Posts filed under 'Communications'
Intel chose the Interop 2005 conference in Las Vegas for a live demonstration of its WiMax technology that will offer high-speed wireless internet access over large areas.
In the demonstration the WiMax signal was transmitted from the top of the Stratosphere Hotel in the northern downtown area and attendees were then treated to live audio and video streams from 12 miles into the desert, a nearby golf course and even a mobile home travelling down the Las Vegas strip containing an Elvis impersonator. Despite a few problems with the feed from the desert where high winds caused the signal quality to drop, speeds over 7 megabits per second were achieved in what Intel called a ’spectacular’ demo.
Intel Mobility Group executive vice president and general manager Sean Maloney was enthusiastic about the potential uses of WiMax and the productivity gains that could be expected. He used the feed from the golf course to give a real world example. “By using WiMax to help deliver high-quality video from a golf course to a golf pro, the pro could in turn provide real-time advice on how to improve a golfer’s form.” Hardly Earth-shattering, but it gives an idea where Intel is going.
Intel had struggled to get the demo prepared. The Stratosphere hotel was the perfect spot to mount the WiMax signal as it has unobstructed views of the city in all directions, but agreements between the hotel and other comms providers prevented Intel adding new antennas to the array already on the building. Fortunately, one of those comms providers, MPower Communications, was so interested in the concept that it actually agreed to buy the equipment. When Interop is over, the equipment and the blanket coverage it provides to Las Vegas stays in place.
The technology used is very much under development, but Intel expects the WiMax chips to appear in laptops shortly. There are also plans to set up a WiMax network over downtown Tokyo this year.
May 5th, 2005
AOL has had enough of sticking its aging instant messaging client together with spit and a bit of luck, and is rewriting the software from scratch for its 6.0 release.
A limited-release beta, known as Triton, is available at the moment that shows the improvements in the interface that AOL is planning, including a form of ‘tabbed navigation’ so that multiple chats can occur within the single window, unlike the present situation where windows spawn all over the desktop. There will also be a tool to catch the IM equivalent of spam.
The biggest changes are under the hood where Triton has been built in a modular way so that new features can be bolted on, rather than retro-fitting into the existing software.
Chamath Palihapitiya, general manager of AIM, said the original software was designed in 1996 with text-only in mind.
“Would you ever have thought in 1996 that this computer is going to be used for … sending stuff to mobile phones and initiating calls over the Internet?” he asked.
TechSmec.com wasn’t around then, but if we had been we reckon we’d be blown away by the IM of 2005.
April 29th, 2005
Turtle Beach today announced the availability of its new white TBS-1105 noise-canceling ear buds, designed to complement consumer electronics such as the Apple iPod, Sony PSP, and other audio playback devices.
“There’s no reason that noise canceling headphones can’t be stylish,” said Dominick Pagnozzi, Vice-President of Sales of Turtle Beach. “These buds are perfect for silencing annoying background noise while you travel on airplanes or trains or even to quiet down noisy areas such as at the office, workplace or noisy room at home.”
Each ear bud includes a built-in microphone with special circuitry that monitors noise in the listening environment and subtracts its signal from the sound fed into the ear bud diaphragms. Unlike simple passive ear buds, the ear buds’ high-quality diaphragms are driven by an internal audio amplifier to provide high-efficiency, full-bandwidth audio reproduction for crisp highs and deep lows. The comfortable and lightweight design rests comfortably in your ear and can be worn for extended listening sessions without fatigue. A volume control lets you set the level to suit your taste, and the noise-canceling feature can be shut off with a convenient switch.
The package also includes an extra pair of ear bud cushion pads, a carry bag, an airline adapter plug and an AAA battery, and has an expected street price of $49.95.
www.TurtleBeach.com
April 29th, 2005
Sony Online Entertainment has announced plans for Station Exchange, the official auction site for SOE games which is scheduled for launch in late June. Initially the website will only cover EverQuest II, allowing subscribers to buy and sell the rights to use characters, items and coin in a player-to-player auction setting.
“The unsanctioned secondary market for online games is rapidly growing and more and more of our players are taking part in it,” said John Smedley. “Not only are we answering the demands of a sizable portion of our subscriber base, but we are also set on establishing the standard for online game sales. SOE is in a unique position to help guide the industry, just as we have since we first opened the world of EverQuest to the public six years ago.”
Leading industry analyst group DFC Intelligence estimates that the online game industry in 2003 was $1.9 billion. By 2006, they predict revenue growing to $5.2 billion with continued steady growth, with worldwide online game revenue reaching $9.8 billion by 2009. As this business has grown, so too has the “secondary” market, which is based around the unsupported buying and selling of in-game characters, items and coins. Unofficial estimates of underground “secondary” market trade volume range from $100 - $800 million a year, with titles such as SOE’s EverQuest and EverQuest II making up 20% of those sales.
The difference between Station Exchange and other third party, non-sanctioned sites can be summed up in one word: security. When a player decides to auction the use of an item or character, that item is removed from the game world and is moved to a secure Station Exchange server. Interested buyers will be able to browse through all auctions, and will have the comfort of seeing exactly what they are bidding on and knowing that once an auction is complete, the item or character will be placed in their account. Since all transactions happen through Station Exchange servers run by SOE, fraud will be virtually eliminated and the transfer becomes an automatic process. All activities on Station Exchange will be player-to-player on servers designated “Exchange Enabled”; Sony Online Entertainment itself will not sell items, characters or coin.
It is expected the SOE will roll out the service to other MMORPGs, such as Star Wars: Galaxies later in the year.
April 22nd, 2005
UK broadband users got a raw deal at first with connections speeds languishing at the 512Kbps level until very recently.
Now hot on the heels of British Telecom’s recent announcement that it would boost speeds up to 2Mbps for every customer (depending on proximity to exchange of course), news reaches us that BT and Thus, better known for its Demon Internet brand, are trialling an 8Mbps service across the UK.
In a statement Nigel Steven, Thus Product Director, said, “Most homes currently have a maximum broadband connection speed of 1Mbps, but once subscribers can connect to more than 2Mbps it opens up a whole new world of possibilities, allowing users to download and stream applications with rich media content. By playing an integral role in trialling 8Mbps ADSL we can ensure that we deliver a fully functional high-speed service ready for roll-out later in 2005.”
“Target customers for super-fast broadband will include residential users wanting the additional speed to allow multiple users within the home, and businesses that have outgrown 2Mbps”
Of course, the excitement that this announcement will cause must be tempered with the reality that anyone more than a few kms from their exchange is unlikely to get 8Mbps and the actual speed will depends on the amount of attenuation of the ADSL signal in conjunction with the signal to noise ratio….whatever that means. Basically, don’t count on it.
April 22nd, 2005
That’s “largest” in terms of capacity as opposed to physical dimensions - the 2.5 inch drive could hardly by described as big.
Combining a wide range of spin speeds and capacities up to 120GB, the 2.5-inch Momentus family delivers the ruggedness, power-thrifty design and whisper-quiet operation that are redefining mobile computing.
Highlighting Seagate’s notebook product line are 7,200- and 5,400-rpm models that provide the highest capacities available - 100GB and 120GB, respectively - to help meet growing demand among mobile users for notebook computers with greater performance and storage capacity.
“People on-the-go need notebook computers that deliver desktop PC performance yet can withstand the rigors of travel and extend battery life,” said Jeff Loebbaka, Seagate vice president of Global Marketing. “Others are willing to settle for lower performance and capacity in exchange for lower cost. Seagate is meeting all these needs with a family of Momentus drives that combine the widest range of spin speeds and capacities with the highest levels of reliability and power efficiency.”
“As notebook PCs displace desktop PCs in the workplace, end users increasingly will demand desktop PC capabilities in notebooks,” said John Buttress, IDC’s research manager for hard drives. “Currently, the market for 7,200-rpm notebook drives is a niche market, but it is growing, and the market for 5,400-rpm drives already is growing rapidly. The market opportunities for these high-performance drives in notebook PCs also include requirements for higher capacities. Companies like Seagate that combine these capabilities with lower acoustic and power consumption levels will be well positioned in these growing segments to gain market share in the future.”
Not just for notebooks, Momentus features a tough design that also makes the drives ideal for CE devices, printers, copiers, non-mission critical blade servers, external storage arrays and other environments where systems are jostled or subject to high levels of vibration. Momentus drives can withstand up to 900 Gs of non-operating shock and 250 Gs of operating shock to safeguard drive data. Momentus hard drives are also highly power efficient, allowing notebook users to work longer between battery recharges, and are virtually inaudible to users thanks to Seagate SoftSonic fluid-dynamic bearing motors.
Source: Media Center PC World
April 19th, 2005
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