly 30 years. Caspian is in trials
of its Aperio IP Switch which scales from 10Gb/s to 160+ Tb/s. Larry just
has this highly assured method of delivery that commands respect. If
anyone has been there it is Larry.

His talk began by describing how in the early days of the ARPANet the view
was that packet routing should always be dumb and simple. This mind set
has been in place for 30 years and is now out of date. He cited the push
for MPLS but trashed the concept due to the politics of the IETF, which
has resulted in only a partial solution. Larry has done some studies based
on visits with many of the large IP carriers. He plotted how the demand
will outpace current routers. The router performance is also directly
correlated with Moore’s Law. Thus, he stated that now is the time to
re-look at how IP is being used for routing in conjunction with the
intelligence of the switches. He claimed by using only the information in
IP and making intelligent NGN routers it is possible to significantly
improve network performance and, in fact, support may of the proposals
within MPLS without the burden of the IETF standards process. Details were
not given but the case made economically was quite compelling.

If these or some of the other NGN routers take hold in the market, it
stands to significantly change the economics of long haul carriage,
including support for isochronous data as we discussed in an earlier
report on MPLS.

inkra Networks

This is a part of the innovation surfacing to create the NGN Data Center.
The premise of inkra Networks is that data centers are too hard to manage,
they do not scale well and fail to meet carrier class standards. His frame
of reference was the CO, this should be used as the role model for the
data center. If we took the opposite approach and used the data center for
the central office the following would happen:

When you order voice mail a truck pulls up to install an
answering machine;
When you order a new phone line all the phones go down in the
neighborhood; and
When the telco gains a new customer they buy a new Class 5
switch.

inkra’s approach is not new but their implementation is interesting. By
extending the CO view of the data center all of the major components
should be virtualized: network services, computers and storage. inkra is
focused on the network sevices, which includes the routers. They claim
that both Sun and IBM are well along with computing virtualization and
EMC, Hitachi and Veritas are doing the same for storage. From this inkra
defines a conceptual unit in the data center called the virtual rack,
which includes each of the network services, processor and storage. These
racks can be dynamically managed and allocated to tasks. They claim that
this results in a highly available system that is fully redundant and
dynamic.

Surgient

Surgient also advocated a virtualization of the data center but they
implemented their approach within the host OS. This layer between the OS
and the application allows for resource control to enable the
virtualization. They claimed this method works on Windows and Sun systems
but no details were provided.

I had discussions off line with others about the virtualization concept.
This is one part of many shifts taking place in NGN data centers. Another
is the increased use of computer clusters similar to what DEC did with the
VAX some 20 years ago. Clusters are becoming much more prevalent. Further,
the approaches to virtualization taken by both inkra and Surgient were
questioned. They have the shortfall that the management complexity has
been only increased by creating all these racks of discrete processors.
This can actually be worse, not better, compared to what exists today from
a management standpoint. Another virtualization concept emulates one large
virtual data center. This is very similar to virtual memory where the
address space is very large and no one machine will ever use that much.
Each application would work in such a virtual machine and not be resource
limited. This is being done today with disk drives by EMC in data centers.
The advantage of this approach is that only one virtual element needs be
managed rather than racks and racks. However, the implementation of this
with the disk system or SAN is straightforward, but in the processing
element if the native real OS does not support such virtualization it
would be hard to accomplish. However, this is what Surgient claims to have
accomplished.

The intent of all of these proposals is to make the data center like the
Class 5 switch. As one speaker stated this device has no on / off switch.
Downtime is measured in a few minutes per year. It never goes down when
new line cards are installed, it is repaired, components are replaced, new
services added, or the box upgraded. For those that work with PCs such a
laudable goal is highly desirable.

Lastly the ending session was on OSS – the back office software that makes
traditional ILECs operate. It includes functions of provisioning, billing,
activation and customer support. This is the mundane part of the telephone
and communications business, yet, if there was a bright star to meet the
ROI requirements, so that ILECs will buy, it is in OSS. One example cited
by CoManage is the problem of finding stranded resources. It was stated
that the database of physical assets and logical assets (communications
paths) are up to 40% to 60% inaccurate. A statement was made that if only
a 5% correction was made this could result in a $15B gain to the
operators.

Even here in the OSS we are beginning to see the development of systems to
support IP networks. However, again the level of tools for IP networks
just does not match those that exist in conventional telephony.


0217.3 3D

***Ascension Technology Introduces 4-Sensor Motion Tracking Solution
(May 6)

Ascension Technology Corporation announces the Nest of Birds, a version of
DC magnetic technology in the form of a plug-and-play tracker with a USB
interface for a wider range of applications and environments.

The Nest of Birds features 4 sensors that simultaneously track the
location of arms, heads, bodies or objects in real time. The Nest of Birds
supports many graphics applications including VR, interactive gaming and
virtual web presences. It is also optimized for CAVE environments with
Ascension’s Environmental Analyzer scanning program determining the best
measurement frequencies to achieve optimal tracking performance in
different environments. A dual-extended range transmitter option is
available for wider coverage of up to 12’ x 14’.

The systems plugs directly into a USB interface, and the installation CD
gets users up and running more quickly than previous trackers. The Nest
of Birds uses DC magnetic tracking technology, which means measurements
are 5 times less susceptible to distortions from nearby metals than older
AC magnetic trackers.

Ascension’s new tracker also makes possible multi-user VR interaction. It
presents a compact desktop form factor with a single chassis housing both
electronics and power. Its lower cost may make it accessible to the
“prosumer” market.

http://www.ascension-tech.com

***New SPECviewperf 7.0 Benchmark Traces Real-World Application
Performance
(May 6)

SPEC/GPC's OpenGL Performance Characterization (SPECopc) project group
today released SPECviewperf 7.0, a new version of its application-based
performance evaluation software. The new benchmark is available for free
downloading on SPEC's GPC News web site. Initial SPECviewperf 7.0 test
results from SPECopc members will be available on the site May 15.

SPECviewperf 7.0 includes new features for more accurately capturing
graphics functionality from real applications. It provides new and
updated viewsets representing popular CAD/CAM/CAE and digital content
creation (DCC) applications.

SPECviewperf 7.0 enables general state changes to be made during frames,
bringing the benchmark much closer to how applications behave in the real
world. Data traversal, facet color processing, and display of lighting
and textures can now be changed from frame to frame.

The new viewsets have been designed to take advantage of the added
capabilities within SPECviewperf 7.0. The viewsets' frames are based on
traces of graphics commands made while running the actual applications.
As a result, vendors and users can tune their graphics subsystems to the
viewsets and see performance improvements in the actual applications.

Three new viewsets have been added based on traces of SPEC/GPC's
Application Performance Characterization Group (SPECapc) benchmarks:
-- 3dsmax-01, based on SPECapc for 3ds max 3.1 configured with the Open GL
driver, includes three models containing an average of 1.5 million
vertices each, and tests performance of scenes with different levels of
lighting.
-- proe-01, based on SPECapc for Pro/ENGINEER 2000i2, measures two models
in three modes shaded, wireframe and hidden-line removal (HLR).
-- ugs-01, based on SPECapc for Unigraphics V17, tests performance based
on an engine model containing 2.1 million vertices.

The new viewsets replace three viewsets from SPECviewperf 6.1.2 that were
deemed obsolete: awadvs-04 was retired because frame rates commonly
exceeded refresh rates and it was based on an application that no longer
exists; medmcad-01 represented a mix of CAD/CAM functionality and didn’t
focus on a specific application; and procdrs-03 was replaced because frame
rates commonly exceeded refresh rates and the test no longer reflected the
real application.

Three long-time viewsets have been updated to run under SPECviewperf 7.0:
dx-07, based on the Data Explorer (DX) visualization application; drv-08,
based on the DesignReview model review application; and light-05, based on
the Lightscape radiosity visualization application.

As a result of the major revisions and new viewsets, results reported
under SPECviewperf 7.0 cannot be compared with previously reported
SPECviewperf results.

SPECviewperf measures the 3D rendering performance of systems running
under the OpenGL application programming interface (API). Viewsets are
the test files that run under SPECviewperf. They represent a similar mix
of graphics rendering and manipulation found in actual applications.

SPECopc is a project group of the Graphics Performance Characterization
(GPC) Group, which in turn is part of the Standard Performance Evaluation
Corp. (SPEC). SPEC is a non-profit corporation formed to establish,
maintain and endorse a standardized set of relevant benchmarks that can be
applied to the newest generation of high-performance computers. SPEC's
membership includes computer hardware and software vendors, and leading
universities and research facilities worldwide.

http://www.spec.org/gpc


0217.4 Cable Broadband

***CableLabs Publishes OCAP 2.0 Middleware Specifications
(May 6)

Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. (CableLabs) has extended the OpenCable
Application Platform (OCAP) software, or middleware, specification with
the release of OCAP 2.0. OCAP is a middleware specification that enables
application portability across home devices and cable networks. OCAP 1.0,
issued in January, defines a Java based Execution Engine (EE), and OCAP
2.0 extends that platform with the addition of web-based technologies like
XHTML, XML, and ECMAScript.

The OCAP 2.0 specification is available to manufacturers, content
developers, and the public through the OpenCable Web site
(http://www.opencable.com). This collection of specifications establishes
a road map for companies to create applications for interactive services
that operate over broadband cable networks.

Under OCAP, set-top boxes or integrated television receivers would be able
to provide the same interactive services available on set-tops provided by
the cable operator. CableLabs has worked through vendor comments on the
draft specifications over the past year and with that input, the
specification now has reached a build-to status.

These developments underscore the momentum that has been gathering in
support of OCAP. CableLabs has also secured commitments from several
supplier companies to provide on-site visiting engineers, off-site
contributing engineers, and general assistance in the further development
of the OpenCable Specifications, including OCAP. These suppliers include,
as of this writing, Alticast, Canal+ Technologies, Cisco, Liberate
Technologies, Microtune, Panasonic, Philips, and Sun Microsystems.

Several suppliers have made the additional contribution of equipment to
CableLabs for use in the development and testing facilities for OCAP at
CableLabs:

- Philips has contributed its "Silver Box" development set-top box, which
supports test case and code development. Philips has also provided bit
streams that include video and embedded interactive application associated
with the video for the purpose of demonstrating MHP type applications
currently being planned for deployment in Europe this year. (MHP is the
European middleware standard which forms a substantial portion of the OCAP
spec – work already done on MHP essentially furthers the completion of
commercial OCAP-enabled boxes.) Philips has also provided a DVB-S QPSK
modulator to help convert the Silver Box for use on North American cable
networks.

- Thales has provided CableLabs with its Amber product for re-multiplexing
video with data streams for server output of interactive services; its
Pearl product, that provides the capability to aggregate PSIP program data
from multiple streams, and its Coral product, an object carousel or server
product.

- S&T Technologies has agreed to provide an Object Carousel, associated
development software and sample interactive applications that may
potentially be migrated to OCAP.

- Sun will include CableLabs in their Media Appliance Early Access
Program, and loan to CableLabs their Sun Blade platform.

- Tektronix has agreed to provide a new DSM-CC analyzer product, a key
piece of test equipment.

In other OCAP-related developments:

CableLabs has completed a first draft of documentation to be provided to
its member companies and to headend equipment vendors to assist in the
proper design of networks that support OCAP. This initial draft includes
significant contributions by engineers from Cisco Systems and AT&T
Broadband. LG Electronics (parent company of Zenith) delivered its
development set top for interoperability testing at CableLabs in April.
LG and other Korean manufacturers are working on a fast track to build
OpenCable and OCAP-enabled devices for the Korean market where OpenCable
is a digital cable standard. (Digital cable is just now beginning to be
introduced in Korea.)

CableLabs continues to work closely with the DVB organization to keep OCAP
and MHP in alignment. CableLabs’ President and CEO Dr. Richard R. Green,
as Chairman of ITU Study Group 9, also is active in harmonizing middleware
standards worldwide. CableLabs is also closely monitoring “interim”
standards efforts, such as TVXML or the iTV Standards effort, to assure
they proceed in harmony with OCAP.

CableLabs is a research and development consortium comprised of cable
television system operators worldwide. CableLabs plans and funds research
and development projects that will help cable companies take advantage of
future opportunities and meet future challenges in the cable television
industry. In addition, CableLabs acts as a clearinghouse to provide
information on current and prospective technological developments that are
of interest to the cable industry.

http://www.cablelabs.com


0217.5 Bluetooth

***SiGe Semiconductor's RangeCharger Powers Class 1 Bluetooth Products
from W-Link
(May 6)

SiGe Semiconductor today announced that its RangeCharger-based PA2423MB
power amplifier drives Class 1 Bluetooth products from W-Link. The PA2423
power amplifier strengthens signal integrity in W-Link's Bluetooth
products to boost performance of wireless data exchange, and network and
Internet access in a range of personal wireless, SOHO and Enterprise
applications.

W-Link's Class 1 Bluetooth products, including network gateways, access
points, Compact Flash and PCMCIA cards, USB dongles, and embedded modules,
are expected to be shipping in volume by June 2002.

SiGe's PA2423MB is integrated into six of W-Link's Class 1 Bluetooth
products, including the WBT-3041 Compact Flash card for PDAs, handhelds,
and laptops; the WBT-3021 USB dongle and WBT-3031 PCMCIA Card for laptops
and personal computers; the WBT-3051 Bluetooth Gateway and WBT-3052
Bluetooth Access Point for network and Internet access; and the WBT-3011
Class 1 module for embedded applications.

W-Link's Class 1 Bluetooth products pair SiGe's PA2423MB power amplifier
with transceiver/baseband chips from Bluetooth chipset companies. SiGe's
PA2423MB uses silicon germanium architecture to enable low current
consumption and high integration. This allows designers to support targets
for longer battery life and small form factor.

The PA2423MB is able to deliver +22.5 dBm output power with 45 percent
power-added efficiency, to help overcome antenna and filter losses. Using
SiGe's PA2423MB, W-Link's Class 1 Bluetooth products enable wireless
communications over a range of 50 meters.

SiGe Semiconductor is a global supplier of analog and mixed-signal
integrated circuits for next-generation cable, high-speed optical, and
wireless access systems. Drawing on silicon germanium technology, the
company designs and delivers integrated circuits. SiGe Semiconductor's
components can be found in cable modems, set-top boxes, optical network
interfaces, Bluetooth-enabled portable devices, IEEE 802.11a/b/g WLANs,
and cordless telephones.

W-Link is reserches, manufactures, markets, and sells wireless products
for the global RF-wireless markets.

http://www.sige.com


0217.6 Digital Content Creation

***Butterfly and IBM to Introduce First Computing Grid for Video Game
Industry
(May 9)

Butterfly.net, Inc., a development studio and infrastructure provider to
the online video game market, and IBM announced today the deployment of
the first-ever custom commercial grid for the online video gaming market.

The Butterfly Grid could enable online video game providers to support a
high number of players within the same game by allocating computing
resources to the most populated areas and most popular games.

The Grid was built by Butterfly.net over the last two years using IBM
e-business infrastructure technology that distributes the processing of
video game interaction across a network of server farms. The Grid is a
secure system built on customized software operating on the private
network of Butterfly.net.

Video game providers can access the Grid to support their online products
by including the Butterfly Grid client software libraries in the games
they distribute. These software libraries, along with sample code for
connecting mobile devices, PCs and video game consoles to the Grid, are
available for download from www.butterfly.net.

The Butterfly Grid is powered by rack-mounted Linux-based IBM eServer
xSeries systems hosted by IBM and running on internal fiber-optic
networks. The grid design offers the potential to support over one million
simultaneous players from each facility in a 24/7 environment with
automatic fail over capability.

Online video games have historically segmented players onto separate
servers, limiting the number that could interact and creating reliability
and support obstacles. When one server is down, or patches are being
installed, game-play comes to a halt. Butterfly's grid technology enables
online video game providers to deliver games to millions at the same time.
The server interaction is completely transparent and seamless to the user
- delivering a resilient gaming infrastructure where servers can be added,
or replaced, without interrupting game-play.

The new Butterfly Grid is the industry's first to provide support for:

- Massive numbers of players within one persistent-state world.

- Before the Butterfly Grid, online video games have been divided into
"shards" that provide copies of the game world on separate servers,
limiting the number of players that can interact. The Butterfly Grid
provides "cross-server sentinels" that could potentially support the
interaction of millions of players in one true world, with server
boundaries invisible to players.

- Distributed Artificial Intelligence - Butterfly.net provides a "daemon
controller" for interactions between players and non-player characters
through a standard Python interface.

- Multiple, concurrent games - With multiple online video games on one
computing grid, publishers can allocate resources to more popular games,
launch new games with less risk, and offer flexible and innovative
subscription plans to drive revenue growth.

- Connected devices - Butterfly.net connects PCs, PocketPCs,
Palm-compatible handhelds, and dedicated video-game consoles in
multiplayer online games. A packet-transport protocol provides balanced
game-play over broadband, dial-up and mobile Internet connections for
multi-channel interactions.

- Hot-swappable components. - With the grid architecture, once an online
video game is launched, it doesn't need to be taken off line for patches
or maintenance. When grid components are unavailable, connections are
redirected to available resources for continuous game play.

- 3D engine support - Game developers working on the Butterfly Grid can
exploit fully integrated, industry-standard 3D engines out of the box.

- Shared-source developer sandbox.- License program allows for real-time
prototyping on live server grid with full bandwidth and simulation/load
testing.

Grid Computing

An emerging model of computing, Grids are built with clusters of servers
joined together over the Internet, using protocols provided by the Globus
open source community and other open technologies, including Linux, to
create and manage virtual computing resources. Grid protocols emerging
from the Globus open source community are enabling organizations to create
virtual organizations sharing applications, data and computing power over
the Internet.

Butterfly.net is working with Globus to ensure that any video game
developed according to publicly-available specifications and Internet open
standards can draw resources-on-demand from the Butterfly Grid. The Globus
Toolkit, available by download from www.globus.org, provides authorization
and accounting functions, allocates hardware resources, configures
game-specific logic and monitors performance on the Butterfly Grid.

Butterfly.net will demonstrate the Butterfly Grid system to members of the
video gaming industry at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2002 show
beginning May 21 in Los Angeles.

http://www.butterfly.net/
http:// www.globus.org

--------------------------------------

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