Oil prices drop sharply
Washington: Oil prices dropped sharply to about $42 a barrel on Monday despite attacks on Iraq's oil pipelines.

According to senior officials at Iraq's state-run oil company oil exports had come to a halt after a rash of insurgent attacks on the country's petroleum infrastructure.

The officials of the South Oil Company, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said that the lines were not likely to resume operations for at least a week.
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AMD demonstrates x86 dual-core processor
Sunnyvale, USA: AMD has announced it is demonstrating the industry's first x86 dual-core processor. During demonstrations held at the company's Austin facilities, AMD is showing an HP ProLiant DL585 server powered by four dual-core AMD Opteron processors manufactured on 90nm silicon-on-insulator process technology.

With a simple upgrade path to more efficient computing, based on AMD's existing system infrastructure and industry-standard architecture, enterprise customers can expect more efficient processing power without the penalties of increased power consumption and heat dissipation. The dual-core AMD Opteron processor for servers and workstations is expected to offer the best performance per watt in the market when AMD plans to make it available in mid-2005.

Based on the existing 940-socket infrastructure, AMD expects the upcoming dual-core AMD Opteron processor to provide better performance on a majority of server/workstation workloads by combining two processing cores on a single die. The form factor, energy consumption and performance needs of today's computer designs demand new innovations. Dual-core processor technology will equip customers with more balanced performance based on industry-standard system architecture.

Dual-core processors are a natural extension of AMD64 technology with Direct Connect Architecture. In addition to being the first to help eliminate the bottlenecks inherent in x86 front-side bus architectures, AMD is now demonstrating the capabilities of being the first to directly connect two cores on the same die along with the memory controller, I/O and other processors - which will improve the overall system performance and efficiency.

AMD plans to introduce a full dual-core processor line-up for the one- to eight-socket server and workstation market in mid-2005 based on the existing 940-pin socket. Dual-core processors for the client market are expected to follow in the second half of 2005.
Since the introduction of the AMD64 architecture in 2003, the AMD Opteron processor for servers and workstations and the AMD Athlon 64 processors for desktop and notebook computers have earned more than 55 awards for innovation and performance and the support of more than 2,000 OEMs, hardware and software developers, system builders, and distributors.

AMD (NYSE:AMD) designs and produces innovative microprocessors, Flash memory devices and low-power processor solutions for the computer, communications and consumer electronics industries.
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Mobile devices based on Near Field Communication
Tokyo, Japan: Royal Philips Electronics has announced that Samsung Electronics will deploy cellular devices that use Philips Near Field Communication (NFC) chip solutions. Users of Samsung devices that include Philips NFC chips will be able to access content and services in an intuitive way. For example, a Samsung mobile phone equipped with NFC technology could automatically connect with an NFC-enabled PC or TV, simply by holding them next to each other, in order to transfer digital pictures or other data.

This industry collaboration is an example of the potential NFC brings to enable the use of touch-based interactions in the areas of consumer electronics equipment, mobile devices, PCs and for payment purposes. Consumers are seeking easier ways to interact with their immediate environment and want to experience easy communication between their electronic devices and gain fast access to services.

Consumers will first see NFC technology appear in their most commonly utilized personal device — the mobile phone. With NFC, the mobile phone transitions from running primarily voice applications to becoming a more personalized device that can let you conduct secure payment transactions, gain access to public transportation, building access and store digital rights. In essence, the mobile phone becomes a point-of-sale terminal, a ticket counter, keys to your building, a transport card, a debit/credit card and an electronic business card all in one easy to use device.

NFC technology evolved from a combination of contactless identification and interconnection technologies. It combines the functions of a contactless reader, a contactless card and peer-to-peer functionality on a single chip. It operates in the 13.56 MHz frequency range, typically over a distance of a few centimeters. NFC technology is standardized in ISO 18092 and ISO 21481, ECMA (340, 352 and 356) and ETSI TS 102 190.

NFC is also compatible to the broadly established contactless smart card infrastructure based on ISO 14443 A, which is Philips MIFARE technology, as well as Sony's FeliCa card. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication and digital convergence technology. Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of $32.8 billion (EUR 29 billion) in 2003.
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