Nintendo Tops Hardware, Software Sales for April

The Nintendo DS and Wii owned the video games market during April

Research firm NPD Funworld has released video game sales figures for April 2007, which once again belong much to Nintendo. The Wii and the DS continued to be top sellers, with Nintendo’s handheld taking top spot at 471,000 units and the home console selling 360,000 units.
Sony ruled the two spots after Nintendo, though it is the last-generation PlayStation 2 that takes third at 194,000 units and the PlayStation Portable at fourth at 183,000. The PlayStation 3 places three spots below the PSP at seventh, selling 82,000.
In fifth is Microsoft’s only entry, the Xbox 360, with 174,000 units. Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance, with 84,000 units, placed just above the PS3, while the GameCube held sat at the bottom with 13,000 units sold.
On the software side, Nintendo ruled the top four spots with the two new Pokemon games taking first and second. Pokemon Diamond sold an astounding 1.045 million units, while the less popular Pokemon Pearl moved a still impressive 712,000 copies. A pair of Wii games, Super Paper Mario and Wii Play, took spots three and four, respectively.
Guitar Hero II rocked spot five on Xbox 360 and spot six on the PlayStation 2. The Spider-Man 3 games on Xbox 360 and PS2 took seven and eight, while PS2 games God of War II and MLB ’07 closed out the last two of the top ten.
April represented another strong month for the video games industry, pulling in $838.6 million in U.S. sales – a 20 percent growth over the same period last year.

Reference:Marcus Yam,dailytech

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802.11n Draft 2.0 Hits Store Shelves this June

802.11n draft 2 is 5 times faster and goes 2 times farther than existing products

Roughly a year ago when the 802.11n standard was still in its infancy, companies decided to ship products based on the pre-standard anyway. The result was that customers were able to get their hands on 108Mbps Wi-Fi technology before the standard was officially approved. The risk for consumers at that point was whether or not their pre-standard 802.11n gear would still work once the standard reached its final stages.Consumers already using 802.11n devices this week receive a bit of good news. The Wi-Fi Alliance announced that starting in June, 802.11n will enter draft 2.0, which means products will undergo a new certification. Despite the news from the Wi-Fi Alliance, 802.11n products will not reach final revisions for some time. The initiative is simply to ensure that there is interoperability between products on store shelves.Draft 2.0 will bring along two significant differences. First, 802.11n draft 2.0 devices will have two 20MHz channels, giving it the ability to seek for legacy devices. One channel will turn off intelligently when legacy devices are detected. This way, users will be able to receive and transmit at optimum speeds when attached to an older network. Secondly, 802.11n draft 2.0 products will perform checks to ensure that both channels are clear before data is transmitted.Despite being a year away from a finalized version, the Wi-Fi Alliance believes that certifying products now will put products out to market faster. "802.11n will offer up to five times the throughput and twice the range of existing Wi-Fi technology, which will make it ideal for enabling multimedia applications throughout the home," said Karen Hanley, senior director of marketing for the Wi-Fi Alliance."So it's important to get products on the market that will work together so that consumers can get the technology they need to extend their home networks," concludes Hanley.

Reference:Tuan Nguyen,dailytech

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Apple iPhone Gets FCC Approval

The Apple iPhone got official FCC approval for sale on the U.S. market

Apple recently announced that it has officially received FCC approval to sell the iPhone, its much anticipated entry into the mobile phone market. Along with getting FCC approval, the iPhone is ready to ship next month, Apple spokespeople said. All mobile phones offered in the United States must receive a "grant of equipment authorization," which means it has receivedthe green light from the FCC."We're on track to release it in late June," Cingular spokesman Mark Siegel said. "Nothing has changed."FCC documents confirmed the iPhone will have WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities. Apple requested the FCC keep several details secret from the public, including the official launch date of the device. Apple also requested the FCC not release external or internal photographs and user manual of the iPhone for 45 days -- which means the material will likely not be made available until the iPhone is on the market.FCC approval came a day after a false alarm in which Engadget published an article claiming the iPhone would be delayed several months. The alleged e-mail appeared to be from Apple, but Apple immediately said the e-mail was fake. It is still unknown where the e-mail originated. The news caused a ripple effect which rattled investors, causing the Apple stock price to take an immediate dip.The iPhone will come in two versions -- 4GB and 8GB, with the 4GB iPhone costing $499 and the 8GB iPhone carrying a $599 price tag. AT&T has exclusive rights to the iPhone.

Reference:Michael Hoffman,dailytech

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Google Moves Closer to Universal Search

Google changes its homepage as well as its mechanism for delivering results

This week marked another milestone for search giant Google. The company's simplistic homepage received a rather discrete update, moving the navigation options up to the top of the screen rather than docked at the search field. The move says Google, is to move closer to the goal of having universal search -- that is, one search providing all categories of results.
To achieve this, Google is taking first steps to introduce users to more of its features. Google Blog Search, Book Search, Groups, code and other tools are now more readily accessible. Even Google's office productivity tools are more up front too. For instance, Google's Docs & Spreadsheets as well as its photo management application Picasa Web Albums are now easier to get to.
The biggest improvement for Google is the method in which it now conducts searches. Previously, results were derived from website page ranking, a system that Google itself pioneered. Now, Google says results are a culmination of many categories. Video, pictures, news, maps, books and other categories are crawled and then interpolated together to form a more comprehensive search result. Using this method says Google, results such as websites that merely mention a search term can be avoided and websites with more relevant information can be displayed.According to Google:
A user searching for information on the Star Wars character Darth Vader is likely interested in all the information related to the character and the actor -- not just web pages that mention the movie. Google will now deliver a single set of blended search results that include a humorous parody of the movie, images of the Darth Vader character, news reports on the latest Lucas film, as well as websites focused on the actor James Earl Jones – all ranked in order of relevance to the query. Users no longer have to visit several different Google search properties to find such a wide array of information on the topic.
Another area where Google is expanding its portfolio is in the gaming industry, but Google isn't developing any new titles here. Instead, Google intends to expand its advertising programs into future video games. The company recently filed for a patent on video game advertising in which methods for monitoring in-game player behavior was discussed. Consumer privacy advocates are already expressing concerns over Google's plans but the company stated that it has no plans to use the patent.

Reference:Tuan Nguyen,dailytech

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Apple Sued for Deceptive MacBook and MacBook Pro Advertising

Lawsuit claims LCD screens on Apple's current notebooks are not capable of millions of colors

Apple Inc. has been in and out of the courtroom a number of times this year for patent infringements, product defects and mostly to defend its iPhone. This week, Apple finds itself in the courtroom again, this time facing a class action lawsuit alleging the LCD screens on its MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops are substandard. The claim also alleges Apple advertised its screens as being superior, but knowingly shipped screens that did not meet its original claims.The class action lawsuit points out the glossy screens Apple introduced with the launched of its MacBook last year. Apple advertised that the new glossy screens provided users with deeper blacks and whites that are more vibrant. However, many customers experienced graininess and sparkling effects common to dithering techniques, according to the lawsuit.According to the complaint:Many such dissatisfied purchasers were chastised by Apple agents and employees for being too picky about their assessments of the quality of the display. Other dissatisfied purchasers were told that they were imagining the complained about defects.The complaint also points out that many of the disgruntled customers posted messages on Apple's own forums only later to have their posts moderated or completely removed by Apple forum administrators. "It appears that Apple has engaged in substantial editing of the posts on the discussion forum," the lawsuit indicates.The lawsuit alleges Apple uses dithering techniques to create an illusion of colors that don't actually exist. In fact, the lawsuit claims if a MacBook or MacBook Pro users installs Windows XP, they will notice superior image quality in areas such as gradients. The test seems to indicate Apple is using some sort of software at work in OS X."The displays are only capable of displaying the illusion of millions of colors through the use of a software technique referred to as 'dithering'," the lawsuit claims.

Reference:Tuan Nguyen ,dailytech

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Microsoft Acquires Ad Firm aQuantive for $6 Billion

Microsoft picks up an internet ad firm for a hefty sum

Microsoft Corp. announced today it will acquire aQuantive, Inc. for $6 billion, roughly $66.50 per share in an all cash transaction. This will be the largest purchase the software giant has ever made, spending roughly three times as much money as it has on any other company. The company’s goal is to provide the advertising industry with an internet-wide advertising platform and a set of tools and services that help its constituents bring in the highest possible return.The acquisition of aQuantive will allow Microsoft to build and strengthen its relationships with advertisers, agencies, and publishers. It will also help the software giant build and support next generation advertising solutions and environments such as cross media planning, video-on-demand and IPTV. The combined technologies and portfolio provide for constituencies as follows:
Advertisers and ad agencies will benefit from a world-class media planning, buying and campaign management solution to drive maximum ROI and optimize their reach to audiences across the increasingly fragmented, interactive media landscape.
Media owners/publishers will gain access to best-in-class inventory optimization and monetization solutions across a full suite of rich media, video and targeting capabilities.
The broader advertising ecosystem will benefit from the leading interactive advertising agency, Avenue A Razorfish, continuing to serve its impressive client roster, while also embedding the voice of the marketer into Microsoft’s next generation advertising solutions and services"The announcement represents the next step in the evolution of our ad network from our initial investment in MSN, to the broader Microsoft network including Xbox Live, Windows Live and Office Live, and now to the full capacity of the Internet. Microsoft is intensely committed to creating a thriving advertising business and to partnering closely with all key constituencies in this industry to help maximize the digital advertising opportunity for all.” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft.The deal is expected to be completed in the first half of Microsoft's fiscal year 2008. The acquisition is not expected to have a significant impact on the financial guidance issued by the company. aQuantive will continue to operate out of Seattle as part of Microsoft's Online Service Business.

Reference: Nirav Sanghani ,dailytech

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Report: Dell DisplayPort LCD Coming this Year

DisplayPort takes the lead over UDI and HDMI for computer displays

Consumers have made one thing clear about the tech industry over the past several years: format wars are confusing and often times deliver more issues than solutions. Display technologies consisting of DisplayPort, HDMI and UDI have all been ferociously vying for industry support over the past two years. Despite a strong push from all three standards, DisplayPort crossed a major milestone in April when it received approval by VESA to be an industry standard.
The big question on most consumers' minds however, is the proliferation of products that actually use the DisplayPort standard. This week at a business strategy meeting at Dell, the company showed off what it calls the next generation in LCD displays. Dell demonstrated a prototype LCD panel based on DisplayPort. DisplayPort has several advantages that will allow manufacturers to design thinner LCD panels, Dell's chief technology officer Kevin Kettler said.Kettler showed a LCD that was only half an inch in thickness. The panel also incorporated speakers and a microphone. Audio and video signals route through a single DisplayPort cable. DisplayPort LCD panels will be available later this year, Kettler claims.The DisplayPort standard recently wowed consumers by adopting a standard that takes advantage of fiber optic cables for signaling. Using technology from a leading DisplayPort task force member named Luxtera, DisplayPort devices that use fiber optics will be able to accept cable lengths unheard of in the industry.

Reference:Tuan Nguyen,dailytech

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Spintronics Breaks the Silicon Barrier

A breakthrough in this promising field of nanoelectronics could revolutionize the design of digital devices

A new generation of electronics that are vastly smaller, faster, and more power-efficient came closer to fruition this month thanks to the work of a team of U.S. scientists.
As described in this month's academic journal Nature (subscription required), professors Ian Appelbaum and Biqin Huang of the University of Delaware and Douwe Monsma of Massachusetts-based Cambridge NanoTech have succeeded in creating a working spintronic device based on conventional silicon.
Spintronics is a promising approach to creating electronic devices that store information based on the spin of electrons, rather than the more cumbersome conventional method of relying on the electron's charge.
An electron's spin refers to its directional rotation. Unlike a spinning tire or a toy top, an electron's spin is a quantum property, and thus a constant value that does not change. Scientists are working to harness this property by aligning multiple electrons so they all spin in the same direction. This polarization allows the creation of a spin current as well as a current of electrical charges.
One of the major drawbacks to creating practical spintronic devices has been the inability to use silicon substrates. Aligning the spin of electrons requires the use of ferromagnets. However, ferromagnets bonded to silicon have a scrambling effect on the electrons, making the creation of a coherent stream of polarized electrons difficult to achieve.
The team from Delaware and Massachusetts appears to have overcome the problem by keeping the layers of silicon and ferromagnetic materials extremely thin -- only 10 microns and 5 nanometers, respectively -- and by using high-energy electrons. The team was also able to reverse the spin of the electrons by applying a magnetic field.
The ability to create spintronic devices using conventional silicon substrates rather than metal or gallium arsenide makes the approach significantly more viable, since it could theoretically be adapted to the existing silicon-based manufacturing processes that are prevalent in the electronics industry.

Reference:Steve Kovsky, dailytech

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Sony Sees Bigger Fiscal Q4 Loss

Sony sees its biggest quarterly loss in four years

Sony saw its quarterly losses grow for the fourth fiscal quarter (January 2007 to March 2007). Not surprisingly, the company cited that its overall $563 million USD loss – the company’s biggest quarterly loss in four years -- can be directly attributed to costs associated with the PlayStation 3 console. The company’s Games division witnessed a $1.9 billion USD loss.
"In the Game segment, there was a significant operating loss as a result of the sale of PS3 at strategic price points lower than its production cost during the introductory period," said the company.
The PS3 comes packed with plenty of technology including the complex Cell processor, Blu-ray drive, integrated 60GB HDD, WiFi and Bluetooth. In mid-November, iSuppli estimated that Sony was losing $240 USD on each 60GB PS3 it sold and $300 USD on each 20GB PS3 that it sold. Sony was able to stem those losses somewhat by dropping the 20GB PS3 from its product mix in North America.
Sony expects that it will continue to lose money on the PS3 for the current fiscal year. That being said, the company expects to ship 11 million PS3s for the current fiscal year -- up from 5.5 million units for the previous fiscal year. "The PS3 business will really get off the ground this fiscal year," said Sony Corporate Executive Officer Nobuyuki Oneda.
Sony isn't the only company seeing losses from its gaming division. Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division (EDD) which encompasses the Zune and Xbox 360 witnessed an operating loss of $315 million USD for its fiscal third quarter. Microsoft's Robbie Bach notes that the Xbox 360 hardware itself may never end up being profitable for the company, but it plans to make money on peripherals, royalties from game publishers and its Xbox Live online service.

Reference: Brandon Hill, dailytech

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Calculators to Help Teachers Connect to Students

Texas Instruments found a way to help instructors better connect with their students and to better identify students problems


Texas Instruments said on Monday that it has found a way to connect teachers with students, allowing teachers to quickly identify students failing in math. The TI-Navigator technology sends wireless signals from pupil's handheld calculators to a teacher's personal-computer screen, which will allow the teacher to analyze and correct student errors in real time.According to CNET, the new system allows instructors to receive answers from all students and aids them in better helping students who need help but are too afraid to ask. Instructors can also correct common mistakes and adjust lessons as they teach."The teachers can understand who's not getting it. It's about how you help teachers understand the effectiveness of how they are teaching lessons and how students are following along," Chief Executive Rich Templeton said at the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit in New York.The system was originally introduced two years ago, with the idea that student and teachers will both benefit and opening up communication in the classroom. Templeton noted that the technology is not meant to be used to spy on students, but is meant to be used as a learning tool. No news has been released yet as to when this technology will be distributed and adopted in classrooms.
Reference: Nirav Sanghani, dailytech

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Microsoft Constructs New Manufacturing Facility For Next Gen Zunes

Microsoft readies slimmer HDD-based Zune and a new flash-based Zune

Microsoft's answer to Apple's popular iPod family of players was first launched in mid-November 2006. The $249 player promised to change the way we socialize with portable audio devices while at the same time offering the Zune Marketplace which is Microsoft's equivalent to iTunes.
The original Zune came in three colors (white, black and brown) and featured a 30GB HDD, 4" color screen, built-in FM tuner and WiFi connectivity for "3-day-or-3-play" wireless music sharing. At launch, Microsoft also made available 100 limited edition hot pink Zunes which quickly made the rounds on eBay for insane prices. Recently, Microsoft added a fourth official color to the Zune family: pink.
While Apple is already celebrating 100 million iPods sold nearly six years into its initial launch, Microsoft has more sedate figures for its Zune. Microsoft expects to top the one million mark by next month and is right now holding on to roughly 2.4% of the MP3 player market compared to 73.7%, 9% and 3.3% for Apple, SanDisk and Creative respectively -- all of which have flash-based players in their lineups.
Microsoft may be falling behind in the portable media player market, but that isn't stopping the company from building a new manufacturing plant in China to produce its Zune. The plant will produce a second generation HDD-based Zune and the long-rumored flash-based Zune.
The second generation HDD-based Zune will be both smaller and lighter than the Toshiba-sourced first generation model. The new Zune will be new-from-the-ground-up with Microsoft playing a major role in the design. "There are definitely some cost efficiencies, but the more important thing from our perspective is the flexibility and control we have in creating a device from scratch and making it down to the last component what we want it to be," said Jason Reindorp, marketing director for the Zune.
Microsoft is also hard at work on a flash-based Zune to take on the iPod Nano. Flash-based players make up an overwhelming majority of Apple iPod sales, so Microsoft would be remiss not to follow suit. Microsoft will likely target the Nano as far as size and weight is concerned. Also expect maximum storage capacities of at least 8GB (as seen with current iPod Nanos). A 16GB model shouldn’t be ruled out considering fast-dropping NAND flash prices.

Reference: Brandon Hill, dailytech

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DirecTV Looks at Offering Broadband Access Through Power Lines

Competition in the broadband industry means faster speeds and lower costs for consumers

According to several announcements, Cable Internet access is getting the boost it needs. Most recently, Comcast announced that a new cable modem technology was in the works and would give customers speeds of up to 150 megabits per second (Mbps). Analysts say that Comcast's cable modem development is due largely to competition from fiber to the premises (FTTP) technologies such as Verizon's Fiber Optics Service (FiOS).This week DirecTV made the announcement that it too will give cable technology a run for its money. The satellite television provider told reporters that it plans to provide broadband Internet access by delivering the service through power lines. Chief executive officer of DirecTV Chase Carey says that DirecTV is working with companies that specialize in delivering broadband access through a city's power grid."We're not the only ones talking to them. I think you'll see some meaningful tests in this arena. We think it would be a good thing to have a third, a fourth or a fifth entrant in broadband and if we can be helpful in pushing that forward and if there's an opportunity for us to intelligently invest in doing so, we would," Carey said.Liberty Media Holding Corp., a founding shareholder in Current Group, a provider of power line broadband, will assume majority of control later this year of DirecTV from News Corp. DirecTV says that it WiMax technology is also in consideration as a way to deliver broadband access.

Reference:Tuan Nguyen, dailytech

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Japan to Create Wireless Island

Japanese researchers plan to create a wireless zone on one of the nation's many islands



Japan plans to create a high-tech wireless area on a Japanese island in 2008, in which sensors will be utilized for a number of tasks to help residents. To help get the program underway, the Japanese government will make arrangements with electronics manufacturers, telecom carriers, automakers and other tech companies, according to a report published by the Kyodo News. Sensors would monitor pedestrian movement before alerting local drivers, and would allow hospitals to monitor the health of senior citizens in the area. Instead of radio frequency identification tags, Japan will also use integrated circuit (IC) tags in the project, which share similarities with RFID technology. Much like RFID tags, IC tags are small computer chips with antennas which allow them to be remotely monitored. While there are risks involved with using devices such as RFID and IC tags -- unauthorized access of personal information on the IC tag being one of the largest risks -- Japan has not shied away from wireless technology. For example, a current project in a Tokyo shopping district uses up to 1,200 chips to project maps and store guides to shoppers.The wireless zone will likely be constructed on Hokkaido or Okinawa, where there will likely be less radio wave interference.
Reference: Michael Hoffman, dailytech

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Zune With Halo 3 Motif Available June 15 at GameStop

Rock out like Master Chief with the Halo Zune

With the Halo 3 multiplayer beta starting today and the retail release just 132 days away, the Halo 3-related marketing machine is just getting started. One of the first cross-promotion kits is the special edition Halo Zune music player, now available for preorder from GameStop.
The special edition music player will be instantly recognizable by its grey finish with Halo-esque markings. The 30GB drive inside the Zune will come preloaded with artwork, music and videos from the Halo trilogy, plus episodes from the Red vs. Blue machinima.
Preloaded videos include various Halo 2 and 3 trailers, along with three “making of” Halo 3 documentary videos. The first six episodes of Red vs. Blue are also included, plus a special custom episode made just for Zune buyers.
The special Zune will also come with tunes to play right away, as the complete Halo original soundtrack and two volumes of the Halo 2 original soundtrack will be stored inside. Finally, over 120 different images, including game concept art, storyboards, paintings, and conceptual marketing imagery make up the free artwork portion of this Halo-themed Zune.
The special edition Halo Zune is priced at $249.99, just like every other Zune, and will ship on June 15.

Reference: Marcus Yam, dailytech

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IBM Contractor Loses Sensitive Employee Data

The data was lost en route from one IBM location to another





IBM confirmed that a company vendor lost multiple tapes containing sensitive information on former and current IBM employees. According to reports, an undisclosed number of tapes went missing from a contractor's vehicle in late February, with IBM and the vendor unaware of what happened to the tapes. IBM has not disclosed how many people may be affected by the security breach.It appears that the sensitive information has not been used in an inappropriate manner, IBM said. The company went on to admit that some of the information was not encrypted, and did not state if having data encrypted is company policy. Some of the data on the lost tapes includes information on "your Social Security number, your dates of employment with IBM, birth date, contact information such as your address, and your IBM work history," IBM said in a statement to those affected.IBM has offered an undisclosed reward for the return of the tapes or any information about their location. The company also ran several ads in local New York newspapers for information about the tapes.Even though IBM may now be best known for efforts in the security IT space, any company handling personal information can suffer from security breaches, according to Fred McNeese, IBM company spokesman."I think what it shows is the vulnerabilities that information is subject to, and it shows the need for constant vigilance,"
McNeese said.
Reference: Michael Hoffman, dailytech

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New HD DVD, Blu-ray Disc Copy Protection Defeated Before Release

AnyDVD HD software stillborns latest AACS high-def protections one week before launch

Efforts that began in December 2006, and continued through February 2007, lead the way for the circumvention of the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc copy-protection scheme.
It started with the discovery of individual encryption keys for specific movies titles that would allow the decryption and backup of the protected media. Continued efforts eventually uncovered the Processing Key, essentially a silver bullet that is able to defeat the copy protection of all HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc media currently on the market.
Advanced Access Content System Licensing Administration (AACS LA) acknowledged the effectiveness of the hack, but promised that it would soon patch up the hole in future releases. “AACS LA has confirmed that AACS Title Keys have appeared on public web sites without authorization,” read a statement from the AACS website. “AACS LA employs both technical and legal measures to deal with attacks such as this one, and AACS LA is using all appropriate remedies at its disposal to address the attack.“
Beginning May 22, which is most notably the release date of the Matrix trilogy on HD DVD, all high-definition titles will shipping with Media Key Block (MKB) v3 – a new encryption key version that would render the previously discovered Processing Key obsolete.
“If a set of device keys is compromised in a way that threatens the integrity of the system, an updated MKB can be provided by the AACS LA that will cause a product with the compromised set of device keys to calculate a different key than is computed by the remaining compliant products,” as found written in AACS documentation. “In this way, the compromised device keys are 'revoked' by the new MKB.”
However, it appears that the AACS’ updated copy protection measures have already been circumvented even before the new software’s official release. SlySoft, developers of a software used to defeat the copy protections of DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, have revealed that its latest version of AnyDVD HD is able to sidestep the new MKB from the AACS.
According to posts in SlySoft's forums, the new AnyDVD HD version was successfully able to decrypt an early-shipped release of the Matrix trilogy. Judging from how the protection system works, the newly discovered exploit will also work with all upcoming software until the AACS LA implements yet another patch.
The original Processing Key, found in February, recently caused quite the stir. Attempts to censor a string of letters and numbers stirred Internet users to overwhelm Digg.com in the first well-documented Internet Riot, leading it and other websites to change their legal position on censorship.

Reference: Marcus Yam, dailytech

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Foreign Planet May Have 'Hot Ice'

A planet located ~30 light-years from Earth is covered by "hot ice"

A small observatory in southern Switzerland found a Neptune-sized world that could be the first planet made of ice. Planet GJ 436b orbits closely with its star but is likely covered with forms of water that cannot be found on Earth -- it consists of hot, solid water. Scientists are describing the planet as a "hot ice planet." Studies indicate the planet is composed mainly of water ice.Because the planet is close to its star and is under extremely high pressure, GJ 436b is not a welcoming planet, said one of the astronomers responsible for discovering the planet. Researchers further believe that the planet is likely covered by hydrogen, making it even more hostile towards humans. "The water is frozen by the pressure but it's hot. It's a bit strange -- we are used to water changing conditions because of temperature, but in fact water can also be solidified by pressure," said Frederic Point.Planet GJ 436b was originally found in 2004 by a team of U.S. researchers led by University of California, Berkeley's Geoff Marcy. The discovery it is covered by hot ice was made by researchers in Geneva using a Swiss telescope.Even though planet GJ 436b does not have an environment suited for humans, researchers are pleased with its discovery. Since there is water and oceans on this planet, researchers believe water could be located on planets in other solar systems -- a key to discovering other signs of life.

Reference: Michael Hoffman, dailytech

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Toyota Charges Ahead With Hybrids

Toyota's margins on hybrid vehicles to reach parity with gasoline-only vehicles by 2010.

Toyota is basking in the limelight as it sees the sales of its hybrid vehicles take off worldwide. The company introduced the world first's modern gasoline-electric Prius in Japan in 1997. It took three years for that first generation vehicle to make it over to the United States, but it has been a relative hit here ever since. Since then, Toyota has expanded its hybrid vehicle lineup to include the Highlander Hybrid, Camry Hybrid, Lexus RX 400h, Lexus GS 450h and Lexus LS 600h L.
Toyota produced roughly 200,000 Prius hybrids during 2006 -- 106,971 of which ended up in the hands of American drivers. A total of 313,000 Toyota hybrids were sold worldwide in 2006 and the company is projected to sell 430,000 worldwide in 2007. To date, the company has sold 998,900 hybrids worldwide (as of April 2007).
Toyota announced last week that it is making tremendous gains in reducing the cost of its Hybrid Synergy Drive system. By the year 2010, Toyota expects that the margins it receives on the sale of hybrids to be at parity with conventional internal combustion engines (ICEs). By 2020, every Toyota automobile will feature the Hybrid Synergy Drive according to Masatami Takimoto, executive VP of powertrain development for Toyota.
In the immediate future, however, Toyota is working hard on its next generation Prius hybrid. The company showcased its Hybrid X concept at the 2007 Geneva Auto Show. While the vehicle is dolled up with show car "bling" like 20" wheels, suicide doors, and outlandish interior, some features that are likely to reach production include LED exterior/interior lighting, lithium-ion battery technology and an extensive use of lightweight materials to keep weight down.

Reference: Brandon Hill, dailytech

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Apple Updates MacBook Lineup

Apple bumps the specs on its MacBook, but Santa Rosa is MIA

With the release of Intel’s Santa Rosa platform last week, we saw a number of new notebooks be announced from the usual suspects like Sony and Dell. Conspicuously missing, however, was Apple. The company is known for operating on its own timetable, but many expected Apple to eventually make the switch to Intel's newest platform.
Today, Apple announced an update to its MacBook lineup, but Santa Rosa is still MIA. Apple has updated the entry-level model to include a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of RAM and an 80GB HDD (up from 1.83GHz, 512MB and 60GB). The range-topping black MacBook now features a 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB HDD (up from 2.0GHz, 1GB and 120GB).
All other features remain the same including the 13.3" (WXGA) glossy screen, slot-loading DL DVD burner (CD-RW combo drive on the entry-level model), Intel GMA950, GbE, 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR.
The new MacBooks are available now and range in price from $1,099 for the entry-level model to $1,499 for the 2.16GHz black model.

Reference: Brandon Hill, dailytech

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Nearly 40 Million Windows Vista Licenses Sold in 100 Days

Windows Longhorn imaginatively named Windows Server 2008

In 100 days after its January launch, nearly 40 million Windows Vista licenses have been sold, announced Bill Gates at the 16th annual Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC). The milestone has Microsoft claiming that Windows Vista is the fastest-selling operating system in history.
“As of last week, we've (sold) nearly 40 million copies,” Gates said. “That's twice as fast as the adoption of Windows XP, the last major release we had.”
Of the near 40 million copies of Windows Vista, 78 percent are premium editions that feature advanced features and the Aero user interface.
Gates also revealed that the formerly code-named Windows Server “Longhorn” will be called Windows Server 2008.
Acknowledging that the blandness of name choice for Microsoft’s next server product, Gates joked, “We've been working hard thinking about it. We played around with a couple different ideas, but what we are going to go with is...Windows Server 2008. We know it's a surprise for us to pick something so straightforward.”
Despite Gates’ apparent happiness with having the fastest selling OS yet, things weren’t always rosy at Microsoft when it came to Windows Vista. In February, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that piracy was to blame for the slow initial sales of the new operating system. Then in March, the software company announced that the sale of Windows Vista licenses more than doubled those of Windows XP during its first month of availability.

Reference: Marcus Yam, dailytech

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Fujitsu Announces Its FMV-U8240 UMPC

Fujitsu launches the world's smallest UMPC
Fujitsu is jumping on the Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) bandwagon with its FMV-U8240 UMPC. DailyTech first mentioned the Fujitsu UMPC back in April when all we had to go on was a single image of the device from IDF.
The FMV-U8240 is billed as the world's smallest UMPC weighing in at just 1.3 pounds. The device also measures 6.73" x 5.24" x 1.26". Battery life is described as 4 hours with the standard battery and 8 hours with the extended battery.
"The Fujitsu UMPC combines Fujitsu's systems expertise with Intel's low power processor and chipset," said Intel Senior VP Anand Chandrasekher. "The emerging UMPC category delivers the functionality of the PC and full Internet to users who are constantly on the go in ultra light and small form factors."
The FMV-U8240 features a 5.6" (1024x600) display and a built-in keyboard (14mm key pitch, 1.3mm keystroke). The device also comes standard with Intel A100 (800MHz) processor, 20GB HDD, a fingerprint scanner, USB port, Secure Digital slot, CompactFlash slot and 802.11g wireless connectivity. Surprisingly, Bluetooth support is not a part of the equation.
There will be three versions of the UMPC available. The first model will feature the Windows XP Professional operating system and just 512MB of DDR2 memory. The latter two models bump the memory count up to 1GB but are available with Windows XP Professional and Windows Vista Business respectively.
The models featuring Windows XP Professional will be available in June, while the sole model with Windows Vista Business will be available in early July. Pricing in Japan is listed at $1,195 USD for the base model and $1,362 USD for the 1GB models.

Reference: Brandon Hill, dailytech

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AMD Launches ATI Radeon HD Family, Finally

AMD announces its long-awaited ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT, seven months after its initial launch date

AMD is prepared to launch its ATI Radeon HD 2000 family tomorrow. The new ATI Radeon HD 2000 family consists of the HD 2400, HD 2600 and HD 2900 graphics processors, formerly known as RV610, RV630 and R600, respectively. Although AMD will announce its ATI adeon HD 2000 series, only the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT will have immediate availability. The accompanying ATI Radeon HD 2400 and HD 2600-based products are paper launches.After months of delays, AMD’s R600 GPU is finally ready for consumer purchase. Only one ATI Radeon HD 2900 model will launch today in XT guise. DailyTech previously pitted the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT up against NVIDIA’s GeForce 8800 GTS. The ATI Radeon HD 2900 XTX previously benchmarked by DailyTech will not hit retail channels, for now. AMD’s ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT packs 320 unified stream processors with an estimated 47.5 Gigapixels/sec pixel processing rate. The 320 stream processors are joined by 16 texture units and render backends. AMD claims the 740 MHz ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT delivers 475 GigaFLOPS of processing power in multiply-add, or MADD, calculations.AMD pairs the 700 million transistors GPU with 512MB of GDDR3 video memory. The 1.65 GHz GDDR3 memory communicates with the GPU via a 512-bit memory interface, delivering 106 GB/sec of bandwidth. The new ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT continues to make do with an 80nm fabrication process to consume approximately 215 watts of power altogether. Although images have shown the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT with dual dual-link DVI ports, the card does in fact support HDMI output. An included adapter allows users to experience high-definition video and 5.1 surround sound audio via HDMI output. Also bundled with the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT are keys for Valve’s upcoming Half Life 2: Episode Two and Team Fortress 2. The keys allow owners to download the games, when released, over STEAM.Taking on NVIDIA’s recently launched GeForce 8600 family is the new ATI Radeon HD 2600 series. AMD plans to paper launch the ATI Radeon HD 2600 in PRO and XT guises. The ATI Radeon HD 2600 series features 120 stream processors. The GPU is clocked anywhere between 600 to 800 MHz depending on flavor. AMD backs the 120 stream processors with eight texture units and four render backends. The amount of processing power brings the ATI Radeon HD 2600 GPU transistor count to 390 million. Nevertheless, the ATI Radeon HD 2600 is manufactured on a 65nm process. AMD rates power consumption at approximately 45 watts.AMD pairs the ATI Radeon HD 2600 GPU with GDDR4, GDDR3 or DDR2 memory. Manufacturers can equip cards with 256MB of video memory clocked anywhere between 800 MHz to 2.2 GHz, on a 128-bit memory interface. ATI Radeon HD 2600-based cards will also support HDMI audio and video output via adapter.At the bottom of the new ATI Radeon 2000-series lineup is the ATI Radeon HD 2400 series with PRO and XT models. The new ATI Radeon HD 2400 features 40 stream processors with four texture units and render backends. GPU clocks vary between 525 MHz to 700 MHz. The ATI Radeon HD 2400 series features less than half the transistors as the HD 2600 – 180 million. AMD has the ATI Radeon HD 2400 series manufactured on the same 65nm process as the HD 2600. Power consumption of the ATI Radeon HD 2400 hovers around 25 watts.Add-in board manufacturers are free to equip ATI Radeon HD 2400 series graphics cards with GDDR3 or DDR2 memory. The GPU supports 128MB or 256MB memory configurations on a 64-bit memory interface. Memory clock can vary from 800 MHz to 1.6 GHz depending on model. Expect ATI Radeon HD 2400 series graphics cards to support HDMI audio and video output via a DVI to HDMI adapter. Despite an announcement for the complete ATI Radeon HD 2000 series, the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT will be the only card available for purchase tomorrow. The ATI Radeon HD 2600 and HD 2400 series will hit retail in late June 2007 with an accompanying benchmark NDA lift. Expect to pay $399 for an ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT tomorrow from the usual add-in board partners including Diamond Multimedia, HIS, PowerColor and Sapphire Technology. AMD expects to target the ATI Radeon HD 2600 series towards the $99 to $199 market segment and ATI Radeon HD 2400 series towards the less than $99 segment.

Reference:Anh Huynh, dailytech

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iPods Can Cause Pacemakers to Malfunction

Check that iPod when you're around the elderly
A 17-year-old high school student in Michigan has uncovered that iPods can cause pacemakers to malfunction. In a study that tested 83 elderly patients, an iPod was placed just two inches from the patient's chest for five to 10 seconds. Telemetry interference occurred in 29 percent of the patients, and a pacemaker misreading the heart's function occurred in 20 percent of patients, according to HealthDay News. In some cases, electrical interference was detected from as far as 18 inches away, and in one patient, the pacemaker stopped working.
Jay Thaker, son of an electrophysiologist and a rheumatologist, was put in touch with Dr. Krit Jongnarangsin, assistant professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Michigan, to help investigate the effects of iPods on pacemakers.
"We took patients from a pacemaker clinic, got consent, and we put the pacemaker programmer on them to view what was going on inside the pacemaker on a screen," Thaker said to the Denver Channel. "And then we took the iPod and held it about two inches above the implant site of the pacemaker."
"If the pacemaker is inhibited by the iPod and the patient does not have their own rhythm, they can be in serious problem," added Jongnarangsin.
Dr. Jongnarangsin astutely points out, "Most pacemaker patients are not iPod users," but adds that the phenomenon needs to be studied more. Only iPods were used in the test, and it’s unclear if other portable music players may also pose such a risk to pacemakers.
Although iPods aren’t usually in the hands of those with pacemakers, such individuals could come in close contact with those who do carry around Apple’s music player. Apple announced in April that it has sold its 100 millionth iPod, making it a particularly popular device in the hands of the general public.

Reference: Marcus Yam, dailytech

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Xbox 360 Software Update Improves HD DVD Sound Quality, Compatibility

Xbox 360 HD DVD drive now with better aural pleasure

Last week, the Xbox 360 received its Spring Dashboard software, and today the console gets a software update for its HD DVD add-on peripheral. The most notable in this update are improvements to the player’s ability to decode audio streams.
Prior to the update, the Xbox 360 HD DVD player had difficulties decoding Dolby TrueHD audio, leading some titles, such as Nine Inch Nails: Beside You In Time and Poseidon, to exhibit “static popping” and “clipping” during playback. The new software resolved all such audio issues.
While the HD DVD player supports all audio formats for the spec, the Xbox 360 hardware itself is unable to output the true lossless Dolby TrueHD stream. Instead, the Xbox 360 downsamples the lossless stream into a lossy bitstream that can be outputted via the console’s optical toslink connection. Added in the new software update is a full bitrate 1.5 Mbps DTS and WMA Pro as an option for downmixed audio output, along with the previous 640 kbps Dolby Digital 5.1 option.
Even movies without Dolby TrueHD tracks will likely get a boost in audio quality. The original software for the drive ran the audio in a perpetual “night mode,” which dynamically compressed the range of the soundtrack. The update now gives the user to disable the dynamic range compression, leading to a greatly expanded aural experience.
“[The old software] 360 HD DVD audio is reducing dynamic range and that makes the sound worse than it needs to be,” explained Amir Majidimehr, corporate VP at Microsoft’s Consumer Media Technology Group. “The new software unlocks the dynamic range and will give you a pretty big boost in performance.”
Tests of the HD DVD add-on’s playback before and after the update demonstrated that the new software does indeed resolve all known Dolby TrueHD decoding issues. The audio from the Nine Inch Nails concert disc sounds noticeably better after the update, though audiophiles would still be able to identify differences between the downmixed track and a lossless Dolby TrueHD track from a standalone HD DVD machine. Majidimehr is confident that the improved audio options offered by 1.5 Mbps DTS and WMA Pro streams will make the compressed streams nearly indistinguishable to all but the most dedicated audiophiles.
Compatibility of the player has also been improved, fixing certain disc-specific issues. Some users reported that the audio would fall out to of sync with the video on certain Dolby TrueHD titles, such as Batman Begins, though all those issues are now said to be resolved. “Let me say that we have fixed all the lip sync issues reported. So there should be no concerns about that in general,” assured Majidimehr.
The last bit of noticeable change in the new software is the additions of subtitle, camera angle and audio buttons – functions that do not exist on the Xbox 360 media remote. Now users can toggle those settings from the display button rather than having to navigate through the disc’s software menu.
The new Xbox 360 HD DVD software is available now and is automatically downloaded as soon as a user is connected to Xbox Live and attempts to play a movie. Along with the great strides in audio, Microsoft has also improved image quality for those using a VGA output on the Xbox 360, helping the console match up even better against standalone HD DVD players.
Reference: Marcus Yam, dailytech

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