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Issue no. 11, 2004 Published: Mar 26, 2004
Microsoft fined €497m in landmark EU ruling
EU prepares second case against Microsoft
Japan broadcasters adopt video codec for mobile
Brain waves control video game
'Nano-lightning' could cool computer chips
Ultrasound imaging goes supersonic
Smiles reveal secrets to security cameras
Surround sound MP3s
Talkative future for every gadget

Microsoft fined €497m in landmark EU ruling
EU regulators Wednesday slapped a record fine on Microsoft in a landmark anti-trust ruling that labelled the company a predatory monopolist. Competition commissioner Mario Monti announced at the end of a five-year investigation that he was fining Microsoft €497m. He also ordered Microsoft to offer a European version of Windows without the Media Player program within 90 days. Furthermore, Microsoft has to disclose 'complete and accurate' data within 120 days to enable rival companies to offer servers that can work with Windows. Microsoft said it would appeal and seek an immediate stay of most of the Commission's measures. The US Department of Justice strongly criticised the EU's ruling. Hewitt Pate, head of antitrust at the DoJ warned of 'unintended consequences', adding: 'Sound antitrust policy must avoid chilling innovation and competition, even by "dominant" companies.'
EUBusiness / AFP / Financial Times Mar 24, 2004	back to top

EU prepares second case against Microsoft
European competition authorities are preparing a second probe into alleged anti-competitive behaviour by Microsoft. Wednesday's ruling that the company abused its near monopoly in the PC operating-system market will open the door to a fresh European investigation into wider claims that the company violated European laws though its Windows XP operating system. The complaint was made by Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), a trade organisation whose members include Oracle, Sun Microsystems and Yahoo! A spokeswoman for competition commissioner Mario Monti said: 'We are in preliminary investigations.'
The Independent Mar 21, 2004	back to top

Japan broadcasters adopt video codec for mobile
Six major Japanese broadcasters on Wednesday said they will adopt an emerging video compression technology by early 2006 that will make it possible for them to send video to handheld devices. TV broadcasters including NHK, TBS, NTV, TV Asahi, Fuji TV and TV Tokyo reached an accord to license the AVC/H.264 video encoding technology, or codec, from MPEG LA, the body that represents its patent holders. AVC/H.264 is a technology standard for compressing large media files into smaller ones for efficient transport over airwaves, cable lines or Internet Protocol. The licensing agreements are important because they signal that service providers are adopting the codec, which is part of the MPEG-4 standard that is slated to replace the current MPEG-2 video compression standard for cable and satellite companies.
ZDNet / CNET News Mar 24, 2004	back to top

Brain waves control video game
A video game in which the character is controlled directly from a player's brain without the need for wires has been developed by researchers. Mind Balance was demonstrated for the first time using a new wireless headset, at the MIT Media Lab Europe in Dublin last month. The Mind Balance game demonstration showed how brain activity could be harnessed and used without the need for plugs, jacks or wires. Instead, it uses direct electroencephalography (EEG), cerebral data nodes and the wireless technology - Bluetooth - all fitted into the sophisticated Cerebus headset. The game could help researchers develop brain-computer interfaces for people with limited body movement. But it could find its way into future video games as well, the researchers said.
BBC News Mar 24, 2004	back to top

'Nano-lightning' could cool computer chips
Jumping electric charges could waft breezes of ionised air through microchips, replacing the noisy fans that cool down today's computers. Researchers at Purdue University in the US say their technology could be built directly into a computer chip's heat sink to provide a faster, quieter and lighter cooling system than the alternatives. The secret is producing the air-flow right at the wall of the heat sink. Blowing it down from above using a fan creates a cushion of stationary air that impedes heat dissipation. But by using electrodes the air is ionised after which a cloud of positively charged ions is formed. The cloud then drifts towards a negative electrode, but before it gets there, the voltage is switched to another electrode in a different position. In this way the positively charged cloud is pulled across the surface, carrying heat as it goes. Cycling the voltages creates a continuous flow. The technology is the first air-based system to produce a cooling rate similar to water - 40 watts per square centimetre.
New Scientist Mar 24, 2004	back to top

Ultrasound imaging goes supersonic
Physicists at the Laboratoire Ondes et Acoustiques in Paris have generated supersonic sound waves in human tissue by exploiting the acoustic equivalent of Cerenkov radiation - the light emitted by charged particles when they travel through a medium faster than the speed of light. The findings could have applications for ultrasound imaging. Most ultrasound machines convert an electrical signal directly into mechanical vibrations. However, these devices produce longitudinal sound waves and only operate within a narrow range of megahertz frequencies. Transverse sound waves - which could provide more information - cannot be used at these frequencies because they are absorbed by human tissue. Now, the researchers have generated transverse sound waves at supersonic frequencies by focusing an ultrasound beam in the tissue to create a vibration that acts as a source of further ultrasound waves. This source can be moved by focusing the original ultrasound wave at different depths in the tissue. If the source moves faster than the speed of sound, the beam reaches supersonic speeds. The waves are distorted by any inhomogeneities in the tissue, which are analysed to produce an image.
PhysicsWeb Mar 25, 2004	back to top

Smiles reveal secrets to security cameras
Mapping the muscles that shape smiles could lead to better face recognition systems, according to physicists at Stony Brook University in New York. Current techniques, based on comparing images of the same person or calculating the distances between facial features, can be easily evaded by wearing make-up or dark glasses. The Stony Brook system probes the characteristic pattern of muscles beneath the skin of the face. Key to the method is taking two pictures of a person in quick succession, asking subjects to smile. A computer analyses how the skin around the mouth moves between the two images by tracking changes in the position of tiny wrinkles in the skin. The data is used to produce an image of the face overlaid with tiny arrows that indicate how different areas of skin move during a smile. This movement is controlled by the pattern of muscles under the skin, and is not affected by the presence of make-up or the size of the subject's smile. The system can produce such a map from muscle twitches even when people are trying to keep their expression unchanged.
Nature Mar 26, 2004	back to top

Surround sound MP3s
Scientists have come up with a way or producing MP3 files with surround sound. Previously it was thought reproducing surround sound required too much data for small MP3 files. But the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany has found a way that works with MP3. Fraunhofer said that the system it developed would work with existing MP3 software and music players. Surround sound is usually produced by recording audio on different channels so it appears to come from three or more directions. But Fraunhofer reproduces surround sound by adding to MP3 encoding extra information that describes the spatial characteristics of the main audio track. Using this extra information helps MP3 players recreate the surround sound effect. Music encoded with the new system will work with older hardware and software MP3 players but the extras will only create surround sound when piped through a player that can do something with the extra information.
Ananova / BBC News Mar 22, 2004	back to top

Talkative future for every gadget
Help is at hand for gadget fans tired of struggling to get their different devices talking to each other. Philips, Nokia and Sony are banding together to create a basic technology that will help gadgets automatically connect with each other. Near Field Communications helps gadgets work out the best way to swap data when they are brought within a few centimetres of each other. The first products using the technology are expected by the end of the year. NFC is expected to be used in phones, PDAs, laptops, PCs, kiosks in train stations and airports and many other places. It could be used to quickly transfer electronic tickets or vouchers to phones or PDAs or just to help people move music files from a PC to a portable player. The announcement about the NFC alliance was made at the giant Cebit technology fair currently being held in Hanover in Germany.
BBC News Mar 21, 2004	back to top