Compiled by Kevin Smith
Gaming Law Experts to Converge in Las Vegas
The International Gaming Institute will conduct a two-day conference March 25-26 on the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The event will feature 18 top experts in various facets of gaming law as they share their expertise to bring attendees the latest update on today’s important legal issues impacting casino gaming operations. Participants will get to take part in eight-and-one-half hours of information-packed presentations. For more information check out the institute’s website at:
www.gamingeducationconferences.com/index.html
Wireless Internet on Air Canada Trial Goes Well
Ariel Corp., a leading supplier of open systems remote access solutions, announced that its RS2000 56K/ISDN network access cards have been successfully deployed in the first passenger trial of an in-flight email and "Best of Web" browsing capabilities on a commercial airline. The trial, conducted aboard Air Canada, utilized Tenzing Communications' Global(TM) airborne email and Internet system. Tenzing is the third major OEM to utilize Ariel's network access cards in an ARINC-compliant in-flight Internet access system. Primex Aerospace Company has selected Ariel's RS2000CCompactPCI cards for use in its
EmPort(TM) in-flight laptop connectivity system, which provides Internet access, email, and multi-player gaming. And, the Aviation Communications Division of AT&T Wireless Services has selected the RS2000C to provide network access for its new ePlane in-flight data service.
Piccolo Point MiniJoydisk Released
Piccolo Point has released what it is calling the world’s smallest input device, which could simplify use of wireless devices. The Piccolo Point MiniJoydisk measures less than 4 mm thick, the touch-sensitive cursor controller is designed to let handheld device users scroll and point with just the touch of a fingertip. The device is designed to enhance cursor control for any wireless product, including PDAs, handheld computers
and Web-enable phones. According to InControl, most mouse controllers now on the market are too large for typical handheld devices.
McAfee Working to Battle New Worms
While hackers are gathering and upgrading their software, anti-virus firms such as McAfee are working hard on techniques designed to combat viruses targeting peer-to-peer applications such as the popular MP3 file sharing tools Napster and Gnutella. Peer-to-peer file sharing gives individual PCs direct access to other computer systems on the same network. In the case of Napster, this makes it possible for music files to be shared with considerable ease, although anti-virus experts believe that it could enable other, more malicious files to spread with epidemic speed.
Credit Card Fraud Relief
E-commerce merchants who are tired of getting nailed with credit card fraud as well as the charge-back fees and fines that go along with the fraud can now turn to the Internet for help. AdCops has developed its website to include the latest scams and learn new developments on the fraud front. In addition to the latest scams, members can access a fraud museum containing materials related to successful online credit card scams from days gone by.
Visor Edge Released by Handspring
Handspring Inc released the next generation of handheld computers this week. The Visor Edge comes to the table in an extremely thin body but has plenty of power to back up its little size. Visor Edge, Handspring's first slim-design handheld, combines a sleek and lightweight metal casing with the
optional expandability of the Springboard platform. The Edge has a list price of $399 and is available through the company’s website immediately. It'll be in retail stores within a couple of weeks. The unit sells for $299 on Handspring’s site.
Real Intent Debuts Verix
Real Intent Inc. is readying a version of its Verix "intent-driven" system for VHDL and mixed Verilog/VHDL designs. The company demonstrated the verification suite at the Design, Automation and Test in Europe (DATE) conference this week and hopes to start shipping the product to customers by the second quarter of this year. Real Intent (Santa Clara, Calif.) had introduced its first product, a Verilog version of Verix, at the Design Automation Conference last June. Verix is intended to speed the design of high-end semiconductors and system-on-chip devices by verifying that a design implements the designer's intent at the register transfer level.
European Focus for Avanti Will Be Training
Avanti Corp. has says that it will focus in Europe on training rather than on chip design as it moves into the design services market. Called methodology services by Cadence Design Systems Inc. and Synopsys Inc., these services have typically been associated with relatively high margins. When Cadence spun-off its design services operation as Tality Inc., it decided to keep the methodology services portion with the parent. Avanti is formulating a wide-ranging set of design services worldwide as part of a plan by Gerald Hsu, the company's chairman, president and chief executive officer, to push up revenues. Hsu told a press and analyst conference in January that the move into implementation services could add significantly
to Avanti's top-line revenues, but would not improve its bottom line. In Europe, Avanti will offer some implementation services, according to European marketing manager Graham Curren. "Back-end chip design services are in the cards," he said. Avanti's short-term plan for Europe is to concentrate on methodology services, Curren said.
PiranhaByte 2.0 Launched
Piranha, Inc., an innovator in compression technology and digital workflow solutions, today announced the release of Piranha Byte(TM) 2.0. The new, advanced version of Piranha's software is designed to be cost-effective and efficient for data-heavy industries requiring the transmission and storage of large graphic files. Version 2.0 facilitates the compression of multiple files into a Piranha Byte Archive while maintaining folder organization of files in that archive. Byte 2.0 extracts files into a relative folder structure, creating separate folders as needed. A new, enhanced graphical user interface supports multi-file archives with a single Java code base that is consistent across platforms. Byte 2.0 is available as a desktop application, as well as a server application.