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15.4-inch MacBooks to begin shipping in 2Q, say sources

Apple is planning to introduce 15.4-inch MacBooks in the second quarter of 2007, according to industry sources in Taiwan. The new model will fill the gap between the company's 13.3-inch MacBooks and the 15.4- and 17-inch MacBook Pros that form its current notebook line up, and is expected to boost shipments of Apple's Intel-powered MacBooks, the sources add.

MacBook shipments are expected to reach 700,000 units in the first quarter of 2007, after enjoying substantial gains in the second half of 2006, say the PC makers. However, shipment growth for the whole of 2007 is likely to be even greater than that of the first-quarter following the introduction of the 15.4-inch model in the second quarter, the sources noted.

Currently, 13.3-inch MacBooks are manufactured by Asustek Computer, while the new 15.4-inch model will be made by Quanta Computer, which also manufactures the 15.4- and 17-inch MacBook Pros for Apple. Foxconn is said to have been in the running for the lucrative 15.4-inch manufacturing contract but was eventually unsuccessful, the sources report.

Prices for the 15.4-inch MacBook models are likely to be more competitive than their 13.3-inch counterparts, due largely to the relatively lower cost of 15.4-inch LCD panels, and will therefore help push further sales of MacBooks, indicated the sources. The 13.3-inch MacBooks are currently available at US$1,099-US$1,499..

The 15.4- and 17-inch MacBook Pros are currently available at a range between US$1,999 and US$2,799, and account for a relatively lower ratio to Apple's total notebook shipments, the source indicated.

Apple's notebook shipments for 2006-1Q 2007 (in 1,000 units)
Period	Shipments	Y/Y change
1Q 06	498	8.3%
2Q 06	787	59.6%
3Q 06	962	51.5%
4Q 06	1,000	70.0%
1Q 07(f)	700	40.6%

Source: IDC Taiwan and sources at Taiwan PC makers, compiled by DigiTimes, February 2007

Apple 13.3-inch MacBooks are to be joined by 15.4-inch models in 2Q07 according to sources
Photo: Company

Gmail was invitation-only when it launched in April 2004, when Google had hoped to spread the word about Gmail through a viral-marketing strategy where users would invite each other to participate. And now, in opening up Gmail, Google has again decided to go viral by using YouTube to spread the Gmail love.

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Google has changed the policy for its Gmail, the company's e-mail service, opening signups to everyone rather than having accounts determined by user invitation.

In the past, those who wanted a Gmail account would have to be invited by someone who already had Gmail. When it created that plan, Google did say that it would eventually drop the invite-only restriction.

Also part of Gmail is a chat function, and the e-mail service is available in over 40 interface languages. The company's cofounder, Sergey Brin, has noted in news reports that Gmail has become a cornerstone for Google, and making it more widely available is important for the company.

Viral Attack

In making Gmail invitation-only when it launched in April 2004, Google had hoped to spread the word about the service through viral marketing and build buzz about Gmail before opening it to the general public. In making Gmail more widely accessible, it has again decided to go viral by using YouTube to spread the word.

The company has created several videos that are now on the YouTube site, featuring Google engineers and puppet shows with characters created out of office supplies. The benefits of Gmail -- such as "Gmail blocks spam before it even gets to your inbox" -- are written in marker on large sheets of paper, giving the presentations a homespun feel.

User comments to the "Gmail Theater" series praise the quirky videos for their "geeky goodness" and creativity.

In another twist of lightheartedness, the company has stuck to its holiday theme for announcements. Gmail was unveiled on April Fool's Day, sparking speculation that it was a joke, and the company chose Valentine's Day for the public rollout, so all users could "share the love."

Most Improved

Since its initial launch, Gmail has been tweaked in several ways, primarily to make the service less susceptible to spam and able to integrate with instant messaging more effectively.

Google took some heat during Gmail's early days for creating contextual advertising in which ads were served up on the basis of what was contained in user messages. Although the company insisted that the process was automated, and that employees were not reading e-mail to tie messages to ad content, Google refined the feature anyway to make it less intrusive.

IDC analyst Sue Feldman pointed out that, although Gmail has considerably fewer users than rival services, Google is not exactly hurting for business.

"They're making lots of money, and people tend to lose sight of that," she noted. "As you get larger and into more areas, like e-mail, there's always a chance of getting scattered. But that doesn't seem to be happening to Google; they're doing extraordinarily well."

A hacker claims to have discovered a cryptographic key that can be used to circumvent copy restrictions on HD DVD and Blu-ray movies. The key, which was published on the Doom9.org discussion forum, is a further step toward undermining the next-generation AACS (Advanced Access Content System) encryption system used to copy-protect high-definition media.

The hacker, going by the name of Arnezami, said he discovered the key by examining what was happening in his computer's memory while it processed an HD DVD video.

A spokeswoman for the group that sets the AACS specification, called the AACS Licensing Administrator, said Arnezami's claims were being investigated but declined to provide further comment.

In late December, a different hacker, named Muslix64, posted a software program that could decrypt high-definition movies. Users needed to first enter another type of encryption key, called the "volume key," for the software to work. More than 100 of these volume keys have since popped up, allowing users to freely copy such films as King Kong, Mission: Impossible and Jarhead.

The publication of this latest key, called a processing key, gives users a much easier way to figure out the volume keys they need in order to make movie copies with the HDDVDBackup software, according to Arnezami.

Introduced in April 2005, AACS is supported by media and technology companies such as Microsoft, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (Panasonic), Sony, Toshiba, The Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros.

The encryption system is designed to be more robust than the CSS (content scrambling system) encryption scheme used by DVDs, which was completely cracked in late 1999.

Microsoft delivered its monthly batch of security updates on Feb. 13, delivering fixes for 20 individual problems in its products included in a dozen bulletins, six of which were dubbed as critical, the firm's most severe vulnerability rating.

Among the security updates issued by Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft was a cumulative bulletin for the company's Internet Explorer browser which seeks to address three issues all ranked as critical by the software maker.

Included in the IE bulletin were fixes for a pair of COM (component object model) instantiation memory corruption vulnerabilities, and a fix for an FTP server response parsing memory corruption issue. The issues are rated as critical in versions of the browser previous to its current IE 7 iteration in which they rank as only "important" or "low."

In another cumulative bulletin, Microsoft issued patches for six individual problems in its Word products, five of which were rated as critical in the Office 2000 iteration of the product. Included in the update were fixes for a malformed strong vulnerability, malformed data structure flaw, malformed object drawing glitch, malformed function problem and a Word count issue, all of which received the critical designation in the Word 2000 version of the program.

An additional macro vulnerability and examples of the other five security problems present in later versions of Word were given the less severe ranking of important. However, all six of the Word vulnerabilities could lead to remote code execution by attackers if properly exploited, Microsoft stated.

In another Office-related bulletin, Microsoft distributed patches for two individual problems in the package, specifically detailing a malformed record memory corruption vulnerability in the product's PowerPoint presentation application, along with a malformed record issue discovered in the Excel spread sheet program. Both issues were ranked as critical in the Microsoft Office 2000 version of the productivity suite, and only as important in later iterations of the platform.

Among the other critical security bulletins issues by Microsoft was a fix for a problem in its HTML Help ActiveX Control software which ranked as critical in its Windows 2000 SP4 and Windows XP SP2 programs, and charted as only "moderate" in its Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 SP1 products. If exploited, the problem could allow affected computers to be taken over remotely by hackers, the company said.

Microsoft also moved to fix a well-publicized vulnerability in the Data Access Components element of its ActiveX software rated as critical that exists in its Windows 2000 SP4 and Windows XP SP2 products. The problem is also present in the firm's Windows Server 2003 package, but rated as only a moderate risk in that product.

Attempting to patch an embarrassing flaw in its own anti-virus software, Microsoft issued a patch for a critical problem in its Malware Protection Engine—which is an element of nearly all the company's security products, including its Windows Live OneCare, Antigen for Exchange 9.x, Antigen for SMTP Gateway 9x, Windows Defender, and Forefront Security packages.

Like the other flaws addressed by Microsoft, the security product issues could also allow for remote code execution of affected computers, the company said.

Included in the six bulletins ranked by Microsoft as only important were fixes for problems in the company's step-by-step interactive training program, with related vulnerabilities cited in the firm's Windows 2000 SP2, Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 products.

Other important bulletins were shipped to address issues in the Windows shell technology, Windows image acquisition service and Windows OLE (object linking and embedding) dialog system. The company issued important patches for issues in its MFC (Microsoft Foundation Class) library technology in Windows, and its Visual Studio products, as well as to fix a problem in the RichEdit function of its Windows and Office programs.

Security researchers highlighted Microsoft's move to shut down at least six product vulnerabilities that have been used in so-called zero-day attacks, or malware threats aimed at flaws previously unrecognized by the software maker.

"Today Microsoft patched six vulnerabilities that were previously used in recent targeted zero-day attacks," Dave Marcus, security research and communications manager with McAfee's Avert Labs, said in a report.

"This continues the trend of malware authors targeting widely deployed Microsoft business applications and services. Malware authors continue to find unknown or unpatched vulnerabilities in popular applications and services which are then used in zero-day attacks, putting both business and consumer data at risk."

While Microsoft tied its record for its greatest number of security bulletins, having shipped another dozen of the updates in August 2006, the February 2007 release fell short of the company's record for the most individual patches, as some 23 individual issues were addressed in the August '06 shipment.

However, the February 2007 shipment does establish a high-water mark for critical patches released by the software vendor in one month as Microsoft addressed only 10 issues earmarked as critical in the August '06 batch of patches, while the February '07 release seeks to fix a total of 11 critical security problems.

The launch of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista operating system will have a negative effect on Apple's share of the personal computer market over the next several months, according to checks performed by research and investment firm PiperJaffray.

In a research note released to clients on Wednesday, Sr. Analyst Gene Munster said that while a survey of 50 Best Buy retail stores around the country found that Vista sales have not met expectations, PC sales have still risen as a result of the software roll-out.

"Of the 50 stores we surveyed, 80 percent of Best Buy stores indicated that they have sold less copies of Vista than they had expected," the analyst wrote. But at the same time, he said, 72 percent of the stores saw an increase in Windows PC sales since the software launched.

Munster, who attributes the surge to pent-up demand for PCs with Vista pre-installed, is forecasting for a spike in Windows PC sales during the March calendar quarter, which "could put downward pressure on Mac market share." More specifically, the analyst expects Mac market share to decline from 2.5 percent in December to 2.3 percent in March.

"Historically, from December '04 to March '05, Mac units increased by 2.3 percent and the market share increased by 0.3 percent," he wrote. "During the Intel transition, from December '05 to March '06 Mac units fell by 11.3 percent and market share was flat."

Still, Munster said he remains confident that Apple in 2007 will gain share overall, helped from the industrywide shift toward portables where it currently excels. The analyst also sees potential for Apple to seize the opportunity presented by the launch of Vista to gain mind share with consumers.

"The company views this season of Vista-related computer purchases as an opportunity to sell more Macs," he wrote. "Around the time of the consumer Vista launch, Apple initiated several strategies to attract Vista customers toward the Mac."

For instance, in an email to registered iPod owners with PCs, Apple asked customers: "Upgrading to Vista? Think Mac." The Cupertino-based firm also launched national TV ad campaigns in the US, UK, and Japan criticizing Vista's difficult installation process and frustrating security features. Furthermore, recent reports suggest that Apple's retail stores will also be used in an effort to monetize the Vista opportunity with employees are emphasizing the fact that Macs run both Mac OS X and Windows.

"Although many features of Vista are already available on Apple's current operating system, 10.4 Tiger, Apple is preparing 10.5 Leopard for a Spring release," Munster told clients. "With the release of Leopard, Mac market share will benefit from upward pressure from slight pent-up demand."

The analyst said the release of Leopard will also mark a turning point for investors, who will shift their focus back on the Mac chapter of the Apple story. The launch of Tiger in April 2005 added $100m in revenue to the company's June quarter, he said, with 2 million copies shipping in the first month of availability.

Since Tiger's release, which went on to sell 7 million copies in its first year on the market, the Mac OS X installed base has grown 25 percent from 16 million users to about 20 million users, Munster said. Similarly, he expects that 40 percent of Mac users to upgrade to Leopard in the first year of availability.

"Assuming a late April launch, this would lead to Leopard sales adding $130 million to the June '07 quarter, shipping 2.6 million copies in the first month of availability and adding $456m to [fiscal 2007], shipping about 9 million copies in the first year," he wrote.

San Francisco (CA) - IBM today revealed first data about a new embedded DRAM device, which the company claims achieves record access times. The technology is expected to debut in 2008 as part of the 45 nm generation of IBM processors.

According to the company, the eDRAM chip "vastly improves microprocessor performance in multi-core designs and speeds the movement of graphics in gaming, networking, and other image intensive, multi-media applications." Shown as a 65 nm concept at the currently held International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), IBM claims that the eDRAM exceeds the performance of conventional SRAM, which is typically used for on-die CPU cache, in about one-third the space with one-fifth the standby power.

DRAM's history goes back to 1970 and was driven since then mainly by cost factors, while logic technologic has received a more performance-focused evolution. IBM said that this environment has led to a widening gap between slower memory and faster logic devices, which resulted in a need for increasingly complex levels of memory hierarchies. Today, "DRAM can provide six to eight times as much memory as SRAM in the same area, but has been too slow to be used at any cache level," IBM said.

With a random cycle time of 2 ns and a latency of 1.5 ns, IBM now is convinced that DRAM is ready to be integrated into the CPU with the goal to replace SRAM. "With this breakthrough solution to the processor/memory gap, IBM is effectively doubling microprocessor performance beyond what classical scaling alone can achieve," said Dr. Subramanian Iyer, distinguished engineer and director of 45 nm technology development at IBM, in a prepared statement. "As semiconductor components have reached the atomic scale, design innovation at the chip-level has replaced materials science as a key factor in continuing Moore's Law."

eDRAM so far has been used in applications ranging from supercomputing to gaming. For example, IBM's BlueGene/L system uses eDRAM as L3 cache technology, while game consoles such as the Gamecube, the Xbox 360 and the Wii have been using eDRAM as embedded memory technology for their graphics processors. Compared to conventional DRAM modules, integrating DRAM has provided a key advantage of performance gains eliminating the need to drive I/O signals to external memory chips. eDRAM manufacturers such as NEC also believe that the technology will make its way into mobile application due to the low power consumption of eDRAM devices.

Microsoft has unveiled Windows Mobile 6, the newest version of its mobile software platform. The new operating system for mobile devices improves usability and adds support for Microsoft Office features previously available only on PCs delivering to the small screen a familiar and rich experience that meets the needs of work and life while on the go, says Microsoft.

New features introduced in Windows Mobile 6 include the ability to view e-mails in their original rich HTML format, a Smart calendar bar which gives users the ability to view the day or week ahead and quickly determine open time on their schedules, and improvements to contacts, such as the ability to view call history in each individual contact card.

Many of the built-in application suites and utilities have also been updated. The Pocket MSN suite has been renamed as Windows Live for Windows Mobile and delivers web search, e-mail, instant messaging (IM) and blogging all from one location via Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger, Live Search and Windows Live Spaces. Windows Live Messenger replaces MSN Messenger and adds the ability to chat with more than one person at a time, animated icons, and file and image transfers.

Microsoft's Mobile Office suit has also been improved bringing capabilities once available only on the PC versions of these products to the small screen, claims Microsoft. Word and Excel documents can be viewed, navigated and edited in their original formatting, without affecting tables, images or text. However, the ability to work with PowerPoint presentations is still limited to view only.

Support for Direct Push Technology enables up-to-date e-mail delivery and automatic synchronization of Outlook calendars, tasks and contacts through Microsoft Exchange Server. Windows Mobile 6 also offers a set of device security and management features that include the capability to remotely wipe all data from a device should it be lost or stolen. Also support for Information Rights Management (IRM) technology allows organizations to control the viewing, storing and printing of confidential information.

E-mail management and setup has been made easier and nine new one-click options have been added, including Reply All, setting a flag, moving a message to a subfolder and Delete. Additionally, a new built-in application makes using a Windows Mobile 6 powered smartphone as a laptop's high-speed modem "one-click easy" with either a Bluetooth wireless or cable connection. Integrating support for voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) solutions is made easier for operators and devices makers.

Windows Mobile 6 powered devices are scheduled to be available by the second quarter of 2007. Taiwan handset companies including HTC and E-TEN are confirmed as working on new products based on the new operating system.