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IMF lowers economic outlook, sees danger ahead - Sep. 20, 2011

2011-09-21T08:51:00.000+04:00

IMF lowers economic outlook, sees danger ahead - Sep. 20, 2011

Visibo Product Updates: Thank you for Installing Wikipedia Companion!

2011-07-12T15:15:00.000+04:00

Visibo Product Updates: Thank you for Installing Wikipedia Companion!

2010-08-31T08:47:00.000+04:00

USB Typewriter Replaces the Keyboard in Your PC

By Priya Ganapati August 30, 2010
6:31 pm
Categories: Hacks, Mods and DIY

The clickety-clack of manual typewriters have long been replaced by PC keyboards and even that is now disappearing with touchscreens. But for those nostalgic about old-school manual typewriters, a hack lets you update and make them compatible with PCs.

Jack Zylkin worked for nine months to create the design and schematics for a USB-based typewriter that can replace the keyboard on your PC.

“Typewriters are a lasting marvel of classic engineering and design, which are now a casualty of our disposable whiz-bang techno-culture,” says Zylkin who created this project at Hive 76, a hackerspace in Philadelphia. “I wanted to do something to make these beautiful machines relevant and useful again. I have seen machines that are 100 years old and still functional as the day they were made, why should I let them go to waste?”

Zylkin estimates it can take five to 10 hours to mod a manual typewriter, if users follow his instructions. But it seems pretty easy to do.

“Its a weekend project for when you are snowed in with no TV,” he says.

Zylkin posted the step-by-step guide to creating the USB typewriter on Instructables.com and his post is now featured as part of the site’s ongoing back to school contest.

Others have attempted the USB-typewriter hack before, says Zylkin, but those projects “involved endless jumbles of wires, a disemboweled keyboard circuit and a phalanx of momentary switches.”

The USB-typewriter hack isn’t an expensive project.

“On eBay, you can get a quality machine for anywhere between $30 and $60,” says Zylkin. “Sadly,the people who trade typewriters on ebay only want to saw the keys off and make jewelry out of them! What a waste! ”

So Zylkin suggests asking friends and family to get an old typewriter from the attic. He is offering $50 DIY conversion kits that include the printed circuit boards for the project.

But if all that’s too much work for you, Zylkin has some USB typewriters available on Etsy priced at $350 to $500.

2010-08-31T08:29:00.000+04:00

Intel to Bolster Mobile Ambitions With $1.4B Infineon Buy

E-Commerce Times

Part of the ECT News Network

08/30/10 11:33 AM PT

Intel appears to be taking steps to reinvent itself as the market for PC chips begins to wane. Mobile technology is what's hot, and Intel's $1.4 billion purchase of Infineon's wireless technology will give it a significant leg up in that area. "The Atom is just not there yet," remarked Roger Kay, principal of Endpoint Technologies Associates.

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Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) is acquiring Infineon's wireless business for US$1.4 billion -- the second major transaction for the company in as many weeks, coming on the heels of its surprising announcement that it would purchase McAfee for $7.7 billion.

Unlike the McAfee deal, however, the Infineon buy does not have analysts scratching their heads.

A German-based maker of chips for Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone and other mobile devices, the Infineon wireless unit makes a great deal of sense as an acquisition for Intel, Nathan Brookwood, an analyst with Insight 64, told the E-Commerce Times.

It is expected to help Intel further develop its 3G, 4G, WiMax and WiFi offerings. Eventually, "Intel will be able to offer processors that have embedded on them the technology to communicate over 3G and 4G wireless networks using WiMax and LTE," Brookwood said.

Intel plans to keep the unit as a standalone busisness. It expects the deal to close in the first quarter of 2011, pending regulatory approval.

New Direction

For the most part, Intel has been synonymous with PC chips. That line of business, though, is become less and less robust as the industry matures and mobile computing takes center stage with consumers.

Indeed, Intel just warned investors that slumping demand for PCs -- as well as a general consumer slowdown in spending -- will likely translate into third-quarter revenues that will be lower than earlier forecasts.

Huge Boost

The Infineon deal will give Intel a huge boost in the mobile space, Roger Kay, principal with Endpoint Technologies Associates, told the E-Commerce Times. "Chip characteristics for the mobile space include small, lightweight, and a long battery life. The Atom is just not there yet."

It's been said that the Infineon acquisition could give Intel a three-to-four year shortcut in R&D, Kay noted. "If that is true, it is worth $1.4 billion right there."

Much of this effort won't bear fruit for 12 to 18 months as solutions are built, scaled to these new markets, and designed into hardware, said Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group.

"But without Infineon, Intel would likely eventually become an insignificant player," he told the E-Commerce Times.

Mixed Portfolio

The Infineon wireless unit's products are largely ARM-based, which has raised some questions over Intel's possible plans for its own Atom chip development, said Kay, as well as the wisdom -- or lack thereof -- of Intel jettisoning its Xscale mobile processor business line to Marvell in 2006. It sold the unit after failing to make inroads in the mobile market.

That was then, Kay argued. The markets have changed considerably in the interim.

Furthermore, Intel is acquiring far more than just ARM (Nasdaq: ARMHY) licenses with this acquisition, he pointed out. "There are a lot of different elements to this package, including radio capablities, which is the bulk of Infineon's IP."

Both the Atom and ARM fill certain roles and can be complementary in Intel's bigger picture, Brookwood said.

"It can be hard to develop radio semiconductors for cellular communications, and Intel recognizes that that is where the indsutry is heading," he explained. "If there is one constant in the semiconductor industry, it is that the chips are always increasing their capabilities and always looking for the next function to integrate onto those processors."

Not Overpaying

It is also worth noting that Intel is not competing for this unit -- unlike, say, the wrangling between Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) and HP (NYSE: HPQ) over 3Par, Kay added.

"There has been a tendency for some tech M&As to overpay lately," he observed. "In fact, I think 3Par is still a decent deal, but there are some very high valuations out there, and firms have to start looking over their bids more carefully if they want them to pay off."

Infineon's wireless unit earned about $1.17 billion in the last fiscal year -- accounting for 30 percent of the company's overall revenue.

2010-08-22T11:54:00.002+04:00

Replace batteries with USB powerfrom Hack a Day by Mike Szczys

12 people liked this

[Mark Bog] thought it was a waste to use batteries for his desktop touch pad. Quite frankly we agree that if you can avoid using disposable cells you should. He ditched the dual AA batteries inside of his Magic Trackpad and built a battery-sized adapter to feed it some juice. It consists of a dowel of similar diameter with a screw in each end. He scavenged a USB cord, connecting hot and ground wires to the corresponding pole of the adapter. Now his Trackpad is USB powered and never in need of a battery replacement or even a recharge.

We’re not familiar with the inner workings of Apple’s Magic Trackpad. We assume there’s a voltage regulator inside and we hope it doesn’t have a problem working with the 5V regulated power coming in from the adapter. If you’ve got the skinny on the hardware we’d love to hear about it in the comments. One last thing: because the forum linked above requires a login to view the images in the post, we’ve embedded the rest of them after the break for your convenience.

BAPPU the great man of INDIA - JAI HIND

2010-08-15T08:35:00.000+04:00

2010-08-07T08:51:00.002+04:00

How The INTERNET Works [INFOGRAPHIC]

by Aibek on Aug. 1st, 2010

Almost everyone nowadays uses the Internet. Stuff like Facebook, email, chat, Twitter and YouTube wouldn’t be there without the Internet. But while the web is so useful and easy to use these days only a few understand how it functions.

If you have ever wondered about it, it’s time to find out. We have made a nice infographic showing exactly how the Internet works.

2010-07-25T14:51:00.002+04:00

Laptop Buyer's Guide: 14-inch and Smaller

8 people liked this

In the second half of our Mobile Buyer's Guide, we focus on portable machines with screens smaller than 14". The market as a whole is getting a thorough overhaul over the summer, both because of brand new chips coming from Intel, AMD, ATI, and NVIDIA (for those of you keeping score at home, that's...everyone) and because of the rapidly approaching back-to-school season, which always means newly refreshed notebook lineups. With so many new systems out there, who's going to put in the groundwork to figure out which ones can hold their own in the market and separate the contenders from the also-rans? We did, and our findings are in this article. Read on for more details!