Tech info and news

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IBM to announce micro-chip breakthrough

IBM Corp. researchers say they have made a breakthrough in chip development that could lead to processors that are smaller but more powerful than the current offerings.

In a paper scheduled to be presented on Monday at the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting in Washington, D.C., IBM researchers will say they have used a technique called "molecular self-assembly" to create important parts of a semiconductor memory device. According to the researchers, from IBM's Yorktown Heights, N.Y., research lab, the self-assembly technique takes advantage of a reliable way that certain types of polymer molecules come together and organize themselves.

The result of that tendency are patterns that can be used to create device features that are smaller, denser and more uniform than techniques currently used, such as lithography, according to IBM. Chip makers will still be able to use lithography for many more years to create smaller and faster chips, but that will also increase the cost and complexity of the technique, according to an IBM spokesman.

More information >>

eWEEK

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VIA to sample PCI Express P4 chipset in JanuaryDigiTimes

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Fujitsu samples the first 2.5" Serial ATA hard drives with SATA II Phase I support

The era of Serial ATA II draws near:Digit-Life

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DDR2 explained

DDR2 will offer higher speed and lower power consumption than the current mainstream DDR SDRAM, and as we saw at VTF2003 in September all the major DRAM makers are supporting it. Designed to reach speeds of 400MHz, 533MHz and 667MHz, DDR2 will not only run at higher frequencies than DDR SDRAM but will also further boost performance by prefetching 4 bits per clock cycle and then internally pipelining their output. This is double the prefetches of 2 bits per clock cycle delivered by DDR memory, and allows DDR2 to effectively access and output twice the amount of data than DDR at a given time. Running at 1.8V, DDR2 also offers lower power consumption, making it ideal for rapidly emerging new segments such as Small Form Factor PCs and notebooks.

HardOCP / VIA

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Behind closed doors at Corsair Memory, Inc

Last month I was able to get out to California and was given the opportunity to go behind closed doors at Corsair and tour their entire company. Corsair modules are assembled in Fremont, California by a work force of almost 140 employees working two full shifts. I was shown everything they had at their facility, from the Marketing Department to being able to walk up and down the production line while it was in full swing. Corsair was also happy so show how they manufacture what we have found to be some of the best performing memory in the world.

Read the review

Legit Reviews

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IBM: Patent King

IBM gained more U.S. patents than any other company in 2003. The computing giant said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted it 3,415 patents, marking the 11th consecutive year the company has been the top recipient. IBM said it is the only company to garner more than 3,000 patents in one year, which it has done for the past three years. In the past 10 years, the company has sought to make its research division more focused on customer requirements.

HardOCP

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Mobo makers: DDR2 not mainstream this year unless price falls massivelyDigiTimes

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Electronic paper from Fujitsu Laboratories

Specialists from Fujitsu Laboratories announced the new display, some features of which get close to the usual paper. While there are display concepts, the volume production is scheduled to 2006 only.

Critical features of such "electronic paper" include whiteness, contrast and flexibility. At the moment, Fujitsu Laboratories achieved brightness equal to 80% and higher at 15 contrast. No specific values were disclosed regarding the flexibility, but it should be high enough judging by these photos.

The idea of Fujitsu Laboratories' flexible display resembles the one mentioned previously in our news: display base component is the high-molecular tinted electrolyte that forms image elements with voltage applied.

The developers are going to primarily focus on reducing the cost price and improving the pixel response time, so I guess until 2006 we'll hear more about the "electronic paper".

Digit-Life

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The Successor to AC'97: Intel High Definition Audio

An anonymous reader writes "A few days back Intel announced the name to its previously dubbed 'Azalia' next-generation audio specification due out by midyear, under royalty-free license terms. The Intel High Definition Audio solution will have increased bandwidth that allows for 192 kHz, 32-bit, multi-channel audio and uses Dolby Pro Logic IIx technology 'which delivers the most natural, seamless and immersing 7.1 surround listening experience from any native 2-channel source'. The architecture is designed on the same cost-sensitive principles as AC'97 and will allow for improved audio usage and stability."

Slashdot

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OCZ talks on next-generation PC memory PCBs
Ultra Low Noise 2 technology revealedXbit