Tech giants team on chip future

The team of companies that developed the Cell processor is working to a new five-year plan. The microprocessor design - destined for the PlayStation 3 and next-generation workstations - was developed by IBM, Sony and Toshiba and the electronics giants have an announced a new five-year phase for joint technology development. Having previously collaborated on SOI (silicon-on-insulator) process technologies at 90 and 65 nanometres (nm), they will now focus on 32nm development. ...more

The Robot takeover is gathering pace, says UN

There is a buying boom for robotic devices according to a survey published by one of the United Nation's Economic Commissions. "Never before have the United States and the European Union invested in so many industrial robots in a single year," said Jan Karlsson in a report in The New York Times. Karlsson compiled the data for the World 2000 Robotics survey. ...more

Get sporty with Nike's MP3 player

Yes, I couldn't believe it either, but the world's leading training shoe manufacturer is branching out into digital audio with a Nike-branded MP3 player. The Nike MP3 players are aimed at fitness freaks and music-loving athletes. There are two versions of the PSA Play, one with 64Mb of memory and the other with 32Mb. ...more

BT dives under the Tamar to bring ADSL to Cornish town

BT has gone underwater for its broadband rollout to Cornwall. An undersea cable has been used to bring broadband to the Cornish town of Torpoint. In a two-day operation, a kilometre of fibre optic cable was laid across the Tamar River between Devonport and Torpoint. ...more

Sun moves to improve Java Community Process

The Java Community Process (JCP) is the nearest thing that Java has to a standards body and Sun is looking to improve its workings. It wants a wider participation of developers to help shape future specifications for the platform-neutral, 'write once run anywhere' language. Among the changes proposed by Java Specification Request (JSR) 215 is the creation of a new class of membership - 'Expert Group Observer'. ...more