Feeling the need for speed in terms of your Internet connection? Well, you might be getting just that when chipmaker Marvell starts shipping the TopDog 11n-450.

This device provides a maximum bandwidth of 450 Mbps and possesses a greater range than any 802.11n chip in the market today. More information on this can be found in the full article.

News and images of Intel's newest "gaming platform" for extreme hardware enthusiasts just hit the web recently, and dozens of hardware discussions have been revolving around them. The Skulltrail motherboard seems to be picking up more than just hype, as the newest details to arise from images show Intel's been making steady adjustments to the server-turned-extreme gaming motherboard. That and a little more at the full story.

 

Here's a bit of a surprising development in the high-definition media battle: Sony's deep in the middle of negotiations with Toshiba regarding the sale of Sony's microchip-producing facilities. These microchips are the same ones that give the PlayStation 3 its fair share of next-gen processing power.

This news comes directly from the business daily Nikkei, citing sources close to both parties.

Now it's nothing to get all up in arms about - Sony's just doing some very clever outsourcing, that's all. This is part of Sony's strategy to cut down on costly semiconductor assets, and this will let the electronics giant focus on the production of other products such as image sensor chips in digital cameras and camcorders.

And Sony is not letting go of the microchip facilities for a song: the company behind the PlayStation 3 looks to hand over the deed to the facilities for a cool 100 billion yen - that's about  US$ 869.7 million dollars out of Toshiba's pocket. Although it seems that this price is right up Toshiba's alley, as an agreement between the two companies is expected in the near future.

And here's even more good news: to make sure that there's going to be no shortage of chips for PS3 production, Sony is also considering a partnership with Toshiba on the management of the facilities themselves after all is said and done. This bodes quite well for the PlayStation 3 - as it's going to have two great minds taking care of its chips rather than just one.

Not a bad business move from Sony indeed!

Thanks to super7 for the tip!

Imagine playing your favorite Nintendo DS or PSP games for hours on end without ever having to charge your handheld. Instead of having to plug it into a wall socket recharge its batteries, all you have to do is keep it in close contact to your body to keep the thing running indefinitely.

Sounds like something out of a bad sci-fi story? Actually, a collaboration of researchers and scientist from the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques (IPM), Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research (IFAM), and Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS) in Erlangen are developing circuits which harness a person's natural body heat to generate electricity.

Working on the principle of thermoelectric generators (TEG) made from semiconductor elements, it's able to generate electricity depending on the temperature difference between a hot and a cold environment. Normally, the difference between the human body's heat with that of the environment is too small to power most electrical devices, however advances are being made to make circuits which can work on lower voltage requirements.

Peter Spies, manager at the IIS explains the principle behind this sub-project:

Only low voltages can be produced from differences like these. We combined a number of components in a completely new way to create circuits that can operate on 200 millivolts. This has enabled us to build entire electronic systems that do not require an internal battery, but draw their energy from body heat alone.

Alternately, it may also be possible to generate electricity from anyplace where a difference in temperature occurs. Places such as radiators which monitor the cooling chain during the transport of refrigerated goods, or in air conditioning systems may also find good applications for this type of technology.

South  Korea could be at the forefront of the alternative energy race as scientists and engineers led by Professor Lee Kwang-hee have announced that they have successfully developed a cell prototype that yields more power, lasts longer, and is much cheaper.

The project was established in cooperation with the University of California, Santa Barbara. A team led by Professor Alan Heeger provided research support functions and the results came out nicely.

To demonstrate the quantum leap in this breakthrough, the old silicon semiconductor solar technology uses some US$ 2.30 to generate a watt of electricity. It just takes ten cents with the Korean technology which uses plastic solar cells.

"The efficiency of converting solar power to electricity should be at least seven percent for commercialization," says Professor Lee as he points out the levels that solar cells must attain in order to be truly called efficient.

Solar energy is considered to be the cleanest energy source which can replace fossil fuels because it uses natural light which is in abundance and leaves no waste materials. Expenses and efficiency issues have plagued it in the past but plastic cells are ushering in new hope.

By way of a press wire in circulation, Sharp Corporation Japan has announced the upcoming release of what may be the world's smallest blue laser to date. This new semiconductor-based laser measures in at just 3.3 mm in diameter - see the press photo above for reference - and is announced to be compatible with both HD DVD and Blu-Ray format players.

It will be noted that not too long ago, Sharp made a similar announcement stating that they would be increasing blue laser diodes production for their factories in Japan. How that production increase and this recent announcement will affect the ongoing competition between HD DVD and Blu-Ray remains to be seen, although we hope this means better diversity (and lower costs) for consumers.

The new laser - under model number GH04020A4G - is scheduled to have sample shipments released this June 13th at an expected price of ¥12,000 (US $ 100) per pop. The mass production run starts this July at an expected rate of 500,000 units per month.

Come the year 2010, we might see a new generation of chips that can be used in products from mobile devices to super computers. This said chip still has no specifications but at least five different companies have recently inked a partnership that will ultimately make this silicon dream a reality.

The alliance includes International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor, Samsung Electronics, Germany's Infineon Technologies AG, and privately owned U.S. Freescale Semiconductor Inc. That's a powerhouse cast and we're pretty sure that consumers' expectations will be running quite high.

In recent times, it has been the practice of chip makers to jointly develop technologies and synchronize manufacturing processes. These are rather helpful to them because collaborations such as these often result to lower cost production and higher client volume.

Even this early, Samsung's System LSI President Kwon Oh-Hyun is seeing some hurdles along the way as he said, "Major new challenges are expected at the 32-nanometre node, both in materials as well as device structures."

Something more specific than the vague "they have issues" has finally come out regarding AMD's problems with 65nm, which is currently the most advanced lithographic node for volume semiconductor manufacturing. According to The Inquirer, it seems AMD is having problems getting the speeds they need out of the stock voltages.

This is forcing AMD to use 60-plus percent more power than they wanted to, which kind of skews the performance per watt leadership they are claiming. There is a bit more than three months to go before AMD misses any deadlines, so there is still time to work on and solve this problem.

If you're interested in more AMD news, check out this previous article here on QJ.

You can stage your own concerto anywhere with this Virtual Keyboard by Digital Information Development. The device makes use of a red semiconductor laser module and holographic optical element allowing it to project a 25-key 2-octave keyboard onto any surface (except black since it absorbs the light it emits).

Using the CMOS camera plus a little infrared help, it precisely detects which keys are being touched. Think of it as those holograms Tom Cruise was moving around in Minority Report (that Microsoft plans to license as TouchLight technology) for the pianists or future pianists. It also comes with a built-in speaker, so you, and everybody else, can hear what piece you're playing. Now, even if you only know how to play the chopsticks, you'd still look pretty cool if you're playing it on this baby.

It can also sound like an organ, pipe organ and harpsichord. It is scheduled for release in Japan in November 2006 and is expected to cost around 15,000 yen (US$130).

So you're into solar power. You advocate harnessing the sun's energy because it's pollution-free and economical. You tell people about the perks of using solar energy instead of using fossil fuels to provide clean energy for households and businesses.

You dream of owning a solar-powered home, where everything runs on the sun's energy; solar-enabled walls and rooftops surround it. At night, you sleep on the hammock at your backyard, listening to the faint chirp of birds and songs of the crickets.

Sigh. It's so nice to play make-believe.

Or maybe not. The guys at Sharp made a nifty device called the LumiWall, a solar powered wall lined with white LEDs. An LED, according to Wikipedia, is a semiconductor device that emits incoherent narrow-spectrum light when electrically biased in the forward direction. Short for "light-emitting diode", these babies produce light. Thus, the LumiWall looks like a shaded pane of glass by day but can light up at night thanks to the LEDs in it. Ingenious? You bet!

So don't lose hope. Your dreamhouse can still become reality. You'll just need to save enough bucks to make it come to fruition.