27th February 2006 Archive

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Lawsuit claims Micron fixed memory prices

After the period probed by the DoJ, too

US memory maker Micron has been hit with a class-action lawsuit that alleges the company and some senior executives conspired with other DRAMurai to fix prices between 24 February 2001 and 13 February 2003. That conspiracy, the complaint claims, resulted in Micron posting false and misleading financial results during the cited …

Bits 'n' Chips 27 Feb 2006, 09:53
The Computer - An Illustrated History

Book review Coffee table book for computer geeks?

Remember coffee table books? Glossy, well-produced art books that are never actually read, but left lying around to show how cultured you are. This illustrated history of computing is such a book (it could make you look both techie and cultured, a good trick if you can pull it off), and it's almost big and solid enough to make …

PCs 27 Feb 2006, 10:21
Intel specs up next-gen chipset GPU

Viiv friendly

The successor to Intel's Graphics Media Acceletor 950 core will bring DirectX 9 Pixel Shader 3.0 and HDMI support, superior de-interlacing, and improved colour callibration to the integrated graphics engine family, which will be touted as supporting what Intel now calls its Clear Video Technology (CVT). So suggest …

Bits 'n' Chips 27 Feb 2006, 11:19
Epson sues inkjet cartridge importer Medea

Alleges patent infringement

Epson last week began legal proceedings against Dundee-based printer cartridge importer Medea International, claiming the company is violating its intellectual property. However, it's unclear which of the importer's products are actually alleged to infringe Epson patents. Medea sells the inkjet cartridges under the Inkrite …

Gadgets and Gizmos 27 Feb 2006, 11:20
MS, Intel gear up to unveil ultra-mobile tablet PC

Taking the fight to Apple's iPod and Sony's PSP?

Microsoft's so-called Origami Project, due to be launched on Thursday, appears to be its early version of the ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) concept Intel has been touting of late, if an allegedly leaked Flash version of a promo video of the product is anything to go by. Quite apart from being a potential iPod competitor, the device …

PCs 27 Feb 2006, 12:05
Sony unveils shake-resistant Cyber-shot cameras

6-8mp digital SLRs and compacts too

Sony this weekend unveiled a trio of anti-shake digital cameras with widescreen picture support, including its latest shot at budget digital SLR supremacy and additions to its Cyber-shot W compact series that takes the line-up to 8.1 megapixels. The SLR-style H2 and H5 offer image capture resolutions of 6.0 and 7.2 …

Gadgets and Gizmos 27 Feb 2006, 14:11
Sony, NEC to merge optical drive teams

Blu-ray backer forms JV with HD DVD supporter

Sony and NEC are to merge their respective optical drive divisions into a single ¥220bn ($1.9bn) jointly owned company, Sony NEC Optiarc, the two Japanese giants announced today. The move may pave the way for reconciliation between the two next-generation optical disc formats, Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. Sony will be the bigger …

Storage 27 Feb 2006, 14:44
Kingston pulls plug on IPTV service

Neither tuned in nor turned on

Kingston Communications, the Hull-based telco, is pulling the plug on its broadband TV service because not enough people watch it. Launched in 2000, Kingston Interactive TV (KIT) offered dozens of channels via a set-top box and an ADSL connection. At its height KIT Digital TV boasted 10,000 subscribers, but today only has …

HD 27 Feb 2006, 15:17
Boffins tout world's first single-chip digital microphone

Akustica develops MEMS-on-standard-CMOS process

US start-up Akustica today launched what it claims is the world's first micro-mechanical digital microphone chip that can be manufactured using standard chip-making processes. Pitching the part primarily at PCs, the company said the new part is sufficiently inexpensive to make microphone arrays in notebook screens and desktop …

PCs 27 Feb 2006, 15:36
TerraTec Cinergy 2400i DT dual-tuner card

Review Digital TV on your PC... times two

Digital terrestrial TV is slowly but surely winning viewers over from analogue transmissions in Europe, and with all analogue signals scheduled to be switched off in the UK by 2010 and replaced by DVB-T, it's time to start thinking about how you might want to make the switch... If you've got a Windows XP Media Center …

HD 27 Feb 2006, 16:10
NTP, RIM spar over proposed tech licence

US Patent Office issues rejection notice

NTP today accused Research in Motion (RIM) of misleading customers and carriers by claiming it has not proposed a licensing agreement the two companies could sign that protects mobile phone networks from future legal action. "RIM's public assertions that NTP has not proposed a licence that protects its carriers is both …

Phones 27 Feb 2006, 16:41