Jun 15 - Sunday Shopping Watch. Happy
Father's Day!
Best Sunday Deals - See our Best Sunday
Ad Deals Table below for specific system prices.
Weekly Comparison. A relatively laid-back Father's
Day Sunday for retailers with fewer advertised specials than last
week.
This Sunday's Special Discounts and Financing.
In addition to sales on specific items, the following store-wide sales
are advertised this week. (Note that these
ads are for the Dayton, Ohio area. Prices or offerings may be different
where you live.)
Best Buy has switched to offering 6 Months of free MSN with any
computer purchase. They are also offering $100 mail-in rebates on
all desktop packages, $100 mail-in rebates on all laptops; and 12
month no-interest financing on all desktop packages and laptops.
Circuit City is offering
$150 mail-in rebates on all clearance laptops and desktop packages.
Office
Depot
has no ad for office products this Sunday..
CompUSA has 6 months no payment,
no interest financing on purchases of $199 and higher, when you bring
its Unadvertised
Specials Ad to your local store.
Staples has no store-wide promotions
this Sunday.
Compare
to Online Prices - Compare the Sunday ad prices to
those being offered at DealTime, it searches over 160 online computer
stores.
InfoHQ Related Shopping Pages
Shopping Alerts
- Our latest shopping advisories on buying digital cameras and camcorders,
desktop computers, laptops, and other computer items.
Windows XP
Upgrade Guide - All about upgrading to Windows XP.
What You Need to Know
About Dial-up Internet Service Rebates - The pros and cons of
'free' Internet service deals.
Definitions. A complete desktop system/package/complete
package is defined as a computer with monitor and printer
or scanner.
A build-to-order system is customized at the retailer
and then ordered from a computer manufacturer. In addition to the
computer's stated price, you still pay sales tax and shipping charges
(if you order direct from the vendor without going through the chain
store, you may not have to pay sales tax and you could get a better
warranty).
Caution about advertised prices.
When reading advertisements, read the fine print of the ad to make
sure you know what is being advertised and what it cost. For example,
many advertisers will show a complete system with computer, monitor,
and printer but advertise a price for the computer only.
* Prices discussed in this article. We report
prices after rebates and discounts are subtracted.
Items highlighted in Black are good deals.
Items highlighted in Red means prices have
gone up and the system is not a good buy this week.
Items in normal text means prices are about the same as the previous
weeks.
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Best Sunday Ad Deals
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Category
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Product Description
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Price* (see above)
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Prices up or Down this Week
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Store
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Best Celeron Deal
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eMachines 2.2 GHz complete system
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$379
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-$100
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Best Buy, Circuit City ($389)
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1. Best Pentium 4 System
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Compaq 2.4 GHz with 17" monitor
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$799
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-
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Staples
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2. Best Pentium 4 System
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HP 2.4 GHz complete system
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$979
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-
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Best Buy
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Best AMD Athlon XP System
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HP 3000 + with 15" flat panel and
DVD-RW
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$1229 (build-to-order)
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-
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Best Buy
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1. Best Low-cost Laptop
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Compaq 1.8 GHz Celeron with DVD/CD-RW
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$749
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-$50
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Circuit City
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2. Best Low-cost Laptop
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Compaq 2.0 GHz Celeron with DVD/CD-RW
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$899 (build-to-order)
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-
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Staples
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Best High-end Notebook
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Compaq 2.66 GHz Pentium 4 with DVD-R/W
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$1549 (build-to-order)
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Best Buy
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Peripherals
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Best Sunday Deal
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Maxtor 7200 RPM 160 GB hard drive with
8 MB buffer
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$99
(after rebates)
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Best Buy, Staples
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Best Sunday Deal
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Maxtor 7200 RPM 80 GB hard drive with
8 MB buffer
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$59
(after rebates)
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Best Buy
|
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Best Sunday Deal
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e.VGA GeForce FX 5200 128 MB
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$99
(after rebates)
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Best Buy
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Best Sunday Deal
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TDK 4X multiformat DVD-RW
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$299
(after rebates)
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-
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Best Buy, CompUSA
|
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Best Sunday Deal
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Memorex 52X CD-RW
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$49
(after rebates)
|
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Staples
|
|
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Additional Information. For additional technical
information, advice on how to buy a laptop or desktop, and vendor
and manufacturer links, please see our Computer
Buying Advice page.
About Sunday Shopping Watch. Sunday Shopping
Watch appears every Sunday (except some holidays like Easter and Christmas)
in our News and Rumors column. It is a review of local (Dayton, Ohio)
computer chain store advertisements. While we can not guarantee your
local chain store has the same items, this article can help you make
informed buying decisions.
Jun 13 - Intel Researchers
Move Advanced Triple-Gate Transistor Design One Step Closer to Production.
Intel Corporation
revealed new details of its advanced "tri-gate" transistor
design this
week at the 2003 Symposia of VLSI Technology and Circuits in Kyoto,
Japan and said that the tri-gate transistor is moving from research
to
the development phase. The design of this novel three-dimensional
(3-D) transistor will allow the company to continue to drive Moore's
Law and to deliver higher performance, lower power processors in the
future.
Additional disclosures were made on the company's research
efforts
to develop digital CMOS radios using its low-cost manufacturing
technology process and to design low power, high-performance circuits.
Fast transistors are one of the key building blocks of
high-performance microprocessors. Since originally announced last
year, Intel researchers have successfully shrunk the size of the
tri-gate transistor (measured by the gate length) from 60 nanometers
(nm) to 30 nm. Transistors with a smaller gate switch on and off
faster, ultimately enabling faster microprocessors.
"Our latest research indicates that the scalability,
performance
and excellent manufacturability of our tri-gate transistor makes it
a
strong contender for production as early as 2007 on our 45-nm process
technology," said Sunlin Chou, senior vice president and general
manager of Intel's Technology and Manufacturing Group. "The results
place non-planar, 3-D transistor structures among the promising
nanotechnology innovations that we will use to extend silicon scaling
and Moore's Law well into the future."
Intel's tri-gate transistor employs a novel 3-D gate
structure,
like a raised plateau with vertical sides, which allows electrical
signals to be sent along the top of the transistor gate and along
both
vertical sidewalls. This effectively triples the space available for
electrical signals to travel, like turning a one-lane road into a
three-lane highway, but without taking up more area. This gives the
tri-gate transistor much higher performance than today's planar (flat)
transistors.
Intel's tri-gate transistor is designed so that it
can be
manufactured in high volume, a factor that will be key in moving it
from the development stage into production. The tri-gate transistor
design also addresses the growing current leakage problem that the
industry faces as CMOS devices are made ever smaller. Due to its
unique structure, the tri-gate transistor's leakage is far less than
that of a planar transistor of the same size. Intel has moved the
tri-gate transistor design from research to the development phase,
and
experimental devices have been successfully manufactured at Intel's
300-mm wafer fabrication facility (Fab D1C) in Hillsboro, Ore.
Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com.
Jun 13 - IBM, Infineon Develop
Most Advanced MRAM Technology to Date. IBM and Infineon Technologies
AG (FSE/NYSE: IFX) today announced they have developed the most advanced
Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM) technology to date by integrating
magnetic memory components into a high-performance logic base.
Today's announcement could accelerate the commercialization of MRAM,
a breakthrough memory technology with the potential to begin replacing
some of today's memory technologies as early as 2005. MRAM could lead
to 'instant on' computers, allowing users to turn computers on and
off as quickly as a light switch.
At the VLSI Symposia taking place here this week, IBM and Infineon
are presenting their high-speed 128Kbit MRAM core. It is fabricated
with a 0.18 micron logic-based process technology, the smallest size
reported to date for MRAM technology. This small base enabled IBM
and Infineon to incorporate the smallest MRAM memory-cell size of
1.4 square microns, which is about 20 million times smaller than the
average pencil eraser top. By accurately patterning the magnetic structures
within this small cell, IBM and Infineon researchers were able to
control the memory reading and writing operations.
A memory technology that uses magnetic, rather than electronic, charges
to store bits of data, MRAM could significantly improve portable computing
products by storing more information, accessing it faster and using
less battery power than the electronic memory used today. MRAM combines
the best features of today's common memory technologies: the storage
capacity and low-cost of Dynamic RAM (DRAM), the high speed of Static
RAM (SRAM), and the non-volatility of flash memory. Since MRAM retains
information when power is turned off, products like personal computers
using it could start up instantly, without waiting for software to
"boot up".
IBM's MRAM work complements its pioneering and ongoing development
of advanced embedded DRAM memory, which is commercially available
today and offers advantages over traditional SRAM.
"MRAM has the potential to become the universal memory technology
of the future," said Dr. T. C. Chen, VP Science and Technology,
IBM Research. "This breakthrough demonstrates that MRAM technology
is rapidly maturing and could fundamentally alter the entire memory
marketplace within the next few years."
"Nonvolatile memory technologies like MRAM will play a major
role in technology lifestyle solutions and we want to be the number
one semiconductor company in this area by having a product demonstrator
jointly developed with IBM available early 2004. Together with Altis
Semiconductor, a joint venture of IBM and Infineon, we will pave the
way for production readiness of MRAM as early as 2005," said
Dr. Wilhelm Beinvogl, CTO of the Memory Product Division, Infineon.
Detailed benefits of MRAM
The non-volatility attribute of MRAM carries significant implications,
especially for mobile computing devices. Memory technologies like
DRAM and SRAM require constant electrical power to retain stored data.
When power is cut off, all data in memory is lost. A laptop computer,
for example, works from a copy of its software stored in memory. When
turned on, a working version of the software is copied from the hard-disk
drive into memory, so the user can access it quickly. Every time the
power is turned off and then back on, the process must start over.
By using MRAM, the laptop could work more like other electronic devices
such as a television or radio: turn the power on and the machine jumps
almost instantly to life with settings just as you had left them.
Non-volatility can save power as well. Since MRAM will not need constant
power to keep the data intact, it could consume much less than current
random access memory technologies, extending the battery life of cell
phones, handheld devices, laptops and other battery powered products.
The high-speed attribute of MRAM means that electronic products can
more quickly access data, and MRAM's high-density means greater storage
capacity.
For more information on IBM Research, visit www.research.ibm.com.
Further information is available at www.infineon.com.
Jun 13 - Toshiba and SanDisk Announce
Major Advances in Flash Memory Capacity. Toshiba Corporation and
SanDisk Corporation (Nasdaq:SNDK) today announced development of a
high density NAND flash memory cell structure that allows fabrication
of 4-Gigabit (Gb) NAND flash memory using the 90-nanometer (nm) design
rules. The new memory cell has a physical cell area of only 0.041
micron squared, and supports scaling to future generations of smaller
feature design rules.
Toshiba and SanDisk have tested the new cell structure and demonstrated
its performance and reliability. The two companies plan to employ
the new NAND cell technology starting in the first half of 2004 with
2-Gigabit and 4-Gigabit NAND flash memory chips that will be manufactured
by their FlashVision Japan Joint Venture production facility located
at Toshiba's Yokkaichi Operations in Japan. Details of the high density
NAND flash memory cell structure were presented at the VLSI Symposium
in Kyoto, Japan, on June 11.
Toshiba and SanDisk are recognized technology innovators and market
leaders in NAND flash memories -- the highly versatile, non-volatile
memory that continues to be designed into a diverse range of products,
including digital still and video cameras, mobile phones and PDAs.
Toshiba, a principal inventor of NAND flash memory, has consistently
led the way in promoting advances in chip capacity, while SanDisk
is a leader in flash data storage card products and a pioneer in high
density flash MLC memory technology.
SanDisk's web site/home page address: www.sandisk.com.
Jun 13 - Micron Delivers Industry's First
GDDR3 Components. Micron Technology, Inc. (NYSE:MU), has delivered
the industry's first graphics double data rate SDRAM (GDDR3) components
to ATI Technologies, Inc. and NVIDIA Corporation.
GDDR3 targets high-speed point-to-point applications such as high-end
PC graphics and gaming platforms requiring ultra fast data rates.
This breakthrough technology can provide an aggregate bandwidth of
6.4GB per second per device, achieved with a 1.6Gb per second per
pin data rate. GDDR3 is the fastest memory device available today.
Fabricated on Micron's leading-edge 0.11 micron process technology,
GDDR3 provides the highest performance in both per-pin bandwidth and
aggregate bandwidth.
"Speed and power are two critical elements that can make or
break high-speed graphics designs," said Terry Lee, Executive
Director of Advanced Technology and Strategic Marketing for Micron's
Computing and Consumer Group. "GDDR3 operates at 50 percent higher
data rates while consuming approximately half the power of graphics
DDR2. With these speed and power advantages, we believe the first
applications to adopt GDDR3 will be high-end graphics, gaming markets
and high-speed networking."
"ATI worked closely with Micron to define and develop GDDR3
as part of an industry-wide initiative, and we commend Micron for
being first to sample GDDR3 devices," said Joe Macri, Director
of Technology, ATI Technologies Inc, and Chairman, JC42.3 DRAM Committee,
JEDEC.
"We are pleased to have the first samples of GDDR3 devices to
test with our latest generation graphics processor," said Bryn
Young, Director of Memory Marketing, NVIDIA Corporation. "GDDR3
provides tremendous performance gains that will raise the performance
bar of next-generation PC graphics."
To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc., visit its Web site
at www.micron.com.
Jun 13 - Fujifilm Introduces New 512MB
xD-Picture Card. Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc., a leader in innovative
imaging and information products and services, today introduces the
Fujifilm 512MB xD-Picture Card(TM), a high-capacity flash memory format
for digital cameras.
The new xD-Picture Card will begin shipping to consumer electronics,
photography and other retailers later this summer.
The xD-Picture Card format, developed by Fujifilm and Olympus, was
first introduced in September 2002. The new addition to the Fujifilm
xD-Picture Card is expected to meet the increasing consumer demand
for greater storage capacity. The development roadmap for the product
predicts an eventual storage capacity of up to 8GB in a single card.
"The rapid development of more sophisticated, higher resolution
digital cameras led to today's announcement," said John Bock,
Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Consumer Audio and Video Products,
Magnetic Markets Division, Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. "The
great popularity and success of Fujifilm's line of FinePix digital
cameras will be further enhanced by the introduction of the 512 MB
xD-Picture Card."
The xD-Picture Card also minimizes power consumption to save battery
life and provides fast read/write capabilities for smoother digital
camera operation. Capacities of 64MB and higher read at a rate of
5MB/sec and write at a speed of 3MB/sec. PCMCIA and CompactFlash adapters
are also currently available at local retailers, allowing the use
of the xD-Picture Card in a variety of cameras and other devices from
multiple manufacturers.
For more information on Fujifilm products, access the Fujifilm USA
Web site at www.fujifilm.com.
Jun 12 - Crucial Technology Offers Crucial
Radeon 9800 Pro Video Card. Crucial Technology, a division of
Micron and one of the world's largest direct memory upgrade providers,
introduced today the Crucial(R) Radeon(TM) 9800 Pro video card, powered
by ATI(R) technology and featuring 128MB 2.86 nanosecond double data
rate (DDR) synchronous DRAM (SDRAM).
The next evolution in the high-end video card line, the Radeon 9800
Pro video card replaces the Crucial Radeon 9700 Pro video card with
measurably improved cinematic-quality graphics for gaming and sophisticated
CAD and graphic design.
"Tests in Crucial's performance lab show the Crucial Radeon
9800 Pro card delivers a 22 percent performance gain over the 9700
Pro card when running 3Dmark(R) 03, a leading third-party graphics
benchmarking software," said Crucial Technical Support Manager
Mike Sanor. "That is an incredible jump in performance and results
in some of the fastest, most life-like graphics achievable on computers
today."
The Crucial Radeon 9800 Pro video card features 400MHz core clock
speed, 128MB 2.86 nanosecond DDR SDRAM, 256-bit memory interface,
dual-display capability, DVI-I output, six-foot S-video and RCA cables,
a DVI to CRT converter, an S-video to RCA converter, DirectX(R) 9
support, and AGP 8X support.
The video card is available on Crucial's Web site at www.crucial.com
and is currently priced at $399.99. All Crucial video cards come with
a multilingual user guide, limited lifetime warranty, free second-day
shipping within the contiguous U.S. on qualified orders, and Crucial's
renowned customer service and technical support.
Jun 12 - Intel Delivers
New Technology for Full-Size Notebook PCs. Intel
Corporation today introduced new mobile processors and chipsets for
transportable notebook PCs. These systems offer near-desktop features,
including high performance, larger screens, full size keyboards and
multiple drives.
The new products include the Mobile Intel(R) Pentium(R)
4
processor, the Intel(R) Celeron(R) processor and the Intel(R) 852PM
and GME chipsets. The Mobile Intel Pentium 4 processor offers
frequencies up to 3.06 GHz, power management features that enable
lower thermals than its desktop counterpart, along with Intel design
guidelines and testing, which enable more reliable system performance.
Notebooks based on the Mobile Intel Pentium 4 processor allow users
to
take advantage of processor-intensive multimedia applications such
as
video encoding, digital media and gaming.
When combined with the Mobile Intel Pentium 4 processor,
the new
chipsets deliver the advantages of Double Data-Rate (DDR) 333 / 266
memory capability at up to 2 GB capacity and support for 533 MHz
system buses. The Intel 852GME chipset features Intel(R) Extreme
Graphics 2 technology, which offer realistic 3-D graphics with sharp
images.
The Mobile Intel Pentium 4 processor is built on the
Intel(R)
NetBurst(TM) microarchitecture and features a 533 MHz system bus and
support for advanced mobile power management including Enhanced
Intel(R) SpeedStep(R) technology, Deep Sleep and Deeper Sleep.
Additionally, Intel also introduced what are the final speed
enhancements for its Mobile Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 Processor - M and
the Mobile Intel(R) Celeron(R) processor product families.
Mobile Processor Specifications and Pricing
Processor Enhanced Frequency Price in Target Voltage L2
Intel(R) 1,000-Unit Average Cache
SpeedStep(TM) Quantities Power
Technology
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mobile Intel Yes 3.06GHz/ less 1.525V/ 512 KB
Pentium 4 1.60GHz than 1.2V
processor battery 4.5 Watts battery
(533 MHz PSB) mode $417 mode
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mobile Intel Yes 2.80GHz/ less 1.525V/ 512 KB
Pentium 4 1.60GHz than 1.2V
processor battery 4.5 Watts battery
(533 MHz PSB) mode $278 mode
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mobile Intel Yes 2.66GHz/ less 1.525V/ 512 KB
Pentium 4 1.60GHz than 1.2V
processor battery 4.5 Watts battery
(533 MHz PSB) mode $218 mode
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mobile Intel Yes 2.40GHz/ less 1.525V/ 512 KB
Pentium 4 1.60GHz than 1.2V
processor battery 4.5 Watts battery
(533 MHz PSB) mode $186 mode
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mobile Intel Yes 2.60GHz/ less 1.3V/ 512 KB
Pentium 4 1.20GHz than 1.2V in
processor - M battery 2.0 Watts battery
(400 MHz PSB) mode $562 mode
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Processor Enhanced Frequency Price in Voltage L2
Intel(R) 1000-Unit Cache
SpeedStep(TM) Quantities
Technology
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Intel Celeron
processor No 2.40 GHz $84 1.525 128 KB
Volts
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Intel Celeron
processor No 2.30 GHz $79 1.525 128 KB
Volts
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Intel Celeron
processor No 2.20 GHz $74 1.525 128 KB
Volts
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mobile Intel
Celeron processor No 2.40 GHz $149 1.3 256 KB
Volts
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In 1,000 unit quantities, the Intel 855PM and Intel 855GME chipsets
are priced at $35 and $45, respectively. Intel, the world's largest
chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking
and communications products.
Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com.
Jun 12 - Intel And Sun Microsystems
Collaborate To Enable Java™ on Mobile Devices. Sun Microsystems,
Inc. and Intel Corporation today announced a collaboration that will
enable rich, Java™ technology-enabled audio, visual and multimedia
applications to users of mobile devices using Intel® XScale™
technology based processors.
As part of the collaboration, Intel and Sun will optimize Sun's Connected
Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) HotSpot™ Implementation on
Intel's XScale technology based family of processors for mobile devices
such as cell phones and PDAs. Sun will then deliver the optimized
virtual machines (VM) to leading mobile device manufacturers. Optimizations
such as this enable manufacturers to easily integrate Java technology-based
software programs onto their devices and help to improve the performance
of applications.
"Bringing together Intel's XScale technology and Sun's CLDC
HotSpot Implementation will enable a new wave of mobile applications
and innovation within the mobile device segment," said Hans Geyer,
Intel vice president and general manager of the Intel PCA Components
Group. "The popularity and prevalence of the Java platform coupled
with the high-performance of Intel XScale technology based processors
is a powerful combination that will allow mobile application developers
to create a compelling array of exciting applications now and in the
future."
"The Intel and Sun collaboration will allow Sun's optimized
Java technology for wireless devices to fully utilize Intel's XScale
technology to provide a significant, high-performance platform to
mobile device manufacturers," said Alan Brenner, vice president
of the Sun Microsystems Consumer and Mobile Systems Group. "Java's
momentum in the mobile device market is creating new opportunities
for device manufacturers, applications developers and wireless operators."
CLDC HotSpot Implementation is a high-performance virtual machine
targeted at mass-market resource-constrained mobile devices such as
mobile handsets, pagers, and PDAs. Intel XScale technology based processors,
including the Intel PXA255 processor, Intel PXA26x processors, and
recently introduced Intel PXA800F cellular processor, provide a power-efficient
and high-performance platform for mainstream mobile devices. This
collaboration will deliver an optimized platform that will enable
rich and powerful Java applications on mobile devices.
Optimizations to Sun's CLDC HotSpot Implementation that take advantage
of Intel's XScale technology are expected to be delivered to OEMs
in the coming quarter. OEM handsets that incorporate these optimizations
are anticipated to become available later this year. This collaboration
will also extend to future optimizations from Sun and Intel.
Sun can be found on the World Wide Web at http://sun.com.
Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com.
Jun 12 - CorePROTECT Gives
Viruses, Hackers And User Error the Boot. CorePROTECT, a data
security firm, has launched CoreRESTORE, a hardware-based restoration
tool that eliminates system damage and restores a computer with a
simple reboot. The FBI recently installed CoreRESTORE for use on its
forensic desktop computers.
CoreRESTORE is a hardware-based recovery solution for PC manufacturers,
desktop managers and end-users. It instantly recovers damaged operating
systems, critical configuration files, applications and data. In the
event of a system failure, for example a virus attack, a simple reboot
restores a PC to its original state. CoreRESTORE minimizes downtime
as it takes seconds to reboot versus hours to rebuild and/or reimage
a hard drive from an external backup.
CoreRESTORE's patented processor operates independently of a computer's
motherboard making it invisible to hackers or virus writers, making
it invulnerable to attack. Unlike software-based restoration solutions,
CoreRESTORE performs all protection operations and does not cause
any degradation in system performance.
CoreRESTORE is a credit card sized controller that connects between
a PC motherboard and standard IDE hard drive. During a simple setup
routine segregated hard drive partitions are created that act as separate
physical drives. The first partition contains an invisible persistent
data area which acts as the protected portion of the drive. The second
partition operates as a normal read/write drive.
CoreRESTORE's proprietary single chip processor intercepts ATA or
Progam Input/Output (PIO) commands and provides intelligent read/write
processing of all data sent between the motherboard and the hard drive.
Critical applications, operating system, data and configuration files
remain safely protected by CoreRESTORE. Meanwhile, volatile data is
processed to portions of the hard drive that are allowed to interact
safely with the outside environment. Saving and restoring the contents
of the hard drive is seamless, fast and secure.
"Software-based solutions are never 100% effective against damage
caused by viruses, hackers or user error. Companies must have an additional
safety net in place to protect themselves, otherwise they're left
open to significant downtime and loss of productivity, as well as
loss of mission critical data," said Tim La Fazia, president
of CorePROTECT. "CoreRESTORE is hardware-based and gives users
the ability to turn back time by restoring computers' settings to
their original working state, minimizing downtime, maintenance and
worry."
CoreRESTORE is priced at $149.97. For more information, visit www.coreprotect.com.
Jun 12 - Apricorn Introduces Hard Disk
Upgrade and Backup Kit for Notebook Computers. Apricorn, a leader
in innovative easy-to-use portable data storage and transfer products,
today released the EZ Upgrade Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Notebook Hard Drive
Upgrade Kit. EZ Upgrade is a three-step hard disk upgrade system that
seamlessly automates and simplifies the otherwise technical and daunting
task of upgrading a notebook hard drive. After the upgrade is complete,
the old drive can be re-used as a portable Hi-Speed USB 2.0 external
backup system, ensuring that critical data is always safeguarded.
The EZ Upgrade process begins by sliding the new hard drive into
the EZ Upgrade enclosure and connecting the cable to the notebook's
USB port. In step two, the machine is booted from the EZ Gig II Data
Transfer Utility CD which begins the drive-cloning process. Finally,
the old drive is removed from the notebook and replaced with the new
cloned drive.
"EZ Upgrade is the ultimate kit for upgrading Notebook Hard
Drives," said Paul Brown, Apricorn President. "This all-inclusive
package provides everything you will need to transfer all data, applications,
settings, address books, emails, OS and preferences from the old hard
drive in your notebook to a new drive in 3 easy steps."
EZ Upgrade is Plug-n-Play compatible, powered from the USB port and
hot swappable. EZ Upgrade ships with a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 (USB 1.1 compatible)
enclosure, USB cable, PS/2 auxiliary power cable, AC Adapter and Apricorn's
EZ Gig II Data Transfer Utility. EZ Upgrade is backed with a 3-year
warranty and toll free technical support.
Apricorn's EZ Gig II Data Transfer Utility includes two utilities
on one disk: Clone EZ and Image EZ, creating one of the most powerful
and user-friendly upgrade and backup utilities available.
Clone EZ creates an exact bootable clone of a user's notebook hard
drive. A cloned copy is the ideal solution for upgrading notebook
hard drives or disaster recovery.
Image EZ is perfect for users who want a compressed image of their
entire hard drive or a partition. Image EZ compresses its backup image
files down to less than 1/2 of the original capacity, leaving users
enough space to backup multiple computers, or maintain multiple backups.
Image EZ has password protection and includes a File Editor for restoration
of files.
In addition to IDE and PC Card interfaces, both utilities allow users
to backup or restore data via Hi-Speed USB 2.0, which is up to 40
times faster than USB 1.1.
Available June 5, 2003 with a manufactures suggested retail price
of $89.00. For additional information about Apricorn products please
visit www.apricorn.com.
Jun 12 - Actiontec Delivers New $39.95
USB Bluetooth Adapter. Actiontec Electronics today introduced
a $39.95 USB Bluetooth Adapter that enables any PC or notebook computer
with a USB port to communicate wirelessly with any Bluetooth v1.1-compatible
device, including printers, PDAs, mobile phones, keyboards and mice.
This slim, highlighter-sized accessory fits in a pocket and can communicate
with up to seven Bluetooth-enabled devices in a 33-foot range, eliminating
cable clutter on the desktop as well as facilitating computing on
the road.
Simply by plugging the Actiontec adapter into a USB port, users can
send print jobs to any Bluetooth-ready printer wirelessly, hot-sync
any Bluetooth-capable handheld computer without fussing with a cable,
and access the Internet wherever they are by using a Bluetooth-enabled
cellphone as a modem. As manufacturers equip scanners, digital cameras
and fax machines with Bluetooth power, those devices can be added
to the user's wireless personal area network as well.
In addition, the Actiontec adapter can allow multiple users to share
computer resources. Any computer equipped with the adapter can use
the same Bluetooth-enabled printer. Documents, MP3 files and other
data can be swapped between computers and PDAs, or between any two
computers outfitted with the adapter. And a Bluetooth-ready PDA can
hitch a ride on the same high-speed Internet connection as the user's
computer for wireless surfing.
"Peripheral manufacturers are finally incorporating Bluetooth's
short-range wireless networking technology into their equipment, but
PCs and notebooks do not yet have built-in Bluetooth capabilities,"
said Dean Chang, Actiontec President and CEO. "Our USB Bluetooth
Adapter is a plug-and-play solution that lets users immediately add
Bluetooth functionality to their computers, get rid of cumbersome
wires, and add new conveniences for mobile computing."
The adapter operates through walls and other non-metal barriers,
protects users' data with 40- to 128-bit WEP encryption, and offers
added security through password protection and the ability to set
trust levels for remote and local users.
The Actiontec USB Bluetooth Adapter (MSRP $39.95) comes with a Quick
Start Guide, an installation manual on CD-ROM, and a USB extension
cord for easy connection to the user's USB port. It is compatible
with Windows 98SE, ME, 2000 or XP running on a Pentium 90 or faster
with 16MB of RAM.
It will be available in July from mass market retailers and from the
Actiontec online store at www.actiontec.com.
Jun 12 - Newest Game Boy System Passes
One Million U.S. Sales. Nintendo of America Inc. is reaffirming
the status of its new Game Boy(R) Advance SP as the hottest selling
video game system in the United States.
More than 1.1 million units of the new self-lit, flip-top portable
unit have sold in America less than 10 weeks after its introduction.
The new model has sold at a rate of more than 10 per minute, non-stop,
since launch.
To build upon its success, Nintendo is launching new color casings.
On Sept. 8, Onyx (black) and Flame (red) will join the current Platinum
(silver) and Cobalt (dark blue) systems.
Since its inception in 1989, Nintendo's Game Boy(R) line has become
a household name as the world's most successful and storied video
game system, selling through more than 150 million units and more
than one-half billion games worldwide.
"In our industry, any product selling more than one million
units is a certified mega-hit," says Peter MacDougall, executive
vice president, sales and marketing, Nintendo of America. "For
Game Boy Advance SP to outsell each of the home console systems is
testament to the expanding popularity of gaming on the go."
Game Boy Advance SP is compatible with virtually all 1,300 Game Boy
titles including a current 375-title Game Boy Advance-specific library
that will increase to more than 500 by year-end. In addition, a growing
number of key software titles link play between Game Boy Advance and
Nintendo GameCube(TM).
Nintendo also is setting the pace on both the portable and console
game charts. The highly acclaimed The Legend of Zelda(R): The Wind
Waker(TM) for Nintendo GameCube, and both Pokemon(R) Ruby and Pokemon(R)
Sapphire for Game Boy Advance have reached one million unit-seller
status since their March launch dates, and represent the industry's
three best selling games thus far in all of 2003.
For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site,
www.nintendo.com.
Jun 12 - ArcSoft Enhances Movie Making
Experience For PC Users With VideoImpression 2. ArcSoft, Inc.,
the leading provider of digital imaging software, today announced
the availability of ArcSoft VideoImpression(TM) 2, ArcSoft's next
generation easy-to-use video software. VideoImpression 2 provides
consumers a full-featured software application, enabling them to easily
create a movie with video, digital photos, text, transitions, music
and narration, or a full screen slide show with photos, effects, and
music.
Redesigned to improve the user experience and increase performance,
VideoImpression 2 is now a step-based program, allowing users to effortlessly
create both home movies and slide shows. Each step of the creation
process is clearly labeled across the top of the program desktop,
making it easy for the most elementary user to manage.
"VideoImpression 2 provides a broad range of editing features
providing the best tools for users of all levels to design fun, exciting
and creative videos in real time," said Todd Rumaner, Vice President
of Sales and Marketing, ArcSoft, Inc.
VideoImpression 2 Features Include:
-- Step-based, easy to follow user interface
-- Creates both video and slide show projects
-- Save as MPEG-1, WMV or AVI video to Hard disk.
-- Write a VCD for playback in DVD players (CD Recorder
required).
-- Output to VHS, or DV digital video tape (hardware required)
-- Record narration directly to projects
-- Both still image and video editing tools included
-- Add multiple soundtracks including MP3 files.
Retail version of VideoImpression is priced at $49.99, available
June 1st at www.arcsoft.com.
Jan 12 - Don't Quote Me Compiles The
10 Most Popular Quotes For Father's Day.
1. "By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right,
he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong." -- Charles Wadsworth
(1917-) U.S. author and artist - works include Views from the Island
(1978); art is represented in many museums and private collections.
2. "My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let
me watch him do it." -- Clarence Budington Kelland
(1881-1964) U.S. writer - credits include the short story Opera Hat
which became the story line for the films Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
and Mr. Deeds (2002).
3. "A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed,
and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society." -- Billy
Graham
(1918-) U.S. evangelist - founded the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
in 1950; held weekly Hour of Decision radio program broadcast around
the world on Sundays for over 50 years.
4. "It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember
he was." -- Anne Sexton
(1928-1974) U.S. poet - won Pulitzer Prize for Live or Die in 1967;
suffered from a mental illness and committed suicide at age 46.
5. "Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope."
-- Bill Cosby
(1937-) U.S. comedian - first African-American to star in a television
series, I Spy (1965-68); best known for The Cosby Show (1984-92);
also performed at nightclubs and recorded comedy records.
6. "When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant
I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to
be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven
years." -- Mark Twain
(1835-1910), (Samuel Clemens) U.S. author - wrote The Adventures
of Tom Sawyer (1876). Quote from Old Times on the Mississippi in Atlantic
Monthly (1874).
7. "The most important thing a father can do for his children
is to love their mother." -- Henry Ward Beecher
(1813-1887) U.S. clergyman and reformer - Protestant; opposed slavery;
advocated women's right to vote; wrote Evolution and Religion (1885).
8. "It is much easier to become a father than to be one."
-- Kent Nerburn
U.S. author and educator - involved in Native American issues; holds
a PhD in theology and in art; books include Calm Surrender (2000)
and Small Graces (1998). Quote from Letters to My Son: Reflections
on Becoming a Man (1994).
9. "It is a wise father that knows his own child." -- William
Shakespeare
(1564-1616) English playwright and poet - lived at Stratford-upon-Avon;
many of his works performed at The Globe Theater.
10. "Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices
call him father!" -- Lydia M. Child
(1802-1880) U.S. author - known for her anti-slavery works. Quote
from Philothea: A Romance (1836).
The Quotemasters at Don't Quote Me (tm) reviewed thousands of newspaper,
magazine and Internet articles and other popular communications vehicles
(including talk shows, recent books and radio programs) to cull The
10 Most Popular Quotes for Father's Day. The first annual listing
appears above.
Don't Quote Me (tm) celebrates the written and spoken word and revels
in the mastery of who said what, when and why.
In addition to monitoring other media outlets, Don't Quote Me (tm)
also draws its expertise from the many daily visitors to its website,
www.dontquoteme.com.
Site visitors can play Don't Quote Me(tm) online, search for fun
and useful quotes, send customized e-cards and subscribe to a Daily
Quotes for Free(tm) e-mail. The website regularly features the most
popular quotes on subjects such as mom, dad, kids, baseball, winning,
losing and having lots of fun.
Jun 11 - Intel Ships 1 Billionth
Processor. In 1978, a "hand-held" was a transistor radio,
computers were gigantic mainframe, immobile machines, and the Internet
was a project by a handful of research scientists. Twenty-five years
later, Intel Corporation is marking its 25th year of delivering silicon
products based on Intel architecture, and data from industry analyst
firm Mercury Research(1) indicates that the company has now shipped
more than 1 billion x86 CPUs since that time, sparking a new era of
computing and communication solutions.
"From the 8086 to today's Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 processor, Intel(R)
Xeon(TM) and Intel(R) Centrino(TM) mobile technology, the Intel Architecture
has brought the benefits of digital intelligence to people around
the world, making it the most successful computer architecture in
the history of computing," said Pat Gelsinger, Intel senior vice
president and chief technology officer. "Best of all, it continues
to incorporate new innovations and enable new uses, promising to further
transform the world of computing in the years ahead."
Introduced in 1978, the original 16-bit 8086 chip contained only
29,000 transistors and ran at 5 MHz. The original IBM PC shipped with
a version of the 8086, the 8088 in 1982, ushering in a new age of
PC computing. In comparison, today's Pentium 4 processor contains
55 million transistors and runs more than 600 times faster at 3.06GHz.
1 Billionth Shipped
Based on combined desktop, laptop and server shipments, Mercury Research
calculates that Intel reached this milestone in April, roughly 25
years after the debut of the first 8086 microprocessor on June 8,
1978. Intel's silicon is found in hand-held computing devices, desktop
and mobile PCs, servers, networking and communication gear and machines
such as point-of-sale terminals and medical equipment.
Mercury Research calculates that the next billion X86 CPUs could
ship far faster than the first billion processors and could come as
early as 2007.
Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer
of computer, networking and communications products. Additional information
about Intel is available at www.intel.com.
Jun 11 - AOL Launches Major
Campaign Against Unprotected Broadband. America Online (NYSE:
AOL), the world's leading interactive services company, today launched
a major educational and marketing campaign to inform high-speed users
about the dangers of an unprotected broadband connection.
The campaign is based in part on recent research showing
that the overwhelming majority of broadband consumers do not have
the core elements of a safe broadband connection: regularly-updated
anti-virus software, a properly configured and secure firewall, and,
if children are in the household, active parental controls. The campaign
will include both online and offline educational and marketing efforts,
free media outreach, and briefings for policymakers and consumer groups.
In addition, the Company today highlighted several cutting-edge safety
and security features enabled by its upcoming AOL 9.0 software that
will help its members practice safe broadband, including adaptive
spam filtering, a customized firewall, advanced anti-virus scanning,
and enhanced Parental Controls.
Those features -- which could cost up to $17 per month if purchased
separately -- are available at no additional charge to AOL members
and work on any DSL or cable connection regardless of whether they
use AOL's bundled or BYOA service. (AOL's integrated premium anti-virus
offering costs an additional $2.95 per month.) AOL 9.0 will be available
as an exclusive members-only download later this summer.
The company also said that it is now automatically blocking more
than one million viruses each day from reaching its members' e-mail
inboxes. This spring, as a free service for members, AOL began automatically
scanning all incoming and outgoing attachments to members' e-mail
each day for known viruses at no additional charge. If a virus is
detected, the attachment is automatically cleaned of the virus, or,
if the virus cannot be fixed or quarantined, the e-mail is returned
to the original sender with a notice that their attachment was infected.
The virus definitions are regularly updated and provided by McAfee
Security.
A landmark study from the National Cyber Security Alliance last week
showed that the vast majority of basic broadband households do not
have the protections they need against the dangers of an always-on
connection, and most consumers do not realize that they are at risk.
Two-thirds of the households in the NCSA study (67%) lacked properly
configured firewalls; 62% did not have recently-updated anti-virus
protection; and 97% of broadband households with children did not
use parental controls. Only 11% of the households surveyed had all
of the elements of a safe broadband connection. Despite those vulnerabilities,
the vast majority of broadband consumers (86%) say they keep sensitive
financial, medical, or personal information on their home computers.
Lisa Hook, President, AOL for Broadband, Premium and Platform Services,
said: "The broadband world is full of wonderful things, but --
just like the offline world -- it can also be dangerous. That's why
AOL for Broadband offers our users an easy and convenient package
of features that can help protect them from the hazards of an always-on
connection. With built-in defenses to help guard against viruses,
Trojan Horses, hackers, spam, and inappropriate content for children,
AOL for Broadband helps members practice safe broadband."
Tatiana Gau, AOL's Senior Vice President for Integrity Assurance
and Chief Trust Officer, said: "Getting a basic broadband connection
without AOL for Broadband is like buying a fast sports car without
seatbelts. Why take the risk? AOL for Broadband includes core features
like a customized firewall, anti-virus e-mail attachment scanning,
and award-winning parental controls to help inoculate our members
against some of the worst of the Broadband Transmitted Dangers --
BTDs -- on the Web."
Safety and Security Features in AOL 9.0 Help Members Practice
Safe Broadband
AOL 9.0 builds on the existing security protections in AOL for Broadband
with many new and enhanced features to guard members against the dangers
of unprotected broadband. Some of the features in AOL 9.0 will include:
New spam protections: AOL's proprietary server-side anti-spam filters
block up to 2.4 billion pieces of junk mail every day. In addition,
AOL's antispam team is constantly working to develop deploy new technologies
to help our members stop spam. AOL 9.0 introduces a broad range of
new software features to help our members protect their in-boxes even
better from unsolicited e-mail, including:
* Adaptive spam filtering -- that learns and seamlessly adapts to
the type of e-mail that each individual member considers spam. For
example, if a member consistently reports as spam e-mails offering
deals on mortgages, AOL Mail will learn to automatically route bulk
mail of this nature to the member's spam folder. Members can override
AOL's automatic classification by clicking either the "Spam"
or "Not Spam" buttons as necessary or choose to opt out
of using this feature completely if they wish.
* New "spam" folder -- where suspected spam and unwanted
mail is automatically routed, separating spam from a member's regular
incoming e-mail and making it easy for members to review, report and
delete their spam. E-mail marked by a member as spam will help the
adaptive filters learn to automatically route similar e-mails in future
into this folder.
* Word-specific and URL filters -- that allow members to choose specific
words that, if found in incoming e-mail, will be automatically sent
to the spam folder. For members wanting even more aggressive spam
filters, they can also opt to have all e-mails containing clickable
URLs directed to their spam folder, as well as opt to view only mail
from contacts listed in their Address Book or Buddy List.
* Blocking images and URLs from unknown senders -- prevents images
or web links from displaying in e-mails unless a user chooses to see
them. This feature ensures that spammers cannot force members to see
inappropriate or unwanted images or links just by opening the spammer's
e-mail. It also limits a spammer's ability to tell who has read their
e-mail by using hidden "Web beacons".
* IM Catcher -- helps members control "SpIM" (instant messaging
spam) as well as spam. AOL's new IM Catcher feature will capture all
instant messages sent from people not listed on a member's Buddy List
and add them to a small list box for the member to manage at a later
time. Particularly useful for members participating in chat rooms,
the IM Catcher lets members decide if and when they want to view the
messages or ignore them all together.
Customized Firewall: AOL has teamed with Network Associates to provide
members connecting via broadband with a customized firewall at no
additional charge. AOL's McAfee Personal Firewall Express helps members
guard against hackers and unauthorized intruders by helping them build
a barrier between the Internet and their computer. Options allow members
to block access to sensitive files, financial records and personal
data, with on-demand traffic blocking from specified applications,
and the creation of an event record of intrusion attempts and unsolicited
Internet traffic involving the member's personal computer.
Automatic Anti-virus Scanning: AOL automatically scans all attachments
to incoming and outgoing e-mails to detect viruses and fix or block
infected attachments before they reach a member's computer. The service
is offered at no additional charge as part of AOL membership for both
broadband and narrowband subscribers.
For added computer security, AOL also offers a premium integrated
service with McAfee Security that extends virus protection beyond
e-mail to the PC's hard drive to help guard members against infection
from peer-to-peer file sharing, Web site downloads, infected CD-ROMs
and disks, multi-media files, and more.
Parental Controls: AOL's award-winning Parental Controls offer a
robust and flexible set of tools for parents to monitor and regulate
what their children see and do online. AOL's Parental Controls allow
parents to specify whom children can communicate with in email, whether
or not they can send and receive Instant Messages and what kinds of
Web sites children can browse. AOL 9.0 also includes several enhancements
to Parental Controls, including:
* WebUnlock -- allows parents to create a customized list of sites
that kids can visit while using AOL, in addition to the sites allowed
though AOL's standard age categories. Through WebUnlock, children
can request access to a particular Web site and check the status of
their request. As always, parents are ultimately in control and can
manage their child's access to the Web.
* Internet Access Controls -- provide extended Parental Controls
protections for AOL members on a broadband connection. This added
coverage prevents children from using external browsers or other Internet
access programs like file sharing software to surf the Internet or
access inappropriate Web sites.
* Online Timer -- has been redesigned to make it even easier for
parents to customize the amount of time their children can spend online.
Controls can be set by day, amount of time or by specific hour increments.
Parents also can effortlessly control their children's time online
with a new "Quick Set Option."
* Parental Controls via AOL.com -- means that parents can now adjust
their children's access from work or anywhere they have Web access.
It's like having a parental remote control.
More information about the National Cyber Security Alliance study
on broadband safety can be found on the Alliance web site at www.staysafeonline.info.
AOL can be found online at www.aol,com.
Jun 11 - Symantec Survey Reveals More
Than 80 Percent of Children Receive Inappropriate Spam. Symantec
Corp. (Nasdaq:SYMC), the world leader in Internet security, today
announced that more than 80 percent of children surveyed who use email
receive inappropriate spam on a daily basis. In addition, half of
the kids surveyed reported feeling uncomfortable and offended when
seeing improper email content.
The survey, conducted online for Symantec by Applied Research, a
full service market research firm, interviewed 1,000 youths between
the ages of seven and 18. The survey measured young people's experience
with spam as well as their concerns about receiving unsolicited email.
"As with any email user, kids are just as susceptible as adults
to being bombarded by spam advertising inappropriate products and
services, such as Viagra and pornographic materials," said Steve
Cullen, Senior Vice President, Consumer and Client Product Delivery
at Symantec. "Parents need to educate their children about the
dangers of spam and how they can avoid being exposed to offensive
content or becoming innocent victims of online fraud."
When asked what kind of spam emails they have received, 80 percent
of the respondents said they are bombarded by sweepstakes messages
such as "win a Playstation," 62 percent have received relationship-related
spam such as "meet singles online," 61 percent have seen
finance-related spam offering cut-rate mortgages or homes for sale,
55 percent have read weight-loss messages such as "lose 15 pounds
in two days," 51 percent have received pharmaceutical sales pitches
such as "buy herbal Viagra online," and 47 percent have
received emails with links to X-rated Web sites.
Most importantly, about one in every five kids (21 percent) open and
read spam emails, especially the ones with a subject line that interest
them (16 percent).
Kids Feel Uneasy about Spam
The survey also shows that youths feel uneasy when seeing inappropriate
spam email content. Oftentimes, they do not even communicate their
negative feelings about spam with their parents.
When asked what their reactions have been when they see improper email
content, 51 percent of the respondents said that they have felt annoyed,
34 percent have felt uncomfortable, 23 percent have felt offended
and 13 percent have felt curious. When they feel annoyed, uncomfortable,
offended or curious after seeing unsuitable email content, 38 percent
of the youths surveyed do not tell their parents.
Further evidence indicates that not every child has a clear understanding
of spam. Although 89 percent of the kids surveyed responded that they
have heard of spam, nearly one in three still do not know whether
spam is good or bad for them. In addition, 22 percent of respondents
said that their parents have never talked to them about spam.
Most Kids have Personal Email Accounts
The survey discloses that most of the youths surveyed have personal
email accounts and more than half of these kids check email without
their parents' guidance.
The findings show that 76 percent of the kids studied have one or
more email accounts. When asked how often they check emails, 72 percent
of the respondents said a few times a week to a few times a day. When
asked how important it is to always have mom or dad check emails with
them, nearly one in three said it is not important, 21 percent said
they don't care and 16 percent said they don't want their parents
to check their emails with them.
Furthermore, when asked whether they get parents' permission before
giving out their personal email addresses to friends or even people
and Web sites with which they are not familiar, 46 percent of the
youths responded that they do not.
Higher Internet Usage during Summer
Results of the study also confirm that kids spend more time online
during their summer vacation compared to during a regular school season.
When asked the number of hours they use the Internet, 44 percent of
youths said that they spend an average of more than two hours a day
online on a summer day, compared to only 23 percent who said they
spend as much time online on a school day. Of the youths who spend
an average of more than two hours a day online during summer, 75 percent
mainly use the Internet to send and receive emails.
Tips for Parents
Since kids will be spending more time online during their summer
vacation, parents need to increase involvement and efforts in curtailing
their children's exposure to spam emails. Responding to the research
results, Symantec offers parents the following tips to help protect
their children's online safety:
1. Communicate with your children. It is important to speak
truthfully with your kids about inappropriate Web content,
such as pornographic spam emails. Encourage them to confide in
you when they see improper text or graphics.
2. Teach your children to never give out personal information
while surfing on the Internet. Malicious e-marketers target
kids for private information, such as their name, address,
telephone number and family interests.
3. Maintain trust with your children. Overprotecting your kids
may convey you don't trust them. Make sure they understand
your intentions for watching over them so they are willing to
discuss spam issues openly with you.
4. Know your children's friends. Even if you restrict your
children's Internet or email access at home, they can still
log on from places where you can't keep tabs on them. Talk to
the parents of your children's friends and work with them
together to provide a safe surfing environment for youngsters.
5. Check emails with your children. In addition, install
spam-filtering software, such as Symantec's Norton Internet
Security 2003, which includes Norton Spam Alert, a new feature
that detects and filters spam messages, to protect your
children from receiving offensive spam emails.
For more information, please visit www.symantec.com.
Jun 11 - CSR's New Generation of Bluetooth
Silicon Pushes the Bluetooth Market. CSR (Cambridge Silicon Radio),
the Bluetooth wireless technology industry leader, today announced
the launch of its third generation single chip silicon, marking a
major step in the evolution of Bluetooth silicon.
CSR continues to lead the market by developing its Bluetooth solutions
to provide increased integration, higher performance and a range of
devices optimized for different applications while driving down costs.
BlueCore3 is also the first complete implementation of the Bluetooth
v1.2 standard (including all optional features of the standard) which
improves coexistence of Bluetooth with other 2.4GHz systems.
CSR is today launching the first products in the BlueCore3 range,
which will satisfy the needs of both OEMs and consumers and ensure
that CSR has the technology to maintain its leadership in Bluetooth
for the foreseeable future.
The two products demonstrate the two ends of the Bluetooth market:
for enhanced audio devices, BlueCore3-Multimedia is the world's first
Bluetooth device to offer a user-programmable DSP and enables new
breakthrough consumer applications such as Bluetooth wireless stereo
headphones; for low cost, high-volume applications, BlueCore3-ROM
sets new standards for a highly integrated product that is both reliable
and robust. Its compact size and competitive price makes it particularly
suited to mobile handset applications.
BlueCore3 also implements v1.2's eSCO facility to provide the basis
for advanced cordless telephony applications for Bluetooth. SCO is
the Synchronous and Connection Oriented physical link, which transports
voice across a Bluetooth link. Extended SCO (or eSCO) channels are
error checking voice channels, which allow polled retransmissions.
Raw data can be sent over SCO, and data rates may also be negotiated,
thus improving on the current data rates for high quality-of-service
connections. With this function, detection and re-transmission of
lost or destroyed voice packets is possible with a minimum impact
on real-time performance -- essential for high quality voice transmission.
In earlier incarnations of BlueCore, CSR employed a variety of measures
to prevent radio interference -- these resulted in BlueCore being
selected for the leading laptop and combo card designs. Over the last
two years, CSR has been heavily involved in the development of AFH
(Adaptive Frequency Hopping), a feature integrated into Bluetooth
v1.2 that coordinates the frequency channels that both Bluetooth and
other 2.4GHz radio devices use so that they don't interfere with each
other. For this reason, CSR's BlueCore3 is even more suitable for
a number of combo designs where WiFi and Bluetooth are required to
work together in one product.
Eric Janson, worldwide vice president, marketing, CSR commented,
"Bluetooth has indeed come of age, and our next generation of
BlueCore is testament to that. The first two BlueCore3 products have
been designed to implement the full v1.2 feature set and set the very
highest performance standards available."
Janson continued, "BlueCore3-Multimedia is a good example of
where the market is heading. It enables new applications such as Bluetooth
wireless stereo headphones, bringing more functionality and usability
to consumers and increased flexibility to OEMs and designers. BlueCore
3- ROM raises performance while shrinking power, size and cost to
move Bluetooth functionality to within reach of consumer 'value' devices
for the first time."
More information can be found at www.csr.com
and the partner web site www.btdesigner.com.
More information about Bluetooth can be found on the SIG web site
at www.bluetooth.com.
Jun 11 - Macs come alive with ATI's REMOTE
WONDER. ATI Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:ATYT)(TSX:ATY) today continued
its dedication to the Mac space with the announcement of availability
of its REMOTE WONDER(TM) for Mac users.
Available through ATI's website for (US) $49.00, the radio-frequency
(RF) remote control now works with any Apple(R) computer equipped
with a USB connector to access a host of multimedia application functions
available to Apple consumers.
Similar to the PC version, the wireless REMOTE WONDER for Mac users
works through walls enabling users to maintain computer access while
roaming through their house, stage, boardroom or classroom eliminating
the need to point the remote directly at the receiver.
With full built-in mouse control and programmable macro buttons,
the versatile REMOTE WONDER creates a home entertainment environment
by providing wireless access to Apple's core multimedia software technologies,
including: DVD playback, movie file playback (QuickTime(R)), music
playback (iTunes(R)), live presentation control (PowerPoint(R), Keynote(TM))
and Internet surf control (Internet Explorer, Safari(TM)).
"Apple and Mac have been synonymous with multimedia for many
years," said Godfrey Chen, Director of Multimedia Marketing,
ATI Technologies Inc. "The REMOTE WONDER leverages Apple's expertise
and ATI's award-winning multimedia technology. The result is a whole
new world of multimedia convergence and interaction on the Mac."
For more information about REMOTE WONDER, visit www.ati.com.
Jun 10 - FireWire's Spark May Have Returned
Reports In-Stat/MDR. High-tech market research firm In-Stat/MDR
(http://www.instat.com) reports that the past year has been an eventful
one for 1394. In the PC space, 1394a has been integrated into core
logic chipsets produced by both Silicon Integrated Systems and NVIDIA
and, the first PCs with the new high-speed 1394b standard were released
by Apple in early 2003. This should lead to 1394b-enabled PC peripheral
devices, such as external hard drives and recordable DVD drives, coming
to market by the end of 2003.
"In the consumer electronics market, there were two announcements
in the past year that should have a major impact on the penetration
of 1394 in this market," said Brian O'Rourke, a senior analyst
with In-Stat/MDR. "In August 2002, the FCC declared that, by
July 2007, all TV sets with screen sizes of 13 inches and above must
have built-in high-definition digital tuners, which will benefit 1394.
In addition, the NCTA and the CEA agreed to mandate 1394 as one of
the two digital interfaces between digital cable set top boxes and
digital televisions."
In-Stat/MDR has also found that:
-- PCs will be driven by the notebook category with 1394 growing
in both the consumer and commercial segments of the notebook
market. Growth will be modest in the consumer desktop, and
close to non-existent in commercial desktops.
-- 1394 growth in PC peripherals will be seen in external hard
drives and recordable DVD drives, but growth will be negative
in printers and scanners.
-- 1394 growth in the CE market will be seen in substantial
growth in digital televisions, set top boxes and DVD
recorders.
-- The automotive market will see the first penetration of 1394
networks in the aftermarket in Japan over the next three
years, with factory-installed networks debuting in 2006.
In-Stat/MDR (http://www.instat.com)
offers a broad range of information resources and analytical assets.
Jun 10 - IBM Number One in
Worldwide Server Sales. IBM today announced it is the number one
server vendor in the world, according to just released Gartner Dataquest
Server Quarterly Statistics for the first quarter of 2003 as compared
to the same quarter last year.
IBM captured 30 percent revenue share worldwide and was the only
vendor in the top three to grow revenue and gain share year over year.
According to Gartner, worldwide server revenue was down one percent
in the first quarter compared to the same period a year earlier. Despite
this, Gartner's analysis shows IBM increasing worldwide server revenues
by 8 percent, a gain of 2.5 points of share over the same quarter
a year earlier.
In UNIX servers, IBM was the only vendor in the top three to grow
revenue. The Gartner study shows that IBM gained 5.7 points of share
and grew revenue 19 percent in the first quarter based on year to
year revenue growth.
According to Gartner, IBM grew worldwide Intel server revenue by
21 percent and gained 1.3 points of share in the first quarter as
compared to the same quarter a year earlier.
Gartner also found that IBM was number one and the fastest growing
in Linux servers with 32.4 percent worldwide revenue share, an increase
of 1 point of share and 55 percent growth in the first quarter compared
to the same quarter a year earlier.
About IBM
IBM is the largest server vendor in the world. For more information
about IBM, visit www.ibm.com.
Jun 10 - Crucial Technology Expands Flash
Card Line. Crucial Technology, a division of Micron and one of
the world's largest direct memory upgrade providers, today introduced
three new flash memory cards.
Crucial now offers Lexar Media's SmartMedia(TM), SecureDigital(TM),
and Memory Stick(R) flash cards to round out its existing line of
Crucial(R) CompactFlash(TM) and MultiMediaCard(TM) flash memory. These
small, removable flash memory cards can be used in a variety of electronic
devices including digital cameras, handheld computers, and digital
music players.
"As the popularity of electronic devices such as digital cameras
and handheld computers grows, so is the demand for a variety of high-density
flash card formats," said Crucial Technology General Manager
Fred Waddel. "We now offer our customers the selection of flash
card formats they want, along with the quality and first-class customer
support they expect from Crucial."
In addition to Crucial's CompactFlash and MultiMediaCard flash card
lines, Crucial now offers the following formats:
SmartMedia
-- 64MB, 128MB
-- Current prices range from: $25.99 to $39.99
SecureDigital
-- 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, and 512MB
-- Current prices range from: $37.99 to $308.99
Memory Stick
-- 64MB, 128MB
-- Current prices range from: $39.99 to $52.99
The new flash memory cards are available on Crucial's Web site at
www.crucial.com. They come with
free second-day shipping within the contiguous U.S. on qualified orders,
Crucial's 30-day money-back guarantee, and the manufacturer's five-year
limited customer-satisfaction warranty.
Jun 10 - I/OMagic Expands Its Data Storage
Line-up With New Combo Drive. I/OMagic Corporation (OTCBB: IOMG),
a leading developer and marketer of data storage and digital entertainment
devices, announced today that it has expanded its product line-up
with the launch of its latest combination device -- the "CD-RW
& DVD-ROM Combo" drive.
The "CD-RW & DVD-ROM Combo" is a 48x24x48/16x combination
drive that reads all popular DVD and CD formats, has the ability to
archive data or create personalized music CDs and allows users to
watch their favorite DVDs with the highest quality in sound and video.
"This new internal device integrates the features of a high
speed CD-RW drive with the versatility of a DVD-ROM drive at an exceptional
price point," said Tony Andrews, vice president of Engineering
and Product Development for I/OMagic Corporation. "It's ideal
for users that want to save space, yet transform their computer into
a digital video entertainment system."
The "CD-RW & DVD-ROM Combo" writes CD-R at 48x, rewrites
CD-RW at 24x, reads CDs at 48x and reads DVD at 16x. It is the perfect
solution for file archiving and storage of digital photographs. This
drive has automatic media selection for CD, CD-R and CD-RW. The "CD-RW
& DVD-ROM Combo" allows for the creation of MP3, audio, video
and data CDs, and the ability to watch movies on a users' home computer.
The "CD-RW & DVD-ROM Combo" is Windows XP, 2000, Me,
98 and 95 plug 'n play compatible.
The I/OMagic "CD-RW & DVD-ROM Combo" has an introductory
price of $99.99 and is being launched through currently available
through Circuit City stores. For more information, visit the I/OMagic
Web site at www.iomagic.com.
Jun10 - T-Mobile Introduces Award Winning
Color T-Mobile Sidekick. The highly anticipated color version
of the award winning T-Mobile Sidekick(TM) becomes available to T-Mobile
USA customers Friday, boasting a new color screen, AOL(R) Mail functionality
and new monthly service options. Based on Danger, Inc.'s hiptop(R)
Wireless Solution, the one-of-a-kind device has stirred up a frenzy
among loyal consumers and celebrities alike as the ultimate communication
device.
The T-Mobile Sidekick allows customers to surf the Web, chat using
the AOL(R) Instant Messenger(TM) (AIM(R)) service, send and receive
email, play games, exchange mobile snapshots and talk it up with friends
-- all from a single device. Beginning tomorrow consumers can purchase
the new color version of the T-Mobile Sidekick for $299.99 by calling
1-800-TMOBILE or visiting their nearest CompUSA store.
The new screen features 65,000 vibrant colors giving customers the
ultimate web browsing experience. The color screen swivels up to showcase
a full QWERTY keyboard that complements the T-Mobile Sidekick's instant
messaging capabilities. A fully integrated version of AIM(R) and the
ability to keep instant messaging (IM) active in the background while
surfing the web have made instant messaging the 'killer app' among
T-Mobile Sidekick users.
Additionally, customers can now send and receive email from their
AOL(R) email account, through the T-Mobile Sidekick's Web browser,
in addition to three other POP3 email accounts via the device's integrated
email application.
"The early success of the T-Mobile Sidekick really speaks to
the device's innovative design and simple user interface -- it's the
ultimate way to communicate whether it's by voice, email or AIM,"
said Nick Sears, vice president of consumer products for T-Mobile
USA, Inc. "Now with a color screen and simple rate plans, there's
never been a better time to get a T-Mobile Sidekick and see for yourself
what the buzz is all about."
Consistent with its Get More(R) promise, T-Mobile announced new rate
plans, giving customers more flexibility to select the rate plan that
meets their T-Mobil
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