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Tid-bits
12/23 - The proposed date for the transition from current analog broadcasting of TV signals to digital broadcasting of signals is February 17, 2009. Along the way, local TV broadcasters are expected to give back to the government analog broadcast spectrum. The government could auction off the spectrum. Possibly proceeds from the auctions could be used to help subsidize the transition to digital broadcast, for subsidize the government will have to do. There are at least 20 million households that currently rely on over-the-air broadcasting. In addition there are are about 35 million more analog cable homes. Such households shall require "digital-to-analog downconverter boxes".
What do set-top boxes, DVD players, LCD monitors, graphics cards, wireless cards, DSL modems, hard drives, and printers all share in common? A technical requirement for a lower current DC-DC (direct current to direct current) converter, that's what. STMicroelectronics meets this need with the L5973 2A Step Down Switching Regulator. Its properties make it "an ideal DC-DC choice across a broad range of applications".
ATI has released the All-In-Wonder (AIW) 2006 PCI Express Edition as a complement to the AGP version of the same card. The All-In-Wonder 2006 contains the Radeon X1300. This is not a very high end card. But then it is for cost-conscious individuals, the budget-minded. Suggested retail is less than $200. Nevertheless you should be able to play current state-of-the-art 3D games (since it supports Microsoft DirectX 9 and Shader Model 3.0). The card has a generous amount of memory—256 MB—and it's GDDR3 (graphics double data rate 3) memory at that. The All-In-Wonder comes bundled with Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0 for digital video editing. Avivo enhances video playback. The card supports HDTV (high definition TV) output and was designed with Windows Media Center Edition 2005 in mind for "home theater experience" [sic!].
RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer) has been ranked as the top certification for the coming year by CertCities.com. It was also again named "Best Linux/Unix Certification". Certifications are ranked on the basis of anticipated influence for 2006, which was in turn "based on expectations around growth".
The latest release of the Java application profiler—Netbeans Profiler Milestone 11—shall also be an add-on for the open source NetBeans Integrated Development Environment (IDE) release 5, to be released early 2006. Adding the profiler to the set of tools in the NetBeans IDE adds an additional step in the development process of applications, but this added step should improve the applications. Profilers monitor CPU, memory, and threads to provide information about the run-time behavior of applications. The new release profiles Java Standard Edition 5 (Java SE 5) applications running on Solaris, "Windows and Linux".
Oracle shall continue to develop applications for the AIX operating system and will join IBM's new AIX Collaboration Center (IACC) as a founding partner. Oracle recognizes IBM as the leader in the UNIX marketplace. "Oracle and IBM share more than 11,000 customers".
No one size fits all. Nevertheless companies considering business intelligence (BI) may want to investigate a report on business intelligence, Oracle, and SAP. "The full Edison Group report, "Oracle DBI vs. SAP BW: A Business Strategy Report to Business Decision Makers" can be viewed at: http://www.oracle.com/solutions/business_intelligence/docs/edisongroup_oraclebivsapbi_11-15-05.pdf".
Technology from Nokia allows mobile phone service companies to continue with the latest technology while preparing for the transition to pure IP (internet protocol). The Nokia MSC Server allows advanced 3G voice and mobile multimedia services, "while offering a smooth migration path to All-IP in the future".
Two studies endorse a certain young company's potential after the company's third round of funding. One study marks that the market for point to point microwave radio silicon is set for healthy grow over the coming years. The company—Provigent—does not have a whole lot of competitors for their wireless radio chip. Another study points out that the company's single-chip solution should fill a need in the point to point radio system market, since it is a mass produced, off-the-shelf component that should save a lot of companies a lot of money. Among other things, companies "benefit from the economies of scale that Provigent realizes".