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  • New High Speed Camera Memory Stick

    Sony model ideal upgrade for high performance digital cameras and HD camcorders

    As files get bigger, so the pressure for flash memory grows.

    The latest offering from Sony Recording Media & Energy is one solution for users needing high capacity and high speed data transfer.
    The Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX comes with 4GB or 8GB capacity and a read speed of 20MB/second (15MB/second write).

    This makes it more than capable of coping even with the strain of HD video.

    When used with the supplied USB adaptor for maximum speed, it can shorten data transfer time by one-third compared to Sony’s Memory Stick PRO Duo (Mark 2).

    The provision of a USB adaptor as a standard accessory also makes it very simple to transfer data onto a PC or notebook.

    Also useful is the free, downloadable Memory Stick Data Rescue Service which can quickly recover deleted photographs and files.

    The Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX uses an 8-bit parallel interface to achieve this level of performance and comes with a 10 year warranty.

    It will be available from October 2008.

  • Hitachi Aims to Repeat Robust Growth

    Hitachi Data Systems hits 45 per cent growth in 2007 and hopes to keep momentum going in current year

    Hitachi Data Systems (HDS), part of the Hitachi Storage Solutions Group, is looking to continue its robust growth in the Asean region in its fiscal year that started in April 2008.

    Ravi Rajendran, Asean general manager of HDS, said that in fiscal 2007, the company achieved 45 per cent year-on-year growth in Asean.

    “It’s a fantastic revenue scenario to be in,” he said. “We believe we can keep the growth momentum going during the current fiscal year.”

    Hitachi Storage Solutions Group, which apart from HDS, comprises Hitachi’s storage business in Japan, recorded an 8 per cent increase in revenue to 361 billion yen (USS $4.61 billion) in fiscal 2007.

    Rajendran said that last year the company won a record number of new customers in Asean.

    “What’s important is that we grew much faster than the market and we believe we improved our market share substantially,” he said.

    Software and services revenue constitute 48 per cent of HDS’ total revenue – and this is an area of growth for HDS in the Asean region.

    Rajendran said that Hitachi continues to invest in innovation and will sink USD $2 billion worldwide in fiscal 2008 in storage solutions.

  • No Black Hole for CERN Data

    The largest scientific instrument on the planet will produce roughly 15 Petabytes (15 million Gigabytes) of data annually when it begins operations

    System crashes and the ensuing data loss may be most IT managers’ idea of the end of the world.

    Yet spare a thought for the folk running the LHC Computing Grid (LCG) designed by CERN to handle the massive amounts of data produced by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

    Many people believe the USD $4bn energy particle acclerator, which crisscrosses the border between France and Switzerland, is a Doomsday Machine that is going to create micro black holes and strangelets when switched on tomorrow.

    While that is, hopefully, pure fantasy what is more of a nightmare is how to deal with the colossal amounts of data that the 27km-long LHC is going to produce.

    The project is expected to generate 27 TB of raw data per day, plus 10 TB of "event summary data", which represents the output of calculations done by the CPU farm at the CERN data center.

    The LHC is CERN’s new flagship research facility, which is expected to provide new insights into the mysteries of the universe.

    It will produce beams seven times more energetic than any previous machine, and around 30 times more intense when it reaches design performance, probably by 2010.

    Once stable circulating beams have been established, they will be brought into collision, and the final step will be to commission the LHC’s acceleration system to boost the energy to 5 TeV, taking particle physics research to a new frontier.

    CERN director general, Robert Aymar, said: “The LHC will enable us to study in detail what nature is doing all around us.
    “The LHC is safe, and any suggestion that it might present a risk is pure fiction.”

    Originally standing for Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (European Council for Nuclear Research), CERN was where the World Wide Web began as a project called ENQUIRE, initiated by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau in 1989.

    Berners-Lee and Cailliau were jointly honored by the ACM in 1995 for their contributions to the development of the World Wide Web.

    Appropriately, sharing data around the world is the goal of the LCG project.

    Since it is the world’s largest physics laboratory, CERN’s main site at Meyrin has a large computer center containing very powerful data processing facilities primarily for experimental data analysis.

    Its mission has been to build and maintain a data storage and analysis infrastructure for the entire high energy physics community that will use the LHC.

    And because of the need to make the data available to researchers around the world to access and analyse, it is a major wide area networking hub.

    The data from the LHC experiments will be distributed according to a four-tiered model. A primary backup will be recorded on tape at CERN, the “Tier-0” center of LCG.

    After initial processing, this data will be distributed to a series of Tier-1 centers, large computer centers with sufficient storage capacity and with round-the-clock support for the Grid.

    The Tier-1 centers will make data available to Tier-2 centers, each consisting of one or several collaborating computing facilities, which can store sufficient data and provide adequate computing power for specific analysis tasks.

    Individual scientists will access these facilities through Tier-3 computing resources, which can consist of local clusters in a University Department or even individual PCs, and which may be allocated to LCG on a regular basis.

    A live webcast of the event will be broadcast tomorrow. What are your thoughts on LHC – will it reveal the secrets of the universe or a gaping black hole?

  • VoIP Service Revenue Up 52% in 2007

    Boom Expected to Continue

    Communications market research firm Infonetics Research reports that worldwide revenue from hosted VoIP and managed IP PBX services jumped 52 per cent to US$24 billion in 2007.

    This follows a rise of 66 per cent in 2006, and is expected to grow in the strong double-digits through at least 2011.

    Infonetics’ report shows that hosted VoIP services continue to outpace managed IP PBX services by far, with residential services fueling market growth.

    Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise voice and data at Infonetics Research, said that while VoIP services are being embraced by consumers worldwide, businesses have been comparatively slower in their adoption due to various roadblocks.

    However, he said this was about to change.

    “For example, many PBX manufacturers have already added SIP trunking interfaces to their equipment, and more recently, they’ve greatly expanded the list of certified service providers,” he said.

    “That’s going to fuel the growth in SIP trunking services. These kinds of developments will boost the overall VoIP business services segment for years to come.”

    Other highlights from the report:

    * The number of worldwide residential/SOHO VoIP subscribers grew 60 per cent between 2006 and 2007, to over 75 million, with the largest gains in North America and EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa), although Asia Pacific still leads

    * Asia Pacific, which had been leading the VoIP scene for a few years, is now neck and neck with EMEA and North America in 2007; EMEA will break away this year and lead the market at least through 2011

    * Business customer (vs. consumer) share of worldwide hosted VoIP service revenue will increase from 26 per cent in 2007 to 41 per cent in 2011

    * Comcast is North America’s largest consumer VoIP service provider, with 20 per cent subscriber market share, France Télécom leads in the EMEA region, Softbank leads in Asia Pacific, and Cableco and Vono Brazil are neck and neck in CALA

  • Wireless VoIP May Improve with New Wireless Standard

    802.11r officially published after four years in the works

    The IEEE standards body has officially published the Wi-Fi protocol 802.11r.

    It has been in the works since 2004 and was finally approved by the body earlier this year.

    The new protocol is designed to allow for quick roaming between access points while maintaining security.

    Handoffs between access points that used to take seconds (and result in dropped calls) can now take place in less than fifty milliseconds.

    This improves connections between multiple private networks but is particularly beneficial to Wireless VoIP.

    Many believe that the publication of this standard will increase the widespread use of VoIP-on-the-go.

    Other, however, say that the cost of deploying 802.11 routers will prevent 802.11r from being useful as anything but an enterprise solution.

  • Vyke Launches Consumer Expat Marketing Campaign

    Cricket legend Sourav Ganguly appointed as brand ambassador


    Vyke Communications, the mobile Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service provider, has announced the launch of its consumer marketing programme targeting the Asian expat communities.

    According to a recent national survey conducted by Vyke, expats spend more money on their mobile phones than they do on their food bills.

    With the desire to keep in touch with family and loved ones back home, texting internationally costs on average 25p per text, whereas, using Vyke’s FreeTxT application, costs are only 3p, or free if the recipient is also a Vyke user.

    The campaign is being supported by Indian cricket legend, Sourav Ganguly.

    The international sports star is frequently away from home on tour and finds technology such as Vyke’s VoIP help him to cost-effectively keep close to his family and friends.

    During a visit to the UK, Ganguly will be carrying out various media activities – web chats, radio and TV interviews discussing different ways of dealing with being away from your family, and demonstrating the benefits of Vyke’s service.

    Jan Berger, CMO, Vyke Communications said: “Our research clearly shows that 40 per cent of people from British ethnic communities keep in touch with their families back home by calls or text – an extremely costly habit to maintain. We are therefore very excited to launch this campaign.”

    As part of the programme, Vyke has launched an exclusive expat survival guide blog, www.vykehome.com, offering first-hand advice on coping with homesickness and adapting to life in the UK.

    Sourav himself will be writing a number of the blogs.

  • Multi-Service Business Gateway Market Growing


    The appeal of the multi-service business gateway (MSBG) in the US market continues to increase, reports In-Stat.

    A multiservice business gateway is a device that combines network voice and data communications services into a single box.

    It integrates critical functions into a single platform that supports routing, VPN, firewall, security, IDS/IPS, service-aware QoS, voice, and application processing.

    According to the high-tech market research firm that going forward the MSBG will be the means by which new IP communication technology and applications are adopted by small and medium-sized businesses and branch offices.

    The multi-service business gateway (MSBG) combines the functionality of a router, Ethernet switch, security firewall, VoIP gateway, and other appliances into a single, integrated device.

    Keith Nissen, In-Stat analyst, said: “The installation of new data communication equipment or replacement of data devices are the most common reasons for purchasing an MSBG.
    “However, the migration to VoIP technology is increasingly driving MSBG sales.”

    Recent research by In-Stat found the following:
    * 50+ per cent of all US businesses with greater than 20 employees have installed MSBG devices, according to an In-Stat survey of US IT and business managers employed by corporations that operate small, medium or branch offices.
    * 60 per cent of businesses favor MSBGs with integrated Wi-Fi technology.
    * Nearly 66 per cent of businesses prefer office-in-a-box devices.

  • Dutch VoIP market will reach 3.25m users by year-end


    The total Dutch consumer telephony market grew by almost 44,000 connections during the second quarter of 2008 to 5.797 million.

    This was despite a 4.2 per cent drop in PSTN/ISDN connections to 2.57 million on 30 June 2008, according to Telecompaper’s quarterly update on the Dutch fixed telephony market.

    The number of mobile-only households increased to 1.283 million. The number of Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) users grew by 17,000 during the fourth quarter to 360,000 on 30 June 2008.

    The number of Dutch consumer VoIP subscriptions grew 5.1 per cent during the quarter, to 2.866 million at the end of June.

    This was driven by DSL VoIP with 5.8 per cent, while cable VoIP only reported a quarterly growth of 3.8 percent.

    DSL VoIP expanded its lead as most used VoIP technology with 1.459 million connections at the end of June compared with 1.361 million cable VoIP customers on the same date.

    Telecompaper expects an average quarterly growth of 7 per cent for the two remaining quarters of this year, with the 3 million mark being reached at the end of third quarter.

    KPN saw its share of the Dutch digital telephony market grow to 34.3 per cent on 30 June due to its entry-level brand Telfort.

    During the second quarter, KPN won 60,000 new customers, growing 6.5 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2008 and ending June 2008 with 983,000 VoIP users.

    Ziggo won 25,000 new telephony customers during the second quarter to end the period with 770,000 VoIP users, keeping its place as the second-largest VoIP provider in the Netherlands, although its market share dropped to 26.9 percent.

    The third-largest VoIP provider, UPC won 20,400 new customers, ending the quarter with 526,100, losing only 0.1 per cent market share to end June with 18.4 per cent of the VoIP market.

  • 3 UK launches next-generation Skypephone


    Mobile operator 3 UK has unveiled the next-generation Skypephone handset, the 3 Skypephone S2.
    The new device gives users access to Facebook, Google and Windows Live Messenger and enables free Skype calls and instant messaging.

    Available since the beginning of September, the 3 Skypephone S2 has a revolutionary ‘carousel’ interface, with switcher key on the side of the handset to move quickly between applications.

    It has an improved 2.2-in QVGA screen, 3.2-megapixel camera, HSDPA functionality and memory that is expandable to 4 GB.

    The new device can be used as a mobile broadband dongle through its built-in modem drivers.

    It allows users to track up to 30 RSS feeds at once and is offered for GBP 69.99 on Pay As You Go and for free on any Mix & Match contract.

  • Netflix focuses on video-streaming

    Netflix puts more emphasis on video-streaming with new appointment and partnerships

    Netflix has hired Bill Holmes, a five-year veteran of digital-media company DivX, to help build its video-streaming business.

    Holmes is to head its business-development efforts as it continues to try to boost sales from its video-streaming service.
    His appointment is the latest in various moves by the company to build on its 8.4 million subscriber base with its streaming services.

    It has entered onto a partnership with LG to produce a new Blu-ray Disc Player with direct internet access to the Netflix film catalogue.

    Netflix, the largest U.S. movie-rental service via mail, said that it brought on Holmes to help embed software into more devices that will allow customers to stream content from Netflix.

    Holmes negotiated licensing agreements with companies such as Qualcomm, Matsushita and SanDisk when he was with DivX.

    Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO, said: “Bill Holmes will lead the ever-increasing effort by Netflix to develop more partnerships with great consumer electronics companies as we enter the era of Web-on-TV.”

    The LG Blu-ray Disc player that instantly links to Netflix’s 12,000-title streaming service will go on sale this month.
    The BD300 has firmware and hardware that will enable it to stream movies directly from the Netflix online video rental service.

    Although it has full 1080p high resolution capability on Blu-ray, the Netlflix service will only provide standard definition movie streams initially.

    However, the BD300 does offer 1080p upscaling for standard definition content via the HDMI output connection.
    The BD300 also has the latest Profile 2.0 specification, which allows full access to all interactive and online content that may be available in relation to specific Blu-ray Discs.

    In July, Netflix expanded its partnership with Microsoft that allows customers to stream Netflix’s movies and TV shows through Microsoft’s Xbox 360 videogame console.

    In May, Netflix introduced a set-top box allowing customers to stream from an inventory of about 10 per cent of its 100,000 titles.

    Later that month, Hastings said products such as Netflix Player by Roku, which had to be back-ordered within three weeks of its introduction, would double the company’s subscriber base within a decade.

    Holmes started the DivX Certified program with the San Diego-based company, whose revenue jumped 43 per cent last year to US$84.9 million.

    That program, which tracks all components containing devices either produced or licensed by DivX, encompasses more than 100 million devices made by companies such as Sony, Samsung and Toshiba.