Samsung partners with Vitex for thinner, lighter OLED displays, while standards bodies hammer out timeframes for 802.11g certification. And don't overclock your PDA! These stories plus more Web news for Wednesday, Feb. 26.
Proprietary Coating to Yield Thinner OLEDs
Samsung SDI partnered with Vitex Systems to market displays based on
organic light emitting diodes that the two companies claim are 50 percent
lower in weight and thickness than any other commercially available
display. Vitexs proprietary Barix thin-film coating procedure
eliminates the need for a glued-on-metal can or extra sheet of glass. The
resulting thinner, lighter display is expected to deliver higher
reliability at a significantly reduced manufacturing cost.
Read the full story on: EE Times
Wi-Fi Group Gives Time Frame for Approval
The Wi-Fi Alliance announced Tuesday that it will complete
interoperability tests of 802.11g-based products in July. Completion of
those tests depends on the approval by the Institute for Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) of the 802.11g specification as a standard.
Earlier this month, the IEEE said it expected to finalized the 802.11g
standard in June. The Wi-Fi Alliance will ensure that certified 802.11g
products will be interoperable with each other and 802.11b products and
that the maximum rates will be 54mbps, according to Amer Hassan, a Wi-Fi
Alliance spokesman.
Read the full story on:
CNET News.com
Flat-Panel Contracts Stay On a Short
Leash
Suppliers of large flat-panel displays and their OEM customers
are finding themselves unable or unwilling in many cases to sign pricing
agreements that extend beyond 30 days. The unusually short terms are
causing companies to forge as many as a dozen separate agreements in a
single year, even when volumes and panel specifications remain relatively
stable. And few industry observers expect the trend to subside, as
contracting TFT-LCD business cycles continue to complicate procurement
functions within the market.
Read the full story on:
EBN
Motorola Shows 30-Nm Images with Nano-Imprint
Motorola on Tuesday disclosed new details about its internal nano-imprint
lithography program, claiming it has demonstrated the ability to print
feature sizes down to 30-nm with a tool from a U.S. startup. Douglas
Resnick, a manager at Motorola Labs in Tempe, Ariz., said the lab is using
a tool from startup Molecular Imprints to demonstrate the feasibility of
nano-imprint lithography in future device production. Last year, MII
rolled out a nano-imprint tool geared for sub-100-nm designs.
Read the full story on: EE Times
Xilinx Debuts 10 Gbps on a Chip
Xilinx on Monday said it is the first Programmable Logic Device (PLD)
vendor to demo 10 Gbps technology using a standard CMOS logic
process. The multi-gigabit technology is expected to make its way into
target field-programmable gate arrays and complex programmable logic
devices. Based on Non-Return to Zero (NRZ) signaling, the company said its
serial I/O technology supports industry most major chip-to-chip,
chip-to-module, and serial backplane applications. Xilinx said it plans to
include its 10 Gbps circuitry in its Serial Tsunami products slated for
delivery this year.
Read the full story on:
InternetNews
Quick and Easy Overclocking Poses Risks
to PDAs
Several software companies have developed small programs
that allow handheld users overclock their processor. The programs seem to
be confined to handhelds running processors from Intel and Microsofts
Pocket PC 2002 operating system, said Dave Linsalata, an analyst for smart
handheld devices with market research company IDC. But increased
performance comes at a price. Faster clock speeds result in more power
consumption, decreased battery life and increased heat given off by the
device. This can lead to system failures, and the loss of critical data,
analysts and vendors warned.
Read the full story on:
InfoWorld
Dvorak Online: Illegal Internet Sales Tax
Looms
"With the dot-com bubble burst, the need for online shopping
and other Internet activities to remain tax-exempt is obvious even without
Constitutional prohibitions," John C. Dvorak said. "The Internet sales tax
will simply kill a growing industry and put a lot of people out of work,"
he said.
Read the full story on:
PC Magazine
Application Development 
