NEW TECHNOLOGIES
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27 Jun 05. Advanced Micro Devices will launch its most expensive desktop processor today, breaking the $1,000 barrier for the second time in a month and pricing its chips higher than those of bigger rival Intel. The move illustrates a strategy by AMD – seen in the past as a cheaper alternative to Intel – to promote an image as a premium-priced supplier of high-end processors. AMD is billing its Athlon 64 FX-57 as “the ultimate PC processor for 3D gamers”. The company is rated a performance leader in PC gaming among reviewers and it expects the chip to feature in the latest desktop computers built by gaming specialists such as Alienware and Voodoo. The processor will be priced at $1,031, more than $200 or 25 per cent more than its predecessor, the FX-55 at $827, even though it offers only a 7 per cent improvement in performance. A comparable chip from Intel, the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition 3.73Ghz, costs $999.
26 Jun 05. Ericsson and Sun are extending their business relationship to develop an integrated, multitasking Java technology-based solution. The implementation is based on Sun’s Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) HotSpot Implementation and is integrated and optimized with a full Java technology stack on platforms from Ericsson Mobile Platforms. The multitasking Java technology environment will expand the utility of the mobile handset and drive new opportunities for operators, device manufacturers and developers to create new services that generate additional revenue streams. The integrated solution will reduce the time and cost required in bringing new products and services to the market, ultimately benefiting the end consumer.
28 Jun 05. The U.S. Army awarded Raytheon Company a $22.1m contract for initial production and early fielding of Excalibur, a cooperative effort between Raytheon Missile Systems and Bofors Defence of Sweden. Excalibur is an artillery projectile that uses satellite guidance to provide precision accuracy at extended ranges for all current and future 155mm howitzers. Raytheon will provide Excalibur projectiles, testing, manufacturing tooling, test and inspection equipment, projectile shipping/storage containers, and training support necessary to provide initial capability to the Army in fiscal year 2006, more than 3 years ahead of when full operational capabilityn will be achieved. Excalibur will conclude developmental testing, and the first production rounds will be delivered by the end of 2005. The Excalibur rounds will be delivered as part of a system which includes an AFATDS (Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System) update for Excalibur and approximately 14 stand-alone fuze setters to be fielded to Paladin units serving in Iraq. Excalibur will also be compatible with the Army and Marine M777 light weight howitzer. The Marines have recently begun M777 fielding, and the U.S. Army will field M777 next year in conjunction with forming the Stryker Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division.
14 Jun 05. Ericsson Microwave Systems AB announces a major breakthrough in Expeditionary Land and Air Force Protection – an additional role for its mature and accepted GIRAFFE AMB surveillance system. Long recognized for its 360? detection of aircraft, missiles, helicopters and sea targets, GIRAFFE now enters the asymmetric tactical arena: camp protection from incoming individual mortar and rocket attack. Fast antenna rotation (60 rpm) means the object is scanned several times early in its flight, permitting computation of the type of weapon that fired it, and a full 3D picture of its trajectory. Typical performance data, substantiated by recent tests: any small ballistic object (mortar shells) within a 20 km radius circle, will be picked up and tracked within 5 seconds, permitting a 25-second warning to troops in the impact area, and offering a 360? target location with great precision. This is achieved by a marria