Posted on November 29th, 2000 by admin
Patriot Scientific Corp. (PTSC) has introduced a home gateway server micro-platform that incorporates both an instruction processing unit and an I/O processor.
The OSGi-compatible Ignite Micro-Platform is a small-outline board that has been designed as a plug-in for developing home gateways, handheld Internet devices, set-top boxes, and other consumer electronics devices. The dual-processor platform, which executes [...]
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Posted on November 29th, 2000 by admin
With the Western Cable show on tap this week in Los Angeles, expect a plethora of announcements related to the set-top box, ranging from new boxes to voice-over data facilities to home LAN connectivity.
The set-top news includes both enabling technologies and end products. For example, Inprimis, which develops set-top reference designs, has packed its i2020 [...]
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Posted on November 29th, 2000 by admin
As more businesses, campuses, and individual houses become wired for high-speed Internet access, data-streaming apps are being rolled out left and right. Streaming media is still, for the most part, finding its way to businesses first. Entertainment applications aren’t far behind, though. And the market is starting to see more products aimed at helping service [...]
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Posted on November 1st, 2000 by admin
Members of the DSL Forum have agreed to develop an industrywide standard for the autoconfiguration of DSL customer premises equipment (CPE). The forum has created a new CPE Autoconfiguration Working Group and four subgroups, all tasked with specific assignments related to simplifying and automating end-to-end DSL service delivery. The hope is to produce a plug-and-play [...]
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Posted on November 1st, 2000 by admin
As DSL becomes an accepted—even preferred—method of providing voice services as well as data, voice-ready home gateways are popping up all over the place. Moreover, many recent entrants extend data networking into the home by supporting the HomePNA (Home Phoneline Networking Alliance) standard. Last but not least, these new products claim to provide plug-and-play ease [...]
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Posted on November 1st, 2000 by admin
It’s taken a while, but as “Pod race” pointed out in this space back in September, Internet-appliance vendors are finally hitting upon compelling product formulas. 3Com may be the first to seize the mass market with a computer-like appliance that delivers attractive features along with a reasonable business model.
The networking giant’s just-announced appliance, Audrey, is [...]
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Posted on November 1st, 2000 by admin
It’s clear that streaming media delivered via the Internet is a compelling application, even in an era when many people still can’t get broadband service. In fact, as broadband deployment spreads, users will be able to count on receiving live streaming audio and video. Already, you can type the keyword “streaming” into Yahoo and pull [...]
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Posted on November 1st, 2000 by admin
All the excitement around wireless Internet access in the car could crash head-on into the safety concerns that have already arisen over driver cell-phone use. Delphi Automotive Systems, Palm, and venture-capital firm Mayfield Fund have together launched a company called MobileAria to avert that collision.
The company aims to keep drivers’ hands on the wheel and [...]
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Posted on November 1st, 2000 by admin
While digital subscriber line (DSL) and cable modem connections to the Internet are fast gaining acceptance, serving up the last mile to the hungry masses still faces several problems, including the cost and time involved in installation. Cable is expensive to install, and while splitterless DSL can be more cost-effective, the technology is distance-limited and [...]
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Posted on November 1st, 2000 by admin
Engineers love cryptic terminology and detailed specs, but even non-techie members of the convergence project team can appreciate that performing 4800 million MAC (multiply accumulate) operations per second makes the MSC8102 the fastest DSP ever built. Motorola’s newly announced DSP actually combines four SC140 DSP cores to deliver this level of performance. The product targets [...]
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