FCC's data roaming requirements upheld by appeals court

Mobile phone carriers will be forced to use data roaming agreements with each other as per FCC regulations; according to a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. This ruling was in reference to the FCC’s April 2011 mandate forcing mobile carriers to offer their data roaming fees and services to competitors at a reasonable rate.

In may 2011, Verizon Wireless challenged the FCC mandate stating that the government agency was overstepping their authority by making any carrier impose any data roaming regulations.

While the Court’s ruling will stand for now, Verizon’s argument was a solid argument. Verizon argued that the FCC had no authority over regulating the Internet, which is what their mobile data is used for. The courts rejected Verizon’s arguments saying that the FCC does have ‘broad authority’ as per the telecommunication’s Act, which is to manage all wireless data in regards to the public’s needs or interests.

"This unanimous decision confirms the FCCs authority to promote broadband competition and protect broadband consumers,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowsk. "Our rules have empowered consumers and expanded their ability to enjoy the benefits of seamless and nationwide access to mobile data services, including wireless Internet and e-mail."

Eight Core Sandy Bridge Pictures Screenshots leaked

XtremeSystems Forums member JCornell has posted several pictures ofIntel's 8-core Sandy Bridge Engineering Sample, including screenshots ofCPU-Z and Everest on Windows 7. Intel's mainstream Sandy Bridge CPUs -dual and quad core - will fit into LGA 1155. However, a differentplatform will be used for the enthusiast 6/8 core Sandy Bridge, aroundLGA 2011. The pictures reveal a distance between mounting holesidentical to LGA 1366, hence assuring compatibility with Core i7 900series heatsinks.



Other screenshots are based around CPU-Z, Everest and Task Manager. We can see an amazing 16 threads on the task manager, with HT enabled on 8 cores. L2 cache remains are 256 KB per core, with a total shared L3 cache of 20 MB. This is an increment from the Nehalem generation, which featured a L3/core ratio of 2MB per core. The 8 core Sandy Bridge features 2.5 MB per core. The AVX instruction set is listed in CPU-Z and Everest as well.



Unfortunately, JC has taken measures to hide the exact clock speed, though the FSB is running at 100 MHz.

We are still a long way away from release of LGA 2011 Sandy Bridge CPUs. While the LGA 1155 dual/quad core Sandy Bridge are set to release in January 2011, the enthusiast 6/8 core are scheduled for a vague timeline of H2 2011 - the same as AMD's Bulldozer.

More pictures at XtremeSystems Forums.

Fairchild semi has solved the headset connector issue

In as much as were all for Bluetooth headsets, theyre generally not that great for listening to music on, but getting a high-quality wired headset that actually works with your phone isnt always that easy, as not every manufacturer wires up the connector the same. An unlikely candidate has stepped up to the task of solving this problem in the shape of Fairchild Semiconductor with its FSA8049 cross point switch.

What is a cross point switch you ask? Well, its a little chip that would be integrated into the handset youre using at the time its being manufacturer and it has the ability to detect the type of headset thats being connected to the handset. It will automatically detect the location of the ground and microphone poles on the headset and thus allow any type of headset or headphones to be used, something that isnt always the case today.

The chip could of course be used in just about any device with an audio jack to auto detect whats being plugged into the jack and with modern laptops seemingly moving to a single jack for headsets, this is another potential market where you have the same problem. Now if only all the device makers would be willing to implement the FSA8049 into their devices and the life of all consumers would be so much easier.

Source: Fairchild Semiconductor

Enermax Ships MODU87+ amp; PRO87+ Series

Enermax MODU87+
Enermaxhas recently announced the MODU87+ & PRO87+ series, adding on to its line-up of performance PSUs.


Enermax MODU87+ Top View


Enermax PRO87+


Enermax PRO87+ Top View

The modular MODU87+ series (500, 600, 700 and 800W) and non-modular PRO87+ series (500 and 600W) are 80Plus GOLD certified and feature three 12V rails, Enermax’s DHTT (Dynamic Hybrid Transformer Topology) and a Hybrid Capacitor array. It is also equipped with a silent 139mm fan (with Twister Bearing Technology), capable of up to 1000 RPM, for cooling. Available in end January 2010, they can be purchased from major retailers and e-tailers in Europe at a MSRP starting from 135.90 Euro incl. VAT (MODU87+ series) and 119.90 Euro incl. VAT (PRO87+ series).


“Enermax sets new standards for most demanded PSU wattage range between 500 and 800W: Thanks to its new high-performance AC technology, the Modu87+ and Pro87+ PSU series reach an incredible peak efficiency of up to 93 per cent at 230V. Record-breaking results Enermax achieves as well with the patented cooling technology of new PSU. The path-breaking fan control guarantees optimal and silent running due to unmatched 330 RPM at low load and a maximum of 1,000 RPM at full load.”


News via [Bjorn3d]

Asus Ares Support in Catalyst 10.3a

Out of curiosity, we took apart the latest installment of beta Catalyst just to see what AMD has up its sleeves. The Asus Ares "monster," which has already gained legendary status before hitting the shelves, turned up in this copy of 10.3a Catalyst.
Of course we did not find any Asus product brochure for the Ares hidden in here, but the "DEV_689C" device ID used by the Ares is shared with the Radeon HD 5900 series.
It sure ain't bad for Asus, having official driver support for a deviant design.

Apple predicted to become direct mobile service provider

A veteran wireless industry strategist has predicated that Apple will launch a direct wireless service for the iPad and iPhone, while Google will follow suit.

Whitey Bluestein, who has advised companies on mobile strategy for over two decades, told attendees of the Informa MVNO Industry Summit in Barcelona that Apple was likely preparing a major new move into the wireless service market.Citing a series of Apples pending patents from 2006 onwards, one of which deals with network architecture required to become a wireless service provider, Bluestein postulated that Apple will change how it approaches wireless for its products in the future.He predicted that the launch of such a service, which would provide phone, data, voice and roaming, would be “in the near future,” citing an extension of the network architecture patent in Autumn of last year.He speculated that Apple will likely offer mobile data plans with iPads, rather than selling them with AT&T or Verizon data plans, which could upset its former partners. However, this would give Apple direct control and a larger slice of the profits, though it will have to fork over an initial investment to make up for the subsidies offered by existing operators.Bluestein suggested Apple will avail of its popular iTunes Store, where there are 250 million accounts, to offer activation, data and international roaming plans.Other plans could include an ala carte model for providing iPhone customers with voice, data and message plans as an alternative to their existing mobile operator.Bluestein also believes that Google will follow suit, taking advantage of its ability to acquire companies and services to fill the gaps in its system.“The battleground is set, but Apple will be the first mover,” said Bluestein. “Google will have to scramble because it lacks retail distribution, experience with subscriber services and the iTunes ecosystem of content. iTunes and the iTunes Store provide Apple with one-click buying and customer care. Google can acquire most of these capabilities, as it has before, but it is not a core competency of the company.”