Portwell announced a Linux- and Android-compatible in-vehicle computer equipped with a 5.7- or seven-inch touchscreen and a 416MHz Marvell PXA270 processor. The PTH-1070A includes four serial ports and two USB ports, one or two CompactFlash slots, plus available non-volatile RAM and CAN bus options, according to the company.

The PTH-1070A, powered by a 416MHz Marvell PXA270 CPU and available with a 5.7- or seven-inch resistive touchscreen, resembles a multitude of other HMI (human machine interface) devices. However, Portwell positions this one for in-vehicle installation, citing a variety of relevant features.

Most important of these is that the device is optionally available with a CAN bus port, allowing it to interface with a vehicle without any external adapter. Also, the PTH-1070A not only tolerates input power ranging from 9 to 36VDC, but is also offered with non-volatile RAM, preserving work in the event of power failure.

Portwell's PTH-1070A

According to Portwell, the PTH-1070A (above) features 800 x 600 pixel resolution on the seven-inch screen (5.7-inch resolution not cited). Its IP65-rated front bezel protects the screen from water and dust, according to the company.

Portwell says the PTH-1070A is compatible with Linux, Android, Windows Embedded Compact 7, or Windows CE 6.0. The device comes with a single CompactFlash slot, but a second slot is optional for those who want to keep their operating system separate from data, the company adds.

The PTH-107A's rear panel includes four serial ports (three RS232, one RS232/RS485) with DB9 connectors, plus USB 1.1 device and host ports. A 10/100 Ethernet port with an RJ45 connector is also standard, according to Portwell.

Specifications listed for the PTH-1070A by Portwell include:

Processor -- Marvell PXA270 clocked at 416MHz Memory -- 128MB of DRAM (non-volatile SRAM is optionally available) Display -- 7-inch resistive touchscreen with 800 x 600 pixel resolution (5.7-inch version also available; resolution n/s) Storage -- CompactFlash slot (second CompactFlash slot optional) Networking -- 10/100 Ethernet Other I/O: CAN bus (optional) 3 x RS232 1 x RS232/485 1 x USB 1.1 host 1 x USB 1.1 device audio -- stereo output with 2.1-Watt amplifier Power -- 9~36VDC Operating range -- n/s Dimensions -- 7.4 x 5.7 x 1.77 inches (188 x 145 x 45mm) Weight -- n/s George Liao, a senior product marketing manager for American Portwell, stated, "System integrators can easily develop application programs with the SDK provided. The combination of a RISC processor and Microsoft Windows CE (or Android) enables PTH-1070A to deliver standard mobile user functionality in a cost-effective, tiny system footprint."

Further information

Portwell did not detail pricing or availability for the PTH-1070A. More information may be found on the PTH-1070A product page .

Jonathan Angel can be reached at jonathan.angel@ziffdavisenterprise.com and followed at www.twitter.com/gadgetsense .

Markus Szywon has released ispCP Omega 1.08
ispCP Omega is a Open Source Virtual Hosting Control Panel solution to all your web hosting needs licensed under MPL 1.1. The ispCP Team would like to announce the availability of ispCP Omega 1.0.7 on November 24th 2010. This release will address many security bugs as well as introduces the following new features: * Added FCGID 2.2 compatibility * Added jQuery as JavaScript Framework (Frontend) * Added new exceptions/errors handling libraries (Frontend) * Added PHP 5.3 compatibility (Frontend) * Added Subdomain Redirects * Added Support of HTTP(S) Ports differing from 80 & 443 * Added Terms of Service (Frontend) * Enhanced Domain Alias Handling * Enhanced FreeBSD Support * Enhanced custom DNS records manager (Frontend/Engine) * Enhanced Setup/Update/Uninstall processes * Improved IDNA support * Improved SETUP look and feel * Improved User Handling (Frontend) * Postgrey Port Change * Removed HTML-Purifier (Frontend/Engine) * Re-written Translation Handling * Re-written Ticket System * Security Improvements We would like to thank our community for all the support. We are constantly looking for developers, translators and maintainers for the various distros supported by ispCP Omega. 1. Maintainers: ispCP Omega is available for CentOS, Debian, Fedora, FreeBSD, Gentoo, OpenBSD, OpenSuse, RedHat, Slackware, Suse and Ubuntu. We require experts with knowledge of the distros above who can help us maintain ispCP for each and every release. If you want to join a dynamic open source project as a maintainer, please make your intention known at the forum. 2. Translators: ispCP Omega is already available in a variety of native languages. We are still seeking experts to help us in translating ispCP to many more languages. We also ask the community to review existing translations and help us make any corrections or amendments via the forum. 3. Developers: ispCP Omega is a large project with ambitious goals and milestones. We are always on the hunt for talented developers to join our family of programmers, administrators and future visionaries. We need developers competent in the following technologies: AJAX, C, CGI, Perl, PHP, MySQL. If you want to join a growing team of professional volunteers working on ispCP, please approach us via our forum. 4. Supporter: Support ispCP with your donations. Every amount helps us towards our hosting fees, legal and public relations budget as well as setting up special events and workshops.

Here the latest updates of the CompatDB compatiblity lists. There are today 11 Windows updates. Windows Applications: 3DMark 11 (Futuremark) 4DiskClean Free (RSS Systems) AIDA32 - Personal System Information (Tamas Miklos) Asus Tempster Update (ASUS) EULAlyzer (Javacool Software) Intel Graphics Media Accelerator Driver for Windows XP (Intel Corp.) IObit Malware Fighter (IObit) Realtek High Definition Audio for 2K/XP/03 (Realtek) VTPlus Teletext Software (Hauppauge) Win7codecs x64 (Shark007) Windows 7 SP1 90-Day Eval VHD (Microsoft)

The CentOS-6.0 Continuous Release ( CR ) repository is now available
The CentOS-6.0 Continuous Release ( CR ) repository is now available on mirror.centos.org. This repository contains rpms to be included in the next CentOS-6.x release ( 6.1 ). Because these include security and bugfix updates, we strongly recommend everyone using CentOS-6 install and update their system using this repository. --------------------- Download and Install: The centos-release-cr-6.x rpms are available in the Extras repository. You can either run: 'yum install centos-release-cr', and follow yum's prompt or download the rpms directly, install them using rpm and then use yum to run the system updates. i386: http://mirror.centos.org/centos/6/extras/i386/RPMS/centos-release-cr-6-0.el6.centos.i686.rpm ( sha256: 9fc78d2d79abeb1513f0851d075a2860f5039fc8db3fb0db4c660252fffda894 ) x86_64: http://mirror.centos.org/centos/6/extras/x86_64/RPMS/centos-release-cr-6-0.el6.centos.x86_64.rpm ( sha256: bd55e1505caae2f78c306290d235b7f54833fcad5a9f1942b3cb54e28f7bfe73 ) Notes: - All rpms in the CR repo are signed with the main distro key. - While the existing CR repo has most of the updates, we aim to have completed all updates in the next 2 to 3 days time. - All updates released since 6.0, will be added to the 6.0/cr/ repository. This includes bugfix and enhancement updates released as a part of 6.1 - Once 6.1 is released, the 6.0/cr/ repositories will be removed ( they will not be available on vault.centos.org ) - Once 6.1 is released, the migration from 6.0 to 6.1 will remain seemless for people running with the CR repository. There will be no manual work needed on the machine. - Baseurl for the CR repo is set to only use centos.org internal machines, this is to reduce the amount of time we need to spend in seeding and then managing external mirrors. - All contents in the CR repo will be announced into a separate announcement list; once 6.1 is released the announcements will be re-sent to the centos-announce list. - Additional notes are available at : http://wiki.centos.org/AdditionalResources/Repositories/CR Comments and feedback are always welcome. Enjoy! -- Karanbir Singh The CentOS Project

MEGATechNews published part 1 of a guide to rooting your Android device
While I love gadgets, I’m never content with just using them for their intended purpose. Years ago, when I purchased an original Xbox, it wasn’t long before a friend helped me mod it so that I could install Xbox Media Center and stream videos from my PC to my television. When I got my hands on a Nintendo DS, I modded that too, and afterward used it to watch videos, played MP3s, and read Ebooks. And now I’ve rooted my HTC Incredible so that I can tinker with it in ways the manufacturer never dreamed – or did dream of, and then purposely restricted. Either way, my Android phone is now rooted and I’ve constructed this little guide so that you can join in the fun.

Folks 0.6.3.1 has been released
libfolks 0.6.3.1 is now available for download from: http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/sources/folks/0.6/ 7dc71cd10b6010976d0d597abd81a72873ec2f7bd164bc4f18204355c0daef96 folks-0.6.3.1.tar.bz2 9e368f6640f600ca64818747f2cb224f1063db9a5d75fbaaaefce7374778341d folks-0.6.3.1.tar.xz libfolks 0.6.3.1 — Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion ======================================================================== Libfolks pulls together contacts from any number of accounts supported by the libfolks backends. This release includes a number of backends, including Telepathy, evolution-data-server, libsocialweb, Tracker, and a simple key-file backend. The 0.6.x series is API and ABI stable and corresponds to the GNOME 3.2 release. We will continue in the 0.6.x for the foreseeable future, until we need to make further API or ABI breaks (which we don't anticipate at this time). We will make an announcement when we officially commit to API/ABI stability for the project as a whole. See the NEWS file for details on every break we made before 0.6.0. In future releases, we will have example programs that will be kept up-to-date with the latest API as well. For more information, see the Folks wiki page: http://telepathy.freedesktop.org/wiki/Folks Reference documentation is available here: http://telepathy.freedesktop.org/doc/folks/ http://telepathy.freedesktop.org/doc/folks-eds/ http://telepathy.freedesktop.org/doc/folks-libsocialweb/ http://telepathy.freedesktop.org/doc/folks-telepathy/ Overview of changes from libfolks 0.6.3 to libfolks 0.6.3.1 =========================================================== Bugs fixed: * Bug 658631 — Deprecate PersonaStore.can-[alias|group]-personas * Bug 658002 — defective typelib * Bug 659737 — tests fail due to usage of deprecated methods API changes: * Deprecate Folks.PersonaStore.can_[alias, group]_personas. Applications should use Folks.PersonaStore#always-writeable-properties and Folks.Persona#writeable-properties to check availability of "alias" and "groups" properties. Dependencies ============ libfolks and depend upon core GNOME libraries (GLib, GIO, etc.), as well as the recent releases of Vala and gobject-introspection. The Telepathy backend also requires a recent release of telepathy-glib, built to include its Vala bindings. The EDS backend also requires a recent release of evolution-data-server, built to include its Vala bindings. The Tracker backend requires a recent version of Tracker. The Libsocialweb backend requires a recent version of libsocialweb, built to include the Vala bindings. Contributing/Contact ==================== For any questions, comments, feature proposals, etc., please refer to the Telepathy mailing list or #telepathy on Freenode. For bug reports, please file them against the GNOME Bugzilla module "folks".

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a publicly accessible database that will be a key step in U.S. trials of white space networking, leveraging spectrum previously occupied by analog T.V. channels. To be operated by Florida-based Spectrum Bridge starting Sept. 19, the database will be tested to ensure it can prevent unlicensed broadband devices from interfering with wireless microphones and vice versa, the agency says.

White space networking -- sometimes also known as "WhiteFi" -- will rely on radio spectrum that was previously reserved for TV stations. Because available frequencies vary from location to location, the technology will require access points and clients fitted with cognitive radio equipment, which can detect interference and automatically switch frequencies when they need to.

At the end of 2008, the FCC issued a ruling permitting the use of unlicensed devices in the "white spaces" vacated when analog television signals were switched off. The catch is, any new users are not allowed to interfere with any licensed incumbents, which may still include a few TV stations and also include wireless microphones.

Last November, therefore, the FCC approved the concept of databases that would identify incumbent users , including full- and low-power stations, that are entitled to interference protection. The databases, which will be privately owned and operated services, would tell white space devices which TV channels are vacant and may be used at their location.

Subsequently, as we reported in January, Google asked to become one of the white space database administrators . Its proposal to the FCC said it would "cooperate ... to develop a process for databases to provide to one another, on a daily basis, information about registered cable TV headends, TV translator station receive sites, operating sites of wireless microphones and other low power auxiliary stations, and fixed white space devices."

We're not sure what the status of Google's proposal is, but the FCC announced Sept. 14 that the first white spaces database is now available for public testing. It will be operated by Lake Mary, Florida-based Spectrum Bridge , the agency added.

Details provided by the agency include the following:

the public trial goes live at 8:30 a.m. EDT on Sept. 19, 2011, and ends on Nov. 2, 2011 unlicensed TV-band devices are required to query the database to find a list of channels that are available for their operation devices are also required to provide their geographic location via a secure internet connection Each white spaces database to be trialled will be tested for not less than 42 days to ensure that it is providing accurate results, the FCC says. Data entered during the trial will be treated as temporary experimental data and is not intended to be part of the permanent record, the agency adds.

Background

The FCC has been criticized in the past for its go-slow approach to testing white space networking. Meanwhile, trials are apparently already under way in the U.K., thanks to the Cambridge TV White Spaces Consortium, whose kick-off was announced in June .

Members of the Consortium include not only Spectrum Bridge, but also the BBC, BSkyB, BT, Cambridge Consultants, Microsoft, Nokia, Neul , and TTP. The group is exploiting a special multi-site license from U.K. regulator Ofcom to test white space (a.k.a. "WhiteFi") hotspots at local pubs, other leisure venues, and commercial and residential premises, according to Microsoft.

Microsoft said in June that the white space testing will involve streaming video and audio content from the BBC and BSkyB "to a range of mobile devices, including some from Nokia and Samsung." As far as we're aware, however, there are no relevant chipsets that actually fit inside phones. It appears mobile testing will initially take place via relatively large equipment wired to notebook computers.

Silicon Valley startup Adaptrum has demonstrated relevant prototypes -- and was mentioned in a June 27 blog posting about the tests by a Microsoft vice president -- but Neul has also created devices that could also be employed. In fact, the Cambridge, U.K. company claimed in late June that its "NeulNET" system (below) was the world's first production WhiteFi System.

The NeulNET devices
(Click to enlarge)

The NeulNET products include a basestation, equipped with a GPS receiver for accurate positioning, plus a 9 x 7.1 x 1.6-inch terminal, the latter battery-operable. Both devices are equipped with Ethernet ports, for connection to a Wi-Fi access point on the one hand and a notebook computer (or other client) on the other.

According to Neul, these devices are suitable for M2M applications, with data rates from 2kbps to 2Mbps, or for rural broadband, with speeds up to 16Mbps. The company says the open "Weightless" standard employed uses time division multiple access (TDMA) to divide up the available capacity on the downlink, and a combination of TDMA and frequency division multiple access (FDMA) on the uplink, allowing "up to one million terminals per basestation."

Neul says NeulNET is compatible with U.S., European, and Japanese TV channel assignments and can eliminate interference to wireless microphones. A proprietary technology cancels signals from distant TV transmitters, the company adds.

Neul was formed in 2010 by some of the founders of Cambridge Silicon Radio, which pioneered the development of single-chip Bluetooth transceivers in CMOS.

Further information 

Once the Spectrum Bridge trial is live on Sept. 19, it will be possible to use the company's website to determine locally available channels for white space networking or wireless microphones. The site also offers a registration procedure for both licensed and unlicensed wireless microphones.

Jonathan Angel can be reached at jonathan.angel@ziffdavisenterprise.com and followed at www.twitter.com/gadgetsense .

Two high-end Android 2.3 smartphones were unveiled in Korea by HTC and LG this week. The HTC Raider 4G features a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, a 4.5-inch IPS (in-plane switching) display, 4G LTE, and an eight-megapixel camera with a 28mm lens attachment, while the LG Optimus Q2 sports a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a slide-out keyboard, and a four-inch IPS display with 700-nit brightness.

South Koreans embraced the smartphone concept early , with the help of a robust early implementation of 3G, and their taste in phones remain demanding. A number of smartphone breakthroughs have debuted first in Korea, including the world's first dual-core handset, the Android-based LG Optimus 2X (pictured).

This week, two more feature-rich Android 2.3 smartphones were unveiled in Seoul: the HTC Raider 4G and the LG Optimus Q2. While there were no promises of a future U.S. launch, a number of other high-end Korean phones have spread to the U.S. and elsewhere, although typically minus Korean-targeted features like T-DMB mobile television receivers. In fact, the Raider 4G is rumored to be set for an AT&T recast this fall. 

HTC Raider 4G

HTC's Raider 4G will be sold by an unnamed Korean 4G LTE carrier later this month, and features Android 2.3 running on an unnamed 1.5GHz dual-core processor, according to an Engadget report . The story, which points to an HTC Raider 4G product page [translated] and press release,  says the phone appears to be very similar to a recently tipped 1.2GHz HTC Holiday -- expected to be heading for AT&T's stateside LTE and HSPA+ networks later this year.

HTC Raider 4G

The Raider 4G is said to be equipped with 1GB of RAM, along with 16GB of internal storage. Like a number of recent Android phones, the Raider 4G is pushing the size envelope with a huge 4.5-inch display. This is filled out nicely with qHD (960 x 540) resolution, as well as IPS technology that provides wide viewing angles, according to HTC.

The eight-megapixel auto-focus camera with dual LED flash appears to be the main marketing focus for HTC. The camera is touted for its 1080p video recording, F2.2 lens, quick response, and low-light support. A 28mm wide-angle lens mount accessory is said to be due in fourth quarter.

In addition, the phone supplies a front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera, says the company. A wireless surround sound system is also said to be available.

The Raider 4G provides both LTE and HSPA+ support, as well as 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, and GPS, according to Engadget. Progressive download services are said to let users begin to watch videos while the file is still downloading, although with touted LTE maximum download rates of 100Mbps (with 50Mbps uploads), that may not be so necessary.

HTC also mentions the presence of a separately sold Terrestrial DMB (T-DMB) receiver primed for the Korean mobile TV infrastructure.

Software includes a recent version of the HTC Sense UI layer and app suite, featuring the new lock screen display that's also found on the new HTC Rhyme phone, among others. Other features includes video trim-editing, with Facebook and Twitter integration, and DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) media sharing, says HTC.

Korea-specific software includes smart dialer and phone book aps, as well as three types of virtual keyboards, says the company.

LG Optimus Q2

Since LG Electronics' Optimus 2X debuted in Korea late last year, the Korean company has quietly risen to be one of the world's major Android smartphone vendors. Most of LG's phones have sported the Optimus moniker, with Verizon's LG Revolution being one of the major exceptions.

LG Optimus Q2

The newly announced Optimus Q2 upgrades a previous Optimus Q model -- apparently also known as the LG Eclipse LU2300 -- and is similarly equipped with a QWERTY slider and targeted at the Korean market. The Optimus Q2 announcement in Korea this week was picked up by AndroidCommunity , which points to this LG Optimus Q2 announcement [translated] .

The Optimus Q2 is equipped with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, and offers a four-inch WVGA display (800 x 480) with IPS technology and a super-bright 700 nits, says LG.

Despite the QWERTY keyboard, the phone measures a relatively svelte 0.48 inches (12.3mm), and weighs a reasonable 5.2 ounces (147 grams). The slightly thinner, lighter design includes an overhaul of the Q's keyboard layout, according to the company.

The Optimus Q2 offers Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, with Wi-Fi Direct support, but there's no mention of 4G. The phone supplies a five-megapixel camera, as well as a front-facing videocam.

 An Engadget report , meanwhile, says the Q2's processor is an Nvidia Tegra 2, and it is said to run Android 2.3. The phone is set to launch next week in Korea for an unstated price.

Google Wallet has launched on time in New York and San Francisco, letting consumers pay via short-range NFC technology on Sprint's Samsung Nexus S 4G Android smartphone. In a surprising turn, Visa, American Express, and Discover have joined Citi and MasterCard as credit card partners in the venture.

Google met its self-imposed goal to launch its mobile payment service this summer, as Google Wallet rolled out Sept. 19. Consumers in New York and San Francisco can now pay retailers with their Android phones.

The launch came with a surprise bonus: Visa, American Express and Discover have joined Citi and MasterCard as credit card partners.

Unveiled in May, Google Wallet includes a mobile application that communicates with smartphones equipped with near field communication (NFC), a short distance wireless technology. At the moment, the only relevant device is the Samsung Nexus S 4G (pictured), available from Sprint.

Nexus S 4G phone owners will receive access to the Wallet through an over-the-air update. Once they receive the app, Nexus S 4G owners can tap their phones against an NFC-enabled cash register to pay for goods at some 20 retailers and restaurants.

Google Wallet will initially support Citi MasterCard and a Google Prepaid Card, which can be funded with existing plastic credit cards and used at any of the 300,000 stores worldwide that accept MasterCard PayPass. Google is offering a $10 bonus credit to users who set up the Google Prepaid Card in Google Wallet before the end of 2011, says the company.

Visa, American Express, and Discover have also pledged to enable their cards to support the service in the future, Osama Bedier, Google's vice president of payments, announced in a Sept. 19 blog post . Visa has previously stated that Google has licensed its payWave contactless payment software -- Visa's answer to MasterCard PayPass. The newly announced deal will enable Visa account holders to make purchases using Wallet.

"Our goal is to make it possible for you to add all of your payment cards to Google Wallet, so you can say goodbye to even the biggest traditional wallets," Bedier wrote, adding that the Wallet would be available on more phones in the future.

Early reviews promising

Some early reviews of Wallet appeared Sept. 19. On ThisIsMyNext, Chris Ziegler writes that the service works well, but is still incomplete. GigaOm's Ryan Kim found more glitches, but seems to like the service even more, calling it "cool and futuristic" and "a good platform to build upon."

Wallet stands at the vanguard of a number of emerging mobile payments solutions, including those from Square and PayPal, as well as Isis, the mobile payment triumvirate formed by AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile. Isis won't launch until 2012 , but it will do so with support from all of the major credit card providers.

With its newly announced partners, however, Google Wallet will be able to match that line-up. It's currently working only with Sprint as a carrier, however, and as noted earlier, there are only about 20 Google Wallet retail partners, including Macy's, CVS, and American Eagle.

One of the challenges Wallet and all of its rivals will have is selling the consumer on the notion of mobile payments via smartphones. There is no proof that consumers will embrace such technology after shoppers have spent the last several decades using plastic cards they simply swipe at checkout.

Moreover, although Google developed its latest Android 2.3 ("Gingerbread") operating system to support NFC technology, the Nexus S 4G is currently the only phone equipped with a special NFC chip to securely store users' credit card data.

Google may have the advantage of an incentive with Google Offers , the company's Groupon clone service that entices consumers with discounts of 50 percent off or more for goods and services. Offers is live in three dozen cities around the country, including in San Francisco and New York, where Wallet is now available.

Deal aggregator Yipit claims Offers has suffered declines versus rivals Groupon and LivingSocial of late. However, a Google spokesperson said the company is pleased with Offers so far.

Clint Boulton is a writer for eWEEK.

Google has purchased 1,023 patents from IBM to help it fight back in the patent wars. Meanwhile, one analyst says Motorola Mobility blackmailed Google into paying a high price for the company, Samsung and Apple have traded Galaxy Pad-related lawsuits in France and Japan, respectively, and analysts are debating which company had the most to gain from this week's Android pact between Google and Intel.

Aiming to improve its patent portfolio against mobile-related lawsuits, Google purchased 1,023 patents from IBM, reports Bloomberg , pointing to a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office web page where the transactions were recorded. Neither Google nor IBM would comment on the purchase, according to the story, which says the deal follows up on a similar Google purchase of 1,030 IBM patents in July.

Google recently sold nine mobile patents to HTC to help the Android device vendor defend against an Android-related lawsuit from Apple. Google will acquire some 17,000 patents as part of its planned $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility, Inc. (MMI) .

Motorola blackmailed Google into acquisition, suggests analyst

In Florian Mueller's latest analysis of the Google/Motorola acquisition in FOSS Patents this week, the open source legal expert argues that Google was strong-armed into paying a high price by Motorola.

"This wasn't about MMI telling Google: 'buy us, and together we'll protect the Android ecosystem'," writes Mueller. "This was more like MMI telling Google: 'buy us, or else we'll immediately do three or four things that will make sense for us but be absolutely devastating for Android'."

The four threats made Motorola posed Google were as follows, writes Mueller:

taking a royalty-bearing patent license from Microsoft, and possibly also settling with Apple.

revisiting its exclusive focus on Android and possibly adopting Windows Phone.

attacking other Android device makers with its patents to make their products more expensive.

conducting a public or private auction of the entire company or large parts of its patent portfolio. While all these motivations have been at least hinted at by Mueller and/or others in the aftermath of the acquisition announcement, this is the first time someone has accused Motorola of engaging in what is essentially corporate blackmail. For "proof," Mueller offers a combination of public statements and a recently unveiled SEC filing.

As usual with Mueller's controversial posts, the blog posting makes for interesting reading -- at least compared to the typical jargon-infested legal analysis technology journalists are increasingly forced to study.

Samsung sues Apple in France, Apple sues Samsung in Japan

Samsung filed a legal complaint in France against Apple, extending a worldwide courtroom battle in which both companies accuse the other of intellectual-property violations, according to a Nicholas Kolakowski report in our sister publication eWEEK .

"The complaint focuses on three technology patents, and not on the design of the tablets," a Samsung spokesperson was quoted as saying. No more details were offered except that the first hearing is scheduled for December.

Samsung and Apple have fired lawsuits at each other in a number of countries, including the U.S. and Australia. Both sides claim their rival's products violate existing patents, but Apple has taken its complaints one step further by accusing Samsung of copying its designs, as well.

In Germany in early August, Apple won a preliminary injunction against Samsung on the grounds of patent infringement, forcing the latter to halt production of the Android-based Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet (pictured) in that country. Earlier this month, Samsung withdrew the device from the IFA trade show in Berlin, with a spokesperson quoted as saying Samsung respected "the court’s decision."

The legal battle has even extended to Japan, where Apple asked a court to ban a selection of Samsung devices within that country. Unnamed sources told Reuters Sept. 8 that Apple "has filed suit with the Tokyo District Court seeking the suspension of sales of Galaxy S and its sequel S II smartphones and the Galaxy Tab 7."

Google/Intel pact mostly helps Intel, say analysts

Against this backdrop of acquisitions and patent-related legal troubles for Google and its Android OEM partners, Intel and Google revealed a long-term strategic pact earlier this week at its Intel Developer Forum (IDF). Intel CEO Paul Otellini (pictured) and Google SVP Andy Rubin jointly showed off a prototype smartphone running Android on Intel's "Medfield" Atom chip, as well as a Medfield-based tablet prototype running Android.

According to the executives, the first Intel-based Android smartphones will arrive in the first half of 2012. And Intel posted a YouTube video indicating that Android 2.3 would be fully ported to the Intel Atom E6xx processor by January.

Now analysts are looking for deeper meaning in the pact. In eWEEK's "Intel, Google Alliance Will Fuel Chip Maker's Mobility Push" , Jeffrey Burt surveys analysts on the topic. Most seemed to agree that Google should effectively fill the vacuum left when Nokia abandoned the Linux-based MeeGo project that the phone vendor jointly ran with Intel.

Burt quotes Greg Richardson, an analyst with Technology Business Research, as saying Google's intention to acquire Motorola Mobility was key to Intel's decision to push the partnership.

Already, the chipmaker had begun to back away from MeeGo at least with phones, and now it seems to be backing away from MeeGo tablets as well. The company has denied rumors, however, that it is selling its MeeGo assets to Samsung , and Otellini noted at IDF that MeeGo's main focus may well be in automotive infotainment.

Burt quotes Roger Kay, principal analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates, as saying "MeeGo is quietly slipping into the background."

In a separate analysis piece on Sept. 14, called "Google and Intel: Who Needs Whom More?" , eWEEK's Clint Boulton poses just that question to analysts. Most replied: "Intel."

"Intel needs Google more than the other way around," Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart told Boulton.

Meanwhile, industry analyst Roger Kay told eWEEK that Intel needs Google as much as Microsoft needs ARM. "Google has lots of distribution without Intel," Kay was quoted as saying. However, he went on to note that "Google gets silicon optimization for its OS. Eventually, Atom may be a better platform than ARM. Google has to hedge its bets."

Indeed, Google also has something to gain here, noted analyst Jack Gold. "Any help Intel provides Google for use on x86 will also help Android running on ARM since the technology will be repurposed," said Gold.

Aaeon announced a 3.5-inch single board computer (SBC) with dual display support and a touchscreen controller. The GENE-LN05 Rev. B offers a choice of Intel Atom N455 or dual-core, 1.8GHz D525 processors with up to 2GB or 4GB of DDR3 memory, respectively, and includes CompactFlash, SATA, gigabit Ethernet, USB, serial, Parallel, and expansion interfaces, says the company.

Aimed at a wide range of embedded and digital signage applications in industrial automation, transportation, defense, and government markets, the GENE-LN05 Rev. B Digital continues a line of 3.5-inch GENE boards (last covered in 2010 with the Intel Core 2 Duo ready GENE-9655 ).

Aaeon's GENE line dates back, well, eons -- at least in tech time. The first GENE board we covered, albeit briefly, was the GENE-4310 back in November, 2000.
 

GENE-LN05 Rev. B

The GENE-LN05 Rev. B is equipped with Intel's single-core, 1.66GHz Atom N455 or dual-core D525 , clocked at 1.8GHz. It does not appear that the Rev. A version was ever announced, but a GENE-LN05 datasheet is still posted that was last updated in April.

Apparently Aaeon revamped the SBC before shipment to upgrade to newer Atom processors and DDR3 support. Aaeon has yet to update its product page and data sheet, however, which contradict the press release by still listing Atom N450 and D510 chips, as well as DDR2 memory, and fail to note the bump up to 4GB DDR3 for the D525 version.

The Rev. B version supports up to 2GB of DDR3 667/800 memory for the N455 processor and up to 4GB for the D525 processor, says Aaeon. In addition, the SBC supplies a CompactFlash socket and dual SATA 3 interfaces, with optional RAID 0/1, according to the company. Expansion includes an LPC bus and dual "Mini-Card interfaces" which we assume are Mini PCI slots.

GENE-LN05 Rev. B port detail
(Click to enlarge)

The GENE-LN05 Rev. B offers a coastline VGA port and internal 18/24-bit, single-channel LVDS, and is said to support dual simultaneous or independent displays. The device also ships with a 4/5/8-wire resistive touchscreen controller, says Aaeon.

The SBC is further equipped with dual gigabit Ethernet ports on the coastline, and seven USB coastline ports, according to Aaeon. Six COM ports are available, with one port available on the board's coastline, and one said to be configured for RS-232C/422/485. (We're guessing the latter is the real-world port.)

Other I/O, all internal, includes a parallel port and an 8-bit digital I/O (DIO) interface. Audio I/O is said to be available to express the SBC's dual-channel HD audio.

The GENE-LN05 Rev. B comes standard with +12VDC input support, but optional +5VDC input is available with the N455 processor. The 5.75 x 4.0-inch board supports operating temperatures ranging from 32 to 140 deg. F, and a fan is optional, says the company. Drivers are said to be available for Linux, Windows XP, and Windows 7.

Features and specifications listed for the GENE-LN05 include:

Processor -- Intel Atom N455 (single-core, 1.66GHz) or D525 (dual-core, 1.8GHz) Chipset -- Intel ICH8M Memory -- up to 2GB (N455) or 4GB (D525) DDR3 via single SODIMM Storage -- 1 x CompactFlash (Type 2) socket; 2 x SATA (3Gbps) interfaces; optional RAID 0/1 Expansion -- 2 x "Mini-Card" interfaces (Mini PCI presumed); LPC bus Display: CRT/LCD simultaneous dual view display VGA port (coastline) with CRT res. up to 2048 x 1536 pixels on D525; up to 1400 x 1050 on N455 18/24-bit single channel LVDS with up to 1366 x 768 or 1280 x 800 4/5/8-wire resistive touchscreen controller Networking -- 2 x gigabit Ethernet ports (Intel 82567V & 82583V); wake on LAN Other I/O: 7 x USB 2.0 (2 x real-world coastline ports) 6 x COM ports (1 x RS-232C/422/485; 1 x coastline port) PS/2 port (1 x keyboard; 1 x mouse) Parallel port interface (SPP/EPP/ECP) 8-bit DIO (programmable) audio line-in, line-out, mic-in (2-ch HD audio) Other features -- watchdog timer; hardware monitoring; optional trusted platform module (TPM); optional fan Power -- +12V or +5V (optional and requires N455); AT/ATX; Lithium battery Operating temperature -- 32 to 140 deg. F (0 to 60 deg. C) Dimensions -- 5.75 x 4.0 inches (146 x 101.6mm); "3.5-inch" form-factor Availability

No pricing or availability information was available on the GENE-LN05 Rev. B, which is available for Linux, Windows XP, and Windows 7. More information may be found at the GENE-LN05 product page (though, as we've noted, this still lists an earlier version of the board).

MakeUseOf takes a look at three Google Analytics alternatives
If you operate your own website, analytic software can be crucial in order to track exactly how well your site is doing. Without this software, you can do whatever you want with your site, but you will never know if it is getting more visitors, aside from the amount of comments. When you look at the possible options you have for analytic software, the most popular choice is Google Analytics.

Intel released an open source engine for JavaScript that will let the language tap into multi-core CPUs and their vector extensions. Code-named "River Trail," the Parallel Extensions for JavaScript will extend browser-based apps into new areas, such as photo and video editing, physics simulation, and 3-D gaming, according to the company.

Web applications using HTML and JavaScript are now being touted as a compelling alternative to native apps by everyone from Apple to Microsoft (especially now that the Windows 8 Developer Preview has been released). But, according to Intel, web apps don't do a good job of supporting multiple cores, even with the aid of WebGL .

In a Sept. 15 blog entry , Intel Research Scientist Stephen Herhut writes, "JavaScript, the language behind the web, does not give applications access to multiple cores, let alone vector instructions. Thus forcing me to use native applications where performance matters although I would prefer staying in the browser. Clearly, it is time for JavaScript to catch up."

To facilitate this, Intel used this week's Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco to unveil Parallel Extensions for JavaScript, code-named "River Trail." This open source project -- first manifested in the form of a Firefox plug-in -- will eventually make browser-based apps capable of photo and video editing, physics simulation, and even 3-D gaming, the chip giant says.

An HTML5-based physics simulation being speeded up by River Trail
Source: Intel
(Click to enlarge)

According to Intel, River Trail extends JavaScript with parallel constructs that are translated at runtime into a low-level hardware abstraction layer. As a result, the language can now leverage multiple CPU cores and vector instructions, the company explains.

Herhut adds, "Much effort was spent to make this extension feel as natural as possible. Our goal was to make writing web applications with River Trail as easy as writing regular JavaScript."

Furthermore, River Trail combines well with other upcoming HTML5 APIs, Intel claims. "We in particular made sure that River Trail plays nicely with WebGL, the recently introduced JavaScript API to OpenGL used for 3D visualization in the browser," Herhut writes.

A demonstration of Parallel Extensions for JavaScript
Source: Intel
(click to play)

Intel didn't quantify the potential speed improvement, but released the above WebGL-based demo. According to the company, this shows a physics simulation with 4,000 bodies, which runs at just three frames per second with traditional sequential JavaScript, and at more than 45 frames per second with River Trail.

In his blog posting, Herhut concedes that some are concerned about the security of remotely loaded JavaScript code. (For its part, the Microsoft Security Response Center attacked WebGL last June , saying it is "not a technology … [we] … can endorse from a security perspective.)

"Protecting the user from abuse and ensuring the security of River Trail therefore were major concerns in the design," Herhut writes. "River Trail was designed to inherit the security traits of JavaScript and I am confident to say that our extensions to JavaScript do not add any further attack surface to the browser."

Intel's Stephen Herhut discusses River Trail
Source: Intel
(click to play)

In a related development, Intel released Service Pack 1 for its Parallel Studio XE 2011, a tool suite designed to help C, C++ and Fortran developers implement parallelism in their applications. The new version adds support for Cilk Plus v1.1, IEEE 754-2008 , and Intel Threading Building Blocks v4.0, the company says.

Further information

Further information on Intel's open source Parallel Extensions for JavaScript, as well as a Firefox add-on, is available on the GitHub website .

Jonathan Angel can be reached at jonathan.angel@ziffdavisenterprise.com and followed at www.twitter.com/gadgetsense .

Axiomtek announced a rugged, DIN-rail industrial computer with power isolation features and ruggedization protection against ingress, shock, vibration, and temperature. The fanless rBOX101 is equipped with Intel Atom Z510PT (1.1GHz) or Z520PT (1.33GHz) processors, magnetically isolated 10/100/1000 and 10/100 Ethernet ports, dual USB 2.0 ports, and either four (rBOX101-4COM model), or six (rBOX101-6COM) isolated COM ports, according to the company.

The rBOX101 upgrades last year's rBOX100 , featuring either double or triple the number of serial ports, depending on whether one buys the rBOX101-4COM or rBOX101-6COM models. The two new models are identical except for size, weight, and the addition of isolated DIO (4 x in/out) on the larger (5.31 x 4.33 x 3.96 inches) 6COM model.

Like the previous version, the rBOX101 offers ruggedization and power isolation features that make it a good fit for industrial applications such as power plant automation, facility monitoring systems, and intelligent transportation systems, says Axiomtek.

rBOX101-4COM (left) and rBOX101-6COM (right)
(Click to enlarge)

Like the rBOX100, the rBOX101 depends on the transportation focused, industrial-temperature grade Intel Atom Z510PT (1.1GHz) or Z520PT (1.33GHz) processors, joined by the SCH US15WPT chipset, says Axiomtek. The computer offers a single 200-pin DDR2 memory socket, accepting a maximum 2GB of RAM. A CompactFlash socket is also said to be provided.

The rBOX101 is equipped with both a gigabit Ethernet port and a Fast Ethernet port for redundant backup, with both offering magnetic isolation protection, says Axiomtek. Two USB 2.0 ports and a VGA port are supplied as well as four (4COM model) or six (6COM) RS232/422/485 ports. As noted, the 6COM version also offers power-isolated DIO, says the company.

The ruggedized, DIN-rail mountable box is built of aluminum extrusion and heavy-duty steel, and offers IP30 ingress protection and Safety/EMI/EMS compliance, says Axiomtek. The fanless rBOX101 is said to offer operating temperature support of -40 to 158 deg. F, as well as shock and vibration resistance.

Specialized power features include dual power paths and 12 - 48VDC power input, complete with a terminal block (see spec list below).

Pre-installed with Linux, Windows CE 6.0, or Windows XP Embedded, the system is offered with the optional, SNMP V1/V2c compliant AXView remote monitoring software. (For more details on Axiomtek's AXView, see our rBOX100 coverage .)

Features and specifications listed for the rBOX101-6COM and rBOX101-4COM include:

Processor -- Intel Atom Z510PT (1.1GHz) or Z520PT (1.33GHz) Chipset -- Intel US15WPT chipset Memory -- up to 2GB DDR2 via 1 x 200-pin SODIMM Storage expansion -- CompactFlash slot; optional 1GB CF Networking -- isolated gigabit Ethernet; isolated Fast Ethernet (10/100Mbps) Other I/O: 2 x USB 6 x RS-232/422/485 (6COM model); 4 x RS-232/422/485 (4COM model); both with magnetic isolation protection 1 x VGA Isolated DIO (4 x in/out) on 6COM model only Other features -- watchdog timer; DIN-rail mount; optional AXView monitoring software with SNMP V1/V2c Power: DC power input with terminal block 2 x power paths 12-48VDC input Consumption with no USB load, ranging from 1.05A @ 12V, 12.6 W to 0.38A @ 48V, 18.24 W Operating temperature -- -40 to 158 deg. F (-40 to 70 deg. C) Vibration resistance -- 5 g @ 10 ~ 150 Hz, amplitude 0.35 mm (IEC60068-2-6 Fc) Shock (half-sine shock pulse) resistance -- 25 g @ 11 ms (IEC60068-2-27) EMS compliance -- EN61000 (multiple standards) Weight: 6COM -- 4.18 lbs (1.9 k) 4COM -- 3.0 lbs (1.38 k) Dimensions: 6COM -- 5.31 x 4.33 x 3.96 inches (135 x 110 x 100.6mm) 4COM -- 5.31 x 4.33 x 3.18 inches (135 x 110 x 81mm) Availability

The rBOX101 will be available in October, and a somewhat similar, AMD-based model called the rBOX201 will follow, says Axiomtek. More information on the rBOX101 may be found on the 4COM and 6COM product pages, respectively.

n00bs on Ubuntu shows you how to change themes on Ubuntu 11.10
You can change the looks of Ubuntu 11.10 using the gnome tweak tool. If you dont have the gnome tweak tool installed read this article and for those who already have it installed continue reading. Press Alt+F2 and type: gnome-tweak-tool Select Theme options  Cursor theme: allows you to change your cursor

The Linux Foundation took down several of its sites, including Linux.com, after discovering suspicious activity on its servers that's apparently related to the Trojan recently found on Kernel.org. The Linux kernel is not affected, but users who have registered on other Linux Foundation sites likely had their personal information stolen, the nonprofit foundation warns.

A week after uncovering malware on several key Kernel.org servers, the Linux Foundation has taken other key websites --  including Linux.com -- offline for a complete reinstall. Linux.com, LinuxFoundation.org and all sub-domains associated with these sites were taken offline after administrators discovered "a security breach" on Sept. 8, according to an email sent to all registered members of the sites on Sept. 11.

This holding page has been displayed on Linux.com
(Click to enlarge)

The servers will be completely reinstalled and will be back online "as they become available," according to the Linux Foundation . This information was also posted on a holding page (above) on all the affected sites.

Personal info likely compromised

The username, password, email address and "other information" provided by users registered with the sites may have been stolen, according to the disclosure email. Any passwords or SSH keys used on those sites should be considered compromised, and the foundation recommends that if any of the passwords have been reused elsewhere, users should change them immediately.

"We believe this breach was connected to the intrusion on Kernel.org," Linux Foundation said in the email. Linux Organization officials discovered on Aug. 28 that attackers had installed a Trojan and opened a backdoor into kernel.org servers on Aug. 12.

The attackers had logged user activity and modified the OpenSSH client and server software installed on the compromised server, but had not gained access to the Linux kernel source code or other applications. The Trojan discovered on Kernel.org was based on an "off-the-shelf" rootkit called Phalanx.

The security breach is not just about information theft as it involves a malware compromise, Paul Ducklin, head of technology for the Asia Pacific group at Sophos, wrote on the Naked Security blog . "If a server is 'owned' by malware, even the login process should be considered untrustworthy," Ducklin wrote, noting that malware could steal passwords directly from memory at the time of the actual login by a user.

The pattern of activity by the intruders on Kernel.org led observers to speculate that the attackers did not really understand the significance of the servers they'd breached and were unable to capitalize on the attack. If the latest breaches are related to Kernel.org and had occurred around the same time, the attacks appear to be even more widespread than originally thought.

Linux kernel not affected

These breaches are said to have no impact on the Linux kernel or any other projects' source codes as none of the compromised sites are related to software development, as is Kernel.org.

The Linux Foundation is a not-for-profit organization which funds Linux development so that the developers remain independent of any particular vendor or commercial group. Linux.com is the news, information and community site about Linux, and LinuxFoundation.org provides information on the foundation's activities. The sub-domains, such as the Linux Developer Network and the video site, are also used for disseminating information.

The latest incident on Linux servers may actually make Linux supporters take a serious look at Linux malware and security in general, Ducklin said. It will also likely force people who continue to perceive the operating system as a "hobby product" as being more legitimate than that, since "why else would Kernel.org be in the sights of cyber-crooks?" according to Ducklin.

"Whilst Linux malware is not new, this is probably the closest it has ever come to the heart of their beloved operating system," Ducklin wrote.

Fahmida Rashid is a writer for eWEEK.

A mantis security update has been released for Debian GNU/Linux
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Debian Security Advisory DSA-2308-1 security@debian.org http://www.debian.org/security/ Moritz Muehlenhoff September 12, 2011 http://www.debian.org/security/faq - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Package : mantis Vulnerability : several Problem type : remote Debian-specific: no CVE ID : CVE-2011-3357 CVE-2011-3358 Debian Bug : 640297 Several vulnerabilities were found in Mantis, a web-based bug tracking system: Insufficient input validation could result in local file inclusion and cross-site scripting. For the oldstable distribution (lenny), this problem has been fixed in version 1.1.6+dfsg-2lenny6. For the stable distribution (squeeze), this problem has been fixed in version 1.1.8+dfsg-10squeeze1. For the unstable distribution (sid), this problem has been fixed in version 1.2.7-1. We recommend that you upgrade your mantis packages. Further information about Debian Security Advisories, how to apply these updates to your system and frequently asked questions can be found at: http://www.debian.org/security/

NetLogic Microsystems announced a second-generation, 28-nanometer member of its Linux-ready XLP multicore processor family, claimed to be five to seven times faster. The XLP II integrates up to 80 NXCPUs (threads) via up to 20 2.5GHz MIPS64 cores, boasts 100Gbps network processing performance per processor,supports coherent clustering of up to eight processors, and achieves up to 800Gbps throughput, claims the company.

Like the the original eight-core XLP832 announced in 2009, the six-core XLP864 announced in April, and the quad-core XLP316 announced in May, the XLP II is aimed at various levels of LTE mobile infrastructure, data center, enterprise networking, storage, and security applications. The key difference here is the move from 40-nanometer (nm) fabrication to a 28nm TSMC process, which, among other benefits, enables a clock speed of up to 2.5GHz, compared to a 2GHz limit for the other processors.

The XLP II offers four-way multithreading, a four-issue superscalar engine, and out-of-order execution, using the same 64-bit MIPS EC4400 cores. NetLogic never talks about the number of cores, but rather speaks in terms of NXCPUs, which is its way of describing the SoCs' "highly independent" threads.

Since the XLP II offers up to 80 NXCPUs, we can deduce that it will be available in models that extend up to 20 cores. Whereas the 16-core, 64-NXCPU XLP864 delivers up to 80Gbps throughput, the XLP II will reach up to 100Gbps, says NetLogic.

Super clusters reach 160 cores, 640 threads

The processors are touted for their scalability, enabling the ganging together of XLP II SoCs in socket clusters of up to eight. This enables a "fully-coherent system" that can "achieve an unprecedented scalability of up to 640 NXCPUs," claims NetLogic. This eight-SoC, 160-core cluster offers up to 800Gbps combined throughput, claims the company.

The XLP-standard tri-level cache architecture has been expanded to over 32MB of fully coherent on-chip cache. The cache is said to integrate four channels of DDR3 memory controllers, delivering over 545Gbps of off-chip memory bandwidth, says NetLogic.

In a cluster of eight SoCs, this is said to represent over 260MB of on-chip cache. This clustered super-SoC offers a combined 32 DDR3 memory ports, yielding 4.4Tbps of DRAM access, claims the company.

A second-generation, high-speed Inter-chip Coherency Interface (ICI) enables full processor and memory coherency across all 640 NXCPUs, claims the company. Among other benefits, this is said to make it easier to adapt software to run in Symmetric Multi Processing (SMP) or Asymmetric Multi Processing (AMP) modes. As a result, customers can develop "highly scalable, highly differentiated equipment spanning entry-level multi-Gigabit to high-end Terabit systems," claims NetLogic.

The XLP II also features a third-generation high-speed Fast Messaging Network that can provide higher-bandwidth, lower-latency communications among the 640 NXCPUs. In addition, an advanced on-chip interconnect for the memory sub-system plus a wide range of high-speed physical-layer and logical-layer networking interfaces are said to be available. Other SoC features include "sophisticated power management technology," says the company.

Networking, security, and virtualization engines

The XLP II processor cores are said to include improvements in pre-fetch performance, branch mis-predict penalties, and cache access latencies. Meanwhile, fully-autonomous hardware processing and acceleration engines include:

CPU virtualization engines for full-virtualization and para-virtualization modes network acceleration engines for ingress/egress packet parsing and management packet ordering engines deep packet inspection engines for Layer 7 application processing, intrusion prevention, malware detection, and regular expression search acceleration security acceleration engines for encryption, decryption and authentication protocols compression/decompression engines TCP segmentation offload engines RAID-5/RAID-6 acceleration engines storage de-duplication acceleration engines IEEE 1588 hardware time stamping There was no word on operating system support for the XLP II. However, the XLP processors are supported with a new ELPB-NE Linux development platform from Enea that combines Enea's Eclipse-based Enea Linux PlatformBuilder framework and Timesys' LinuxLink configuration and build system.

Stated Ron Jankov, president and CEO at NetLogic Microsystems, "We believe our highly differentiated XLP II processor is a true game-changer that will give us a significant competitive advantage in the communications infrastructure market."

Stated Linley Gwennap, principal analyst at The Linley Group and editor-in-chief of the Microprocessor Report, "NetLogic Microsystems is moving aggressively to 28nm technology ahead of the competition. The XLP II multi-core processor will deliver a sizeable leap in performance compared with today's popular XLP products."

Availability

The first members of the XLP II processor family will be available in the first quarter of 2012, with additional members expected to sample in the first half of 2012. NetLogic Microsystems will be disclosing additional technical details of its XLP II multi-core processor family at the upcoming Linley Tech Processor Conference in October. More information should eventually appear on the XLP II at NetLogic's XLP page .

Google is helping HTC attack Apple in court, by furnishing mobile technology patents that take aim at iPhone functionality. Meanwhile, Microsoft nabbed two more major patent agreements with Acer and ViewSonic, related to tablets and mobile phones running Android and (in the case of ViewSonic) Chrome OS.

Google has said it would come to the defense of its OEM partners as they battle Apple, Microsoft, and other litigants in court over Android. The search giant has now backed up this talk by selling nine patents to HTC to help it sue Apple for patent infringement, according to Bloomberg .

As a result, HTC is said to be amending its existing complaint with the International Trade Commission (ITC) and Delaware court against Apple over three patent infringements. The Taiwanese phone maker also filed an additional case in Delaware alleging patent infringement by Apple iOS devices and Mac computers.

"HTC will continue to protect its patented inventions against infringement from Apple until such infringement stops," Grace Lei, HTC's general counsel, said in a statement. 

The latest is a new legal salvo in a case that began when Apple sued HTC for patent infringement more than a year ago for allegedly producing Android handsets that resemble the iPhone. HTC is one of the leading Android smartphone vendors, offering models such as Verizon's Droid Incredible (pictured). The ITC sided with Apple in July on two of its complaints versus HTC, which could put a crimp in the company's plans to sell Android phones.

Bloomberg said Google picked up some of the patents less than a year ago from Motorola -- before it split off the Motorola Mobility mobile firm that Google is now attempting to acquire for additional patent protection. Other patents sold to HTC came from Openwave Systems, which last week sued Apple and RIM over mobile patents, and HP's Palm, whose remaining mobile patents may well be sold along with WebOS .

HTC said it paid Google for the patents , according to AllThingsD. The patents were said to include those for a "zoomed display of characters entered from a telephone keypad" from Openwave, a "technique allowing a status bar user response on a portable device graphic user interface" from Palm, as well as a Motorola technique for upgrading radio modem application software over the air.

Google declined to comment on the patent sale to its partner. Legal protection for all Android OEMs was one of the selling points around its $12.5 billion purchase bid for Motorola Mobility, which commands over 17,000 patents, with 7,500 more pending.

"Google knows that HTC is under tremendous legal pressure from Apple and clearly on the losing track," wrote FOSS Patents blogger and IP expert Florian Mueller on Google+ Sept. 7. "HTC is the first Android device maker sued by Apple, so that dispute is at the most advanced stage, and since HTC's own patent portfolio is weak, it has so far lacked the leverage to force Apple into a cross-license agreement. The possibility of HTC being defeated must have scared Google."

Mueller also said Google's intervention in this case increases the likelihood of direct litigation by Apple against Google. The search engine provider is currently battling Oracle in court for using Java technology in Android without procuring a license.

Microsoft wins patent deals with Acer, ViewSonic

Microsoft is continuing its campaign of tying Android device manufacturers into licensing agreements, this time nabbing two significant prizes: Acer and ViewSonic.

The agreement between Microsoft and ViewSonic stipulates the latter will pay royalties for its tablets and mobile phones running Google Android or Chrome OS. The one with Acer stipulates payments for tablets and smartphones running Android. No financial terms were disclosed by Microsoft.

The ViewSonic patent agreement is the second deal to include Google's Linux-based Chrome OS. It followed a July 5 deal with ODM (original device manufacturer) Wistron that was said to involve a patent-licensing agreement regarding tablets running both Android and Chrome OS . Together, the deals suggest that Google's rumored Chrome OS tablet plans are indeed on track.

ViewSonic ViewPad 7x

ViewSonic makes a number of Android phones and tablets, including the recently announced ViewPad 7x tablet (pictured above). Acer also sells a wide variety of smartphones, and last month launched its Iconia Tab A100 Android 3.2 tablet (pictured below). Both firms have long-running ties with Microsoft.

Acer's Iconia Tab A100

HTC agreed back in April 2010 to pay royalties to Microsoft in order to revolve potential lawsuits involving Android smartphones. In June of this year, furthermore, Microsoft corralled three other Android device manufacturers: General Dynamics Itronix , Onkyo , and Velocity Micro .

Both Motorola and Barnes & Noble, however, chose to fight out their respective battles in court rather than submit. Meanwhile, in July Microsoft was rumored to be in negotiation with Samsung on a possible patent agreement that could pay Microsoft as much as $15 for every Android handset it produces .

(A longer version of the Microsoft patent story is available on eWEEK .)

Clint Boulton is a writer for eWEEK.

The CentOS Project announced that updates for their CentOS 4 distribution will be discontinued on February 29th, 2012
This is the 6-month notification for the End of Life for the CentOS 4 distribution. The upstream provider will discontinue public updates of their EL4 product on February 29th, 2012. The CentOS Project will end support for CentOS 4 on the same date. CentOS 4, as well as all previously released versions of CentOS, will continue to be available in the Centos Vault: http://vault.centos.org/ This CESA includes a new centos-release file that reminds you of the February 29th, 2012 end of life date. Users still running production workloads on CentOS 4 are advised to begin planning the upgrade to CentOS 5 or CentOS 6 before the EOL date. For users who are unable to migrate off the EL 4 code base before its end-of-life date, the upstream provider intends to offer a limited, optional extension program. The CentOS Project recommends that you contact their sales team for a price quote for their extended service if you can not move to a newer code base before February 29th, 2012.

Ubuntu Geek shows you how to install MongoDB on ubuntu server
MongoDB wasn’t designed in a lab. We built MongoDB from our own experiences building large scale, high availability, robust systems. We didn’t start from scratch, we really tried to figure out what was broken, and tackle that. So the way I think about MongoDB is that if you take MySql, and change the data model from relational to document based, you get a lot of great features: embedded docs for speed, manageability, agile development with schema-less databases, easier horizontal scalability because joins aren’t as important. There are lots of things that work great in relational databases: indexes, dynamic queries and updates to name a few, and we haven’t changed much there. For example, the way you design your indexes in MongoDB should be exactly the way you do it in MySql or Oracle, you just have the option of indexing an embedded field.

A Mozilla Firefox update has been released for openSUSE 11.4
______________________________________________________________________________ Announcement ID: openSUSE-SU-2011:1031-1 Rating: important References: #714931 Affected Products: openSUSE 11.4 ______________________________________________________________________________ An update that contains security fixes can now be installed. It includes one version update. Description: This update brings Mozilla Firefox to 6.0.2. The purpose of this update is to blacklist the compromised DigiNotar Certificate Authority. For more information read: MFSA 2011-34 http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/2011/mfsa2011-34.ht ml Patch Instructions: To install this openSUSE Security Update use YaST online_update. Alternatively you can run the command listed for your product: - openSUSE 11.4: zypper in -t patch MozillaFirefox-5119 To bring your system up-to-date, use "zypper patch". Package List: - openSUSE 11.4 (i586 x86_64) [New Version: 6.0.2]: MozillaFirefox-6.0.2-0.2.1 MozillaFirefox-branding-upstream-6.0.2-0.2.1 MozillaFirefox-buildsymbols-6.0.2-0.2.1 MozillaFirefox-devel-6.0.2-0.2.1 MozillaFirefox-translations-common-6.0.2-0.2.1 MozillaFirefox-translations-other-6.0.2-0.2.1 References: https://bugzilla.novell.com/714931

Zotac announced its smallest ZBox mini-PC yet, featuring a 1.6GHz AMD "Brazos" E-350 processor and integrated home theater PC (HTPC) functionality, including dual IR receivers. The 5.0 x 5.0 x 1.7-inch Zbox Nano AD10 offers a gigabit Ethernet port and four USB ports including two 3.0 ports, and a "Plus" version comes with 2GB of DDR3 memory and 320GB of storage.

Zotac announced the Zbox Nano AD10 on Aug. 31, and the mini-PC has already received several reviews. A Sept. 2 review by Tbreak Technology called the AD10 "one of the most appealing HTPC or set-top boxes on the market," and India-based MoneyControl published a Sept. 6 review that concluded the device is a good fit for home theater applications.

Zbox Nano AD10

Like the Zbox AD03 announced in January, the Zbox Nano AD10 is equipped with AMD's 1.6GHz E-350 processor with integrated AMD Radeon HD 6310 graphics, says the company. The processor offers video decode acceleration for HD video formats including Blu-ray and Adobe Flash, says Zotac.

Zotac does not play favorites when it comes to processor choices. A Zbox released in June offered Via Technologies' dual-core Nano X2 processor, and back in 2009, the company launched a Zbox model called the ZD HD-ID11 , one of the first devices to combine Intel's Atom D510 processor with Nvidia's Ion 2 graphics.

Zbox Nano AD10 (front view)

The latest Zbox is the smallest yet, measuring 5.0 x 5.0 x 1.7 inches (127 x 127 x 45mm) compared to the AD03's 11.02 x 7.36 x 1.5-inch dimensions. The computer is available in a barebones version bereft of both memory and storage, as well as an AD10 Plus model that adds a 320GB hard disk drive (HDD) and 2GB of DDR3 RAM. Otherwise, the models appear to be identical.

The Nano AD10 is the first Zbox with an integrated infrared (IR) receiver, and the company throws in a USB-based IR receiver and remote control as well. This "dual IR receiver solution enables use of the remote control with all placements, including hidden and wall-mounted installations," says Zotac. A new VESA 75/100 mount for monitor or wall mounting installations is said to be bundled with the computer, enabling attachments in four different orientations.

Neither version is equipped with an operating system, but drivers are provided, and any x86 ready platform should do the trick. To use the IR receiver, one needs either Windows 7 with Windows Media Center, Windows 7 Starter with XBMC , or Ubuntu Linux variants with XBMC Live, Mythbuntu, or Boxee media software, according to Tbreak Technology.

Zbox Nano AD10, rear view

The Nano AD10 is equipped with a 6-in-1 memory card reader as well as a rear-facing eSATA port, in addition to the internal SATA connector, says Zotac. More storage and other peripherals are supported via two USB 3.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports, according to the company.

The computer features a gigabit Ethernet port, as well as 802.11n Wi-Fi, complete with antenna. Bluetooth 3.0 is also part of the package, says the company.

The AD10 includes both a DisplayPort and an HDMI port, which also outputs the Dolby TrueHD audio. A 3.5mm headphone jack and a mic jack are also said to be available. As with earlier Zbox models, one can get to all the internals via two thumb screws, says the company (see image below).

Zbox Nano AD10 Plus, internal view
Source: Tbreak Technology

Features and specifications listed for the Zbox Nano AD10 and AD10 Plus include: Processor -- AMD E-350 (dual-core 1.6GHz) with AMD Radeon HD 6310 graphics Chipset -- AMD A50M Memory -- DDR3-1066 SO-DIMM slot; AD10 Plus model bundles 2GB of DDR3 Storage: 6-in-1 memory card reader (SD/SDHC/MS/MS Pro/xD/MMC) 2.5-inch internal SATA slot, supporting 6.0 Gb/s HDD/SSD; AD10 Plus adds 320GB 5400RPM HDD external eSATA Networking -- gigabit Ethernet Wireless: 802.11b/g/n with antenna Bluetooth 3.0 onboard IR receiver with remote USB IR receiver Other I/O: 2 x USB 3.0 2 x USB 2.0 HDMI DisplayPort 3.5 mm audio jack mic connector Audio -- Dolby TrueHD & DTS-HD 7.1-Channel LPCM (HDMI)/optical digital S/PDIF; Master Audio bitstream ready Other features -- fan; VESA mounting Dimensions -- 5.0 x 5.0 x 1.7 inches (127 x 127 x 45mm) Stated Carsten Berger, marketing director, Zotac International, "Despite the miniature size, the ZBOX nano AD10 series has nearly all the same features as our award-winning ZBOX and ZBOX Blu-ray series, and even introduces a couple of new features."

Availability

No pricing or availability information was provided on the Zbox Nano AD10, but it appears to be close to shipping. According to an Engadget story , the Plus version with the 2GB of RAM and 320GB HDD is available for $276. More information may be found at the Zotac Zbox Nano AD10 web page .

Dedoimedo posted a guide presenting several tips and tricks for solving common Xen problems, including missing modules, bad environment variables, Python site packages, Python versions, wrapper scripts, and more. When the karma takes a turn for the worst, your virtualization experience may turn sour. If you're a fresh new user of the Xen technology, you may learn the hard way that Xen error messages are extremely verbose and not quite useful, unless you're a Python developer. With a verbose trace and cryptic references to internal function calls, the errors can actually detract you from what are inherently simple and easy-to-solve problems. While I'm no expert on either virtualization or Python, I've come across a handful of common problems that take only a few short minutes to resolve, but may seem like an eternity to less knowledgeable users. P.S. I am an expert, but it is usually better to claim you are not, because 1) errors are excused then 2) you can afford to fail 3) people love humility and all that underdog attitude. Anyhow, let me help you enjoy Xen.

NixCraft shows you how to configure network bonding in Debian/Ubuntu
NIC teaming is nothing but combining or aggregating multiple network connections in parallel. This is done to increase throughput, and to provide redundancy in case one of the links fails or Ethernet card fails. The Linux kernel comes with the bounding driver for aggregating multiple network interfaces into a single logical interface called bond0. In this tutorial, I will explain how to setup bonding under Debian Linux server to aggregate multiple Ethernet devices into a single link, to get higher data rates and link failover.

August is typically regarded as one of the slower months, at least when it comes to tech news. But this August? Not so much.

It started with Google's announced intent to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, a move that (if approved) will fundamentally alter the smartphone game.

"We recently explained how companies, including Microsoft and Apple, are banding together in anti-competitive patent attacks on Android," Google CEO Larry Page wrote in an Aug. 15 corporate blog posting , soon after news of the intended acquisition became public. "Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google's patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies."

The question is whether the acquisition will disturb other device manufacturers enough to sway them away from Android. Microsoft certainly hopes so, with company executives raising the specter of Motorola Mobility as Google's favored child -- while promoting the idea of Windows Phone as an equal-opportunity software platform.

"Investing in a broad and truly open mobile ecosystem is important for the industry and consumers alike," Andy Lees, president of Microsoft's Windows Phone division, wrote in a statement soon after Google announced its news, "and Windows Phone is now the only platform that does so with equal opportunity for all partners."

Google's move could also drive competitors into buying frenzies of their own. "RIM suddenly becomes very valuable for its patent horde," Ray Wang, principal analyst and CEO of Constellation Research, wrote in an Aug. 15 email to eWEEK. "HP, Apple or Microsoft should quickly move to buy RIM for its patents and also [BlackBerry Enterprise Server], the crown jewel."

If that wasn't enough excitement for the tech community, Hewlett-Packard then decided to announce it was changing course, with plans to shed its PC manufacturing arm on the way to becoming an enterprise-focused software and services company in the mold of IBM. As part of that shift, two of HP's most prominent recent projects -- its TouchPad tablet and nascent smartphone franchise -- would need to die.

"HP reported that it plans to announce that it will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad [tablet] and webOS phones," read the August 18 statement released by the company ahead of its most recent earnings call. "HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward."

Some analysts saw HP's move away from PCs as indicative of a larger trend within the industry.

"HP just abdicated playing a role in the mobility revolution except from the air-conditioned comfort of the cloud data center. This move makes Google's acquisition of Motorola look prescient," Yankee Group analyst Carl Howe wrote in an Aug. 19 research note. "We are witnessing the final collapse of the Silicon Valley PC era."

As with IBM when it executed a similar transition, the hurdles facing HP are immense. "HP is reforming as much more of a broad software company more like Microsoft/Oracle than even IBM," Rob Enderle, principal analyst of the Enderle Group, wrote in an Aug. 18 email to eWEEK. "In effect, they are repeating what IBM did with Palmisano and what Apple did with Jobs in that the new HP will be optimized for their new CEO."

But HP will have to bulk up its software and services muscle in the face of what will surely be aggressive countermoves from the likes of Oracle and IBM.

Evidently, the fates didn't think that Google and Hewlett-Packard made August enough of a roller coaster, so they threw in a third major event: Apple CEO Steve Jobs resigning his post.

In a letter to Apple's board of directors and employees, Jobs suggested he could "no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO." He asked the board to activate a prearranged succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO -- a familiar role for the latter, considering he's stepped in as interim chief whenever Jobs' longstanding health issues drove him to take medical leave.

At this early stage, analysts generally seem to think that Apple will more than survive its co-founder handing off the reins to Cook.

"Apple has been run by a team of very accomplished visionaries that includes Tim Cook, Phil Schiller, Jonathan Ive, Scott Forestal, Ron Johnson and a host of others," Carl Howe, an analyst with the Yankee Group, wrote in an Aug. 25 blog posting . "Steve was [the] public face of the company, but we shouldn't think that he was the only one making all the decisions."

Indeed, Apple is widely expected to release its next-generation iPhone (widely dubbed the "iPhone 5" by the media) in either September or October, following that with the next iPad sometime in early 2012.

With an August this busy, people in tech might need September to recuperate.

Nicholas Kolakowski is a writer for eWEEK. Follow him on Twitter .

Jonathan Angel can be reached at jonathan.angel@ziffdavisenterprise.com and followed at www.twitter.com/gadgetsense .

The Canonical-backed Ubuntu project released the first beta of Ubuntu 11.10 ("Oneiric Ocelot"), featuring both an improved Dash interface for the Unity desktop and a makeover for the Ubuntu Software Center that resembles the Mac App Store. Ubuntu 11.10 moves up to Linux 3.0.3, the Firefox 7.0 browser, and a Thunderbird 7.0 beta email client, among other changes.

Ubuntu 11.10 offers a more polished rendition of the UI changes to the Unity desktop's "Dash" interface, which were first disclosed in conjunction with the August alpha release of Oneiric Ocelot . The key Dash changes include new windows controls and transparency effects, and the swapping out of the "Places" concept with more search-savvy "Scopes and Lenses."

Ubuntu 11.10's new Dash interface
(Click to enlarge)

Scopes are data sources that can access both online or offline data with improved search filtering options, including user ratings and app categories. Lenses present the data derived from Scopes in different views. For more details on the Dash changes, see our earlier coverage , as well as this beta review of Ubuntu 11.10 by Lifehacker .

Software Center in Ubuntu 11.10 beta
(Click to enlarge)

The other major change in Oneiric Ocelot's beta release is the new Ubuntu Software Center. The makeover mimics the look and feel of the Mac App Store, and "looks fantastic, and is much faster than it was before," according to Lifehacker's Whitson Gordon. He notes with some regret, however, that the Synaptic package manager is no longer included by default, although it's said to be easily installable.

Other interface changes include a redesigned Alt+Tab switching interface (see image below). In addition, better performance is promised for the launchers and panel, thanks to a port to GTK 3 and a GTK 3-based indicator stack, says the Ubuntu project.

Redesigned Alt+Tab switcher in Ubuntu 11.10

The Ubuntu 11.10 beta offers GNOME 3.1.5 as an alternative to the Unity desktop. However, many Ubuntu old-timers accustomed to good old GNOME 2.x are criticizing both of these new-look, touchscreen-focused environments.

Other package updates include Linux 3.0.3 , Python 3.2, GCC 4.6.1, CUPS 1.5.0, and Shotwell 0.11. Mozilla's Firefox 7 browser is now standard issue as is a beta of its Thunderbird 7.0 email client, now established for the first time as the default, says the project.

Firefox 7.0 is standard issue
(Click to enlarge)

Ubuntu adds LibreOffice 3.4.2, which appears to have pretty much supplanted OpenOffice.org in the desktop Linux community. It will likely move up to the new 3.4.3 version by the time the final is released in October. The Banshee music player, meanwhile, has moved up to version 2.1.3, and ships with a music lens installed by default. New packages include the Deja Dup backup tool.

Those with Ubuntu 11.04 can upgrade in place, if they have an hour or so to spare

The major change to Ubuntu Server is the addition of an "Orchestra" collection of "the best free software services for provisioning, deploying, hosting, managing, and orchestrating enterprise data centre infrastructure services," according to the Ubuntu project. Orchestra includes the up-and-coming Cobbler Linux installation server.

Other Ubuntu Server improvements include a new DevOps-based Ensemble platform for handling service deployment and orchestration for both cloud and bare metal, according to the project. There's also further integration of the OpenStack cloud platform, which was initially supported in the previous Ubuntu 11.04 release, as well as the reintroduction of Xen hypervisor as an option.

New images for Ubuntu Core

Finally, Canonical has posted some new development builds of the minimalist, embedded-oriented Ubuntu Core, which will be fully unveiled in the final October release, according to a story this week in TheVARGuy . Automotive in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) appears to be a major focus, says the story. Indeed, last month the Genivi Alliance listed Ubuntu IVI Remix , which is based on Ubuntu Core, as one of five distros compliant with its open source Linux Genivi spec for IVI systems.

Availability

The first beta for Ubuntu 11.10 is available now for free download from links provided at the Ubuntu 11.0 Technical Overview page . Users currently running Ubuntu 11.04 on a desktop can upgrade in place via the command update-manager -d update-manager -d.

The final stable version of Oneiric Ocelot will be ready in October, following a secondary beta release on Sept. 27.

Axiomtek announced a fanless, industrial "shoebox" PC with two expansion slots, offering four different combinations of PCI or PCI Express cards. The IPC922-212-FL includes single- or dual-core Atom processors, up to 4GB of DDR3 memory, multiple ports, plus both hard disk and CompactFlash storage, according to the company.

Axiomtek announced a fanless, industrial "shoebox" PC with two expansion slots, offering four different combinations of PCI or PCI Express cards. The IPC922-212-FL includes single- or dual-core Atom processors, up to 4GB of DDR3 memory, multiple ports, plus both hard disk and CompactFlash storage, according to the company.

Axiomtek's IPC922-212-FL is a fanless, Atom-powered PC aimed at industrial applications. That's not unusual, but this device is like some other Axiomtek PCs (including the IPC914-211-FL we covered last year) in that its brains are provided by a PICMG (PCI Industrial Computer Manafacturers Group) 1.3 single board computer (SBC), visible at left in the image below.

Axiomtek's IPC922-212-FL
(Click to enlarge)

This design means expansion signals can be routed over a passive backplane, which Axiomtek offers in three different versions. Thus, depending on model, the IPC922-212-FL's expansion slots can be:

1 PCI Express x1 and 1 PCI Express x4, or 2 PCI Express x1 1 PCI Express x4 and 1 PCI-X or 1 PCI and 1 PCI Express x4 As for the SBC, it's the SHB212 that we covered last April. Background details are provided later in this story, but we couldn't help noticing that the version installed in the IPC922-212-FL obviously has only one Ethernet port on its coastline, as opposed to the two such ports touted earlier this year.

For duty in the IPC922-212-FL, the SHB212 can be fitted with either the single-core Intel Atom D425 , or the dual-core D525 , both clocked at 1.8GHz and featuring 10-Watt TDPs. Maximum memory is 4GB of DDR3 RAM, installed in the SBC's single, 204-pin SO-DIMM socket, according to Axiomtek.

As for fixed storage, that's provided by either a CompactFlash slot, apparently on the back of the SBC itself, or by an optional 2.5-inch hard disk drive. (The SHB212 has two SATA ports, as you'll read later, but there's apparently room for only one disk drive inside the IPC922-212-FL.)

The rear of the IPC922-212-FL is featureless, since it is designed to be mounted flush with a wall. The front, meanwhile, has an Ethernet port, a VGA port, and two USB 2.0 ports deriving directly from the edge of the SHB212's coastline, plus four additional USB 2.0 ports and four serial ports (3 x RS232, and 1 x RS232/422/485).

According to Axiomtek, the IPC922-212-FL has a built-in DC-to-DC power supply that lets it tolerate DC input voltages from 18 to 28VDC. Featuring a remote power switch feature, the device is also operable via an AC adapter with a nominal 19VDC output, the company adds.

Specifications listed by Axiomtek for the IPC922-212-FL include the following:

Processor -- Intel Atom D425 or Atom D525 @ 1.8GHz Chipset -- Intel ICH-8M Memory -- up to 4GB of DDR3 via 204-pin SODIMM Storage -- CompactFlash slot; 1 bay for 2.5-inch SATA hard disk drive Expansion slots: 1 PCI Express x1 and 1 PCI Express x4, or 2 PCI Express x1 1 PCI Express x4 and 1 PCI-X or 1 PCI and 1 PCI Express x4 Networking -- 1 x gigabit Ethernet Other I/O: 6 x USB 2.0 VGA 4 x serial (3 x RS232, 1 x RS232/422/485) Power -- 18~28VDC; 19VDC via AC adapter Operating temperature -- 32 to 104 deg. F (0 to 45 deg. C) Dimensions -- Weight -- 9.3 pounds (4.22kg) Background on the SHB212

Like earlier SHB boards from Axiomtek -- including the Intel Xeon- and Core-ready, full-length SHB105 released in December -- the SHB212 supports the PICMG 1.3 form factor as well as the SHB (Sundance High speed Bus) standard. (Other Axiomtek SHB boards include the 2008-issue SHB102 SBC and last year's SHB111 .)

Axiomtek SHB212

The SHB212 can, as noted earlier, be fitted with the Atom D425 and D525, and it also supports the Atom N455 clocked to 1.66GHz. Equipped with up to 4GB of DDR3 memory, clocked at either 667MHz (N455) or 800MHz, the SBC offers a CompactFlash slot and dual SATA ports for storage, Axiomtek said in April.

The SHB212 was also said to offer dual-display support via a VGA port and an internal 18-bit, single channel LVDS interface. The SBC also provides two rear USB 2.0 ports and four more internal, for six ports in all, plus an RS-232/422/485 and RS/232 port, as well as PS/2 connectivity, according to the company.

SHB212 port detail

Used on its own, the fanless board measures 7.28 x 4.96 inches (185 x 126mm) and runs on +12V DC power, says Axiomtek. Operating temperatures can range from 32 to 140 deg. F (0 to 60 deg. C), the company noted.

Further information

Axiomtek did not cite pricing or operating system support for the IPC922-212-FL, but the company says the device is available now. More information may be found on the IPC922-212-FL product page .

Jonathan Angel can be reached at jonathan.angel@ziffdavisenterprise.com and followed at www.twitter.com/gadgetsense .

Freescale Semiconductor has begun sampling the first system on chips (SoCs) built on its Linux-ready QorIQ Qonverge architecture for femtocell and picocell 4G base stations. The QorIQ Qonverge PSC9130/31 (femotecells) and PSC9132 (picocells) SoCs support up to 16 and 64 simultaneous users respectively, and simultaneously support multiple air interfaces, including LTE, WiMAX UMTS, WCDMA (HSPA+), and CDMA, says the company.

Announced in February, the QorIQ Qonverge architecture offers a scalable line of processors built on a single architecture, enabling OEMs to reuse software regardless of cell size, says Freescale. By integrating communications processing, digital signal processing, and wireless acceleration technologies on a single SoC, QorIQ Qonverge avoids the cost and complexity of integrating separate FPGAs, ASICs, DSPs, and CPUs on a single device, while also reducing power consumption and footprint, the company adds.

The processors are related to the company's QorIQ processors , sharing the same e500 cores and offering other similarities. However, the QoriQ processors, which have often been deployed in base station designs along with Freescale's StarCore and Maple baseband chips, were significantly re-engineered, according to Freescale.

The PSC9130/31 femtocell SoCs support between eight to 16 simultaneous users, while the PSC9132 picocell/enterprise SoC devices support up to 64 simultaneous users, says Freescale. The processors support air interfaces, including LTE (FDD/TDD), WCDMA (HSPA+) WiMAX UMTS and CDMA, says the company. Newly revealed features include support for GPS synchronization and 2G/3G sniffing.

QorIQ Qonverge PSC9130/31 block diagram

The PSC9130/31 models each combine a single e500 core, StarCore SC3850 DSP, Maple B2P accelerator, and a security engine connected by a multicore fabric, says the company (see diagram above). The SoCs are said to support simultaneous multimode and 2x2 MiMO, and offer a single 64-bit DDR3 memory channel, security and trust architecture, multiple timing sources, and an antenna interface.

The Picocell-oriented PSC9132, meanwhile, doubles up with dual e500 and StarCore SC3850 cores (see diagram below). The SoC moves up to 2x4 MiMO support, as well as MiMo equalization functionality, says Freescale. The PSC9132 offers dual DDR3 channels instead of one, and supplies both local and remote antenna interfaces. Additional interfaces are also supplied, including PCI Express expansion.

QorIQ Qonverge PSC9132 block diagram

Freescale offers multimode RF products that can be added to the PSC9130/PSC9131 SoCs products for femtocell applications. Designed to operate in all UMTS frequency bands, the MMZ09312B, MMA20312B and MMA25312B power amplifiers are based on InGaP heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) technology, says the company. In addition, Freescale’s MML09211H and MML20211H low-noise amplifiers are said to be available.

A PSC9131 reference design board, planned for availability in the fourth quarter, incorporates the processors, memory interfaces, and most peripheral functions, says Freesacle. A PSC9132 QorIQ Qonverge development system is also planned for availability at that time.

In February, when QorIQ Qonverge was announced, Mentor Graphics was said to be developing the Linux board support package (BSP). Freescale will offer software migration tools, as well as CodeWarrior software development tools. The latter are said to include a new Eclipse IDE, trace and profile, SmartDSP OS, debugger, and C/C++ compiler.

Wireless telecommunications companies in the U.S. could invest $25 billion to $53 billion in 4G cellular wireless networks between 2012 and 2016, according to a report released this week from Deloitte .

Stated Scott Aylor, director and general manager of Freescale’s Wireless Access Division, "Availability of the first QorIQ Qonverge products is a milestone for the wireless industry, which is in dire need of innovative new solutions to address challenging power requirements and exploding demand for additional bandwidth."

Availability

Freescale is currently sampling QorIQ Qonverge products to select customers. More information may be found at Freescale's QorIQ Qonverge mini-site .