Vonage’s V-Phone is a curious device. You plug a headset microphone into the bullet-shaped memory stick. You then plug that memory stick into any Windows personal computer that is connected to the Internet and use an on-screen soft phone and your mouse to take and make calls to any phone number around the globe.
It’s that simple, and a great way for frequent travelers to make relatively cheap calls without the fuss of carrying around cellular modems and the like.
On a recent trip to Japan and South Korea, the bright orange V-Phone worked moderately well. Calls sounded fine in the earbud headphones that came with the memory stick, though people on the other end complained my voice sounded far away until I placed the microphone on the wire directly in front of my mouth. (more…)
Scientists from IBM, Macronix and Qimonda today announced joint research results that give a major boost to a new type of computer memory with the potential to be the successor to flash memory chips, which are widely used in computers and consumer electronics like digital cameras and portable music players.
The advancement heralds future success for “phase-change” memory, which appears to be much faster and can be scaled to dimensions smaller than flash – enabling future generations of high-density “non-volatile” memory devices as well as more powerful electronics. Non-volatile memories do not require electrical power to retain their information. By combining non-volatility with good performance and reliability, this phase-change technology may also enable a path toward a universal memory for mobile applications.
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Advanced Micro Devices Inc. began shipping personal-computer processors made with a new technique that makes them more efficient, closing a gap with market leader Intel Corp.
Advanced Micro is selling four new Athlon desktop-computer chips made with so-called 65-nanometer technology, the Sunnyvale, California-based company said in a statement today. Personal computers based on the chips go on sale this month.
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SEATTLE (Reuters) - Advanced Micro Devices Inc. unveiled three new high-end computer processors on Wednesday as the chipmaker battles rival Intel Corp. for the “power users” that often set industry buying trends.
AMD also announced aggressive pricing for the chips, known as the Athlon 64 FX-70 series, which will be sold in pairs for $599 to $999, depending on performance. The company’s previous high-end chip, the FX-62, sells for $713.
Computers equipped with more than one processor typically are servers or workstations — machines meant to run business networks or crunch mountains of data — rather than consumer desktop PCs.
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Lenovo today announced the ThinkPad T60 widescreen notebook PC, the company’s first-ever 15.4-inch widescreen T Series notebook. Starting at only 5.1 pounds, the ThinkPad T60 widescreen is the lightest 15.4-inch widescreen notebook among the top five PC vendors and continues the T Series’ heritage of innovation and performance.
Widescreen PCs are increasingly becoming popular choices for users. According to Gartner, Inc., “numerous technology transitions during 2006, including widescreen format options, have become more prevalent along with higher resolution.”
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