Intel and Micron start producing 20nm NAND chips

Intel and Micron have announced the development of the world's first 128Gbit (16GB) multilevel-cell NAND flash memory chip made using a 20nm manufacturing process technology that incorporates high-K metal gate transistors. Scheduled for mass production in the first half of 2012, the new NAND will enable up to a terabit (128GB) of data storage in a finger-tip size package using eight die, and it meets the high-speed ONFI 3.0 specification to achieve speeds of 333 megatransfers per second (MT/s).

Intel and Micron said that the key to their success with their 20nm process technology is a new planar cell structure, which enables more aggressive cell scaling than conventional architectures, while maintaining performance and reliability on par with previous generation NAND chips.

The joint venture also announced it is moving a 20nm 64Gb NAND flash product into mass production this month. The new 20nm 64Gbit (8GB) chip measures just 118mm2 and enables a 30% to 40% reduction in board space (depending on package type) compared to their existing 25nm 64Gbit (8GB) NAND device.

Designed for use in tablets, smartphones and high-capacity solid-state drives, the smaller 20nm NAND memory will enable manufacturers to either cram more capacity into their gadgets or use the extra space for other end-product improvements such as a bigger battery, larger screen or adding new hardware features. It should also help reduce NAND costs over time as yields reach optimal levels.

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Google implements graphing calculator for search results

Math lovers unite. In recent blog post, Google announced it has rolled out a new graphing feature for plotting your favorite mathematical functions. The company claims the feature can handle an "extensive range of single variable functions including trigonometric, exponential, logarithmic and their compositions."

The graph can be zoomed and panned as you please. Multiple functions can be plotted by simply separating them with commas and are each assigned unique colors. If you are interested in trying it out, you can give this dry example a shot here. If you would like to sample something a little more whimsical (see image to the right), try this on for size.

Google took special care to note this works in "modern" web browsers, so compatibility may be an issue for certain browsers, especially ones that are more than a year old. As always, it is always recommend to keep your browser of choice up to date as possible.

Graphing mathematical functions is nothing new to the web. Mathematical mastermind Stephan Wolfram reminded us of that with WolframAlpha, as have countless others well before him. Even Google itself has had a way to graph functions for some time now, but what makes this unique is you can generate graphs directly in your search results.

The company's new graphing feature naturally extends its already existing capabilities as a web-based scientific calculator. Users have been able to punch in problems, equations and convert units for years now, obtaining results directly from the search engine itself. This merely takes Google one small step further toward reading your mind and providing ultimate convenience.

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Apple iPad loses lawsuit in China

The Intermediate People’s Court in Shenzhen has ruled against Apple in a complaint against a Chinese technology company over the use of the iPad name. Apple has confirmed the lawsuit but has declined further comment, according to a report from Reuters.

In the lawsuit, Proview Technology claims to have registered the iPad trademark as early as 2000 in multiple countries including China, potentially 10 years before Apple released their tablet with the same name. In October, Proview reportedly sued Apple for 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) for copyright infringement.

China is crucial to Apple’s continued growth overseas but the company has been fighting an uphill battle for quite some time. Nearly two dozen fake Apple stores were shut down in the region over the summer after authorities in Kunming saw photos of a phony store online. An American living in the city published a blog post about a visit to one of the stores which eventually prompted Chinese trade officials to take action.

Authorities in Shanghai arrested five people in September for manufacturing and selling counterfeit iPhones. The bust reportedly led police to an organized crime group that was responsible for buying components in Guandong and assembling them in Shanghai apartments.

It’s unclear at this point how Apple will deal with the unfavorable ruling over the iPad name in China. Cupertino could try to work out a licensing deal with Proview that would allow them to use the trademark for their tablet, or potentially even change the name of the device in that region.

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Microsoft Windows 8 app store

Microsoft hosted a special event in San Francisco yesterday to discuss details about its upcoming application store for Windows. The company shared details on everything from registration fees to the approval process, revenue model, as well as advertisements and in-app purchases. It also confirmed that a beta of its app store, named the Windows Store, will launch as part of the Windows 8 beta in late February.

Built using HTML5 and JavaScript, the Windows Store will feature the same touch-friendly UI that’s familiar to Windows Phone 7 users, except it will be full screen and available on your computer. As Microsoft indicated earlier, it's intended to be the single source of Metro-style apps to allow better discoverability and facilitate in-app purchases. The store will offer support for both x86 and ARM-based hardware.

During the initial trial period, the Windows Store will feature free apps only and app submissions will be by invitation. However, once Microsoft opens submissions to the wider developer community, they will be able to price their creations from  between $1.49 to $999.99 or offer them for free. Microsoft will take a 30% cut on sales, but that will drop to 20% as soon an app makes $25,000 from sales and in-app purchases.

That's a better deal than what Apple or Google offer with their respective app stores, which charge a 30% commission indefinitely. Also unlike its rivals, Microsoft will allow time-based and feature-based trial versions of apps in its store, which can be upgraded later to the full version if the developer supports it.

In order to submit apps individual users will need to pay a one-time registration fee of $49 while companies are charged $99. Windows 8 will be a curated platform, at least as far as Metro apps are concerned, so developers will need to go through the approval process. Microsoft has already laid out its criteria for app approval here. There will be status updates throughout the entire process, and developers whose apps are rejected will be given feedback on what changes they'll need to make to get approved.

watch the presentation here 

During the presentation, Microsoft’s VP of Windows Web Services Antoine Leblond emphasized the potential reach of the Windows Store, pointing out that some 400 million x86-based PCs are expected to ship over the next 12 months. That's on top of the 1.25 billion Windows PCs already on the planet.

The software giant will make the Windows Store and the apps in it available in more than 100 languages with availability in 231 markets around the world. To encourage developers to get working, Microsoft will be running a competition for eight winning apps to be featured on the Windows Store when it opens.

It should be noted that traditional desktop applications on Windows 8 will continue to be available through the usual channels, such as the developer's website, a downloads portal, physical media and so on.

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Android 10-cent app sale, 10 billion downloads and counting

The Android Market has hit 10 billion downloads. Google is celebrating this milestone by throwing an unusual sale: each day 10 different apps will be put on sale for 10 cents. The offer will run for 10 days. If you love to buy apps, you now have the chance to buy 100 of them for $10.

Although Google's app store has reached 10 billion downloads, that number continues to grow at an almost exponential pace. The company claims they expect a growth of 1 billion apps per month and predicts continued acceleration in the coming months. By comparison, the Apple App Store is estimated to have reached 18 billion downloads this month, 5 billion of which came in the first two years of offering apps.

While the Android Market continues to catch up to the App Store in a variety of metrics, Google continues to lag behind in revenue. As we reported a couple of weeks ago, Apple rakes in nearly 1200% more in profit than Google through its app market, seemingly the result of Android owners' conservative tendencies toward app purchasing.

Titles listed on on the blog include Minecraft Mobile, Sketchbook mobile, Asphalt 6 HD, Color & Draw for Kids, Endomondo Sports Tracker Pro, Fieldrunners HD, Great Little War Game, Paper Camera, Soundhound Infinity & Swiftkey X. Although these deals were posted Tuesday, they still appear to 10 cents this Wednesday afternoon.

The 10 cent sale is being done in cooperation with developers with whom Google has partnered. So far, we don't know what titles will be available in the days to come, but you can check out the Android Market promotional page to see what has made it into the 10 cent bin.

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HP's $99 TouchPad fire-sale is back

In August, Hewlett Packard made the shocking announcement that it would halt its webOS projects and potentially exit the PC market by selling or spinning off its Personal Systems Group (PSG) division. Along with the news the company began a firesale of the already discounted TouchPad to get rid of excess inventory from component suppliers.

The 16GB model was advertised for a mere $99, while the 32GB model went for $149. Ironically, HP's tablet became such a huge success at this new price point that some vendors were hiking the price a bit in order to profit from the huge overnight demand.

This weekend the TouchPad firesale returns one last time for U.S. customers. Starting Sunday, December 11 at 7pm Eastern time, refurbished 16GB and 32GB versions of the webOS tablet will be available on HP’s ebay store at the same $99 and $149 price points. HP will also offer an accessory bundle for $79, which includes a wireless keyboard, charging dock and case.

Judging by how popular the last sale was, you will likely need to be very quick in order to successfully grab one at these prices. In addition, looking at HP's delivery policy on their eBay account it will only be open to U.S. residents, so those elsewhere in the world will unfortunately miss out yet again.

The TouchPad tablet was pulled after just three months of disappointing sales on the market and as former CEO Leo Apotheker sought to refocus the company on the more lucrative software, systems, and services business. The unpopular decision -- or rather the lackluster way of communicating and executing it -- led to his ouster in September and replacement by former eBay chief Meg Whitman.

Whitman decided shortly after taking the reins that the company would retain their PC business, and is expected to make a decision on webOS' fate next week. The company has already slashed more than 500 jobs at its webOS division and another 600 people remain in limbo while tough decisions are made.

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Tricks for Google Chrome

There are a number of tricks that will help you unleash the most of this browsers potentials.

• Using about:flags

about:flags is quite similar to Firefox about:config. Simply type about:flags in a tab as URL and you would be provided with a list of flags that are actually some of the hidden features of Google Chrome which now you can toggle on or off at your will.For the settings to take place you may need to restart the browser.

• Using multiple Profiles

Multiple profiles allow you to share your computers with others with ease without the fearing that all your past interactions are exposed to him or her. Creating multiple profiles in Google Chrome unlike Firefox is not a one click process to do so follow these steps.

1. Open your Google Chrome installation folder that is available at: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome
2. Now we will create a folder to hold all your profile data. navigate to folder User Data and copy the sub-folder named Default in the same directory and rename it any thing you may want,say,Profile2.
3. Open “Command Prompt”, switch to the Chrome Application folder and run the following command:
   chrome.exe –user-data-dir=”..\User Data\Profile_2” -first-run
4. To run Google Chrome using this profile instead of the default profile, just create a shortcut on your desktop as folllows:
   C:\Users\Aryaman\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe  –user-data-dir=”..\User Data\Profile_2″

Now whenever you want to use this profile simply click on this shortcut to launch this profile.

• Run Greasemonkey scripts

Greasemonkey is an add-on that enables you to take your browsers potentials to an all together new heights by enabling you to run java-scripts. These scripts can run on webpages that can add features that are not available by default. The best part about Greasemonkey is that Greasemonkey scripts are natively supported by Google Chrome without installing any Add-on. To use scripts navigate to www.userscripts.org and navigate to script of your choice and, just click install. Your installed Greasemonkey scripts would be shown as extensions.

• Enable Private Browsing

Private browsing helps users to keep the trace of their web activity a secret. Google Chrome users can use Incognito window to do so.The best part about using the Incognito window is that it automatically disables all the extensions so there is no chance that some your extensions sneaks into your privacy.Opening an Incognito window is quite simple as an option to do so is already available. Alternatively use the keyboard shortcuts [Ctrl]+ [Shift]+ [N]

• Add RSS Support

By default Google Chrome doesn’t support RSS and it may not even detect RSS feeds.But the the chrome team came with a solution to this problem also in the form of RSS Subscription Extension. This extension enables its users to auto-detects RSS feeds on the page and upon finding one will display an RSS icon in the Omnibox, clicking on which will preview the feed content and subscribe.The extension comes with 4 feed readers predefined (Google Reader, iGoogle, Bloglines and My Yahoo) but also allows you to add any web-based feed reader of your choice to the list.

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