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Technology Stocks : Compaq -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BILL CHOW who wrote (87096)	11/27/2000 9:29:18 AM
From: Night Writer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

Bill, Nice article and links on Sun's ECC problems. Here is a small one on CPQ. Wireless Keeps On Rolling Nov 27, 2000 (Tech Web - CMP via COMTEX) -- I remember when networking was a big deal at Comdex. Cable runs were painted gaudy colors to show what has happening, and attendees were fascinated by the idea of computers sharing data. Not anymore. But that doesn't mean networking is standing still. Consider all the ways notebooks and PDAs fling their packets through the air: two-way paging networks; circuit-switched cellular; CDPD (cellular digital packet data); HomeRF; 802.11b wireless LANs; 128-kbit/s Ricochet networks; 384-kbit/s over Ericsson's experimental EDGE cellular system. But the important thing is the message that all this activity is sending: Wireless data is no longer just for specialized apps. It's proof that the day is fast approaching when we won't be able to imagine a device that doesn't reach out and touch the wider world. But there's an interesting problem with wireless notebooks: They've been very carefully designed to maintain a barrier to radio-frequency (RF) energy, keeping that which they generate inside, and preventing external RF energy from affecting their operation. As much as I like being able to plug a wireless PCMCIA card into my notebook, its antenna positions itself right next to the guts of the device, raising the potential for RF energy to leak inside. There's also the issue of the radiation pattern of the antenna. In a perfect world, a vertical antenna would radiate (and receive) signals equally in all directions, so the signal wouldn't fade as you turned your notebook this way and that. A possible solution: an internal coax run from the radio module inside the base of the notebook, to an antenna on top of the screen. That way, when the screen is open, the antenna would be as high as possible and away from much of the notebook's shielding. Or what about moving the entire radio assembly itself to the top of the screen? That's the approach Compaq Computer Corp. (stock: CPQ) is taking, as evidenced by a prototype MultiPort notebook shown at Comdex. According to Charles Dittmer, director of communications technologies for the Commercial Portable Division, the slightly raised MultiPort area built into the outside of the screen will contain not just the antenna, but an entire radio module for the wireless technology of choice. It may be available as early as next spring. Multicolored cable runs make for nice memories. But it's much more interesting to see where wireless is taking us -- and how notebook designs will change to make the most of the new technologies. techweb.com Copyright (C) 2000 CMP Media Inc.

To: BILL CHOW who wrote (87096)	11/27/2000 7:54:25 PM
From: Tony Viola	Respond to of 97611

Bill, here's a company (that you'll remember) that's using a little propaganda to take advantage of Sun's leaving ECC off the cache: More reliability than any other UNIX system We started with a system layout optimized for cool, reliable operation. Added the SPARC64-GP processor designed for mission-critical applications. Programmed in the most extensive error correction code Ð so that one-bit errors are prevented from bringing down the server and stopping business. While other UNIX servers leave gaps in their ECC coverage, creating vulnerable points for failure, the PRIMEPOWER family is unique in providing ECC on all primary data paths Ð memory, the system bus and both levels of cache. These and many other features make PRIMEPOWER the choice for reliability. fujitsu-technology.com Tony