Ricoh takes aim at inkjets with gel technology

Ricoh has demonstrated a new printing technology that could provide a new middle ground between consumer inkjet printers and workgroup lasers. Ricoh's GelSprinter technology uses pigment-based gel instead of more viscous ink, but while the new printers look and sound like inkjets, Ricoh claims that its printers will deliver a laser-like 29ppm in both mono and colour modes. The most basic model, the GX3000, will cost ?128 (?150 inc VAT), which is cheap indeed for a colour printer capable of 29ppm at default quality settings. ...more

China to buy 200 million desktop licences from Sun

Sun has forged a multi-year deal with the China Standard Software Company (CSSC) to install 'at least' 200 million copies of Sun's Linux-based Java Desktop System as part of a government-backed project to bridge the digital divide in the country. The deal will see roughly 500,000 to a million copies a year installed from the end of this year. Financial details were not disclosed; Sun sells its Java Desktop at $100 a head in the US. ...more

iSupply tears down an Apple Mac mini

What do you call a mobile computer that has no display, no keyboard and no other input devices? Apple Computer calls it the Mac mini and it is really a desktop PC that is designed and built like a laptop. A recent dissection conducted by iSuppli Corp.'s Teardown Analysis service reveals that the Mac mini employs a cutting-edge design that showcases Apple's aplomb for developing elegant systems that pack a great deal of functionality into a tiny form factor. ...more

Microsoft to support RSS in Longhorn and IE 7

Microsoft has revealed that its next version of Windows, codenamed Longhorn, will support the RSS format. The new version of Internet Explorer is also expected to support RSS when it appears later this year. The moves are expected to give a sizable push to the technology particularly when Longhorn appears next year. ...more

Toshiba pushes the flash memory envelope

Good news for gadget designers - Toshiba has managed to double the capacity of its NAND flash memory, with 4Gbit ICs. Greater memory capacities, of course, give improved scope for miniaturisation or more powerful functionality, for devices such as digital cameras, MP3 players, smartphones and the like. Described by Toshiba as the semiconductor industry's first 4Gbit single-die, multi-level cell (MLC), NAND flash memory, the chip is made on 90-nanometer process technology and reportedly doubles the capacity of Toshiba's present largest single-die NAND flash memory. ...more