Sony Releases Second Generation of Handheld Devices
Sony has gotten its second wind in the race for the handheld market. The consumer electronics giant announced it will begin shipping its second-generation Clie device, the PEG N710C, early next month. The $499 device will be able to play digital audio and video files and will have a 320-by-320-pixel color screen. The first version of the Clie disappointed many analysts and followers of the PDA (personal digital assistant) market who expected more features from a Sony device. However, many of the capabilities expected in the first-generation device are included in the new Clie, which should help Sony’s efforts in the handheld market. The addition of audio playback and the higher-than-average screen resolution should set the Clie apart from its Palm OS-based competitors. The new Clie will be able to play both MP3 audio files and those in Sony’s digital format, ATRAC 3. The high-resolution color screen will also improve video playback.
Virata Expanding Broadband Communications
Virata Corp. (Santa Clara, Calif.) is planning a system-on-chip platform for broadband communications under the code name Claudius. The company is also developing a partnering strategy to extend its capabilities into wireless broadband applications, a departure from its traditional strength in wired communications. Under the partnership program, Virata will work with Proxim Inc., Cambridge Silicon Radio Ltd. and Intersil Corp. to address the HomeRF, Bluetooth and 802.11b wireless LAN communications standards, respectively. The Nasdaq-listed company, which has its engineering base in Cambridge, England, is developing Claudius as a platform of software and hardware intended to address residential and business gateway applications and as a step up from its series of devices based on dual ARM 32-bit RISC processors.
Handmark and Vindigo Enter Into Agreement
HandmarkTM, the company that offers more packaged software for Palm OS(R) devices than any publisher in the world, and VindigoTM, the leading developer of personal navigation applications for mobile devices, announced that the Vindigo application will be included with every retail software CD shipped by Handmark. Handmark customers now have easy access to Vindigo's application with information on the best places to eat, shop and play in major cities. The Vindigo application turns Palm OS devices into personal navigators, helping people discover what to do and where to go in major cities. Vindigo's proprietary technology platform enables leading content publishers including The New York Times, Tribune Interactive, Washington Post, and Zagat Survey to deliver their location-based information to mobile device users.
Compaq to Stop Selling 32-Chip Server
Compaq says it will stop selling its 32-chip server, which is based on Unisys Corp. hardware, after May 31. Instead, it will focus on selling its eight-way ProLiant servers, which, like the 32-CPU ProLiant ML770, runs the Windows 2000 Datacenter Server. Although the company says there were few bites for the bigger machine, it is building its own 32-processor architecture. This is a blow for Microsoft, which has been trying to boost sales of Datacenter, its answer to Unix systems. Compaq is one of seven hardware vendors that sells Datacenter on 32-CPU systems. Compaq says 95 percent of its Windows 2000 Datacenter Server sales were eight-chip servers. The rest were for 32-way machines.
Crisis Management Focus of Seminar
A diverse group of industry and press professionals will instruct attendees at this week's Southern Gaming Summit on what works and what does not when managing the flow of information to a wide variety of audiences during a crisis. Leading the group is Giselle Russell, founder and president of Strategies, Inc., a public affairs, issues management, political consulting and press relations firm in Jackson, Miss. She brings more than 20 years of experience to the seminar. Other panelists include Mick Lura, chief of staff for the Mississippi Gaming Commission, where he supervises the enforcement, auditing and investigative divisions; John N. Ferrucci, vice president and general manager of Casino Magic Biloxi; and Michael Tonos, owner of the public relations and media-consulting firm, JMT Consulting. The crisis communications seminar is one of more than 20 seminars and keynote addresses that span the course of the two-day Summit. The event, to be held May 9-10 in Biloxi, Mississippi, will be of interest to researchers, policymakers, foundation representatives, and journalists concerned about public health and the significant social costs of addiction. For more information, go to www.casacolumbia.org.
Fromm Launches New Technical Journal
Internationally recognized technical writer Randy Fromm has announced the publication of a new trade journal for the gaming industry, Slot Tech Magazine. Each month, Slot tech Magazine features numerous technical articles, all on the subject of slot machine repair and electronics geared for slot techs. Slot Tech Magazine covers it all, from simple "symptoms and solutions" to in-depth technical articles on power supplies, monitors, coin comparitors, bill acceptors and CPU boards. A sample issue can be viewed online at the magazine's website, www.slot-techs.com.
Extreme Networks Adds Multiprotocol
Ethernet switching specialist Extreme Networks Inc. has added multiprotocol label-switching support to its products aimed at public service provider networks. The company used a line card based on the C-5 network processor of C-Port Corp., a Motorola company, originally designed for packet-over-Sonet applications, and configured a portless version for label switching. The line card will be offered in June for Extreme's Black Diamond switch. Extreme also added dedicated software to facilitate the mapping of a variety of flow-based and connection-oriented services to MPLS frames. Those include IEEE 802.1p, the Internet Engineering Task Force's Differentiated Services and a variety of Sonet-mapped services, all linked to specific MPLS label-based flows. Even the virtual-LAN tags defined for 802 local-area networks can be mapped to MPLS.