What's new out there in the computer world?<\/p>\n
By Zatni Arbi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): At the IBM International Conference on Banking,
\nFinance, Securities, and Insurance in Shanghai, China, two weeks
\nago, I was genuinely surprised to learn how deeply Big Blue has
\nbeen involved in providing the technologies used by the banking
\nsector. There was a slew of interesting IT products at the
\nexhibition. Among them was a newly-announced deterministic
\nsimulation method called \"Blaster\", said to be much, much
\nspeedier than the conventional method, called Monte Carlo
\nsimulation. The latter is the technique that has up until now
\nbeen used to calculate the theoretical prices of mortgage-backed
\nsecurities and complex derivatives.<\/p>\n
Honestly speaking, these few terms were as foreign to me as
\nthe various species of deep-sea fish. In more familiar territory,
\nhowever, there were printers for passbooks, a touch panel for
\nself-service terminals, ATMs and cash dispensers, information
\nkiosks and more.<\/p>\n
Also on show was the new motherboard from Intel, which may set
\nthe standard for the future, particularly now that Intel P6 chips
\nare getting ready for shipment.<\/p>\n
By the way, please note that name \"PCMCIA\" has now been
\nformally changed to \"PC Cards\". Can you believe how fast thing
\nchange in this business?<\/p>\n
Handheld PCs<\/p>\n
Although it is not exactly a breakthrough, IBM's upcoming
\nhandheld PC will definitely wow those who get to see it. At the
\nconference I had the chance to look at a prototype of this
\nportable device. The size of a VHS cassette, it is powered by an
\nIntel DX4 75 MHz processor and has a touch-sensitive, dual-scan
\ncolor LCD panel that is 4.7\" diagonally. Running OS\/2 Warp, it
\nalso has a 260 MB hard disk, 12 MB RAM, a Type 3 PCMCIA slot,
\nfull multimedia capability and a built-in fax\/modem. The task of
\nhandwriting recognition is done by IBM ThinkWrite. The microphone
\nand the speaker are placed at opposite ends so you could even use
\nit as a telephone handset! It might be a little bulky for long
\nconversations, though.<\/p>\n
Meant for use by women, specifically insurance agents, the
\nhandheld PC will be very light; it will weigh about 600 grams.
\nUsing Video for Windows, it will be able to run video clips so
\nthat agents can play them in their clients' offices. It will use
\na Lithium Ion battery, which looks similar to what you have in a
\nSony HandyCam.<\/p>\n
A virtual keyboard can be displayed on the screen, enabling
\nthe user to type by pressing the \"keys\" with a pencil or a pen.
\nThat is not, of course, the fastest way to type in a body of
\ntext, but the keyboard displayed on a touch screen is definitely
\namong the \"enabling\" technologies. Just think of the disabled who
\ndon't have the use of their hands!<\/p>\n
As you would have guessed, the handheld PC will have a docking
\nstation with port replicator, so you can attach more peripherals,
\nincluding an external monitor. It's interesting to see how such a
\ndrove of features in a DX4 75 MHz-based PC can be packed into
\nsuch a small package.<\/p>\n
No more radiation<\/p>\n
A lot of us who sit in front of our computers for extended
\nperiods of time are worried about the potential harm stemming
\nfrom the radiation and electromagnetic fields that a cathode ray
\ntube (CRT) emanates. Keep in mind that the voltage level of the
\nelectrical current inside it can reach over 18,000 V. New
\ntechnologies have improved the efficiency of our CRTs
\ntremendously. They now consume much less power, are better
\nshielded to reduce radiation; their displays are sharper and
\ntheir colors are more vibrant than ever. But the concern is still
\nthere.<\/p>\n
What alternative do we have? Certainly the LCD panels found in
\nnotebooks are getting much better nowadays that they may someday
\nreplace the more power-hungry CRTs on our desktop. In the past I
\nhighlighted a desktop color LCD from Sharp. There's currently
\nanother one from Sceptre Technologies on the market. But during
\nthe Shanghai conference I saw the LCD display from IBM, which
\nactually has been around for more than a year.<\/p>\n
The IBM LCD display has a 10.4\" TFT screen with tilt and
\nheight-adjustable stand. You can see it in the accompanying
\npicture. I liked it very much, not only because of its futuristic
\nshape and small footprint, but because it is very easy on my
\neyes. For people like me who have to be very close to the screen
\nto see the display, this LCD is highly appreciated.<\/p>\n
The only thing that turned me off was its price. This 10.4\"
\nLCD color display, I was told, cost about US$3,000. At present,
\nthat's a lot more than we normally pay for a high-end 20\" CRT.
\nAlso, it is capable of VGA resolution only, while the state of
\nthe art is SuperVGA. However, as is usually the trend, we can
\nhope for the price to drop as more players enter the arena.<\/p>\n
Even while the price of an LCD display is higher than a CRT of
\ncomparable size and features, it will always make sense to opt
\nfor it because it consumes much less power and creates less heat.
\nAnd it doesn't give off the dreaded radiation.<\/p>\n
PowerPC ThinkPads<\/p>\n
IBM's new ThinkPad Power Series 820 and 850 look a lot bulkier
\nthan the mainstream notebooks. Weighing 7.3 pounds, they're
\nheavier, too. But they come -- standard -- with a pair of
\nspeakers, a CD-ROM drive that can be swapped with a floppy
\ndiskette drive and an optional video camera for Power Series 850.
\nI believe it's the camera that makes the difference, at least for
\nnow, as it is one of the first video conferencing-capable
\nnotebooks around.<\/p>\n
Using a fax\/modem PC Card, a ThinkPad Power Series 850 user
\ncan talk to another user across town or across the globe and see
\neach other's face. Currently, the video conferencing software,
\nPersonal Conferencing, is available only for the AIX operating
\nsystem. Later on it will also be available for Windows NT and
\nOS\/2 (PowerPC editions). The quality of the video, naturally,
\ndepends on the telephone line through which the signals travel.
\nOn an ISDN network, we can expect close-to-live video
\nconferencing session to be possible. The quality of the video and
\nsound at the conference was not up to snuff, as the local
\ntelephone lines used were inferior.<\/p>\n
The brain of both PowerPC notebooks is the 100 MHz PowerPC
\n603e chip. They both have a 32 KB L1 cache and a 256 L2 cache, a
\nPCI local bus graphics subsystem and a 10.4 SVGA or VGA TFT color
\ndisplay. Whether these two will be the first of the next
\ngeneration notebooks for mainstream users remains to be seen,
\nthough.<\/p>\n
New Direction<\/p>\n
Some time ago the industry was swept by as a result of rumors
\nthat Intel would start shipping complete systems that would be
\ncalled \"Intel Inside and Outside\". Fortunately, that has not
\nhappened. What has happened is that Intel has manufactured high-
\nperformance motherboards that a lot of OEM makers and end-users
\nhave been using. Given Intel's leadership in CPU technology, it's
\nno surprise that the company also shows a lot of prowess in
\ndesigning the right board for its CPUs.<\/p>\n
The next generation of Intel motherboard, the ATX, is smaller
\nin its dimensions than the Baby AT ones we've become so
\naccustomed to. The placement of the components, such as the CPU,
\nhas been redesigned so that everything will run cooler. Accessing
\nvital components will be easier than ever. The new design also
\nreduces power consumption. It is expected that the new
\nmotherboard specifications will be adopted industry-wide. The
\nbest news is that motherboards using the ATX design reportedly
\ncost less to make. That's a saving that should be passed on to
\nus, right folks?<\/p>",
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