document.writeln("
Ferrari
team opts for AMD's Opteron based server cluster
Milano, Italy: AMD has announced that Scuderia
Ferrari Marlboro, the Formula One racing team, has implemented
a server cluster based on the AMD Opteron processor with
Direct Connect Architecture in order to advance its essential
aerodynamic research and development. The AMD Opteron
processor-based servers provide Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro's
engineering team with a vital research tool that will
be used to advance car designs by enabling new aerodynamic
testing scenarios. Aerodynamics is fundamental to car
performance, yet in car design it is the most difficult
variable to control and demands the most processing power.
Installed
at Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro headquarters in Maranello,
Italy, the race team's latest AMD Opteron solution is
comprised of several hundred computing nodes running on
the Linux operating system. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
selected the AMD Opteron processor particularly to help
advance Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) calculations,
which is a critical factor complementing aerodynamics
testing. The world's first 32-bit and 64-bit processor
compatible with the x86 architecture, the AMD Opteron
processor is based on AMD64 technology with Direct Connect
Architecture. Direct Connect Architecture helps eliminate
the bottlenecks inherent in a front-side bus by directly
connecting the processors, the memory controller and the
I/O to the central processor unit to enable improved overall
system performance and efficiency. AMD also was the first
to announce the completion of an x86-based dual-core processor
design for 64-bit computing. AMD designs and produces
innovative microprocessors, Flash memory devices and low-power
processor solutions for the computer, communications and
consumer electronics industries.
Back
to News Review index page
US
gets its first Professor of Thinking
Tempe,
USA: The University of Advancing Technology (UAT)
has appointed Professor William Maxwell, Ed.D, a Harvard
University alumnus, as Professor of Thinking. This is
the first appointment of such a title in the United States
and the second on the world stage. The first recipient
of the title was Rhodes Scholar Professor Edward de Bono,
M.D., Ph.D., from Malta. Bono holds terminal degrees from
both Oxford and Cambridge universities and has written
65 books on thinking. Maxwell has held various professor
and dean titles at the University of Wisconsin, North
Carolina State University, California State University,
Fresno, to name just a few. He is also the founder of
the International Conference on Thinking which began in
1982 at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji. The
conference has since been held at locations throughout
the world. In his capacity at the University of Advancing
Technology, Maxwell will assist both students and faculty
in all forms of thinking including inductive, deductive,
lateral, divergent and creative. The University of Advancing
Technology is an ACICS accredited private college located
in Tempe, Arizona, USA. Founded in 1983, UAT offers associate's,
bachelor's and master's degrees in both arts and sciences
focused in today's most advanced technologies.
Back
to News Review index page
J.D.
Power: Telecommunications bundling
continues to rise
Westlake Village, USA: Twenty percent of households
now report visiting their local telephone service provider's
Web site in the past six months, up 6 percentage points
from 2003, according to the J.D. Power and Associates
2004 Residential Local Telephone Customer Satisfaction
Study. This
represents the largest percentage increase in the past
four years. Billing is the focus of most customer visits,
with 56 percent of Web site users reporting they have
reviewed a bill, and 44 percent having actually paid their
bill online — up 13 percent from 2003. Remarkably,
customers with Internet access who visited their local
provider's Web site in the past six months have significantly
higher overall satisfaction scores than those who have
not. According to J.D. Power, online billing is a trend
that the industry has been looking for. Customers can
now review their service whenever they want from wherever
they are and it is much more cost effective for the carrier.
While billing self service has improved dramatically,
the next industry plateau will be to provide a broader-based,
high-quality customer service assistance via the Web or
e-mail.
The share of households reporting that they have bundled
at least local and long distance telephone service with
one provider took another significant jump in 2004, increasing
by 11 percent to 51 percent, or nearly 10 million households
nationally. More importantly, when asked whether they
would be likely to switch any additional telecommunications
services (wireline, Internet, wireless and television)
to a multi-service provider, 43 percent of respondents
report they "definitely" or "probably"
would do so. Overall satisfaction is determined based
on six factors (in order of importance): customer service,
billing, performance and reliability, company image, cost
of service, and offerings and promotions. J.D. Power and
Associates (www.jdpower.com) is an ISO 9001-registered
global marketing information services firm operating in
key business sectors, including market research, forecasting,
consulting, training and customer satisfaction.
Back
to News Review index page
Taiwanese
investment to advance China's semiconductor industry
Arlington, USA: The US-Taiwan Business Council
just released "Semiconductor Report - Second Quarter
2004", details the significance of Taiwan Semiconductor
Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) recent phase 2 government
approval as Taiwan's only foundry to begin 8-inch chip
manufacturing in China. The report also discusses the
future for China's semiconductor industry, and how it
will be impacted by the entrance of TSMC, the evolution
of China's foundries — especially Semiconductor Manufacturing
International Corp. (SMIC), the growth of IC design, and
the removal of China's discriminatory Value-Added-Tax
(VAT) on domestic chip production.
Taiwan is ranked second globally for semiconductor design,
and is home to 5 of the world's top 20 chip design firms.
In addition, expansion plans by Taiwan's top foundries
and DRAM chipmakers could provide Taiwan with the largest
concentration of advanced 12-inch semiconductor fabs in
the world by 2006. "The increasing level of Taiwan's
investment in domestic chip manufacturing and design indicates
that concerns over the 'hollowing out' of Taiwan's technology
industry are significantly reduced," according to
Council President Rupert Hammond-Chambers. "Taiwan
will remain a leader in the global semiconductor industry
despite the allure of the China market, and it will continue
to be influential in that market's growth." The US-Taiwan
Business Council is a membership-based non-profit association,
founded in 1976 to foster trade and business relations
between the United States and Taiwan.
Back
to News Review index page
