Tech News Update

i-flex Process Framework for Banking Launched

2006-09-20T15:08:00.000+07:00

i-flex(R) Solutions, a leading provider of technology solutions to the global financial services industry, announced the launch of the "i-flex Process Framework for Banking (iPFB)," a tool for transforming banking operations.

iPFB is a repository of processes that draws on best practices that i-flex has developed in working with more than 660 customers in over 120 countries.

iPFB will help banks tackle one of their biggest challenges -- improving process efficiency while simultaneously managing operational risks by allowing them to optimize processes using a Business Process Management (BPM) approach.

[Link]

AuthorIT Software Corporation Launches Website Manager

2006-09-20T11:40:00.000+07:00

AuthorIT Software Corporation announces the release of AuthorIT Website Manager.

Traditional website development relies on a Webmaster collating information from content contributors, designers, developers, and translators, then assembling it all together into static, or near static pages. The newly released AuthorIT Website Manager stores content separately from the design and function, then assembles and delivers the requested page dynamically,
tailored for the individual visitor. AuthorIT Website Manager enables organizations to deliver websites that adjust to the visitor based on browser, language, and device.

"Website Manager and AuthorIT are a great combination for bridging Webmasters and content creators. Content published to the system by users is guaranteed to comply with website standards, removing the bottleneck of manual layout and formatting. Work gets published faster." said Ron Stone of The Pangea Partnership (http://www.PangeaPartnership.org).

[Link]

RAD, Broadlight Offer Pseudowire 'Triple Play' Solution for GPON Network

2006-09-18T17:42:00.000+07:00

RAD Data Communications has announced that it has completed interoperability testing of its TDM pseudowire technology with BroadLight, a leading vendor of PON (passive optical network) solutions.

Using the companies' combined technologies, service providers will be able to deploy GPON (gigabit PON) fiber access networks that support "triple play" voice, video and data applications and T1/E1 voice, leased line and Frame Relay services.

The cost-optimized, end-to-end TDM pseudowire solution enables standards- compliant, transparent delivery of TDM services through central office and customer premises GPON equipment.

The two companies estimate that the requirement for T1/E1-based services over GPON will reach a total of more than 250,000 terminals serving small and medium business worldwide by 2008.

[Link]

2006-09-18T16:58:00.000+07:00

Honeywell (NYSE:HON) announced today that it has granted rights to International Display Technology Co., Ltd. (IDTech) relating to a patented Honeywell technology that increases the brightness of images and reduces the appearance of certain interference effects on liquid crystal display (LCD) products.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"Our company invests millions of dollars in developing leading edge technologies that have widespread use across a variety of industries, and we take necessary steps to protect our investments," said Loria Yeadon, Chief Executive Officer, Honeywell Intellectual Properties Inc.
"The company will continue to vigorously pursue unauthorized uses of its intellectual property."

In October 2004, Honeywell filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware against 34 electronics companies alleging infringement of the '371 patent and joined 31 additional parties in 2005. The litigation is pending.

IDTech will be dismissed from the litigation under the terms of the Agreement.

[Link]

Toshiba and Micron Agree to Settle All Pending Lexar Litigation

2006-09-18T11:23:00.000+07:00

Toshiba Corporation and Micron Technology, Inc., today announced they have entered into agreements where Toshiba will purchase certain of Micron's semiconductor technology patents and license patents previously owned by Lexar Media, Inc. in exchange for payments totaling $288 million.

The agreements settle all outstanding NAND flash memory-related litigation between Toshiba Corporation, its subsidiaries and Lexar Media, Inc., which Micron acquired in June.

As a result of the license and purchase agreements, the litigation pending between Toshiba and Lexar in the Northern District of California U.S.

District Court, the International Trade Commission (ITC) and California Court of Appeals will be dismissed.

"We appreciate that Micron approached this issue in a positive spirit that allowed the parties to work together to bring all outstanding litigation and claims to a full and final resolution," said Masashi Muromachi, corporate executive vice president of Toshiba Corporation and president & CEO of Toshiba's Semiconductor Company.

"Going forward, we will continue to contribute to the growth and development of the NAND flash industry."

"We have enjoyed a strong relationship with Toshiba for a number of years, have the highest respect for Toshiba as an innovator in flash technology and see no merit in continuing to pursue this litigation," said Steve Appleton, Micron chairman, CEO and president.

[Source: Business Wire]

Segway Announces Voluntary Recall to Upgrade Software

2006-09-15T09:46:00.000+07:00

Segway Inc. today initiated a voluntary product recall to upgrade the software in Segway(R) Personal Transporters (PTs). Segway PT owners should contact the distributor in their countries to learn how to obtain the free software upgrade.

In addition, customers can visit http://www.segway.com to register for the upgrade or locate a distributor in their area. No hardware changes are required for the upgrade.

A condition has been identified in which the Segway PT can unexpectedly reverse the direction of the wheels, which can cause a rider to fall.

This can occur when the personal transporter's Speed Limiter tilts back the machine to slow it down and the rider goes off and then back onto the personal transporter within a short period of time.

[Link]

Serverside Named Top 10 Tech Company by Bank Technology News

2006-09-15T08:49:00.000+07:00

Key industry magazine, Bank Technology News, has confirmed the growing demand for card personalization in the banking sector by naming Serverside Group as one of its 'Top 10 Technology Companies to Watch'.

This is the fifth year running that BTN has selected 10 key tech companies to keep an eye on going forward, and London-based Serverside - a company specializing in digital payment card design - is excited to be one of them.

Serverside's inclusion in the BTN Top 10 reflects how an ever-increasing number of card issuers globally are embracing online card personalization technology.

With more and more people banking on the internet, and the general move towards personalization - think Myspace.com and mobile phone ringtones - allowing people to design their own cards online is a logical next step, and one that is fast becoming a customer expectation.

With its phenomenal viral marketing potential, such as 'send to a friend' email functionalities and customer design competitions, card personalization is also a great platform for banks to engage and acquire new customers at low cost.

Viral acquisition channels are certainly proving attractive given the paltry returns being generated by direct mail.

Earlier this year, one Serverside client generated an exceptional 120,000 responses from 10,000 emails, a figure that is turning traditional marketing techniques on their head.

Another bonus, for the banks, is that front of card customization leads to front-of-wallet utilization.

Very simply, people will use a payment card more if it has got a picture of a pet, friend or family member on it.

This is confirmed by Stephen Eulie, Credit Card Marketing Director, First National Bank of Omaha, another Serverside client: "We know that people who have personalized cards use them more often than other cards in their wallet."

London-based Serverside Group, which has a strategic alliance with Visa, is the global leader in digital card design.

Currently, 26 financial institutions globally have taken advantage of Serverside's technology, including Abbey, ING,Advanta, First National Bank of Omaha and KBC.

Many more clients will be announced in the months ahead.

Adam Elgar, President, Serverside Group, commented: "We're very pleased to have been recognized as a company at the forefront of one of the major trends in banking technology; it underscores the demand we're seeing from issuers and cardholders alike for increased choice and personalization in their products.

We believe our technologies, with the excellent new digital print technologies available from our partners, will continue to shape the next generation of card marketing and drive great
returns to our customers."

Niki Manby, Senior Vice President, Visa USA, added: "Serverside's unique solution helps create an emotional connection between cardholders and their payment cards, encouraging front-of-wallet placement for Visa products. We are excited about our alliance with Serverside.
The flexibility to customize any of our card products drives tremendous value to Visa issuers and consumers."

About Serverside Group Limited

Founded in 2003, Serverside Group is the global technologyleader in digital card design and a provider of innovativesoftware solutions for issuers, personalization bureaus and card manufacturers.

The company's flagship product, AllAboutMe, is a web-based application that allows cardholders to design their unique payment card online.

Serverside Group is headquartered in London and has offices in New York, Chicago and Auckland, New Zealand.

The company has strategic alliances with Visa, Datacard and Getty Images.

[Source: Business Wire]

Xirrus Expands into Japan

2006-09-14T17:47:00.000+07:00

Xirrus, Inc., the only provider of high capacity, long range Wi-Fi products that can effectively extend wired network capabilities to wireless -- without compromise, announced today Rikei Corporation as its strategic distribution partner for the Japanese market.

"The Xirrus Wi-Fi Array can handle the unique challenges of Wi-Fi in Japan like no other product available today," said Katsuei Aoyagi, president and CEO of Rikei Corporation.

"The introduction of voice and video over Wi-Fi applications and handsets are forcing high capacity Wi-Fi requirements for enterprise networks.

Only the Xirrus Wi-Fi Array can provide the capacity and Quality of Service (QoS) needed to successfully serve high density user populations."

The revolutionary design of the Xirrus Wi-Fi Array delivers the promise of wireless capabilities equal to wired networks.

Once and for all, the Wi-Fi network can provide voice, video and data services with a similar level of assurance delivered by wired Ethernet networks.

"We're pleased that Rikei, with its long history of success in high technology solutions introductions for the Japanese market has chosen Xirrus as its partner," said Dirk Gates, Xirrus CEO and Chairman.

"Recognizing the importance of quality in Japan, Xirrus is dedicated to quality demonstrated by our ISO 9001 certification."

The Xirrus Wi-Fi Array delivers:

Gigabit capacity with an onboard Switch in each Xirrus Wi-Fi Array
Twice the range of the current generation of Wi-Fi Access Points
Four times the coverage of the current generation of Wi-Fi Access Points
Support for up to 1,000 data or 300 Triple Play users per Xirrus Wi-Fi Array
Support for up to 180 simultaneous voice calls per Xirrus Wi-Fi Array
Support for up to 45 simultaneous video streams perXirrus Wi-Fi Array
Security better than wired networks with embedded RFthreat monitoring
Resiliency at the radio, wireless backhaul and wired uplink level
QoS tagging and prioritization that can map directly to a wired network
Provided at reduced cost over current generation Wi-Fi offerings

The Xirrus Wi-Fi Array is completing final testing for radio certifications in Japan.

With planned availability in October, interested parties are encouraged to contact Rikei to arrange a demonstration today.

[Source: Business Wire]

Dell to Establish Manufacturing Facility in Tamil Nadu

2006-09-14T17:40:00.000+07:00

Dell today announced it will locate the company's first India manufacturing facility in the state of Tamil Nadu, following completion of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Dell
and state officials.

In the presence of Mr K M Karunanidhi, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and Mr Dayanidhi Maran, Hon'ble Union Minister for Communications & Information Technology, the MOU was signed by Mr.

Shaktikanta Das, Industry Secretary on behalf of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Mr Rajan Anandan, vice-president of India sales, signed the MOU on behalf of the Indian subsidiary of Dell in the presence of Mr Paul-Henri Ferrand, vice-president of South Asia, Mr Kip Thompson, vice-president, Global Facilities and Mr Simon Wong, vice-president of Asia Pacific/Japan manufacturing operations for Dell.

The project follows Dell's disclosure earlier this year that it would establish a dedicated manufacturing operation in India, where the company is achieving strong customer acceptance and demand in a strategically important market.

In its most recent operating quarter, Dell shipments in India increased 82 percent while revenue grew 63 percent.

The company gained two points of market share in the period, to more than 7 percent, and ranks No. 4 in the country.

Dell expects to begin India manufacturing in the first half of 2007 that will initially focus on production of desktop computers, which make up about 70 percent of Dell's current business in India.

The new facility and related operations will be located in a 50-acre land area in Sriperumbudur Hi-Tech Park, outside of Chennai.

"This MOU benefits both Tamil Nadu and Dell, and we're very appreciative of the cooperation and partnership between the government and our company," said Dell's Mr Ferrand.

"The state offers an exceptional work force and unique strategic-investment zone, along with easy proximity to a large base of current and potential Dell customers."

"This operation, in a region increasingly known for its advanced electronics hub, will give us far broader access to both India's dollar- and rupee-based information-technology markets, and we believe more and more customers will be drawn to the advantages of direct relationships with Dell," said Mr Anandan, who has, since assuming responsibility for local business development and sales initiatives, led Dell to the leadership position in computer shipments to very large
businesses with over 1,000 employees.

Mr Ferrand said the company's strength and momentum with customers in India and APJ are impressive.

In the second quarter of this year, Dell became the second-largest provider of computer systems in the region.

The company has long been No. 1 in worldwide industry share.

The manufacturing plant in Tamil Nadu will join similar Dell APJ operations in Penang, Malaysia, and Xiamen, China.

Globally, the company also builds computer systems in Austin, Texas, Nashville, Tenn., and Winston-Salem, N.C., in the United States; in Limerick, Ireland; and in Eldorado do
Sul, Brazil.

A second South American production site is currently under construction in San Paulo, Brazil.

[Source: Business Wire]

Atmel Expands Its Ultra-Low Power Microntroller Offering

2006-09-14T17:11:00.000+07:00

Atmel(R) Corporation announced today three new AVR(R) microcontrollers with incorporated power-saving technology that provides multi-year battery life in lighting control, security, keyless entry, ZigBee(TM) and other applications that spend a significant amount of their time in sleep mode. The picoPower(TM) technology reduces "power-save" power consumption to as little as 650 nA, even with the 32 kHz clock running and superior brown-out detection, the industry's lowest RTC sleep power consumption.

The three picoPower devices now available are the ATmega164P, ATmega324P and ATmega644P 44-pin general purpose microcontrollers. All three microcontrollers are pin and feature compatible, differing only in the size of Flash, EEPROM and SRAM memory. ATmega164P has 16 KB of self-programmable Flash program memory, whereas the ATmega324P and ATmega644P have 32 KB and 64 KB, respectively. All three devices feature a 10-bit ADC, two USARTs, SPI, Two-Wire-Interface and operate from 1.8 to 5.5 volts with up to 20 MIPS throughput.

AVR picoPower microcontrollers consume as little as 340 uA in active mode, 650 nA in power-save mode with real time counter (RTC), and 100 nA in power- down mode. They will be pin-, performance- and code-compatible with existing AVR microcontrollers.

[Link]

Digi High Speed Wireless WAN Router Receives Certification

2006-09-13T14:16:00.000+07:00

Digi International today announced that its ConnectPort WAN VPN is now certified by Verizon Wireless for use on its high speed EV-DO network.

The ConnectPort WAN VPN is the first commercial grade, upgradeable, 3G wireless wide area network (WWAN) router that provides a secure, high-speed WWAN connection for reliable primary and backup network connectivity to remote sites and devices. Because the solution is modular, it is upgradeable, making it easier for customers to quickly migrate to future advanced platforms as networks evolve.

Verizon Wireless' EV-DO network gives customers high-speed access to corporate data, device information, and the Internet anywhere within the coverage area at download speeds averaging 400 to 700 kbps.

Customers outside of the EV-DO coverage area will seamlessly switch to Verizon Wireless' 1xRTT network to remain connected while on the road.

[Link]

NOCAL, A2D Enters Strategic Arrangement

2006-09-13T11:39:00.000+07:00

The National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) has entered into a strategic arrangement with A2D Technologies to make its well log data assets available online.

The data is accessible via LOG-LINE Plus!(R), the Company's web-based tool for locating and downloading well log data.

"The addition of these logs from Liberia expands upon what is already the premiere collection of well log data in West Africa," said Rod Starr, Executive Vice President Global Business Development for A2D Technologies.

"We are pleased to be working with NOCAL in the promotion of this data."

"With this agreement, we seek to highlight the potential that Liberia holds for oil and gas exploration," said Dr. Fodee Kromah, President and CEO of NOCAL.

"We chose A2D for this project based on their experience, leadership in the well log data sector and the quality of their work."

In 2002 a geological and geophysical evaluation of offshore Liberia was completed using 2D data acquired by A2D's parent company, TGS-NOPEC Geophysical.

A2D Technologies, a TGS-NOPEC Company, is the energy industry's well log data marketplace offering the largest online database, immediate delivery, conversion services, data
management services and worldwide well log data sourcing.

TGS is a leading global provider of multi-client geoscientific data, associated products and services to the oil and gas industry.

The TGS family of companies places a strong emphasis on providing high-quality data and the highest level of service to the industry.

(Source: Business Wire)

New Smart Card Reader from Atmel

2006-09-13T10:31:00.000+07:00

Atmel(R) Corporation announced today the release of the AT83C22OK106, a smart card reader product targeting USB smart card keyboard.

The AT83C22OK106 was developed in partnership with OMNIKEY(R), a major smart card reader manufacturer.

The new AT83C22OK106 is an updated and optimized version of the previous AT83C22OK. It includes 8051 core, USB interface, and ISO7816 UART smart card interface, as well as a high-efficiency DC/DC converter. Therefore, it is compliant with the major smart card standards such as EMV & PC SC. It supports 5 V, 3 V and 1.8 V cards regardless of the input voltage.

The AT83C22OK106 is designed to provide a solution for a reader system with only a few additional external components mounted on a single sided PCB.

[Link]

ASSET Establishes Boundary-Scan Technology Center in SE Asia

2006-09-13T09:06:00.000+07:00

ASSET InterTech Inc., an international leader in boundary-scan (IEEE 1149.1/JTAG) test and in-system programming (ISP), has established a Southeast Asian Boundary-Scan Technology Center in Penang, Malaysia.

Lester Tseng has been named JTAG Technical Support Manager for the new center.

"Our customer base in this part of the world is expanding steadily and it has always been of critical importance to ASSET that we support our users with experts who can know the technology as well as the local business practices," said Fred Runco, Director of Asian Business Development for ASSET.

"Lester and the other people we've hired for our Asian technology centers fit the bill perfectly."

The Southeast Asian Boundary-Scan Technology Center coordinates all of ASSET's technical support for its ScanWorks(R) JTAG system as well as other business activities in the region which includes Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and India.

The Malaysian office is ASSET's fourth technology center in Asia, joining the company's regional headquarters in Shanghai, China, as well as other Boundary-Scan Technology Centers in
Taipei, Taiwan, and Tokyo, Japan.

The advanced usability and automation features of ASSET's ScanWorks JTAG system has made it the boundary-scan system of choice by practically all major communication and defense
avionics suppliers, including Cisco, Ericsson, Motorola, Lucent, Alcatel, Tellabs, Huawei, Raytheon, Rockwell, Lockheed Martin, BAE, ITT, Northrop Grumman, Smiths and others.

In addition, ScanWorks' adoption by companies like Microsoft for its Xbox 360 video game console and Delphi for its automotive electronics shows that ScanWorks will continue its leadership in the boundary scan marketplace as the technology proliferates in computers, set-top boxes, consumer electronics, industrial controls, automotive and other industries.

The Southeast Asian Center is located at 19C-G, Persiaran Bayan Indah, Bayan Bay, Bayan Lepas, Penang, 1900 Malaysia.

(Source: Business Wire)

Xanadoo wireless high-speed Internet service expands in Texas

2006-09-12T13:13:00.000+07:00

Xanadoo has announced the launch of its revolutionary new wireless high-speed Internet service in Wichita Falls, Texas using pre-mobile WiMAX 802.16e equipment from Navini Networks.

Xanadoo Wireless High-Speed Internet delivers a portable, always-on Internet connection that is revolutionary in its simplicity and convenience.

Xanadoo already has a successful deployment in Lubbock, TX and after Wichita Falls, is planning another expansion into Abilene, Texas.

"Xanadoo's revolutionary new wireless high-speed Internet service has been very successful," said Mark Pagon, chief executive officer of Xanadoo. "With our portable modem or laptop card, Xanadoo customers are no longer tied to their home or office and they maintain their Internet connection wherever they are throughout the day -- at home, in the office, in the classroom or at the coffee shop."

[Full story]