Remember Mark Rein's concern that not all PCs are capable of playing today's bleeding edge games? The PC Gaming Alliance was formed to relaunch the PC as the ultimate gaming platform, and but that hasn't helped much. Luckily, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) came up with a great idea: the Germany-based semiconductor giant has released AMD GAME! - a label akin to Game for Windows that would set standards for identifying game-capable hardware. More details in the full article.

 If you read gaming news every so often, there's a fat chance that you've already heard of new Xbox 360 units codenamed Jasper and Valhalla on the way. In the latest buzz about these shadowy new versions of the console, it was reported that IBM and TSMC have already received orders from Microsoft to start manufacturing the chips. More details follow after the jump.

When you switch on your transistor radios (or MP3 players, for those of us in the bleeding edge of technology) do you stop and think about how they're getting smaller and smaller with every passing day? Ever wondered how just small they can go? Well, a group of researchers from Chicago have discovered that they can go as small as tinier than a sand grain - and it's not that hard to make them, either.

Check out how in the full article.

Feeling the need for speed in terms of your Internet connection? Well, you might be getting just that when chipmaker Marvell starts shipping the TopDog 11n-450.

This device provides a maximum bandwidth of 450 Mbps and possesses a greater range than any 802.11n chip in the market today. More information on this can be found in the full article.

News and images of Intel's newest "gaming platform" for extreme hardware enthusiasts just hit the web recently, and dozens of hardware discussions have been revolving around them. The Skulltrail motherboard seems to be picking up more than just hype, as the newest details to arise from images show Intel's been making steady adjustments to the server-turned-extreme gaming motherboard. That and a little more at the full story.

In the quest for making ultra-realistic video games, a team of experts have banded together to create the "super chip", meant to power computers and game consoles even further than the currently-used silicon chips. More details in the full article.

 

Here's a bit of a surprising development in the high-definition media battle: Sony's deep in the middle of negotiations with Toshiba regarding the sale of Sony's microchip-producing facilities. These microchips are the same ones that give the PlayStation 3 its fair share of next-gen processing power.

This news comes directly from the business daily Nikkei, citing sources close to both parties.

Now it's nothing to get all up in arms about - Sony's just doing some very clever outsourcing, that's all. This is part of Sony's strategy to cut down on costly semiconductor assets, and this will let the electronics giant focus on the production of other products such as image sensor chips in digital cameras and camcorders.

And Sony is not letting go of the microchip facilities for a song: the company behind the PlayStation 3 looks to hand over the deed to the facilities for a cool 100 billion yen - that's about  US$ 869.7 million dollars out of Toshiba's pocket. Although it seems that this price is right up Toshiba's alley, as an agreement between the two companies is expected in the near future.

And here's even more good news: to make sure that there's going to be no shortage of chips for PS3 production, Sony is also considering a partnership with Toshiba on the management of the facilities themselves after all is said and done. This bodes quite well for the PlayStation 3 - as it's going to have two great minds taking care of its chips rather than just one.

Not a bad business move from Sony indeed!

Thanks to super7 for the tip!

Imagine playing your favorite Nintendo DS or PSP games for hours on end without ever having to charge your handheld. Instead of having to plug it into a wall socket recharge its batteries, all you have to do is keep it in close contact to your body to keep the thing running indefinitely.

Sounds like something out of a bad sci-fi story? Actually, a collaboration of researchers and scientist from the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques (IPM), Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research (IFAM), and Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS) in Erlangen are developing circuits which harness a person's natural body heat to generate electricity.

Working on the principle of thermoelectric generators (TEG) made from semiconductor elements, it's able to generate electricity depending on the temperature difference between a hot and a cold environment. Normally, the difference between the human body's heat with that of the environment is too small to power most electrical devices, however advances are being made to make circuits which can work on lower voltage requirements.

Peter Spies, manager at the IIS explains the principle behind this sub-project:

Only low voltages can be produced from differences like these. We combined a number of components in a completely new way to create circuits that can operate on 200 millivolts. This has enabled us to build entire electronic systems that do not require an internal battery, but draw their energy from body heat alone.

Alternately, it may also be possible to generate electricity from anyplace where a difference in temperature occurs. Places such as radiators which monitor the cooling chain during the transport of refrigerated goods, or in air conditioning systems may also find good applications for this type of technology.

More speculation has arisen on the Xbox 360 front following news that Singaporean chip maker Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing will be producing a 45nm processor designed for use in video game consoles.

During a recent conference call, Chartered president and CEO Chia Song Hwee told analysts that the company has "customers' activity for products in the CPU space that goes into a video-game device." While the customer was not named, it should be noted that Chartered makes the processors used in Microsoft's Xbox 360 video game console.

Since the Xbox 360 is priced at a point less than its manufacturing cost, a newer and cheaper 45nm processor for the Xbox 360 console could give Microsoft a chance to either minimize their losses on the console or further lower its price point.

If the chip is indeed going to be used in the Xbox 360, console owners will have to wait a while. Chia has hinted that production of the new 45nm processor is not likely to begin until late next year or in early 2009.

South  Korea could be at the forefront of the alternative energy race as scientists and engineers led by Professor Lee Kwang-hee have announced that they have successfully developed a cell prototype that yields more power, lasts longer, and is much cheaper.

The project was established in cooperation with the University of California, Santa Barbara. A team led by Professor Alan Heeger provided research support functions and the results came out nicely.

To demonstrate the quantum leap in this breakthrough, the old silicon semiconductor solar technology uses some US$ 2.30 to generate a watt of electricity. It just takes ten cents with the Korean technology which uses plastic solar cells.

"The efficiency of converting solar power to electricity should be at least seven percent for commercialization," says Professor Lee as he points out the levels that solar cells must attain in order to be truly called efficient.

Solar energy is considered to be the cleanest energy source which can replace fossil fuels because it uses natural light which is in abundance and leaves no waste materials. Expenses and efficiency issues have plagued it in the past but plastic cells are ushering in new hope.