Superspeed USB 3.0, a next gen Interconnect

Popular USB Computer Connection Technology Expands performance with Proposed USB 3.0 Specification.

Intel and other industry leaders have formed the USB 3.0 Promoter Group to create a superspeed personal USB interconnect that can deliver over 10 times the speed of today's connection. The technology, also developed by HP, Microsoft Corporation, NEC Corporation, NXP Semiconductors and Texas Instruments Incorporated, will target fast sync-and-go transfer applications in the PC, consumer and mobile segments that are necessary as digital media become ubiquitous and file sizes increase up to and beyond 25 Gigabytes.

USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.0 will create a backward-compatible standard with the same ease-of-use and plug N play capabilities of previous USB technologies. Targeting over 10x performance increase, the technology will draw from the same architecture of wired USB. In addition, the USB 3.0 specification will be optimized for low power and improved protocol efficiency.

USB 3.0 ports and cabling will be designed to enable backward compatibility as well as future-proofing for optical capabilities. "USB 3.0 is the next logical step for the PC's most popular wired connectivity," said Jeff Ravencraft, technology strategist with Intel and president of the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). Intel formed the USB 3.0 Promoter Group with the understanding that the USB-IF would act as the trade association for the USB 3.0 specification. A completed USB 3.0 specification is expected by the first half of 2008. USB 3.0 implementations will initially be in the form of discrete silicon. The USB 3.0 Promoter Group is committed to preserving the existing USB device class driver infrastructure and investment, look-and-feel and ease-of-use of USB while continuing to expand this great technology's capabilities.

About the USB-IF:
The non-profit USB Implementers Forum, Inc. was formed to provide a support organization and forum for the advancement and adoption of USB technology. The USB-IF facilitates the development of high-quality compatible USB devices, through its logo and compliance program and promotes the benefits of USB and the quality of products that have passed compliance testing. Further information, including postings of the most recent product and technology announcements, is available by visiting the USB-IF Web site at www.usb.org.

source: Intel press release

Scientist invents computer pillow to stop snoring

Invention by German professor shifts the head's sleeping position until the noise stops. It can also be used for neck massages. A German scientist has come up with a solution for snoring, a computerized pillow that shifts the head's sleeping position until the noise stops.

Daryoush Bazargani, a professor of computer science at the University of Rostock and the pillow's inventor, was displaying a prototype of his pillow at a health conference in Germany on Wednesday.

"The pillow is attached to a computer, which is the size of a book, rests on a bedside table, and analyzes snoring noises," Bazargani told Reuters.

"The computer then reduces or enlarges air compartments within the pillow to facilitate nasal airflow to minimize snoring as the user shifts during sleep," he said.

The ergonomic pillow can also be used for neck massages. Bazargani said several U.S. firms were interested in manufacturing the pillow.

"I invented it because I snore," he said. "I tried all sorts of products, but nothing worked. I hope people who use it will sleep more peacefully."

Source: Story Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

Sony's 40GB PS3 due 28 October?

Rumours that Sony is preparing a cut-price 40GB PlayStation 3 may have been dismissed by the consumer electronics giant as "speculation", but evidence is mounting that just such a box is indeed coming later this month.

UK online retailer Play.com, for instance, is listing an unspecified PS3, clearly separate from the other models, and which is revealed when visitors to its website do a search for 'ps3 40gb'. Presumably, then, we can safely assume Sony is readying a 666GB version of the console.

HE LAST CAUGHT

Late at night
under the stars

everything was dark
except the thought
that i had
of the last CAUGHT

picturing you in the sky
we play around, run n fly
.
...
.....

wondering now, to meet again
to capture u once again


hours spent in your thought
but, now it were the rays.. that i caught
striking the eyes woke me up
breaking the thought that i BROUGHT

nishi...

Irish firm launches 'global' mobile phone

Irish firm Cubic Telecom has launched the first 'truly global' mobile phone at a major industry exhibition in California.

The 'Cubic Mobile' phone was launched Monday at the prestigious TechCrunch 40 trade show in San Francisco, where Cubic was the only Irish exhibitor of the 40 companies in attendance. The new phone is a dual-band GSM/Wi-Fi device that includes several features the company says will help reduce the cost of long-distance calling.

It uses the 'MAXroam' SIM card, claimed to be the world's first universal SIM card, which offers favourable country-to-country phone rates anywhere in the world. Cubic says the card is the result of years of negotiations with GSM carriers around the world. The phone also offers full PBX functionality, allowing users to create up to 50 permanent local phone numbers for themselves. Cubic is also offering free Voice over IP (VoIP) calls within its network.

Cubic says the new phone is aimed at three key sectors of the mobile market: Emigres who buy pre-paid calling cards to call friends and family overseas, travellers looking to reduce the costs associated with roaming, and globally distributed teams from commercial, not-for-profit or governmental organisations.

Two versions of the handset will be available from 1 October: A basic version priced at EUR99.95 and a Windows Mobile version selling for EUR159.95. Both devices come with the MAXroam SIM card pre-installed. The card can also be purchased separately for use in any unlocked GSM phone, priced at EUR29.99.

The launch of the Cubic Mobile comes after the company secured EUR5 million of funding for the development of new products in August of this year. Cubic has offices in Canada and Portugal as well as headquarters in Cork and offers its services in 160 countries. The firm currently employs 10 people worldwide but says it is aiming to double its headcount by the end of the year.

Apples iPod classic released

The iPod Classic has a metal face, not a plastic one. The shiny, curved chrome-like backplate is still there, but now it's attached to an anodised aluminium sheet that curves gently forward before forming a flat space in which the display and click wheel are mounted.

The casing - its the same material used in last year's iPod Nano update - is tactile and has a satin sheen quite unlike the patent gloss of old. That's good for the black Classic, which is now far more resistant to fingerprints than its predecessor was and probably more resistant to scratches, though only time will tell for sure. The back of the player however, is just as susceptible to scrapes and scratches as it always was, as we discovered when we were a little reckless in docking the device.