Top Technology News

Intel, the world’s largest chip maker, has overhauled the basic building block of the information age, paving the way for a new generation of faster and more energy-efficient processors.

Company researchers said the advance represented the most significant change in the materials used to manufacture silicon chips since Intel pioneered the modern integrated-circuit transistor more than four decades ago.

The microprocessor chips, which Intel plans to begin making in the second half of this year, are designed for computers but they could also have applications in consumer devices. Their combination of processing power and energy efficiency could make it possible, for example, for cellphones to play video at length — a demanding digital task — with less battery drain.

The work by Intel overcomes a potentially crippling technical obstacle that has arisen as a transistor’s tiny switches are made ever smaller: their tendency to leak current as the insulating material gets thinner. The Intel advance uses new metallic alloys in the insulation itself and in adjacent components.

Word of the announcement, which is planned for Monday, touched off a war of dueling statements as I.B.M. rushed to announce that it was on the verge of a similar advance.

I.B.M. executives said their company was planning to introduce a comparable type of transistor in the first quarter of 2008.

Many industry analysts say that Intel retains a six-month to nine-month lead over the rest of the industry, but I.B.M. executives disputed the claim and said the two companies were focused on different markets in the computing industry.

The I.B.M. technology has been developed in partnership with Advanced Micro Devices, Intel’s main rival. Modern microprocessor and memory chips are created from an interconnected fabric of hundreds of millions and even billions of the tiny switches that process the ones and zeros that are the foundation of digital computing.

They are made using a manufacturing process that has been constantly improving for more than four decades. Today transistors, for example, are made with systems that can create wires and other features that are finer than the resolving power of a single wavelength of light.

The Intel announcement is new evidence that the chip maker is maintaining the pace of Moore’s Law, the technology axiom that states that the number of transistors on a chip doubles roughly every two years, giving rise to a constant escalation of computing power at lower costs.

“This is evolutionary as opposed to revolutionary, but it will generate a big sigh of relief,” said Vivek Subramanian, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at the University of California, Berkeley.

For several decades there have been repeated warnings about the impending end of the Moore’s Law pace for chip makers. In response the semiconductor industry has repeatedly found its way around fundamental technical obstacles, inventing techniques that at times seem to defy basic laws of physics.

The chip industry measures its progress by manufacturing standards defined by a width of one of the smallest features of a transistor for each generation. Currently much of the industry is building chips in what is known as 90-nanometer technology. At that scale, about 1,000 transistors would fit in the width of a human hair. Intel began making chips at 65 nanometers in 2005, about nine months before its closest competitors.

Now the company is moving on to the next stage of refinement, defined by a minimum feature size of 45 nanometers. Other researchers have recently reported progress on molecular computing technologies that could reduce the scale even further by the end of the decade.

Intel’s imminent advance to 45 nanometers will have a huge impact on the industry, Mr. Subramanian said. “People have been working on it for over a decade, and this is tremendously significant that Intel has made it work,” he said.

Intel’s advance was in part in finding a new insulator composed of an alloy of hafnium, a metallic element that has previously been used in filaments and electrodes and as a neutron absorber in nuclear power plants. They will replace the use of silicon dioxide — essentially the material that window glass is made of, but only several atoms thick.

Intel is also shifting to new metallic alloy materials — it is not identifying them specifically — in transistor components known as gates, which sit directly on top of the insulator. These are ordinarily made from a particular form of silicon called polysilicon.

The new approach to insulation appears at least temporarily to conquer one of the most significant obstacles confronting the semiconductor industry: the tendency of tiny switches to leak electricity as they are reduced in size. The leakage makes chips run hotter and consume more power.

Many executives in the industry say that Intel is still recovering from a strategic wrong turn it made when the company pushed its chips to extremely high clock speeds — the ability of a processor to calculate more quickly. That obsession with speed at any cost left the company behind its competitors in shifting to low-power alternatives.

Now Intel is coming back. Although the chip maker led in the speed race for many years, the company has in recent years shifted its focus to low-power microprocessors that gain speed by breaking up each chip into multiple computing “cores.” In its new 45-nanometer generation, Intel will gain the freedom to seek either higher performance or substantially lower power, while at the same time increasing the number of cores per chip.

“They can adjust the transistor for high performance or low power,” said David Lammers, director of WeSRCH.com, a Web portal for technical professionals.

The Intel development effort has gone on in a vast automated factory in Beaverton, Ore., that the company calls D1D. It features huge open manufacturing rooms that are kept surgically clean to prevent dust from contaminating the silicon wafers that are whisked around the factory by a robotic conveyor system.

The technology effort was led by Mark T. Bohr, a longtime Intel physicist who is director of process architecture and integration. The breakthrough, he said, was in finding a way to deal with the leakage of current. “Up until five years ago, leakage was thought to increase with each generation,” he said.

Several analysts said that the technology advance could give Intel a meaningful advantage over competitors in the race to build ever more powerful microprocessors.

“It’s going to be a nightmare for Intel’s competitors,” said G. Dan Hutcheson, chief executive of VLSI Research. “A lot of Mark Bohr’s counterparts are going to wake up in terror.”

An I.B.M. executive said yesterday that the company had also chosen hafnium as its primary insulator, but that it would not release details of its new process until technical papers are presented at coming conferences.

“It’s the difference between can openers and Ferraris,” said Bernard S. Meyerson, vice president and chief technologist for the systems and technology group at I.B.M. He insisted that industry analysts who have asserted that Intel has a technology lead are not accurate and that I.B.M. had simply chosen to deploy its new process in chips that are part of high-performance systems aimed at the high end of the computer industry.

Intel said it had already manufactured prototype microprocessor chips in the new 45-nanometer process that run on three major operating systems: Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

BY the time next week's Tech Heads comes out, some of you will be using Microsoft Vista.

The next-generation operating system (OS) officially goes on sale here on January 30.

And, in the States at least, they are making their OS available as a download for the first time.

Downloadable OSes are common in the Linux world, and downloading software has become a standard way for PC users to get browsers, spyware apps, file-sharing software and more.

But this is real ground-breaking for Microsoft's OS -and they're planning on offering us Office 2007 that way.

Microsoft's Windows marketing director Bill Mannion said: "This is the tip of something we think is going to get much larger."

Th firm have also unveiled their Windows Vista Test Drive website, which allows you to find out what Vista might be like without installing it.

The site requires Windows 2000 or XP, Internet Explorer 6 or 7, and Microsoft's Virtual Machine Remote Control Advanced ActiveX control.

There are a few security hoops to jump through, however, so only do it if you're really curious.

The site's at http://www.windowsvistatestdrive.com/

The encryption on high-definition DVDs has been bypassed, the consortium backing the copy protection system on discs has confirmed.

At the end of last year a hacker claimed he had defeated the protection on a number of HD-DVD titles, leading to fears the entire system was broken.

But the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) Licensing Authority has said the breach is limited.

"It does not represent an attack on the AACS system itself," the group said.

The AACS group has admitted that a hacker had managed to decrypt some discs and other people were now able to make copies of certain titles.


"I'm just an upset customer"
Hacker muslix64

The hacker, known as muslix64, has been able to access the encryption keys which pass between certain discs and the player. Once those keys have been obtained the disc can be stripped of its encryption enabling the digital content to be played on any machine.

A spokesman for the AACS group said the large size of the files and the high cost of writable hi-def discs made widespread copying of the movies impractical.

The attacks on the new format echo the early days of illegal trafficking in music files, AACS spokesman Michael Ayers said.

Security

AACS copy protection is used on both HD-DVD and Blu-ray titles, giving rise to concern from the entire movie industry about the security of its content.

A large-scale breach of AACS could be a threat to the $24bn DVD industry and dent hopes that high-definition discs would invigorate the market.

DVD rack
There are fears that piracy could harm the industry

The hacker obtained the keys from "one or more" pieces of software which plays high-definition DVDs, said Mr Ayers.

But the AACS group would not identify them or say whether their AACS licensing would be revoked.

"We certainly have not ruled out any particular response and we will take whatever action is appropriate," Mr Ayers said.

In a recent interview with digital media website Slyck, hacker muslix64, said his motivation for defeating the protection system was frustration.

'Fair use'

"I'm just an upset customer. My efforts can be called 'fair use enforcement'," he said.

He said he had grown angry when a HD-DVD movie he had bought would not play on his monitor because it did not have the compliant connector demanded by the movie industry.

As part of the copy protection system on high-definition DVD, content providers can insist that movies will only play correctly if there are HDMI or DVI ports on the player and screen as these two connectors can handle the HDCP copy protection system.

"Not being able to play a movie that I have paid for, because some executive in Hollywood decided I cannot, made me mad," said the hacker.

At the CES conference in Las Vegas today, Skype and Nokia announced a collaboration to develop a new mobile Skype(TM) experience on the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet, introduced earlier today.
The collaboration builds on the familiarity and richness of desktop Skype and makes it mobile. The Nokia N800's small size and easy wireless connectivity frees Skype users from their desktop, allowing Skype conversations to take place anywhere, as long as there is an available wireless Internet connection. Packed with features such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth phone connectivity, hands-free properties, webcam, media support and messenger keyboard, the Nokia N800 makes Skype conversations captivating experience at home, at work and on the move.

"Skype is the recognized leader of Internet communications with over 136 million registered users worldwide," said Ari Virtanen, Vice President, Convergence Products, Nokia. "Nokia's new N800 Internet Tablet is designed for mobile Internet. Together, we can develop communications devices beyond expectations."

"Skype is very happy to be partnering with Nokia," said Eric Lagier, Director, Business Development, Hardware and Mobile, at Skype. "Working with the leading mobile-handset manufacturer puts us in a unique position to get Skype to the mobile masses. With the introduction of the Nokia N800, we are positioning Skype as the centerpiece of Internet conversations on this WiFi-centric device. The Nokia N800 is an excellent platform for taking Skype conversations beyond the PC."

The first implementation on the Nokia N800 is expected to be made available for download by the end of first half of 2007.

Tech-blog Engadget made waves this morning by running a picture and details that purportedly reveal the long rumored version 2 of the Xbox 360. According to Engadget's anonymous source, the revised console is codenamed Zephyr and will sport the more efficient 65nm CPU we learned was in the works back in September '06

Even more exciting, the grainy spy photo reveals the addition of an HDMI port to the console. HDMI support will alleviate the headaches currently associated with getting a clean 1080p signal from the console with analog VGA or Component video. Last among the Zephyr upgrades will reportedly be the addition of a 120GB HDD, great news for fans of XBL's new movie download service, and a move we've been expecting for a while after various 360 Dev-Kits arrived in our offices sporting 80GB HDDs.




We contracted Microsoft representatives for comment and their official reply was not much of a surprise: "We have seen all types of claimed leaked photos like this show up online and as a standard policy we don't comment on speculative items." Regardless, the Engadget tipster promised we'd be seeing the upgraded console "soon."

The Engadget spy pic is not the first to purportedly reveal an HDMI equipped Xbox 360. In July '06 Xbox-scene.com ran a rather blurry shot of a supposedly naked 360 PCB (story). Comparing the two pictures, if they are, in fact, both real, reveals that the upgrade has been in the works for quite a while. The differing orientation of the Ethernet jack in relation to the video output can be attributed to the earlier image being mirrored.

Pre CES 2007 coverage - - Las Vegas (NV) - Hitachi this morning was first out of the gate to announce details about a 1 TB hard drive, which the company said will ship during the first quarter of this year. The announcement follows a brief statement by Seagate, which yesterday confirmed that it will also deliver a 1 TB drive within the next three months.

If you 500 or even 750 GB hard drive just doesn't cut it anymore, we have good news for you. The terabyte is about to begin, with Hitachi being the first company to announce such a drive, at least sort of: The drive isn't available just yet, but will be available "in limited numbers" in retail stores within this quarter, the company told us. In other words, if you really want such a drive, you'll be able to get one, if your keep watching those Sundays ads.

Besides the sheer capacity of the Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 drive, which provides 33% more storage space than the largest drive currently available on the market - Seagate's 750 GB Barracuda drive - the big news about the Terabyte drive is that it actually may be ringing in more competition for Seagate on the high-end, ultimately resulting in lower prices. Hitachi will sell the 7K1000 for about $400 retail, which compares to about $450 for Seagate's 750 GB drive.

Looking at the capacity of the Hitachi drive, which will be available with SATA and PATA interfaces and appear later on in the consumer electronics version called "Cinemastar 7K1000", you will be able to store 56 million pages of text or about 1 million ebooks. Hitachi noted that 18 terabyte drives would be enough to store the entire contents of the Library of congress, which currently holds about 18 million books. 1 TB is also enough to store more than 300,000 6-megapixel images, 250,000 MP3s, 1000 hours of standard definition video or 250 hours of high-definition video. Or, you could store the content of 20 Blu-ray discs.

Hitachi won't be alone with a terabyte drive for long, as Seagate told us yesterday that the company actually expects to be the first manufacturer that is shipping such a drive. And, Seagate appears to have the technological edge: While Hitachi is using five 200 GB platters (148 Gb/in2 density) to reach 1 TB, Seagate will be using four 250 GB platters, which indicates that Seagate will be announcing a new storage density record in commercial hard drives of more than 180 Gb/in2.

With the 1 TB milestone in mind, we can't help looking back at the history at hard drives. Hitachi reminded us that the first hard drive, released in 1956, stored 5 MB of data and was priced at $50,000 - or $10,000 per MB. 35 years later, in 1991, the industry had reached 1 GB and first mass-market gigabyte drives were entering the market around 1995 for about $500. Twelve years later, the industry has overcome serious concerns of how to keep increasing hard drive storage densities and is looking towards hard drives with multiple terabytes of storage capacity. Compared to a $10,000/MB price in 1956, a capacity of 1 GB is priced today at about 40 cents.

The device will play DVDs in both the Blu-ray and HD DVD formats, so the people who buy it won't have to choose between the competing standards.

LG Electronics plans next week to launch the first DVD player that can play both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, making it possible for consumers to buy high-definition movies without worrying about the recording format.

The South Korean company said Thursday that the device will be unveiled at CES in Las Vegas but declined to give further details until then. The player will be available in the United States early this year.

The market has been gearing up for a DVD war reminiscent of the VHS-Betamax battle that ushered in the VCR era. Sony lost with Betamax.

Movie studios and consumer electronics leaders have taken sides in the current battle. Sony, Hitachi and Philips favor Blu-ray, while Toshiba and NEC support HD DVD. On the studio side, Sony, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 20th Century Fox, and Walt Disney Pictures are exclusively releasing DVDs in Blu-ray. Universal Studios is distributing high-definition content only in HD DVD, and Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures are releasing DVDs in both formats.

For now, consumers have yet to feel the impact of the Blu-ray/HD DVD battle because high-definition technology and content remains an emerging market of early adopters. With the exception of flat-panel TVs, the prices for many players remain too high for the mass market. However, most analysts agree that the market for HD movies sold in stores or over the Internet is unlikely to take off, if consumers are forced to choose between competing formats.

Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos is asking engineers to join his fledgling and secretive private aerospace business, breaking a long silence about his operation in a remote section of West Texas by posting photos and videos on the company's Web site of a test launch of a reusable spacecraft.

"We're working, patiently and step-by-step, to lower the cost of spaceflight so that many people can afford to go and so that we humans can better continue exploring the solar system," Bezos said on the Web page of his space venture, Blue Origin. "Accomplishing this mission will take a long time, and we're working on it methodically."

The posting, with Bezos' message dated Tuesday, shows a cone-shaped vehicle with four metal legs, reminiscent of the clunky models in 1950s science fiction movies, launching in a cloud of smoke, reaching an altitude of about 90m, according to Blue Origin, then landing on its legs.

"Slow and steady is the way to achieve results, and we do not kid ourselves into thinking this will get easier as we go along," Bezos said. "Smaller, more frequent steps drive a faster rate of learning, help us maintain focus, and give each of us an opportunity to see our latest work fly sooner."

He said the development vehicle, named Goddard and launched on Nov. 13 from a site about 193km east of El Paso, is the first step in a project that will end with New Shepard, "a vertical takeoff, vertical-landing vehicle designed to take a small number of astronauts on a suborbital journey into space."

Goddard presumably is named for Robert Hutchings Goddard, considered the father of modern rocket propulsion for building and successfully testing in 1926 the first rocket using liquid fuel. Alan Shepard was the first American to fly in space in 1961.

The Blue Origin posting is accompanied by other photos and videos from the November test flight.

"My only job at the launch was to open the champagne, and I broke the cork off in the bottle," he said. "Fortunately, our other valve operations went more smoothly."

Videos also offer views and sounds from inside the test vehicle during launch and landing.

"The launch was both useful and fun," said Bezos, whose success with Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc made him a billionaire. "Many friends and family came to watch the launch and support the team."

Bezos' written message included an appeal for "a hardworking, technically gifted, team-oriented, experienced aerospace engineer or engineering leader" and "experienced propulsion engineers and experienced turbomachinery engineers, as well as a senior leader to head our turbopump group."

Blue Origin received FAA approval late last summer to begin its testing program.

The spaceport site in one of the most sparsely populated Texas counties is on part of 66,000 hectares of desert, salt lake beds and cattle grazing land Bezos has purchased over the past several years. It's just south of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which straddles the New Mexico-Texas border and includes some of the highest mountains in Texas.

Blue Origin has said the test flights will grow in duration and altitude over the next three years with as many as 52 commercial flights, the goal of the project, possibly beginning in 2010.

General Motors is to unveil its Chevrolet Camaro convertible concept at a celebrity-infested preview event prior to the opening of the Detroit Motor Show.

Following on from last year's Camaro coupe concept - slated for production in 2009 - the convertible is very similar design-wise. With key Camaro styling cues, it recalls the classic Camaros of the late 60s and 70s without being too much of a retro pastiche - a trick Ford has pulled off successfully with its latest Mustang, the Camaro's closest rival. The prototype on show in Detroit is finished in a bright 'Hugger Orange' tri-coat pearlescent paint with grey side stripes, with 21" orange/grey wheels up front and 22" on the rear. Details such as gill-like air intakes in the rear bumpers, a race-type fuel filler and a bonnet air scoop have been carried over from the coupe, but there have been minor changes to the windscreen and rear seating area to allow for the folding canvas roof and tonneau cover, and a different rear spoiler added.

The concept's cabin reflects the same orange shade, but toned down by black and silver Alcantara/leather seats and aluminium detailing. GM hasn't given away much about the Camaro's tech spec as yet, but this concept does feature a new V8 - thought to be a 400bhp-plus version of the latest Corvette engine. Like the coupe, this convertible will be rear-wheel drive, however, with all-round independent suspension and four-wheel disc brakes.

New Apple product announcements at next week's Macworld Expo in San Francisco could include iTV, a new iPod, and the iPhone, according to a Macworld Rumor Roundup issued by research and investment firm PiperJaffray on Thursday.

Despite all of the talk regarding new product announcements, or lack thereof, at Macworld, we continue to believe that the announcement of an iPhone would be positive for Apple shares and no sign of this product would be a negative," analyst Gene Munster told clients in the report.

The analyst went on to say that it's his belief that Apple has not missed the boat in the music-enabled handset market. "Apple waited several years to enter the MP3 market, we believe the company is well-positioned to enter the phone market now that early music-enabled handsets have tested the waters," he explained. "Apple will differentiate itself by offering iTunes integration on Macs and PCs, and by leveraging its expertise in software engineering for media playing devices."

Munster also offered his take on several Apple product rumors, including a ranking of certainty and some expected release dates. His analysis on each of the rumors is being published in full for reader appreciation:

Almost Certain (in the next 2-6 months):

1. iPhone entering production phase of 12m units (Certainty rank: 9 out of 10). In Nov-06 two separate reports came from Asian news sources indicating that Taiwanese manufacturer Hon Hai's subsidiary Foxconn had received a 12m unit contract for the iPhone. According to Commercial Time the manufacturer signed the contract with Apple to produce 12m units for a scheduled release in 1H07. Additionally, China Times reported that the manufacturer will produce between 500,000-600,000 units per month starting in early CY07.

2. iTV ($299) release at Macworld with some improvements from September debut (10 out of 10). At a Sep-06 event, Apple introduced the iTV, a wireless media streaming device to view iTunes content on a TV. At the show, the device was simply streaming media (but did not store it locally); we believe Apple could release an improved model with an internal hard disk drive. Downloadable movies average about 1.5GB each on iTunes and one way that Apple can ease capacity restrictions is to add hard drive space to the iTV. We believe Apple will eventually improve on the iTV shown in September, but the improvements may not come until after the initial release.

Likely (in the next 6-12 months):

3. iPhone with candy-bar form factor (9 out of 10). Given the fact that the iPhone will be Apple's first dip into the mobile handset pool, it is likely that the phone will come in a candy-bar form factor. Clamshell devices are often more prone to bugs and glitches, so when Apple releases its first phone, it will probably be a candy-bar style with limited moving parts and simpler software engineering.

4. Widescreen iPod with touch-sensitivity and wireless features (7 out of 10). According to several Apple patents, along with word from component suppliers, Apple is working on a 6th generation widescreen iPod that could feature touch-screen capability. We believe that the new iPod will be a significant improvement to the 5th generation iPod, as the device becomes more video-centric. As such, the iPod line would feature small music-centric and "wearable" players as well as a larger music player with more video-centric features. Eventually, Apple will also likely add wireless syncing technology to the player, but battery drain remains a critical concern before such a feature is added.

5. Second smartphone iPhone model with integrated keyboard (7 out of 10). Indications from component suppliers point to the possibility of a second iPhone model featuring an integrated keyboard. We believe the initial iPhone release will include a single model, but Apple will likely expand the iPhone line to include a smartphone device for instant messaging and emailing at some point.

6. iSight camera, 4GB or 8GB storage on the iPhone (7 out of 10). Recent rumors point to an initial release of two iPhone models: a 4GB version for $249 and an 8GB model for $449. Both models are rumored to feature two separate batteries in the handset, one for the phone and one for the music player. Also, Apple has successfully branded the iSight cameras on the MacBook and MacBook Pro portables and it is likely that they will eventually extend the brand to the iPhone line. With music, photos, and video from iTunes, the iPhone will be a media-rich device and an iSight camera would add to the eco-system of media/communications on the device.

7. Multiple carriers as iPhone providers (vs. Cingular only or MVNO (6 out of 10). We believe Apple will target as broad an audience as possible with the iPhone. Accordingly, the company will likely sell the handset through most or all of the top wireless service providers (Verizon, Sprint, Cingular and T-Mobile in the U.S.). That said it is possible that Cingular could obtain exclusive vending rights for a limited time. Early CY07 could be the ideal time for the release of the iPhone through Cingular. January and February 2007 will include the Macworld keynote on January 9, CES from January 8-11, and key marketing opportunities during the Cingular-sponsored American Idol Premier on January 16 &17 and the Super Bowl on February 4. This may be the "perfect storm" for the release of the iPhone, especially as a Cingular exclusive. An additional option would be for Apple to use a MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) system. We have not seen any hard evidence that indicates whether Apple will choose to go with an exclusive provider, several providers, or the route of an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator).

A Stretch (possibly in the next 12-18 months):

8. Ultra-portable 12" MacBook Pro (4 out of 10). With the Intel transition successfully completed, Apple is ready to innovate the product line with the possible addition of an ultra-portable addition to the MacBook family. With the release of the 15" and 17" MacBook Pros, Apple decided not to carry the 12" PowerBook model into the MacBook Pro lineup. If a 12" MacBook Pro is released, we believe the product will address the need for extreme portability; not simply a smaller MacBook Pro. Another possibility is that of a touch-screen tablet Mac. Rather than marketing the tablet computer to business users (like tablet PCs), we believe that a tablet Mac would be targeted at home users desiring to wirelessly control media content. Again, this rumor is 'a stretch' because we have not seen any hard evidence, other than several patent applications, that point to the release of a tablet Mac.

9. Radio-transparent material used for iPhone casing (3 out of 10). Since current iPod casings would serve as poor mobile phone casings, Apple is looking into new casing materials. Specifically, the material must enable radio-waves to penetrate the device's exterior. In a Nov-06 patent application Apple describes a computing device with radio-transparent material like zirconia used as the casing. We see this patent application as evidence that the iPhone is coming, but we hesitate to draw conclusions on the specifics of the device based on such patents.

10. iPhone to feature 'iChat Mobile' video and instant messaging (2 out of 10). Again, we believe that the iPhone will be a media-centric communications device and messaging features would work nicely with such an ecosystem. While it is unlikely that the first iPhone will feature video conferencing, this is certainly a feature the company could add to future models, including a possible smartphone model.

11. OSX 10.5 Leopard release at Macworld (3 out of 10). While Microsoft has delayed the consumer launch of Windows Vista to January 30, 2007, Apple announced plans to release OSX 10.5, Leopard, in "spring 2007." These releases are not necessarily a race to the finish line, but we believe that Apple will work hard to ship Leopard close to the release of Vista.

Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 (PS3) game console will sell more than the combined sale of Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii consoles by 2010, according to a European market research firm Wednesday.

"The Sony PlayStation 3 is expected to win the console war in the long term with an install base of around 75 million globally by 2010. The console is not expected to dominate as much as its predecessor, the PS2, due to late launch issues in the PAL region and the early lead of Microsofts Xbox 360," Dublin-based market research firm Research and Markets (R&M) claimed in its new report.

R&M report came despite a sales report from the U.S. showing that the Xbox 360 was the best-selling game console in the U.S. during November and December in 2006.

Another market analyst NPD reported that preliminary figures showed the Xbox 360 sold almost two million consoles in North America, with the Wii running close with 1.8 million. PS3 followed in third place with just 750,000 units sold from its Nov. 17 U.S. launch date.

R&M report put this down to Sony's delayed introduction of the console into Europe and the head start gained by the Xbox 360.

"The PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360, dubbed the next generation of consoles, each holds a unique position with regard to console offerings. While Sony and Microsoft aim towards increased functionality as a key driver for adoption, Nintendo looks for innovative game play and the elusive fun factor," said the R&M's report.

Meanwhile, Sony Corp said that the PS3 would not dominate the market in the same way as the previous versions of its games consoles.

A compact, 8-MegaPixel digital camera with Face Detection Technology, two entry-level models with Fujifilm's famed Super CCD sensor and consumer storage solutions highlight the announcements made by Fujifilm. Combining high performance and ease of use, the FinePix F40fd is a compact, highly portable and stylish digital camera. It's packed with features that make it easy for new photographers to get great pictures, and experienced digital camera buffs will love the advanced photographic capabilities that result in exceptional performance. These include Face Detection Technology by Fujifilm, a hardware based system using Fujifilm's proprietary dedicated LSI chip, which can detect up to 10 human faces in a scene in as little as 5/100's of a second, and Dual Shot Mode, a convenient function that takes two shots in rapid succession, one with flash and one without, letting the user decide on the best picture.

Life doesn't give too many second chances, and a group photo can be tough to capture. Now, the FinePix F40fd features Face Detection Technology by Fujifilm that makes it easy. It sets the correct focus and exposure automatically, regardless of where subjects are located within the frame. Face Detection Technology can even perform flawlessly in difficult focusing and lighting conditions, such as off-center subject faces, low light situations, and even backlit conditions. Fujifilm's Face Detection Technology also enhances playback functions with the ability to zoom in on each detected face automatically. Now users can check to make sure everyone's eyes were open and they're smiling, crop images for the perfect portrait and perform a variety of other functions to make sharing more fun.

Frequently, pictures taken in evening environments, birthday parties or any dim-lit situation can create problems for some digital cameras. The FinePix F40fd allows users to effortlessly capture the moment as their eye sees it, with tremendous clarity and low noise, using Fujifilm's Real Photo technology. Thanks to the 6th generation FinePix Super CCD-HR chip and the RP processor, the FinePix F40fd can utilize ISO settings of up to 2000, capturing stunning images even in low light while preserving the natural color and clarity of the shot.

To make it easy for consumers to achieve blur-free results, the FinePix F40fd also features Fujifilm's "Picture Stabilization" mode. Not only does Picture Stabilization reduce the "blur" effect from the photographer's hand-shake, it also adjusts for subject movement, and compensates for low light shooting, making it a comprehensive solution to prevent blurry photos. This easy-to-identify, automatic setting lets the FinePix F40fd choose the correct light sensitivity and shutter speed for the highest quality digital pictures, with sharp, clean and clear results.

At times using a flash may be necessary to help secure adequate lighting and image quality. This is when the FinePix F40fd's Intelligent-Flash system, or "i-Flash" comes into play. i-Flash detects subtle lighting differences within a scene, and then varies the flash intensity accordingly. It also leverages the high sensitivity of FinePix cameras to enable the camera to use less flash, preventing that "blasted with light" effect that so many digital camera flashes leave you with. The result is pleasing, natural tones with no flash "wash-out".

The FinePix A800 is the first model in Fujifilm's A-Series line-up to sport an eight-MegaPixel Super CCD Sensor and the first to incorporate light sensitivities of up to ISO 800 at full resolution. Borrowing a page from Fujifilm's more advanced camera models, the FinePix A800 shoots at higher light sensitivities with less noise than comparative models. This results higher quality "natural light" photos and less blur in images as the FinePix A800 matches these higher light sensitivities with faster shutter speeds.

Fujifilm's A-Series digital cameras are among its most popular models and the 6-MegaPixel FinePix A610 should help continue this trend. This camera has the same comfortable design as the FinePix A800 and is priced right for the first-time digital buyer. The FinePix F40fd, A800 and A610 will feature an xD-Picture Card / SD Media Card compatible slot.

Computer security researchers said Wednesday they have discovered a vulnerability in Adobe Systems Inc.'s ubiquitous Acrobat Reader software that allows cyber-intruders to attack personal computers through trusted Web links.

Virtually any Web site hosting Portable Document Format, or PDF, files are vulnerable to attack, according to researchers from Symantec Corp. and VeriSign Inc.'s iDefense Intelligence.

The attacks could range from stealing cookies that track a user's Web browsing history to the creation of harmful worms, the researchers said.

The flaw, first revealed at a hacker conference in Germany over the holidays, exists in a plug-in that enables Acrobat users to view PDF files within Web browsers.

By manipulating the Web links to those documents, hackers and online thieves are able to commandeer the Acrobat software and run malicious code when users attempt to open the files, according to Ken Dunham, director of the rapid response team at VeriSign's iDefense Intelligence.

Dunham gave this hypothetical scenario: an attacker finds a PDF file on a banking Web site. The attacker creates a hostile Web site that links to the bank's PDF file. Included is malicious JavaScript code that will run on the unsuspecting user's computer once the link is clicked.

"PDF is trusted and tried and true -- everyone uses it," Dunham said. "But instead of just viewing the file, you've initiated script that shouldn't be executed. All you have to do is click on the PDF and the ball starts rolling."

Representatives from Adobe did not return a call from The Associated Press on Wednesday night.

The flaw appears to target Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer 6.0 Web browser and earlier versions, and Mozilla's Firefox browser, the researchers said.

They recommended that users protect themselves by upgrading Internet Explorer or changing Firefox's user options so the browser does not use the Acrobat plug-in.

Researchers said it's unclear how pervasive or harmful any future attacks might be.

"Given that it is easy to exploit, I would expect that we will see this method used considerably in the coming days and weeks, until it is resolved," a Symantec researcher said in a posting on a company Web log.

If two heads are better than one, are two faces on a single LCD a no-brainer? Samsung today announced that it has created thin-film transistor, liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels capable of showing independent images on both sides of an LCD screen. Unlike other two-faced LCDs which only show an image and its reverse on the flipside, the Samsung solution can display two different images. According to Samsung, the dual-sided LCDs have been designed primarily for use in mobile products. One obvious application would be cell phones that currently have two separate displays.

Is this a battery-life nightmare in the making? Samsung says no. Although there are two visual surfaces, the new dual-sided LCD uses one backlight. One side of the LCD also helps out with illumination, using the light trapped by one side's "transmissive mode" projection to illuminate the reflective side. Transmissive LCDs are those which are actively illuminated from behind LCDs cells, and make up most LCDs that we look at these days. Reflective LCDs are just the opposite: they rely on ambient light for illumination, and therefore are less clear and offer less contrast than transmissive LCDs. You've seen these on digital watches or on the exteriors of many flip phones (some have backlights that can be activated).

How do you display two images on a single LCD? Normal LCDs have TFT gates that each operate a single pixel, but Samsung's dual-sided LCDs put two control gates on each pixel, allowing it to control each side independently without having to double the circuitry. Complex calculations take care of the rest.

Samsung's dual-sided LCD panels

Samsung will begin mass production of a 2.6mm thick and 2.22" wide QVGA (240 x 320 pixel) dual-sided panel in the first half of this year. The company said it will show off the display at CES, so we'll be sure to check it out and ask them if they expect this technology to ever make its way outside of mobile devices.