Pico-ITX A mainboard to fit you pocket

Via Technologies , the Taiwanese manufacturer of Integrated circuits who also happen to be the world’s largest independent manufacturer of motherboard chipsets , have announced the IT industry’s smallest mainboard form factor specification and they call it Pico-ITX , at 10cm x 7.2cm it measures in slightly bigger than a regular playing card , Pico-ITX is currently the smallest complete x86 mainboard in the industry, smaller than all existing ATX, BTX and ITX form factors.

Designed for the Via range of processors such as the C7 processor , Pico-ITX mainboard form factor will provide system developers and with a standardized, ultra compact and highly integrated platform that can be utilized across multiple embedded PC, system and appliance designs. Some examples where these can be used may be PCs embedded within dashboards or in-flight entertainment systems and industrial automation systems , Integrated multimedia devices and even ultra portable entertainment devices, Pico-ITX can enable the design of full x86 computing devices in form factors which were previously not practical due to size limitations. Though I don’t see the design being utilized to its full potential in the very near future but come 2008 one can expect a lot of movement in the UMPC sector . The reference design specification has the following key components

Processor :VIA C7/VIA Eden V4 bus processor
•NanoBGA2 package up to 1.5GHz
• 128K L1 and 128K L2 cache

Core Logic: VIA VX700 all-in-one system media processor

Main Memory : • 1 DDR2 400/533 So-DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

Graphics: • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro II 3D/2D AGP graphics with MPEG-2/4 and WMV9 video decoder
• Integrated LVDS and DVI interface • VIP port for video overlay function

Storage (ATA) • UltraDMA 133/100/66/33
• One 44-pin right-angle IDE connector
• One SATA connector

Audio System: VIA VT1708A
• 7.1 channels high definition audio codec
• 7.1 channels audio out and SPDIF in header
• Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro compatible

Ethernet: (LAN) VIA VT6106S
• 10/100Mbps Ethernet Controller

 

Mobile WiMAX – BroadBand on the Go

Nokia recently announced its plans to release phones featuring WiMAX in 2008. The current iteration of WiMAX is only able to connect when a receiver is stationary, but a new mobile revision is expected to be released by the end of 2007 . Intel spoke about mobile WiMAX evolution at the Beijing IDF , and Sprint also has plans for Mobile WiMAX.
The WiMAX technology, based on the IEEE 802.16 Air Interface Standard has already proven itself as a cost effective fixed wireless alternative to cable and DSL services. In December, 2005 the IEEE approved the 802.16e amendment to the 802.16 standard. This amendment adds the features and attributes to the standard necessary to support mobility. Mobile WiMAX is a broadband wireless solution that combines mobile and fixed broadband networks through a common wide area broadband radio access technology and a flexible network architecture. The Mobile WiMAX Air Interface uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) , I wont go into the details of it but generally it is a multiplexing technique that divides the available bandwidth into sub-carriers which are of multiple frequencies . Initial Mobile WiMAX profiles cover 5, 7, 8.75, and 10 MHz channel bandwidths for worldwide spectrum allocations in the 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz, 3.3 GHz and 3.5 GHz frequency bands. The WiMAX forum lists many advantages of this technology of which a few are
> High Data Rate L data rates up to 63 Mbps per sector and peak UL data rates up to 28 Mbps per sector in a 10 MHz channel.
>High Scalability and Security
>High Mobility with Optimized Handover Schemes

Many of Nokia’s competitors have opted instead to pursue 4G alternatives to WiMAX. Sprint Nextel is at the forefront of this initiative, along with Orange, T-Mobile, Vodaphone, Motorola and KPN Mobile.

Useful links

The Wimax Forum Website

Information on 4G

Nokia WiMAX Technology

More on WiMAX Technology

 

Intel Penryn – first performance numbers Revealed

Intel has revealed the first performance numbers for their upcoming 45nm Penryn Series of processors at their spring IDF in Beijing . Penryn will make its debut in late 2007 or early 2008 and is the successor to the current line up of Core 2 Duo processors made on the 65nm process.
Intel gave out performance numbers of the new processor with a comparison to its current top of the line 2.93 GHz Kentsfield QX6800 CPU . In comparison the new 3.33 GHz Yorkfield processor (Penryn quad-core for desktops) with 12 MB L2 cache and FSB1333 will gain about 15% in imaging applications, 25% for 3-D Rendering, 40% or more for gaming and more than 40% faster video encoding with SSE4 optimized video encoders, This performance gain comes from the fact that Intel has a set of 47 new SSE instructions to enhance the performance of such CPU intensive Applications .

On the server and workstation side, Intel expects its 45 nm FSB1600 processors to deliver up to 45% more speed for Bandwidth Hungry applications and a 25% acceleration for servers which use Java, when compared to the current X5355 quad-core processor.
Intel also intends to announce Skulltrail : a Consumer dual socket solution for Penryn which would allow up-to 8 cores on two chips and 4 graphics card on board , It should be noted that AMD has such a platform out for some time now which I had written about ( Quad Fx) . For more information on Penryn visit the IDF site ,The session Files can be downloaded in the PDF format.

 

Toshiba Launches 200GB Portable Hard Drive

Toshiba has announced three models for its range of ultra high capacity USB 2.0 External hard drives at 100GB,120GB,160GB and 200 GB in the price range of $130 – $230 .
The 200GB drive offers the highest available capacity in the 2.5 inch form factor and runs off USB power ie. It doesn’t require an external power adapter like the ones available at 3.5″ form factor. The drives are compatible with both Windows and Mac’s and come bundled with NTI Shadow backup software for both the Windows and Max OS X, which include version control and continuous backup when the drive is connected, According to Toshiba these Hard Drives are able to handle a 29-inch drop (non-operating) as well as a 4-inch operating drop.
The Technical specifications are as follows

	Capacity: 100GB/120GB/160GB/200GB Small Footprint: 23.6mm (H) x 88mm (W) x 142.1 (D) (0.94″ x 3.5″ x 5.6″) 8MB Buffer Weight: 1lbs 1oz

 

Display 2007 – OLED Displays Arrive

Big Screen OLED displays may not be very far from the commercial market , Sony Electronics and Toshiba have both showcased their OLED TV’s at Display 2007 .
Both the models from Sony have a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, which can also go beyond that. Also both displays have greater than 100% NTSC color reproduction the 11-inch model has a 1024×600 resolution, while the 27-inch holds a 1920×1080 resolution. Both models come with HDMI and DC input( Source : AV Watch ) .
The most remarkable feature of an OLED display is the thickness of the product, the 27 inch Sony display measures around 9mm and the 11 inch display measures in at an amazing 3mm, and since OLED’s don’t need a back light like LCD displays, they consume less power and are extremely light in weight , just check out the picture that follows

Sony representatives say that the 11 inch model is near to production and it will take some more time till the bigger displays come into production . OLED technology holds a lot of promise because it enables displays to be thinner, lighter and cheaper than ever before , look out for more on OLED over the coming months because this technology is here to stay.

 

Is this the time to go blu-ray

Latest sales figures show Blu-ray Disc outselling HD DVD seven to three , Blu-ray’s strong sales since the beginning of 2007 have given it a 7 to 3 sales ratio vs HD DVD ,From Jan 1 2007 sales of Blu-ray are 549,730 units and for HD DVD its 249,451 units (source : Neilsen Videoscan) .
When blu-ray was announced, many people wrote it off saying it was another one in Sony’s list of unsuccessful formats along with Betamax and the soon to be killed UMD , coming back to the present , 90% of the CE industry and most of the major motion picture studios are backing blu-ray as the format of choice , the Blu-ray disc association now has the support of 170 of the largest and most respected consumer electronics companies . Microsoft a staunch supporter of the HD DVD camp seems to be distancing itself from the format, Why do I say this ? Well the recently announced Xbox 360 Elite does not include an inbuilt HD DVD drive , and reasoning that the elite is supposed to compete with the lower end blu-ray enabled PS3 20gb basic package , it makes sense to say that MS is playing safe here , if they see HD DVD taking a fall they’ll switch over to blu-ray.
So Is this the time to go blu-ray , No! i would say .. because every new format takes some time to standardize , there are talks of hardware standardization for Blu-ray players by Oct 2007 to include features like true PIP among others. Another factor would be cost , the prices for blu-ray drives will fall by end of 2007 , many majors have announced that they are already working on low cost blu-ray drives . I live in India and i dont see myself buying a Blu- ray player anytime before 3 years from now, but for the lucky few out there I would suggest sometime around Christmas 2007

 

PCI Express – now out of the box

The PCI Express Special Interest Group (SIG) has announced a new cabling standard which will allow PCI express cards to move out of the computer chassis , This will allow for products like an external graphics module which will link to your computer through a cable.
There are a lot of reasons one would want to do this, the first and foremost being cooling .If u have seen the new 8800GTX by Nvidia you would have noticed how big it actually is , now imagine two of these monsters in SLI in your box and with overclocking becoming more popular nowadays these cards tend to run quite hot, and cooling them becomes another issue , for such a configuration you would be better off opting for a water cooled solution rather than taking chances with cooling fans .
Another reason seems to be more of a gamer’s dream rather than reality but someday it might just turn out to be true, take for example quad SLI, which connects four graphics cards, in the future we may have an interface which connects say 6 or 8 cards , It would make more sense to move such a graphics unit away from the chassis and into a different box,rather than trying to squeeze in so many slots onto the main-board.
Asus has already demonstrated this technology for laptops at CES with the ASUS XG station and this is an excellent example of what the technology can do.

 

Vista and DX10 – GPU roadmap 2007

 

With all the hype surrounding vista and with the ongoing console wars , The Nvidia 8800 GTX launch went almost unnoticed , I am not lucky enough to own one but i surely gobbled up the demo videos on you-tube , Crysis running on max settings , and the stunning UT3 are just some examples of what this graphics powerhouse can do .
Unfortunately at the Vista launch there were just two DX10 cards available , the Nvidia 8800GTX and the scaled down version of the same 8800GTS , somewhere around march ,I expect Nvidia will start shipping mainstream and lower end DX10 products based on the G86 and G84 , this most probably will coincide with the ATI R600 launch which promises to be the most advanced graphics processor ever to grace this earth , by April ATI will announce their lower end DX10 range of GPU’s and then we have the classic Red vs Green battle again for the rest of the year.
A direct impact of this will be on the pricing of the current generation of GPU’s , prices are expected to fall substantially and since it will take some time for DX10 to settle in properly , it looks like the right time to invest in a top of the line DX9 GPU .

 

DDR3 – the Next Step

Ever since AMD announced its AM2 socket processors last year, the industry has gradually shifted away from DDR towards DDR2 , DDR2 memory doubles the bus frequency at the same clock rate as DDR which effectively doubles the data rate , or simply put a DDR2 module is faster than DDR module .Nvidia is using the free space on SPD ROM chip on memory to store different performance profiles ( SPD stands for serial presence detect which is a chip inside the memory module which tells the PC what size and type and make it is and also holds some other information) , I guess these memory modules will replace the current generation of SLI ready memory , most probably it would hold different overclocking profiles which can be easily altered using a front-end application.
Intel recently announced that the next generation of chips on their core micro-architecture will support DDR3 memory , but for that we ll probably have to wait till Q3 2007 .So folks this is the time to start saving up for that upgrade to a monster R600 card from ATI and some super fast DDR3 memory .

 

Storage technology – from PMR to Hybrid Storage

Recently Hitachi announced their 1TB hard drive which is now on top of my must have’s list , but the product will be available only around 2nd quarter 2007 . I don’t see the trend slowing down anytime in the future and Storage technology pioneers like Hitachi , Seagate and Samsung have all had some exiting new announcements . The most impressive of them being PMR and Hybrid storage technology

All HDD’s store data in form of tiny areas of either positive or negative magnetization on the disk surface each of these areas represents a ‘bit’ which is the most elemental form of information, these bits are written as circular ‘tracks’ on the surface in a longitudinal fashion , one could visualise it as how bricks are laid for construction, but in a circular fashion .There are millions of bits on a single track and there are thousands of such concentric circular tracks on a hard disk surface. The amount of data that can be stored depends on the Areal density per square inch of the disk. Areal density is defined as the number of bits/ inch (along the track) * tracks/ inch (radially on the disk) , the data capacity of a HDD is directly proportional to the areal density, advancements in storage technology have till now been primarily focused on increasing this parameter, but in recent times it has become exceedingly difficult to increase areal density by conventional methods because the magnetic material on the disk surface is composed of small grains, each bit written on the disk must cover about 100 grains to ensure that the information is reliably stored, the catch is that there is a lower limit to the size of these grains, below this limit data integrity is compromised in normal working conditions.
In perpendicular recording, the ‘bits’ point up or down perpendicular to the disk surface as opposed to the conventional method of bits being aligned longitudinally, visualize this as a lot of bricks placed on their smaller ends one atop another to form a tower of bricks , these images from Hitachi illustrate this better

this allows more bits to be squeezed in the same amount of space , PMR disks offer higher data capacities at increased speeds and are inherently more robust than their traditional counterparts.
Hitachi GST is the intellectual property leader in PMR and their website has more detailed information about PMR and other research projects, for a fun and interesting look at PMR click here. I ll be writing about hybrid storage as soon as i get some more insight about it , for some basic information visit the hybridstorage forum