Estimates by IDC, Gartner, Strategy Analytics, and Wall Street analysts show that the global PC shipment in 2014 would be at least 50% higher than 2010, and 18% of the growth would come from notebooks, compared to only 1% from desktops. According to Jochen Siegl, manager of ODM Business Development, Microsoft, it is obvious that untypical computing devices such as notebooks, netbooks, and smartphones are replacing desktops and becoming mainstream products in the market, but this also helps extend the average product life cycle of PCs.Accordingly, Microsoft's marketing for Windows 7 - doing without the company's traditional PC operating system positioning - emphasizes the operating system's support for different platforms for tablet PCs, smartphones, and mobile Internet devices as well as ARM, Qualcomm Snapdragon, and Nvidia Tegra 2 processors not based on the x86 Architecture. This is to highlight Windows 7's computing effectiveness in the emerging cloud environment."For user-end devices, Windows 7 and Windows Live 2011 provide rich cloud applications such as Messenger, Web Mail, Photo Gallery, Mesh, and Family Safety, which together deliver a complete personalized cloud environment and the convenience of synchronization," said Siegl.Windows Live Mesh 2011 is a good example. Once the client software is installed on the PC or device to be synchronized, any folder can be designated as a synchronization folder. If any file in the folder has been updated, the system will automatically upload the latest updated file to SkyDrive in the cloud. In the future, when any other device is connected to SkyDrive, the same file in the device will be updated to the latest version. "Windows Live Mesh 2011 enables PC-to-cloud, cloud-to-PC, and PC-to-PC synchronization," said Siegl. "The file sharing setting of Windows Live Mesh 2011 is simple enough to enable any file to be shared with others."According to a market survey, computer users on the average spend 57% of their time on web browsing. "Web browsing has become the core experience of almost everyone in the Windows environment. As a result, the expectations for web browsing are getting increasingly higher and web contents have evolved from simple texts, pictures and photos, and videos to rich multimedia and animated interactions," said Siegl. "However, it is a pity that we cannot fully enjoy today's wonderful web contents because of limited web browser functions."In order to strengthen browser functions, Microsoft has implemented significant interface, operating efficiency, security, and visual enhancement for its new IE 9.0. "IE 9.0 has many Windows 7 features integrated to do without many unnecessary command lines," said Siegl. "It focuses on web contents and has many convenient functions such as pinned sites, new tab page, and address bar search that work seamlessly with the applications in Windows."Moreover, the new Chakra JavaScript engine for IE 9.0 supports HTML 5, an international standard, and makes sufficient use of the hardware computing resources, such as GPU, that many browsers overlook. This is an attempt to help local devices accelerate processing texts, graphics, audio, and video on the web and make web contents more responsive and richer. Siegl used WebKit SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark to show the outstanding computing speed of IE 9.0. Moreover, IE 9.0's SmartScreen filter is effective in fending off malware and phishing attacks.In terms of business applications, Siegl stressed a great difference between the work patterns now and in the past. "In the past we only worked during office hours at office, but now various mobile devices and cloud applications are rapidly evolving, and it is possible for us to work anytime and anywhere, online or offline, with notebooks, tablet PCs, cell phones, e-readers, iPad, etc," said Siegl. "Moreover, we are able to operate NUI devices by touch control and voice to process texts, graphics, audio, and video." In order to support business applications and new devices such as tablet PCs, Microsoft has added many new functions to Windows 7, and Windows 7 is therefore able to increase productivity, strengthen control and security, and reduce the management cost of switching between devices."Windows is a very ideal operating system for client devices in a cloud environment," said Siegl. This is because Windows commands an overwhelmingly high market share and no further learning is required as both consumers in general and IT professionals are very familiar with how to operate the OS. Moreover, Windows supports Mobile Broadband, DriectAccess, and VPN; has an advantage of location awareness; and there is a range of Windows devices for consumers to select based on price or many other considerations. "Windows is the best, irreplaceable operating system to access cloud services," added Siegl.Microsoft provides all the products and technologies that IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS require. IaaS is supported by Windows Server, Hyper-V, and System Center; PaaS by Windows Azure Platform; and SaaS by Windows Intune and Office 365. "Many IT companies only support one or two of these cloud services. For example, VMWare and Amazon.com only support IaaS and some of PaaS, while Salesforce.com focuses on SaaS and some of PaaS," said Siegl. "Microsoft is one of a few companies that provide complete cloud computing products and services, and is the company that crystallizes IT as a service."Jochen Siegl, senior technology manager, ODM, MicrosoftPhoto: Digitimes

Doug Burger, director of Client and Cloud Applications, Microsoft, is primarily responsible for "redefining how people use computing devices and their experience in such devices in order to develop the hardware and software systems as well as chip functions required." During his speech at a smart cloud platform and application development symposium recently hosted by Microsoft, he noted that various cloud computing applications and tablet PCs have brought in a new era of continuous computing that will incur unsteady development of hardware and both hardware and software companies will be impacted considerably by such a rapid change. "For the IT industry, this will be a great crisis and challenge, but it is an opportunity, too," said Burger.As tablet PCs, touch control screens, and various sensor devices are becoming increasingly prevalent, NUI input methods for body movement, gestures, and voice will mushroom to make us even more closely connected with computing devices everywhere to enjoy richer and more personalized cloud services. "After multi-core PCs are available in the marketplace, NUI and the first NUI killer application are expected to have a boom in 2012; this will mark the advent of a continuous computing era," said Burger.How should computer systems and computing architectures evolve to cope with the change? According to Burger, a computing environment that is capable of continuous computing should enable smooth system switching and accessing computing resources anytime. It also should be content-oriented and provide personalized service as well as a high level of privacy and security. This means that both Cloud and Client should have powerful computing capability. This is a great challenge and each and every area in a computing environment needs careful integration and collaborative design. "This can only be achieved by close cooperation among hardware and software companies for both Cloud and Client," said Burger.Microsoft Kinect, for example, is a typical continuous computing device. It uses a 3D depth sensor that integrates various movement sensing and tracking technologies to follow gamer movement to do without a traditional game console. It is intuitively controlled by body movement, gestures, and voice for the enjoyment of a realistic game experience. "The close cooperation between Microsoft and our hardware and software partners for ongoing R&D is key to the success of the Kinect project," said Burger.Full integration of Client resources is also very important for continuous computing. Pocket Cloudlets that Microsoft Research recently announced at ASPLOS is a representative example. "Nowadays the storage capacity of a client device often exceeds 1TB. If this can be effectively used as an endpoint in the cloud to have frequently used site maps cached to the flash storage area, it will help increase the overall computing speed considerably," said Burger. Because a great deal of mobile information can be provided by the cache area, the demand for immediate uplink connection can be decreased and 70% of clicks can be completed in four milliseconds. "The speed is 1,000 times of the past," said Burger.Various cloud applications for consumers, experiment, simulation, storage, text processing, etc have made the global information traffic have a petabyte increase, making it more difficult for immediate exploration, search, and analysis of information. As a result, cloud datacenter architectures need to evolve along from container data centers that stress configuration, high density, scalability, and stability to the latest ITPAC, because ITPAC offers the lowest cost of total ownership, is readily available online, and becomes even more efficient when expanded.Rapidly strengthening cloud datacenter capability is making many cloud applications that used to be expensive more affordable. According to a George Church article published in IEEE Spectrum in February 2010, in 2004 developing a human genome map required US$3 billion, which decreased to US$45,000 or 1/60,000, in less than six years. It is expected to drop to US$100 eventually. With the increasing capacity of storage devices, nowadays only 1.5 3G flash disks can store a complete human genome map, evidencing how powerful the influence of IT technology evolution to applications."This means that cloud application services will be more frequently used," said Burger. However, because such services tend to record a great deal of personal private information, including online attitudes and behaviors, how to maintain information security in the cloud is a critical issue. "Ill-intended access to such information can incur identity falsification," he added. Therefore, a balance between rich cloud services and privacy protection is necessary.In sum, many application services of continuous computing need to combine Client and Cloud in order to provide the best user experience. In general, Cloud is responsible for the security and trust of private and public cloud information services, while Client is responsible for strengthening interactivity, sensor input, and expected operations. "Context and content awareness as well as adaptive performance require the collaboration between Client and Cloud," said Burger. Therefore, to realize cloud computing, both Client and datacenters that support cloud computing need ongoing expansion and upgrade.But this does not mean continuous computing does not face any challenge. "The greatest challenge comes from semiconductors because semiconductor scalability faces a bottleneck," said Burger. Research findings show stagnant semiconductor performance despite more transistors added by manufacturers. A balance between performance, R&D costs, and volume is required in order to resolve the bottleneck and, to achieve this, Burger recommended heterogeneity in conjunction with EDGE in design collaborated by Client and Cloud companies.Doug Burger, director, Client & Cloud APPS, eXtreme Computing Group, MicrosoftPhoto: Digitimes

Smartphone vendor HTC has won "Device Manufacturer of the Year" award by GSMA at the Global Mobile Awards ceremony in Barcelona. Last year, HTC was awarded "Best Mobile Phone of 2010" with the HTC Hero smartphone. The other two finalists for the award were Apple and Samsung.

Silterra Malaysia and CMT have announced the completion of silicon verification of CMT's LogicFlash memory technology on Silterra's 0.18-micron standard CMOS technology.The LogicFlash provides customized embedded memory solutions for system-on-chip (SoC) integration. Unlike conventional embedded memory technology, LogicFlash memory technology offers seamless integration with standard CMOS technology without any additional mask and process modification. With the design elegance and cost advantage it offers, the LogicFlash is ideal for mobile multimedia applications that require high performance and low power, such as embedded microcontrollers, RFID and Near Field Communication (NFC)."We are delighted with the successful completion of silicon verification of CMT's LogicFlash on Silterra's 0.18-micron standard CMOS technology. This provides our customers with a unique embedded non-volatile memory technology for complex SoC design which lowers design risk and speeds time-to-market," said Yit Loong Lai, vice president of Worldwide Sales and Marketing of Silterra. "The cooperation with CMT provides our customers with the shortest path from design to high-volume production, using Silterra's well proven 0.18-micron CMOS technology and CMT's unique, high density memory architecture, for low power and high-performance system-level devices.""By partnering with Silterra, CMT's LogicFlash enables our mutual customers to design a cost effective embedded memory SoC chip with low power, high performance used in mobile multimedia applications." said Wingyu Leung, president and CEO of CMT. CMT develops, licenses and markets innovative memory technology for semiconductors. Founded in 2007, CMT is headquartered in San Jose, California.Silterra Malaysia provides foundry services to fabless and IDM companies, as well as verification services for IP developers. It offers CMOS logic, high-voltage and mixed signal/RF process technologies.

Memoright, a leading global supplier of SSDs, will showcase an array of military-, industrial- and enterprise-level ruggedized SSD products at the 2011 CeBIT show from March 1-5 (Hall 17, G26). The company will also demonstrate its latest SSD solutions at Embedded World 2011, March 1-3 (Hall 12, 479).Memoright will present its GTR, GTR II and GTR-P series of military and industrial ruggedized SSDs at the upcoming trade shows in Germany. The products meet both the US MIL-STD-810F/G and China GJB standards, which cover a broad range of environmental tests such as low pressure for altitude testing, exposure to wide temperature (both operating and in storage), humidity, fungus, salt fog (as a corrosion test), shock, vibration and so on.Also during the exhibitions, Memoright will highlight its latest enterprise SSDs, the FTM/STM series, and an IPC solution that delivers an outstanding balance of system performance and solid reliability.With proprietary core technologies, Memoright is capable of providing efficient and customized solutions for a wide variety of applications. The company offers qualified SSDs for the military purpose. In addition, products for industrial control IPC solutions support 2.5-, 1.8- and 1.2-inch form factors, and Disk on Module, SD and CF formats, as well as transmission interfaces of PATA/IDE, SATA, mSATA, and PCIE.

Protech Systems, an industrial PC and embedded system supplier, has unveiled a new 3.5-inch embedded board, the EB-821LF. Measuring 102mm by 145mm, the EB-821LF integrates a full-range of functions for general industrial and embedded applications such as in-vehicle information systems, industrial control and automation equipment, digital security systems, gaming, and medical imaging applications.The EB-821LF is based on the Intel Atom N455 single-core processor and enhanced with graphics and memory controllers on 45nm process technology, delivering significant power reductions, performance improvements and smaller platform footprint over the previous Intel Atom processor. Besides, the EB-821LF supports DDR2 667MHz up to 2GB.The EB-821LF offers one Serial ATA port, one CF socket, one Parallel port, one high definition audio port, two RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet, four serial ports and four Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports. The integrated VGA controller supports both CRT and 18-bit single channel LVDS LCD displays up to WXGA 1366 by 768 resolution. In addition, PC/104 slot is also integrated on the EB-821LF for expandability.Protech EB-821LF embedded boardPhoto: Company

In addition to the previously revealed Iconia Tab A500 tablet PC, Acer, at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2011, announced several new products under its Iconia lines including tablet PCs, a dual-screen notebook and smartphones.Acer unveiled a new tablet PC, the Iconia Tab W500, running on Windows 7 and equipped with AMD's C-50 processor and Radeon HD 6250 graphics chip for visuals and gaming.The Iconia Tab W500 features multiple connectivity options including Wi-Fi, 3G (on selected models) or Bluetooth 3.0. In addition, the device also features dual, back and front, Acer Crystal Eye 1.3-megapixel webcams to allow consumers to engage in video chat or video calls with friends.The Iconia Tab W500 is also equipped with a 10.1-inch multi-touch screen that is complemented by a full-size chiclet docking keyboard as well as Dolby optimized audio for both productivity and entertainment.Acer also introduced its 7-inch Iconia Tab A100 featuring Android 3.0 and Nvidia's dual-core Tegra 2 processor.With the Iconia Tab A100's 1024 by 600 resolution and gyrometer control, the device is suitable for entertainment functions such as watching videos, reading books or magazines and playing games.The Iconia Tab A100 has a 5-megapixel auto-focus rear camera as well as a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for picture taking or live chat purposes. In addition, the device will also be capable of supporting wireless connections such as Wi-Fi, 3G or Bluetooth 2.1.Acer also unveiled a new concept device, the Iconia that combines the versatility of a conventional 14-inch form factor with a unique dual-screen layout and all-point multi-touch functionality.The Iconia is powered by Intel's Core i5 processor combining with dual 14-inch displays that support a resolution up to 1366 by 768. Protected by durable Gorilla Glass, the displays are both scratch and finger print-proof.The device will also feature a virtual keyboard on the bottom display for output. It comes with a full-size QWERTY layout with international language support to give users the same experience of a traditional physical keyboard and features predictive text input for natural-speed typing while avoiding mistakes.The virtual keyboard also includes a touchpad and a numeric keypad and can be easily switched to handwriting mode.Acer Iconia Pad W500 tablet PCPhoto: CompanyAcer Iconia Pad A100Photo: CompanyAcer Iconia dual-screen notebookPhoto: Company

AzureWave Technologies, a leading wireless module supplier, will make its appearance at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) this year, to debut its lineup of 3G products and sophisticated Android software development achievements for the promising mobile Internet.AzureWave possesses strong relationship with major chip vendors in the world and has proven capability in integrating different chips and packaging multiple ICs into one single small module for mobile and embedded devices. The company's low power consumption design can also extend the mobile device's battery life without sacrificing performance.The advantage of such a business model is that AzureWave is capable of providing a module IC with the strongest combination available on the market, offering the best possible, cost-effective, customizable, and time-to-market solutions to its clients.Attending the MWC show for the third consecutive year, what is more noticeable is that AzureWave will be showcasing for the first time its fresh new 3G products designed for the mobile Internet device market.Catering to the global booming mobile market where numerous smart devices such as tablets and smartphones are being introduced since late 2010, plus the inevitable rising demand for faster speed in data communication, AzureWave is taking the advantage of its strong expertise in wireless technologies integration, to build a brand-new 3G product line for enabling a true wireless mobility experience.AzureWave is showcasing at the MWC its complete series of 3G products including a uniquely-designed, micro-sized 3.5G HSPA dongle router and the world's smallest 3.5G HSPA tri-band mobile router, enabling high speed wireless Internet access from virtually anywhere with any WiFi-enabled device. Aside from the innovative router products, AzureWave has utilized its core competence in wireless technologies integration as well as module manufacturing capability, to introduce at the same time the 3.5G mini-card module for embedded laptops and tablets. AzureWave has readied its 3G products for WCDMA and CDMA2000 networking systems, offering blazing fast download speed at up to 21Mbps peak rate.At MWC 2011, the company will also showcase its latest four-in-one wireless module IC, which integrates Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM and GPS capabilities into one SiP (system-in-package) module. The highly integrated module IC, with low power consumption and complete software support, will allow users of any mobile and smart device to have an expandable and rich wireless experience.In addition to designing and manufacturing module ICs, AzureWave has also been working on software development ever since it was founded. It has already been transformed into a DMSS (design, manufacturing and software supporting service) provider that provides its clients with complete and customized software services.AzureWave has strong R&D resource devoted to software development that enables the company's module ICs to support all available operating systems on the market including Android, Windows Mobile, Linux and others. The company even sponsored an open platform development team "0xlab" which concentrates on bringing together the Android's open software and hardware industrial design.The main objective for 0xlab is to assist Taiwanese design and manufacture industries to understand and efficiently utilize the open platform like Android, therefore reducing the period of research and development, and bring the best and competitive products to the market.0xlab is excellent in hardware/software integration, and is dedicated to provide turn-key solution for mid/entry-level Android-based phones by adjusting related firmware, porting drivers and ensuring best performance turning. The team is also capable of designing value-added services such as customized user interfaces (UI) for clients as well as providing assistance concerning software. The impressive contribution from the team has been recognized in the open source world as "Top 10 contributors to Android" - ranking committed since Froyo (Android 2.2) release - making its sponsor AzureWave more competitive over its rivals on software development.As for the wireless entertainment/computing sector, AzureWave also has several new products and technologies, such as wireless modules that support 802.11ac and 802.11ad standards. For the 802.11ac/ad wireless modules, AzureWave has recently teamed up with Israel company Wilocity to develop Pre-WiGig solution that supports 60GHz frequency band, which features data transmission rate of up to 7Gbit/s, over 10 times faster than the highest 802.11n Wi-Fi. The company believes such technologies will start taking off later this year or in 2012 as demand for wireless entertainment picks up.AzureWave has also been working aggressively for wireless display (WiDi-like) technology, which allows HD media transmission from PC/NB or game consoles to HDTV wirelessly. The company is already in cooperation with several TV brand vendors for them to integrate AzureWave's wireless products into their latest TV products. AzureWave is also working on new technology to allow wireless media transmission between smartphones and TVs and the technology is expected to be a focus at the MWC 2011 show.After several years of hard work, the company has successfully cut into the supply chain of Top-5 smartphone brand vendors and the company is currently shipping its wireless module IC products to most of Taiwan's DMS/EMS providers as well as ODM/OEM players that manufacture smartphones. AzureWave is one of the largest suppliers for the Taiwan market.In addition to smartphones, AzureWave expects that strong tablet PC shipments from smartphone and PC vendors in 2011 will significantly boost their demand for wireless modules and the company has already started cooperating with several PC-based vendors for their tablet devices.In the future, the company will continue to focus on its wireless module IC business since the overall wireless connectivity industry is still growing rapidly. And with most of the consumer electronics products set to be providing wireless connectivity, AzureWave believes the business will continue to contribute strong growth to the company in the next 3-5 years.For more information about AzureWave Technologies, please check their website at http://www.azurewave.com/.Ted Lee, CEO and president of AzureWave TechnologiesPhoto: Joe Tsai, Digitimes, February 2011AzureWave wireless module ICPhoto: Company

From April 12 through 17, Mitsubishi Kagaku Media Co, Ltd (HQ: Minato-ku Tokyo) will display through its subsidiary, Verbatim Limited (HQ: United Kingdom), its color tunable and dimming organic light-emitting diode (OLED) lighting panels called VELVE at Fuori Salone, an exhibition held in Milan, Italy.This is actually the first in the world to mass-produce successfully this color tunable/dimming-type OLED lighting. Satoshi Uchihara, a lighting designer who was involved in lighting up such important sites as the famous Japanese temple Kinkakuji, and the New Terminal Building at Haneda Airport and others, was tapped to produce the entire exhibit which he decorated using the VELVE, one of the world's largest OLED panels at approximately 14cm by 14cm. In addition to proposing an innovative illuminated space, he communicated the infinite possibilities for the use of light.Mitsubishi Kagaku Media and Verbatim are now making this OLED lighting product available under the banner of a new brand called VELVE. The name VELVE, which was borrowed from the English word velvet, communicates the feeling that the light produces. Specifically, these OLED lightings produce a fine, and soft, yet deep luminance. Also, these lightings incorporate in one of the layers that composes the organic electroluminescence layer a coating technology that is the first in the world to be mass-produced successfully.OLED lightings enable unique lighting expressions; you can adopt the various characteristics of which they are capable, such as a surface light source, ultra-thin shapes, no restrictions on shape, and their ability to be transparent. The OLED lighting, VELVE's color tunable and dimming (intensity and saturation) features include their ability to adjust to seasons and time and the like. For example, at the beginning of your day, they generate light that is white, fresh and cheery. As the end of your day approaches, however, they create a warm glow that is calming and relaxing. In short, these lights easily create atmospheres that match the time of day and your mood.Also, OLED lightings are a highly efficient light source that also makes them gentle on the environment. Mitsubishi Kagaku Media/Verbatim have developed these lights and have made them available as a way to create comfortable environments for mankind, and society and to be gentle on the Earth.

Waterloo, ON; February 2, 2011 - Sandvine, (TSX:SVC; AIM:SAND) a leading provider of intelligent broadband network solutions for fixed and mobile operators, today announced the launch of the Policy Traffic Switch 22000 (PTS 22000) platform, to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress, February 14-17, Barcelona, Spain. This latest generation of Policy Traffic Switch is ideal for service edge and aggregation layer deployments, including LTE networks, with up to 20 Gbps performance in a cost-effective two-rack-unit (2RU) form factor. Sandvine's innovative virtual switch cluster capability enables deploy-as-you-grow network build-out. "The Sandvine Policy Traffic Switch portfolio helps service providers address key business challenges. Whether the provider is operating in an emerging market where sustainable growth is the primary issue, or fighting in a competitive landscape where rapid innovation is the key to success, the PTS 22000 platform meets operators' flexibility and scalability requirements," said Don Bowman, Sandvine CTO. "The ability to closely link subscriber, application, device and location awareness with policy decision and enforcement will be critical for operators seeking to get the best out of their broadband networks. By integrating these capabilities they really have the chance to differentiate their services and drive down costs. What's more, if they can get and act on this intelligence close to end users, operators can intervene to manage traffic at the earliest opportunity. This will enable them to have the greatest impact on network loading, operating expenditure, and customer experience," said Simon Sherrington, author of Heavy Reading's Deep Packet Inspection Market Tracker. The PTS 22000 leverages a powerful array of technological features that enable network policy control solutions:- Compact form factor with scalable capacity from 10 Gbps to 80 Gbps in a virtual switch cluster, ideal for expanding edge deployments- Support for up to five million subscribers and 32 million concurrent flows, optimal for dynamic multi-session 3G and LTE mobile environments- Highest port density on the market, suitable for network edge aggregation, thus reducing required capital expenditure - True subscriber awareness, even with multiple IP addresses spread across many devices - Accurate application traffic identification augmented with subscriber, device, and location awareness enabling sophisticated network policy definition - Integrated policy decision and policy enforcement, providing real-time identification of network conditions and evaluation of business rules for immediate enforcement of policies across multiple or converged access networks The PTS 22000 platform, combined with policy control software features provides a powerful tool set that enables service providers to address the challenges of today's broadband networks, meeting consumers' diverse application and device usage requirements while profitably managing the tremendous data growth rate. The PTS is the backbone, which provides a broad range of network policy control solutions in the areas of traffic optimization, service creation, operations management, and business intelligence solutions. For more information on Sandvine's platform, products and applications, visit us at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, booth #1J42, in Hall 1.