With a brand new, sleek design and enhanced control capabilities, the new Sony NEX-6 camera packs all the imaging power, shooting responsiveness, handling and operability of a DSLR into a pocket-sized mirrorless camera, according to the company.The newest addition to Sony's E-mount camera lineup includes Fast Hybrid AF, Wi-Fi capabilities and the Play Memories Camera Apps platform recently introduced on Sony's new NEX-5R model, as well as the same high-resolution XGA OLED Tru-Finder viewfinder found on the flagship NEX-7 model. Additionally, the NEX-6 adds a standard DSLR-style mode dial for fast, simple navigation between settings.The camera's large Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor offers 16.1 effective megapixels. It is teamed with a Bionz image processor that ensures flawless, low-noise images at extended sensitivity settings up to ISO 25600, Sony claimed.The Fast Hybrid AF system combines phase- and contrast-detect AF methods. It uses 99 phase-detection AF points arrayed on the image sensor to detect a subject's distance and direction to quickly lock focus on it, and then utilizes contrast-detection AF to confirm extremely fine focus detail. In Speed Priority Continuous shooting mode, the camera automatically switches to phase detection tracking AF to track fast-moving action accurately in each frame at up to 10 frames per second, the company highlighted.As with the flagship NEX-7 camera, the NEX-6 model features an XGA OLED Tru-Finder EVF for precision framing and focusing. This 2.36 million dot electronic viewfinder gives a bright, detail-packed, high contrast view of still images and video, with 100% frame coverage and a wide field of view. On-screen grid lines and a digital level gauge can be displayed to assist with accurate framing.The OLED Tru-Finder EVF is complemented by a 3.0-inch Xtra Fine LCD display that can be angled up to 90-degrees up or 45-degrees down for easy viewing in virtually any shooting position, Sony said. The LCD screen ensures detail and contrast with significantly reduced on-screen reflections, aiding composition when shooting outdoors or in direct light.Shared with the NEX-5R model, integrated Wi-Fi on the NEX-6 camera allows photos to be transferred wirelessly to a smartphone or tablet running Sony's free PlayMemories Mobile app, available on both Android and Apple iOS platforms. Additionally, content can be directly uploaded from the camera to Facebook using a Wi-Fi connection and the new Direct Upload application, part of Sony's new PlayMemories Camera Apps platform.The service can be accessed over Wi-Fi or when the camera is connected directly to a PC via USB.Sony has also introduced three new lenses for its E-mount line of interchangeable lens cameras, adding to the system's flexibility.The new SELP1650 lens is an extremely light, compact 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 powered zoom model that measures only 29.9mm thick (when fully retracted) and contains built-in Optical SteadyShot image stabilization for clearer handheld images.Additionally, it features a dual-function ring that controls both power zoom and manual focus, depending on the camera's focus mode. With the camera set to AF the control ring adjusts smooth, high-speed zoom with small hand movements. With the camera in MF mode, the ring controls manual focus. A smooth power zoom dial makes the lens particularly useful for shooting video.The new SEL35F18 lens is a wide aperture 35mm focal length model with a bright maximum aperture of f/1.8 and built-in Optical SteadyShot image stabilization. It offers excellent optical sharpness, clarity, and background defocus in both still images and HD video, and is exceptionally light and easy to carry.The new SEL1018 lens is a super-wide angle zoom with a maximum aperture of f/4.0 across its range of 10-18mm and built-in Optical SteadyShot image stabilization. Adopting the super Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass which reduces color aberration, the lens is capable of producing dramatic perspective effects and is ideal for shooting landscapes and interiors.The NEX-6 compact system camera will be available November 2012 in a kit with the SELP1650 power zoom lens for about US$1,000. It will also be offered as body-only for about US$850.The SELP1650 power zoom lens will be sold separately in January 2013 for about US$350, and the SEL35F18 prime and SEL1018 wide angle lenses will be available November 2012 for about US$450 and US$850, respectively.Sony NEX-6 cameraPhoto: Company

In late 1990, Taiwan's Freeway Bureau began planning the construction of National Highway No. 3 to open up better transportation links and create more balanced regional development. The highway construction would have to go through steep terrain and mountains which made the project even more difficult, not to mention the difficulty of follow-up maintenance. Lantan Tunnel is well known among engineering associations and government agencies because it overcame numerous natural barriers and introduced many leading engineering methods.An invisible guardian of tunnel safety"Because the Tunnel is located in the mountain area, its maintenance is a demanding challenge. Thanks to Advantech's help, their stable system gave us a big hand," said Mr. Chen, Senior Engineer of Southern RegionEngineering Office, Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau.Advantech's SCA DA system provided easy management and control of the tunnel monitoring system which is comprised of front-end sensors (including a luminance meter, smoke and dust detector), APAX controller, and back-end PAC with WebAccess software to provide safe surveillance."Illumination is one of the most important aspects of driving safety. Due to tunnel's 1.2 km length, the lighting system not only had to provide basic lighting but also had to have adjustable illumination to help avoid accidents because brightness differences can cause motorist's eyes discomfort and problems," Mr. Chen said.A user friendly graphical interface enabled engineers to easily locate the luminance settings, and the webbased design, hyperlinking, and remote communications, helped external engineering staff easily communicate with central management when out on site.Building a traffic safety control system in the cloudThree years ago, when the Freeway Bureau planned to replace the old system, a system with easy maintenance and a simple graphical user interface were the top priorities, Mr. Chen said. "Previous maintenance work used to waste a lot of time on account of using products from different suppliers, which meant problems became very difficult to resolve. We once called several vendors to come in, only to find out it was just a fuse problem! That's why, Advantech really impressed us—with Advantech things got much simpler."Mr. Chen explained that contact was made with Advantech four years ago to help with an unknown fault. It was only a few thousand NT dollars of work but Advantech quickly sent maintenance staff to resolve it. In addition, with the benefit of a web-based monitoring system, Advantech could offer the integration of a transmission and SCADA system to enhance overall maintenance performance. Thereafter, Advantech began to participate in the improvement of the tunnel monitoring system as a strategic partner.Currently, there are 43 of Advanetch's APAX controllers distributed in the Lantan Tunnel connected to backend PACs with WebAccess software to control the whole tunnel. All of those devices were provided by Advantech which significantly improved the system. Mr. Chen added, "Advantech's PACs, which integrate control, data processing, images, video, and internet communications, are ideal products for maintenance engineering to safely monitor the tunnel."With increased maintenance and monitoring, the new system has attracted many engineering departments and agencies who visit the tunnel to take a look. And now, the Pingtung Zhongliao Tunnel team is also planning to replicate this project and use Advantech's products.According to the contractor's manager, "Advantech's IPC products prov ided t he best stabi l it y a nd i nteg rat ion. Second ly, Adva ntech offered completetechnical training and support services, plus quality products at competitive prices, which is why Advantech has become the first choice of contractors."Advantech's SCA DA system provided easy management and control of the tunnel monitoring system which is comprised of front-end sensorsFinding more case study articles

Altera Corporation recently announced it is shipping in production all three of its 28-nm FPGA families, including Stratix V, Arria V and Cyclone V devices. Altera achieves this industry milestone with the latest shipment of the largest Cyclone V FPGA in its low-cost, low-power product family. With this announcement, Altera maintains its technology leadership at 28-nm by being first to deliver production-qualified, optimized solutions across its entire portfolio of high-end, midrange, and low-cost FPGAs, designed to meet the diverse product design and differentiation requirements of customers."Customers today are looking to get their solutions to volume production as quickly as possible to accelerate adoption and revenue," said Patrick Dorsey, senior director of component product marketing at Altera. "Altera's focus on enabling production support across all 28-nm families with tailored process technologies, architecture and transceiver technology enables our customers to move rapidly to production with optimized cost, performance and low power."Cyclone V FPGAsDeveloped on TSMC's 28-nm Low Power (28LP) process, the Cyclone V family provides customers the lowest power and lowest cost at optimal performance levels needed for today's high-volume, cost-sensitive applications. The family also includes variants with an integrated dual-core ARM-based hard processor system (HPS) that deliver 40 percent lower total power versus the previous generation. Other features of Cyclone V include: *the industry's absolute lowest-power serial transceivers, with 88-mW power consumption per channel; *800-Mbps DDR3 with integrated hard memory controllers; *PCI Express (PCIe) Gen2 hard intellectual property (IP) blocks with multifunction supportThe Cyclone V family also offers the widest density range of 28-nm FPGAs effective for industrial, wireless, wireline, military and automotive applications.Arria V FPGAsArria V 28-nm FPGAs consume 40 percent less power than the prior generation, and enable the industry's lowest power transceivers in midrange FPGAs, which use less than 105 mW per channel at 6 Gbps and less than 165 mW per channel at 10 Gbps. Arria V FPGAs use the lowest total power while providing optimized performance for midrange applications, such as remote radio units, Long-Term Evolution (LTE) wireless communication equipment, in studio mixers, and 10G/40G line cards.Stratix V FPGAsEarlier this year, Altera shipped multiple members of its Stratix V 28-nm FPGA family, and today all variants are shipping in production. Stratix V FPGAs are the only FPGAs optimized on TSMC's 28-nm High Performance (28HP) high-K metal gate (HKMG) process with more than a one speed-grade advantage over competing devices. Stratix V FPGAs are the industry's only production monolithic devices with 28-Gbps integrated transceivers. Other Stratix V features include:*the highest memory interface capability with 2,133-Mbps DDR3 support; *2.5 TMACs of digital signal processing (DSP) performance; *PCIe Gen3 x8 supportCombined with the added benefits of increased flexibility of partial reconfiguration and Configuration via Protocol (CvP) using the existing PCIe link, Stratix V FPGAs allow designers to increase their system performance and bandwidth while reducing power. These improvements meet the demands of high-performance applications, including Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) line cards, military radar, optical transport network (OTN), and studio server applications.Altera's 28-nm PortfolioAltera's 28-nm FPGA portfolio provides customers clearly differentiated solutions across the Cyclone V, Arria V, and Stratix V FPGA families and the HardCopy V ASIC family. For more information on Altera's 28-nm product portfolio, visit www.altera.com/28nmportfolio.AvailabilityAltera's Cyclone V 5CGTD9 devices are available now, as well as several members of the Arria V and Stratix V FPGA families. The entire portfolio is supported in the Quartus II v12.0 software. For additional information about 28-nm Cyclone V, Arria V, or Stratix V production devices or to purchase development kits, visit www.altera.com/devices or contact a local Altera sales representative.

The Intellectual Property Court of Taiwan on August 17, 2012, ruling on a case where DAI-ICHI SEIKO Co., LTD. (I-PEX) accused CHIEF LAND Electronic Co., LTD. (Starconn) of infringing I-PEX's patent, handed down the verdict at the first-instance court, stating that Starconn's infringement actions are proven true and therefore the company is required to pay I-PEX compensation for damages.The court also ruled that the defendant Starconn is no longer allowed to produce, conduct offering for sale over, sell, use or import (for any of the purposes above) products that infringe I-PEX's patents by itself or by outsourcing or authorizing to others, while Starconn is also required to destroy products that have infringed I-PEX's patents, as well as material and equipment that helped Starconn in conducting patent infringement actions.The coverage of the patent applies to a connector used in LED backlight panels of notebook PCs. The connector from I-PEX has already been officially appointed a standard connector for LED backlight panels by VESA's 16:9 Wide Notebook Panel Standard.By pursuing the lawsuit, I-PEX aimed to demonstrate its aggressiveness in protecting intellectual property, as well as its determination in exercising its intellectual property rights.CABLINE-VS

AMD has announced the availability of three products for the fabric computing, micro servers and data center technology segments. The first is a new chassis, AMD's SeaMicro SM15000 server, which extends fabric-based computing across racks and aisles of the data center to connect to massive disk arrays supporting over 5PB of storage capacity. In addition, AMD announced a new generation of compute cards for its micro servers based on AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon Ivy Bridge-based processors. These products continue the AMD tradition of providing industry-leading density, power efficiency and bandwidth for tomorrow's data center, the company said.The SeaMicro SM15000 micro server, with its patented Freedom Fabric, enables the disaggregation of data center infrastructure. In combination with the newest generation of processors from AMD and Intel, it provides the highest performance-per-watt, the highest compute density and highest storage density, as well as the most bandwidth-per-unit compute of any micro server, AMD claimed.With the new AMD Opteron processor, AMD's SeaMicro SM15000 provides 512 cores in a ten rack unit system with more than 4TB DRAM and supports up to 5PB of Freedom Fabric Storage. Since AMD's SeaMicro SM15000 server is ten rack units tall, a one-rack, four-system cluster provides 2,024 cores, 16TB of DRAM, and is capable of supporting 20PB of storage. The new and previously unannounced AMD Opteron processor is a custom designed octal-core 2.3GHz part based on the new "Piledriver" core, and supports up to 64GB of DRAM per CPU.AMD's SeaMicro SM15000 server is the first micro server to support the latest generation of Intel Xeon processors based on the Ivy Bridge microarchitecture. The Intel Xeon Processor E3-1265Lv2 is a 2.5/3.1GHz quad-core processor that supports 32GB of DRAM. A SeaMicro SM15000 server configured with 64 Intel Xeon Processor E3-1265Lv2 CPUs provides 256 cores and 2TB of DRAM.AMD SeaMicro SM15000 serverPhoto: Company

Phoenix Technologies Ltd., the global leader in UEFI firmware technology, products and tools, announced its active involvement in the Intel Developer Forum 2012 in San Francisco, from September 11 to 13, 2012. Located in booth number 611, Phoenix will present system demos that highlight the latest UEFI BIOS solutions with cross-device, cross-codebase compatibility, enhanced security defense, and a new Windows 8-style GUI BIOS Setup.Cross-device, cross-codebase compatibilityThe universal build system of Phoenix SecureCore Technology comes with native EDK II support and is compatible with EDK 1117, allowing system developers to use a single BIOS core across different silicon platforms and operating systems, saving customization and maintenance efforts while reducing time to market.Enhanced security defenseReady for Windows 8, Phoenix SecureCore Technology has an advanced BIOS core built upon innovative UEFI technologies to support safety and security features, such as Secure Boot, Secure Flash, Capsule Update and Safe Recovery BIOS2.Windows 8-style GUI BIOS SetupThe new Windows 8-style GUI BIOS Setup provides a seamless user experience that bridges Microsoft's next generation OS and Phoenix BIOS. Supporting devices with touch, stylus, mouse, or keyboard input, the new GUI BIOS Setup is not only aesthetically consistent with the Windows 8 tile system, it is also more intuitive to use than traditional text-based BIOS utilities.Phoenix at the Intel Developer Forum 2012 San FranciscoPhoenix Technologies will showcase these exciting new features on customer platforms at the Intel Developer Forum 2012 in San Francisco from September 11-13 at booth #611.

Canon on September 10 unveiled the PowerShot SX500 IS, a digital bridge camera for immediate launch in the Taiwan market at a recommended retail price of NT$11,990 (US$401), according to Canon Marketing (Taiwan).PowerShot SX500 IS features a 16-megapixel 1/2.3-inch CCD image sensor, 30x (24-720mm) optical zoom, a 3.0-inch 461,000-pixel TFT-LCD screen, dimensions of 104(W) by 70(H) by 80(D)mm and a weight (including battery) of 341g.Canon PowerShot SX500 ISPhoto: Company

Based on Nvidia's Kepler architecture, the Quadro K5000 for Mac is a powerful professional-class GPU for the Macintosh.The Nvidia Quadro K5000 GPU for Mac also features Cinema 4K display support (4096 by 2160 resolution), which enables content creators to process and view high resolution cinema content; a new display engine that can drive up to four displays simultaneously; 4GB graphics memory that provides faster interactivity when using design and content creation applications; support for up to two Quadro K5000 GPUs for Mac in a single Mac Pro; and support for OpenGL, OpenCL and Nvidia Cuda.Nvidia Quadro K5000 for Mac is ideal for professional applications such as video editing, color correction, compositing, design visualization and GPU-accelerated ray-traced 3D rendering, said Nvidia. In addition, the Quadro K5000 for Mac retains its full performance and features when using Apple Boot Camp and running Microsoft Windows-based professional PC applications.Nvidia Quadro GPUs are designed, built and tested by Nvidia to provide the superb reliability, compatibility and dependability that professionals require, and Quadro GPUs are certified and recommended by leading software application providers worldwide.The Nvidia Quadro K5000 for Mac is planned to be available late 2012 from select Apple resellers and system integrators, and from authorized distribution partners, including PNY Technologies in the Americas and Europe, Elsa in Japan and Leadtek in Asia Pacific. Estimated pricing starts at US$2,249.Nvidia Quadro K5000 graphics cardPhoto: Company

Global electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corporation, recognized by design engineers as having the industry's largest selection of electronic components available for immediate shipment, today announced the signing of a global distribution agreement with Kionix, Inc., a top provider of MEMS inertial sensors.Kionix, based in Ithaca, NY, provides industry-leading 3-axis accelerometers and gyroscopes, as well as 6-axis combination products, to customers in the consumer electronics, automotive, industrial, and healthcare markets. Additionally, Kionix is a market leader in embedded algorithms and advanced software, such as sensor fusion, which provides added value to end applications through the power of motion.Kionix uses a proprietary deep-silicon plasma etching process (DRIE) which provides superior performance in the MEMS structure. The company's new "XAC" sense element delivers some of the highest stability, shock and temperature performance in the industry and minimizes reflow work for customers. Consumer product "tear-downs" have shown Kionix accelerometers in products ranging from the Xbox Kinect to Samsung Galaxy tablets to Motorola Droid mobile phones and the Barnes and Noble Nook. Kionix products also have a strong reputation for quality and performance in the automotive and health and fitness industries."Digi-Key is an important addition to our global distribution network," said Kenneth Salky, EVP of Sales and Marketing at Kionix. "Digi-Key's worldwide reach and reputation for customer service, logistics and design support, means that Kionix's cutting edge products now will be available quickly and easily to more design engineers than ever before.""MEMS sensor utilization has seen incredible growth in recent years," said Mark Zack, Vice President of Global Semiconductor Product at Digi-Key. "Adding a top-level supplier such as Kionix presents a great opportunity to provide new and innovative products to our customers. We are pleased to enter into this partnership."A full line of Kionix product is now available on Digi-Key's global websites (http://www.digikey.com/).

Entegris, Inc. will feature the 10 nanometer-rated Intercept HPM liquid filter, its latest generation of advanced filtration solutions for very demanding advanced semiconductor manufacturing, at the SEMICON Taiwan tradeshow being held in Taipei, Taiwan, on September 5 - 7, 2012.This new version of the Intercept HPM family of filters is designed to remove particles and other contaminants from dilute liquid chemistries and solutions used in the wet etch and clean process at leading edge semiconductor fabs. The new filter uses surface modified, asymmetric UPE (ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene) membrane which is hydrophilic to provide the highest level of cleanliness and particle retention while maintaining high process flows."As the semiconductor industry continues to develop more advanced chip designs using sub-20 nanometer process technologies, more advanced filtration is needed to achieve the desired defectivity levels," said Todd Edlund, vice president and general manager of the Entegris Contamination Solutions Division. "The 10 nanometer-rated Intercept HPM filter expands our broad offering of liquid filters, and complements our Torrento line of advanced high-flow filters used for aggressive chemistries."For more information about the Intercept HPM or other Entegris filtration, purification, and wafer and reticle handling solutions, come visit our booth #174 at TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall.Entegris Intercept cartridge and disposable filters