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January 31, 2006
Handhelds Get Contactless Reader
Tennessee-based Tradewinds Technologies has integrated the PicoRead chipset from INSIDE Contactless into an SD Card form factor. The SD reader can be used with a host of handheld devices including both Palm and Pocket PC varieties. The new reader can read and write to tags of the following flavors: ISO 15693, ISO 14443A, ISO 14443B, ISO 18000, FeliCa™, and eNFC™ (enhanced NFC technology).
INSIDE JOINS FORCES WITH TRADEWIND TO BRING FIRST MULTI-STANDARD SECURE DIGITAL CONTACTLESS READER TO HANDHELD MARKET
INSIDE’s NFC-enabled PicoRead™ Chipset powers Pocket PCs and Palm Devices to Become Instant contactless ReadersAIX EN PROVENCE, FRANCE, January 30th, 2006 – INSIDE Contactless today announced that it has entered into an agreement with TradeWind Technologies LLC to combine the two companies’ technology to deliver the market’s first multi-standard Secure Digital (SD) contactless reader. INSIDE’s innovative PicoRead chipset has been integrated into TradeWind’s industry leading ContactlessONE SD contactless reader, enabling Pocket PCs and Palm devices to read and write to 13.56 MHz ISO tags and smart labels.
“Working together, INSIDE and TradeWind have married contactless technology with the ease-of-use of handheld devices, providing a cost-effective, easily deployable platform for contactless applications in a wide range of industries, including healthcare, corporate, consumer and manufacturing,” stated INSIDE Contactless’ Project Manager, Olivier Carron. “PicoRead’s unique low-cost, low-power design and multi-standard technology makes it the perfect chip for this groundbreaking small form factor, turning any PocketPC or Palm with an SDIO slot into an extremely easy-to-use contactless device.”
“Combining simple-to-use handhelds with contactless technology is a logical extension of existing devices,” stated Doug Yeager, president of TradeWind Technologies. “TradeWind’s ContactlessONE SD contactless reader is already proving its worth in customer deployments. We anticipate high demand for these readers as more and more companies and institutions move to using contactless technology for capturing critical data and information.”
The readers feature a very small form factor – just 28mm by 28mm, extending outside a PocketPC or Palm device’s external SD slot by a mere 6mm. With INSIDE’s PicoRead contactless technology, the TradeWind SD contactless reader is compatible with all standards, including ISO 15693, ISO 14443A and B, ISO 18000 and FeliCa™ chips. PicoRead’s robust capabilities ensure high performance, while its crypto support provides a high level of security, and its low power consumption significantly extends battery life.
INSIDE’s PicoRead technology is designed to address the fast growing demand for a high performance, low-cost RF 13.56MHz contactless interface for large scale applications where low-power and small footprint are required. Applications benefiting from this innovative product include access control for corporate campuses, government installations and hotels, as well as logical access via integration into laptops, keyboards, handheld terminals, and consumer electronic devices such as PDAs and mobile phones.
About TradeWind Technologies
TradeWind Technologies LLC develops and manufactures flexible and low-cost advanced radio frequency identification (RFID) systems for VARs and Systems Integrators to meet the demands of emerging RFID markets worldwide. TradeWind Technologies' RFID systems support a full range of ISO, EPC and industry standard RFID tags and smart labels. TradeWind Technologies is based in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and can be reached at 865-927-0730 or http://www.tradewindtek.com.
About INSIDE Contactless
INSIDE Contactless is one of the world’s largest providers of semiconductor chips (memory and microprocessor) and hardware platforms (couplers and readers) related to 13.56 Mhz contactless technology. Delivering the most cost-effective, reliable and secure technology for both contactless cards and readers, INSIDE provides high performance, open standard solutions for Payment, ID and Access Control. Strategically headquartered in France with a global presence in China, Singapore and the US, INSIDE’s worldwide customer portfolio includes providing MicroPass chips for Visa’s contactless payment initiative and serving as the exclusive provider of smart card reader technology for HID’s iCLASS access control solution. For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.insidecontactless.com.
Posted by keefner at 01:50 PM
January 30, 2006
VIA Entry with CN400
The latest VIA mini-ITX now come with 1.3Ghz Nehemiah and a new core logic that is CN400. Speed of encryption 10X faster than Pentium. Dual processor and low power. Nice writeups on EPiacenter and EDN Senior Expert Brian Dipert talks about.
Mini-ITX, Major Review
Jan 19 2006 12:48PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
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In a two-part series back in early 2004, I built up and bench-tested Via's then-state of the art Mini-ITX motherboard, the EPIA-M10000 (code-named 'Nehemiah'). Many of its limitations, both absolutely and relative to a Pentium M-based mini-ITX alternative that I also evaluated, derived from its trailing-edge CLE266 north-bridge chip. As I mentioned at the end of one of the part-one writeup's sidebars, Via planned follow-on designs that would employ more modern CN400 core logic.
After an interminable delay, Via got me an updated board last fall. The VT-310DP has several notable characteristics, beyond its CN400 embrace: it's a dual-processor design (each processor is identical in features and speeds to the one in the earlier EPIA-M1000 board), for example, and it contains three Ethernet ports, one of them capable of 1 Gbit speeds. Between travel, holidays and other distractions, I haven't yet fired up the board, although I plan indepth print and web coverage for later this spring. Until then, satiate yourself with a solid writeup on the MiniITX website.
http://www.edn.com/blog/400000040/post/1360002536.html
Posted by keefner at 03:22 AM
Latest Low Cost mini-iTX Pentium
BVM in the UK announced new low-cost mini-ITX. About 135 pounds.
Jan 25, 2006
BVM Limited now offers a new Pentium M-based embedded motherboard in the Mini-ITX form factor, delivering high performance at low cost for gaming machine, kiosk, media centre, industrial, and even NAS, POS and ATM applications.
Supporting the Pentium M/Celeron M processors running at FSB 400/533MHz, the exciting LV-675 features a high-performance chipset with built-in Intel Extreme Graphics technology, 1GB DDR SRAM and up to 64MB shared graphics memory, two Mini-PCI and one PCI expansion slots, and optional high-performance display functions for multimedia applications including DVI or LVDS.
The latest in high-bandwidth connectivity is supported, with IEEE 1394, S-Video and RCA TV-Out (NTSC and PAL). AC97 5.1 channel audio is also integrated. Networking options include support for up to four USB 2.0 connections, two COM ports, and an Intel 1GB Ethernet port. UltraATA/100 IDE/IrDA and DiskOnModule interfaces enable high data transfer speeds.
Additional features include ACPI 2.0 compliant power management supporting power saving mode, watchdog timer, and built-in real time clock with onboard lithium battery.
For further information visit www.bvmltd.co.uk
Posted by keefner at 03:16 AM
January 18, 2006
1 Million Free Thin Clients
FRANKFURT, GERMANY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 01/18/2006 -- 2X today announced that it will give away 1 million thin clients, in a bid to demonstrate the advantages of thin client computing, allowing any organization to solve the management and security issues of fat clients.
"Thin client computing is the only solution for effective management of desktops. The free thin client offer allows companies to familiarize themselves with the technology and to prepare for the deployment of thin clients," said Nikolaos Makris, 2X President.
Obtaining the free thin clients
The offer is available from http://www.2x.com/thinclientserver/free-thin-clients.htm. The first 200,000 visitors are entitled to a free 5 thin client license of 2X ThinClientServer. With 2X ThinClientServer organisations can convert up to 5 PCs (these can be outdated PCs with as little as 32 MB of RAM and 200 Mhz processing power) to thin clients and manage them from a single web-based management interface.
How 2X ThinClientServer works
2X ThinClientServer deploys a small footprint Linux-based OS to old PCs, new low cost PCs and to popular thin client devices (HP, Neoware, Wyse, Maxspeed and more). Thin clients always boot the latest version of the OS from the ThinClientServer. The thin client OS is write protected for maximum security.
Hardware & users' connection settings are managed centrally
Hardware & connection settings such as Terminal Server name, type (RDP, Citrix ICA or NX), screen resolution and more, can be managed centrally via the web-based management interface. There is no need to push out these connection settings to the thin client devices, because they are retrieved when the user logs on. In addition, connection settings can be linked to Active Directory/LDAP usernames, groups or OU's (organizational units) or to a thin client device, further reducing the administration involved with managing users & thin client devices. More information about 2X ThinClientServer can be found at http://www.2x.com/thinclientserver/.
About 2X
2X Software Ltd -- 2X -- is a company developing software for the booming server-based computing market. Thin client computing controls spiraling PC management costs, centralizes application and desktop management, improves security and performance and allows users to work remotely. The company's product line includes: 2X ThinClientServer for Windows/Linux, 2X LoadBalancer for Terminal Services/Citrix, 2X ApplicationServer for Windows Terminal Services and 2X SecureRDP for Windows Terminal Services. 2X is a privately held company with offices in Frankfurt, Cyprus, UK and Malta. Its management team is backed by years of experience in developing and selling network infrastructure software. 2X is a Microsoft, Novell, RedHat and IBM partner.
All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
For more information:
Please email Tamara Borg on Email Contact
2X Software Ltd
Tel: (+49) 69 710456-424
Fax: (+49) 69 710456-450
URL: http://www.2x.com.
SOURCE: 2X
Posted by keefner at 03:19 PM