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Issue no. 30, 2004 Published: Sep 03, 2004
Microsoft wins a high-definition DVD battle
Amsterdam to get blanket Wi-Fi coverage
Breakthrough might give mobiles atomic clocks
Plastic magnet breaks the mold
Intel keeps Moore's law on track
Laser mouse conquers new surfaces
UN backs drive for free software
Who is calling? It might not be who you think it is
Egyptian mummy 'unwrapped' by modern scanning

Microsoft wins a high-definition DVD battle
Blu-ray on Wednesday said Microsoft has won the DVD technology group's backing of a video compression standard for new high-definition discs, marking an advance for the software maker in an emerging consumer electronics arena. Two consortia, Blu-ray and HD DVD, are competing to become the technology for the next generation of DVDs which can store high-definition movies and many times the data of today's discs. Microsoft is not guaranteed that its technology will be used by movie companies and others who produce advanced DVDs since content makers can choose any approved standard, but getting approval from a consortium is a major step in that direction. Both groups, Blu-ray and HD DVD, have now backed three video compression standards, including VC-1, led by Microsoft, and the MPEG-4 AVS and MPEG-2 standards. MPEG-2 is used for digital broadcasts and current DVDs while MPEG-4 is an advanced version of that standard.
Reuters Sep 01, 2004	back to top

Amsterdam to get blanket Wi-Fi coverage
Amsterdam is going to be the first European capital where Wi-Fi will be available almost everywhere, not just in hotels or cafes. Startup Hotspot Amsterdam launched a cheap wireless service this week and plans to cover all of Amsterdam with just 125 base stations. The first seven base stations are up and running. The first phase of the network covers the city's four inner canals, but extending the network will be easy. The company says it uses mesh routing multi-hopping algorithms from Dutch company Hopling Technologies, whereby every indoor and outdoor node is capable of relaying traffic coming from any of its neighbour nodes. A wireless meshed metropolitan area, which can support several thousand users, needs only one wired connection to the internet. Such a setup reduces the costs significantly. Amsterdam is not the first Dutch town to offer a fully covered Wi-Fi access. The university town of Leiden - birthplace of Rembrandt - already has an open and inexpensive wireless community network.
The Register Sep 02, 2004	back to top

Breakthrough might give mobiles atomic clocks
Atomic clocks may be headed into mobile phones, thanks to a breakthrough by scientists at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology. The clock's inner workings are about the size of a grain of rice, consume less than 75 thousandths of a watt, and are so stable that just one second every 300 years is gained or lost. The 'physics package' of the clock could be made on semiconductor wafers using current techniques for producing MEMS, NIST said. This offers the potential for low-cost, mass production of the atomic clock, which would allow easy integration with other electronics. Eventually, the physics package will be integrated with an external oscillator and control circuitry into a finished clock about 1 cubic centimetre in size. NIST scientists expect to improve the clock's long-term stability and reduce its power consumption to the point that the device could substantially improve the performance of many commercial and military systems that require precision time-keeping.
Silicon.com / CNET News.com Aug 31, 2004	back to top

Plastic magnet breaks the mold
The world's first practical plastic magnet has been created by researchers at the University of Durham, UK, who have detected magnetism in a mixture of two plastic polymers, and the compound has now passed its first real test: It can pick up iron filings. Although magnetic plastics have been reported before, they have only worked at extremely low temperatures. The Durham compound - made out of a conductive plastic called emeraldine base polyaniline (PANi) and a free radical generator called tetracyanoquinodimethane - is active at room temperatures. Future uses of the plastic could include coatings for computer hard disks and components in medical implants, as the body is much more tolerant of plastic than metal. PANi has been under investigation by a number of institutions because of its conductive properties: It has been shown to act as a light-emitting diode and to have potential uses in infrared optics. It is also used in fuel cells and is a member of a larger class of conductive plastics that are beginning to be used in industry.
ZDNet UK / New Scientist Sep 01, 2004	back to top

Intel keeps Moore's law on track
Intel has announced it has achieved a milestone in shrinking the size of transistors that will power its next-generation chips. Intel announced Monday it has created a fully functional 70 megabit memory chip with transistor switches measuring just 35 nanometres - around 30 per cent smaller than those found on today's state-of-the-art chips. By shrinking the size of the transistors and other features etched into the silicon, more of the tiny devices can be squeezed onto a single chip. As a result, microprocessors become more powerful and memory chips can store more data without growing in size. Intel said products built with its 65-nanometre process technology - a label that describes the average size of the minuscule chip features - are on track for delivery in 2005. If so, it would be in keeping with a famous forecast by Intel founder Gordon Moore, who in the late 1960s predicted the number of transistors on a chip would roughly double every two years.
CNN / AP Aug 31, 2004	back to top

Laser mouse conquers new surfaces
Logitech has developed an optical mouse that uses an Agilent Technologies laser, rather than a light-emitting diode, to track its movements. Because the laser light used in the MX 1000 relies on a short wavelength, the MX 1000 mouse is approximately 20 times more sensitive to surface details than conventional optical mice, Logitech says. As a result, the mouse can accurately transmit information about its motions to the computer when travelling across shiny or slick surfaces. The laser light emanating from the mouse cannot be seen by the naked eye and is harmless, Logitech said. The laser beams through a polished silver ring at the bottom of the MX1000. The light bounces off the surface that the mouse is travelling across and beams the information back to a sensor, which then relays it to the computer. The sensor can capture 5.8 megapixels of details per second.
ZDNET / CNET Aug 31, 2004	back to top

UN backs drive for free software
Events have been held across Asia to encourage the region to adopt free and open source software. The UN's International Open Source Network (IOSN) helped promote the first annual Software Freedom Day on 28 August, giving out CDs and booklets about the technology. Events took place in countries like India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. The initiative was organised by free and open source software advocates under the umbrella of the Software Freedom Day. In December last year, the UN held a major conference to find ways of bridging the digital divide - the difference in access to computer technologies in developed and developing nations. In many developing countries, widespread access is difficult due to the high costs involved in setting up computer systems, buying licences and software support. IOSN encourages countries to adopt affordable software so that the digital divide can be overcome.
BBC News Aug 29, 2004	back to top

Who is calling? It might not be who you think it is
A US start-up has begun offering a technology that can spoof a caller ID number, potentially opening the door to telemarketing calls that seem to be coming from a relative or a different company. Star38 says that for now it plans to sell the capability only to collection agencies, private investigators and police. A customer can simply go to Star38's website, enter the number to be called and the number the customer wants to show up on the recipient's caller ID. The customer could also enter text to show up on caller ID. Any number or message could be entered. Critics worry that Star38 or another firm could eventually sell the service to telemarketers, which could fool consumers who otherwise might block calls.
USA Today Sep 01, 2004	back to top

Egyptian mummy 'unwrapped' by modern scanning
The face of an Egyptian artisan named Harwa has been seen for the first time in 3000 years using CT scans, X-rays and 3D modelling technology. The mummified corpse, which had been on display at the Egyptian Museum of Torino in Italy, was undisturbed by the imaging procedure which is often used in medical diagnostics. It was placed in a rotating scanner that took 355 X-ray images in under 30 seconds. The technique, called multidetector computed tomography (MDCT), provided multiple image 'slices', each up to 0.6 millimetres thick, which were computer processed to provide a 3D image of the skull shape and soft tissue structure under the mummy's bandages. A plasticine and nylon model was then sculpted, based on the image, which revealed Harwa to have been 45 years old at time of death. The model was even detailed enough to reveal a mole on his left temple.
Yahoo / New Scientist / American Journal of Roentgenology Sep 01, 2004	back to top