Michael Singer

With more than 12 billion text messages being sent out each month, two giant companies are combining forces to focus on the fastest emerging marketplace — China. Microsoft and Chinese-language network SINA Friday announced a joint SMS service with Microsoft for MS Office XP in China. Hong Kong-based SINA, with U.S. offices in San Mateo, […]

After some slight delays, Apple Computer Friday released its latest upgrade to its Mac OS X 10.2 platform, also known as “Jaguar.” The update has advanced versions of its Address Book, Finder, FireWire, Graphics, OpenGL, and Sherlock search tool. It includes AFP and Windows file service improvements, as well as audio, disc recording, graphics, and […]

IBM shopped around this week for a Linux partner to help it build new handheld devices based on the open source operating system. What the Armonk, N.Y.-based company found was Trolltech, a 75-person company in Oslo, Norway whose software claim to fame is an embedded application environment it calls Qtopia. The company, which has offices […]

Flash memory maker M-Systems Thursday said it is close to releasing a new chip based on its recently announced x2 technology and multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash silicon. In a partnership with Toshiba, Newark, Calif.-based M-Systems said its Mobile DiskOnChip G3 flash disk will be available in the second quarter of 2003, with mass production […]

Cisco Systems Thursday said it has been asked by wholesale Internet telephony carrier ITXC to help create a massive Voice over IP (VoIP) Network spanning more than 175 countries. The project, slated to begin this year, will use Cisco’s VIA products including its AS5000 Universal Gateway and PGW 2200 Softswitch Voice Over IP (VoIP) as […]

Usually known for its security and anti-virus software, Network Associates (NAI) Thursday said it was granted a U.S. patent for streamlining proxy server traffic. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company said U.S. Patent number 6,510,448 entitled “System, Method And Computer Program Product For Increasing The Performance Of A Proxy Server,” covers both proxies and context switching. […]

Motorola Thursday said it would begin shipping the world’s first handset combining a Linux operating system (OS) and Java by the end of the year. The Schaumburg, Ill.-based mobile chipmaker said it is making the Linux operating system a “key pillar of its handset software strategy.” The world’s second-largest mobile phone maker previously used either […]

Deciding that the world is hungry for low-power semiconductors, Transmeta Wednesday established a worldwide support network on three continents. The Santa Clara-based company said it is beefing up its sales and distribution network of manufacturers’ representatives, distributors, resellers and stocking representatives in North America, Asia, Europe and Japan. Transmeta said the goal is to make […]

Intel Thursday announced production plans for a new processor for cell phones using what it calls “wireless-Internet-on-a-chip” technology. Formerly known as Manitoba, the PXA800F cellular processor with built-in Flash memory for GSM /GPRS networks is currently sampling with production volumes expected in the third quarter of 2003. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip making giant said […]

While chipmakers are preparing to sweat out another tumultuous year in PC and server sales, one group is forecasting better growth for specialized semiconductor firms in 2003. Analysts with Forward Concepts Tuesday said the market for digital signal processors will not be an “above normal” year, but should achieve 20 percent growth. DSPs are specialized, […]

NEC Corp. Tuesday said it has come up with a new type of computer memory, one that may replace the DRAM and flash memory one day. At the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco, the Tokyo-based company said it has successfully developed 512-Kb cross-point (CP) magnetoresistive random-access memory — or MRAM — comprised […]

Looking to boost interest in its mobile devices, Handspring Tuesday launched a new developer program focused on its Treo smartphone product line. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company said it is supporting application development in three categories: horizontal business solutions such as e-mail and VPN clients; vertical solutions such as those used in health care, legal, […]