Kodak Announces 39-megapixel CCD Image Sensor

Eastman Kodak Company has set the quality standard for digital imaging with new high-resolution image sensors that allow commercial, studio, and other professional photographers to capture digital images with the most life-like detail possible.

Already the world's leading supplier of image sensors for medium-format professional photography, Kodak is expanding its product line with the introduction of the world's highest-resolution sensors for professional photography. The KODAK KAF-39000 Image Sensor, featuring 39 million pixels, and the KODAK KAF-31600 Image Sensor, with 31.6 million pixels, offer professional camera and camera back manufacturers resolution and image detail that was once unimaginable for digital cameras, allowing photographers to experience a new level of image quality for portrait, wedding, landscape, fashion, studio, and commercial photography. These new CCD image sensors have already been selected for use by Phase One A/S for use in their upcoming P45 and P30 digital camera backs.

"Our new image sensors nearly double the resolution available for professional photography - helping bring images to life in a way never before possible," said Chris McNiffe, general manager of Kodak's Image Sensor Solutions operations. "Kodak offers the broadest image sensor portfolio with the highest resolutions for medium-format photography, providing camera and camera back manufacturers great flexibility to meet the varied demands and requirements of their users. These products are further examples of Kodak's ability to leverage our legacy of innovation to provide products that uniquely meet our customers' needs - whatever market they may serve."

A pioneer in imaging science, Kodak develops and supplies both CCD and CMOS image sensors for applications ranging from medical and industrial imaging to digital cameras and mobile phones for consumer markets. Earlier this year, Kodak announced the first CMOS image sensors to arise from its manufacturing alliance with IBM (the KAC-5000 and KAC-3100 Image Sensors), and an agreement to license key CMOS Image Sensor manufacturing technology to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), the world's largest dedicated semiconductor foundry. When combined with the CCD announcements made today, Kodak is again demonstrating its ability to continue as a leading supplier of high-performance CCD image sensors while also providing innovative image sensors for mass-market consumer applications.

With 39 million imaging pixels in a 36 mm x 48 mm imaging area, the KAF-39000 sets a new standard for image resolution in professional photography, while the 31.6 million pixel KAF-31600 deploys this same high-performance pixel in a smaller, 33 mm x 44 mm imaging area. At the heart of these imagers is a newly designed 6.8 micron CCD pixel that enables higher sensor resolutions while still retaining the performance required by professional photographers for sensitivity, dynamic range, and color fidelity.

These image sensors join three other KODAK image sensors targeted to the medium-format market - the KAF-16802, which provides 16 million pixels in a square optical configuration; the 22 million pixel KAF-22000, which set the previous high-resolution benchmark for this market; and the KAF-18000, a new 18 million pixel image sensor that offers a unique combination of sensitivity, resolution, and frame rate. This portfolio has been widely adopted by the leading manufacturers of cameras and camera backs for medium format photography.

Source: Kodak

EA Dante's Inferno PR campaign incurs wrath of gamers

Seems to me the current financial tsunami is undoubtedly taking aheavy toll on the gaming industry. Research group NPD Sales hadreported that video game equipment and software in the United States fell 16 percent in Augustto $908.7 million, the sixth consecutive monthly decline. In a bid toboost publicity and sales for their upcoming title, Dante's Inferno, EA has gone to great lengths to market the game.Hiring “Christian” protesters at a convention to protest Dante'sInferno, with some even holding signs that read, "EA = ElectronicAnti-Christ" and “Harass our booth babes” competition are just someexamples of EA’s marketing stunts. These have generated muchcontroversies even before Dante's Inferno’s release but hey, this hypemay just be what EA has been hoping for.

News via [ARSTECHNICA]

Dell Precision 380 amp; Dimension XPS

Dell today announced that its workstation and consumer desktop lines will beamong the first to include the enhanced performance enabled by Intel's newdual-core processor technology. Available in the United States and Canada, thenew systems help customers save time and use computing resources moreefficiently for design and analysis or when creating or enjoying digitalcontent.

The Dell Precision(TM) 380 workstation and Dimension(TM) XPS enthusiast PC canallow high-end professionals and consumers to multitask more effectively. Inaddition, customers can get better performance when running multithreadedapplications with this new technology than when using single-core processorplatforms. The Dell Precision 380, which offers an innovative, easy-to-deploychassis design, enables workstation professionals to run applications thatrequire fast processing performance for video editing, animation andcomputer-aided design (CAD). The advanced capabilities of the Dimension XPS letconsumers play intensive 3D games while concurrently performing tasks such asstreaming media or security scans.

"Dell is committed to leading the industry in offering innovation designed toenhance users' business and entertainment needs," said John Medica, senior vicepresident of Dell product group. "Whether a workstation professional, multimediaenthusiast or gamer, the new systems deliver ground-breaking functionality thatwill change the way people work and play."

"Over time, dual-core systems will become more and more standard for desktopcomputing as customers seek increased performance in more complex tasks," saidRoger Kay, vice president of Client Computing at IDC. "Dual core showsparticular promise in situations in which several compute-intensive tasks likevideo rendering and audio streaming need to be done at the same time."

Redefined Entry-Level Workstation

The Dell Precision 380 redefines productivity for professionals in the entryworkstation segment by helping to increase scalability and reliability throughan innovative product design. In addition to including the Intel® Pentium®Extreme Edition 64-bit dual-core processor, the Dell Precision 380 features64-bit Pentium 4 600 series processors with 2MB L2 cache. The new workstationcan support up to 8GB(a) of memory(b), which enables customers working withlarge data sets to experience high productivity through great performance andflexibility. This allows engineers and creative professionals who rely onIndependent Software Vendor-certified (ISV) workstation technology to do moreand work fast with maximum uptime.

The Dell Precision 380 also features an innovative new chassis that supportseither tower or desktop orientations. The new chassis includes rotating opticalstorage so that the correct orientation is presented to the user regardless ofhow the system is installed. This means IT managers can reduce complexity withthe ability to scale a single platform across an organization according to userneeds.

Other Dell Precision 380 features include:

Intel 955X Express chipset supports up to four SATA II drives and RAID 0, 1,5,10
DDR2 ECC memory for reliable operation
Future support for Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64
Rack-mountable chassis
Redefined Extreme Gaming and Digital Entertainment

Dimension XPS

The new capabilities of the fifth-generation Dimension XPS make it an idealentertainment hub for playing extreme games or serving up digital music, photosand video. Gaming enthusiasts -- traditional Dimension XPS customers -- willhave a richer gaming experience with fast program loads and quick screentransitions because of the system's dual-core technology and advanced DDR2dual-channel memory (up to 4GB(a)). Consumers in today's sophisticated homenetworks can watch a DVD while burning music or recording video simultaneouslywithout experiencing a drag on performance. As more developers introducemultithreaded games, gamers and enthusiasts will be able to increasingly takeadvantage of the performance capabilities of their Dell dual-core systems.

Other features available on the Dimension XPS include:

Intel 955X Express chipset with integrated Intel XD antivirus protection
Six expansion slots (1) PCIe x16, (1) PCIe x4, (1) PCIe x1 and (3) PCI
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional or Media Center Edition 2005
Pricing and Availability

Pricing and availability for the Dell Precision 380 will be announced in thecoming weeks. The Dimension XPS will also be available soon starting at $ 2,999.

FBI and others licence Unreal game engine

The FBI and other US government agencies have licensed the Unreal game engine, used in Mass Effect 3 and Batman: Arkham City, for training programmes.

The various agencies included in the long-term agreement are the FBI, the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), and the US Army, in what will be known as the Unreal Government Network.The FBI Academy will use the technology to develop virtual multiplayer crime scenes for simulated training sessions. The IARPA will use it in so-called “serious games” for eliminating bias in intelligence analysis. The US Army will use it to practice anaesthesiology skills for its medics, while weapon researchers will use it as a virtualisation tool.The US Army has previously employed the Unreal engine for the promotional first-person shooter Americas Army 3 and emergency response simulator Zero Hour, developed by Virtual Heroes.Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but in the case of the IARPA the deal was worth over $10 million, suggesting similar prices for other agencies.Source: BBC

DoCoMo launches two quot;Disney Mobile on docomo quot; Android smartphones

Walt Disney Japan and NTT DoCoMohave announcetwo smartphones under the"Disney Mobile on docomo" brand. The new modelsannounced arethe Fujitsu "Disney Mobile on docomo" F-08D, and the Panasonic "Disney Mobile on docomo" P-05D which run Google Android 2.3 operating system with full touchscreen display. Users will get to enjoy free access to animated feature film services, original live wallpapers, puzzle and music game applications for children and family-entertainment. Special customer benefitswill also be offeredin cooperation with Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, whereby DoCoMo is an official corporate sponsor.

Equipped with 1.2GHz dual core CPU, the F-08D sports 4.3-inch high definition display and features waterproof/dustproof design, sparkling silhouettes of Mickey and Minnie mouse, and compatible with Osaifu-Keitai mobile wallet service and one-seg services. The stylish P-05D smartphone measures 7.8mm thin with a huge 4.3-inch Organic EL display, and designed to fit comfortably in ones palm. It has waterproof/dustproof design and two customizable Disney jackets for your personalized preference. The "Disney Mobile on docomo"F-08D will retail end February, while the "Disney Mobile on docomo" P-05D will sell in March. Pricing details not available at press time.

Source: watch.impress.co.jp

Apple planning post-PC future

Apple is planning a post-PC future, according to its CEO, Tim Cook, who took over after the death of co-founder Steve Jobs last year.

All eyes are on Cook and whether or not he can deliver, with todays event marking one of the most significant in the companys history, with expectations of a formal announcement for the iPad 3, rumoured to be called iPad HD.Cook said that the iPod, iPhone, and iPad ranges represent what the company is calling the “post-PC” reality of the current and future market, where more and more people use devices other than traditional desktop and laptop computers for all aspects of their lives."Any company would be thrilled to have just one of these devices,” Cook said. “At Apple, were fortunate to have all three, and the momentum has been staggering."Apple has sold a whopping 315 million of these devices in 2011, representing 76 percent of the companys total revenue, so its no surprise that this will continue to be a big focus for Apple going forward. Apple sold 62 million iOS devices in the final quarter of 2011 alone.Apple shops were also big on the agenda. Cook revealed that there are now 363 retail stores throughout the world, with 110 million visitors in the fourth quarter of 2011 alone. Examples included the Amsterdam store and the Grand Central outlet in New York."Apple has its feet firmly planted in the post-PC future."

Apple Continues Winning Streak While Others Suffer

Apple has a surprisingly strong quarterly profit that beats the analysts' estimates back bygood iPod and Mac sales during the holiday season. Certainly, Apple and IBMare the darlings of the tech industry right now each reporting better than expected results. However, it is too early to celebrate now as weshould beexpecting not-so-rosy results from other tech companies which are not so well positioned as Apple or IBM for this weak economy.

Apple reported a net quarterly profit of US$1.61B, up from US$1.58B a year agowhile revenue rose to US$10.2B, a 5.8% increase.Apple's CTO Tim Cookhas mentioned that the visibility remains low due to the current poor economy but it is not as unpredictable as in back in October.

Things aren't too rosy over at semiconductor companies such as Intel,AMD and TSMC. Thechip giant, Intel might report a first quarterly loss in 22 years and will lay off at least 5000 staff and close down 5 plants. AMD too is going to cut 1100 staff which is 5% of their workforceand reduce employees' salaries. TSMC plans to cut 1000 workers which is 5% of their workforce.