People's living environments have changed from the ancient caves to the buildings, mansions, and skyscrapers along with the evolution of the technological civilization. Homes are no longer just shelters or recreation areas for listening to music or watching TV. We have now entered a new era where low-cost, low-power, high-density, miniaturized wireless connectivity solutions are the norm. We can combine all ICT devices at home using multi-screen cloud applications, such as those for automatic appliances, remote voice and gesture control, and wearable devices. These innovations will give birth to more wireless applications and create unlimited business opportunities.Definitions of homes and the evolution and evolvement of designsVijay Nagarajan, Director of Product Marketing for the Wireless Connectivity Group of Broadcom Corporation, noted in a recently speech how human habitations have evolved from the caves in 100,000 BC to the common three-story brick buildings in the early 20th century, which later evolved into taller buildings with elevators, and then multi-floor skyscrapers that were connected by foot bridges.In addition to the residential patterns, people's demand for audio-visual content has also been growing rapidly. According to a May 2013 Cisco VNI research, it is estimated that the total global Internet traffic bandwidth will reach up to 786Tera bps by 2017, which is equivalent to having 720 million people streaming HD (1280X720p) videos simultaneously or having video clips with lengths totaling five million years played through the Internet each month. By the end of 2017, the total global Internet traffic will reach 1.4 Zettabytes.Nagarajan cited a well-known smart home in 2014 as an example to explain the concept: a smart home generally has a 50-inch or larger LCD TV with a Blu-ray player in the TV cabinet, and the air conditioning, lighting and curtains are all controlled through touch-enabled human-machine interfaces. According to predictions made by research institutions such as ABI and Juniper Research in 2013, a total of 70 million wearable devices will be sold by 2017, and a total of 30 billion devices will be wirelessly connected to each other by 2020.Accordingly, Broadcom estimates that in 2020, smart homes not only will have connected TVs, desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones; even the washing machines, refrigerators, ovens, cooktops, kitchens, etc. will all be connected to the Internet and interconnected to each other wirelessly.As we approach the Internet of Things, connectivity is vitalNagarajan indicated that connectivity is vital regardless whether it is through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC or MCU; and they must satisfy the unique features of low-power, low-cost, and smaller size. Broadcom proposed the Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices (WICED) platform concept in April 2013 to provide customers with a comprehensive flexible and customizable solution to help build a broader Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem.At present, WICED comprises three application platforms: WICED Bridge, WICED Beacon, and WICED Audio. Whether it is for health care, home automation, or wearable devices, WICED is able to provide complete application solutions.Nagarajan played a short WICED video to introduce the states of home networking applications, including: gesture-control smart rings developed by Nod Labs; Samsung's Galaxy Gear smart watch and smartphone remote-controlled air-conditioning systems; the Leap PAD Ultra Wi-Fi-enabled low-power education tablets for children; Nest Labs' mobile phone-controlled smoke and lighting controllers, as well as self-learning temperature controls; the MyQ Garage smart garage sensors developed by Chamberlain Company with which users can open/close the garage door remotely using a smartphone and receive alerts when the garage has been broken into; the Wi-Fi home control system developed by Honeywell whereby uses can use a tablet/cell phone to control home lighting, air conditioning, as well as gardening automation where the paths of sprinkler sprays can be adjusted through the Internet; and the LIFX LED lamps whereby the color temperatures, light colors, and brightness, and the switching on/off can be controlled via a mobile phone and Wi-Fi.Routers - the nerve center of the connected homeNagarajan mentioned that the router is the most critical device for home networking. For example, multimedia devices such as multimedia players, remote controls, headphones, digital TVs, network storage devices, home appliances, set-top boxes, 3D glasses, printers, game consoles, Blu-ray Disc players, thin clients, and personal health care devices must use a router as the gateway in order to be interconnected.At present, routers must be able to transmit video signals and data, meeting the needs of a full range of networking devices, and covering home automation applications as well as behind-the-scene operation features. In the future, routers must have faster connection speeds and broader scopes in order to enable easier connectivity and access to wireless services. And the 5G Wi-Fi wireless networking technology will be the best solution to meet the needs of home networking.The 5G Wi-Fi wireless networking technology, or officially the 802.11ac standard, uses a higher frequency spectrum and wider operating bandwidth. It has evolved from the BPSK to the 256-QAM modulation and decoding technology, providing the Gbps wireless networking speed. It has also incorporated the STBC as well as LDPC data recovery and beam forming technologies. This technology can provide greater coverage, and stronger reception signals for terminal devices, and increase stability.Creating the world's fastest wireless routerNagarajan indicated that Broadcom proposed the 5G Wi-Fi XSTREAM router architecture in April of this year. The router uses the five- core 2.96GHz microprocessor architecture; has two sets of 80MHz operation bandwidth channels; provides two sets of 3x3 11ac and one set of 3x3 11n operation channels; implements six antennas/six data streams; and adopts advanced technologies such as SmartConnect, AnyBeam, and TurboQAM. Compared to that of the commercially available Wi-Fi certified devices, the 5G Wi-Fi XSTREAM router architecture can provide double or even triple the connection performance and can enhance the MU-MIMO multi-antenna multi-user operating performance by up to 50%.In a comparison demo, Nagarajan connected six devices (two MacBook Pros, one 1x1 11ac Galaxy S4, one 2x2 11ac Galaxy S5, and two 1x1 11n iPhone 5s) to the fastest 802.11ac router on the market today and to a new router based on the 5G WI-FI XSTREAM architecture new router. The devices were connected to the two routers simultaneously. The connection rates for the routers indicated that the XSTREAM architecture can at least double the actual connection speeds for each connected device, and can at least triple the actual connection speeds for each connected devices that support the 3x3(3Streams) 11ac, such as the MacBook Pro.Finally, Nagarajan mentioned that the six-antenna RT-AC3200 router launched by Asus in June at COMPUTEX TAIPEI is the best example of Broadcom's 5G WI-FI XSTREAM architecture. With its six streams of 11ac (433x6 = 2,600 Mbps) and three streams of 11n/TurboQAM (150x3 x 1.33 = 600 Mbps) total connection bandwidth, it is the wireless router with the fastest connection rate/total bandwidth in the world.Vijay Nagarajan, Director of Product Marketing for the Wireless Connectivity Group of Broadcom Corporation

Marvell Semiconductor who started up in hard drive controller has actively expanded its procut porfolio of storage devices, networking and communications, connectivity, mobile communications and consumer electronics. It has been offering software and hardware designs for six types of end devices for five categories of cloud, providing completed services for silicon component vendors, manufacturers, software developers, as well as system integrators, in achieving its "Smart Life and Smart Lifestyle" vision.Software and hardware integration for six types of end devices in five cloudsAccording to Weining Gan, Chief Solution Architect at Marvell Semiconductor, Marvell was established in Silicon Valley in 1995, and is the world's top-five fabless semiconductor company with branches in Silicon Valley, Shanghai, Israel, Europe, India, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, and Korea. Its products span across storage, networking, communications, connectivity components, mobile communications and consumer electronics sectors shipping billion chips sold each year.Marvell focuses on six types of end devices used in five types of cloud environments: 1. Smart TVs; 2. PCs/Chromebook laptops; 3. Tablets; 4. Mobile phones; 5. Wearable devices; and 6. IoT equipment. It is also engaged in products for operator router equipment in Internet infrastructure clouds, CE routers for enterprise users, 4G LTE/Wi-Fi network connectivity components for the mobile cloud, as well as broadband modems for home clouds. A total of 70% of global SSD controller ICs are from Marvell, and it introduced the first ARM server to the market. Marvell is also the second-largest silicon component supplier for data centers.End-to-end mobile cloud hardware and software solutionsSilicon components used in mobile devices, such as PC/Chromebooks, tablets, mobile phones, wearable devices, and IoT devices, include application processors, graphics controllers, cellular modem ICs, RF radio ICs, Wi-Fi 802.11 wireless networking ICs, Bluetooth chips, NFC ICs, GPS chips, microcontrollers, and sensor hub ICs, said Gan.Licensed frequency band RANs such as those of 4G/LTE involve the microwave equipment required for the backhaul network and PON equipment and front-haul base station technology for the future cloud RAN. Metropolitan transmissions backbones take advantage of IP RAN (L3 VPN) and PTN (L2 VPN) technologies, as well as LTE back-end Evolved Packet Core (EPC). In unlicensed (Wi-Fi) RAN architecture, a portion of the customer front-end goes through the 4G LTE or WiFi and transitions to wireline IP RAN/PTN backbone network at intermediate base stations. For the last mile, it goes back to 4G LTE/Wi-Fi to the broadband modem or small cell of the user.Backbone networks connecting nations and continents use IP/MPLS multiprotocol label switching and OTN/DWDM fiber-optic long-range transmissions technologies. Marvell provides silicon components used by the aforementioned technologies including high-performance multi-core processors, network processors, integrated packet processors, high-capacity switching fiber-optic equipment, high-speed Ethernet switches, high-speed Ethernet physical layer IP, 10G PON passive fiber-optic network components, as well as H.hn G.fast components.Gan pointed out that the data centers operators such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Baidu, and Tencent, regardless of what clustering architectures they use, all require silicon component such as high-performance multicore processors, network processors, integrated packet processors, high-capacity fiber-optic switching equipment, high-speed Ethernet switches, as well as high-speed Ethernet physical layer components.Evolution of data centers and status of market ecosystemThe data center industry ecosystem, Gan pointed out, is composed of system software, application software, maintenance services, silicon components, system design and contracted manufacturers. Traditional data centers first went through system design by system vendors who also selected the system software and maintenance services. Then, they looked up to silicon component suppliers to provide ICs components, contract manufacturers to establish production contracts, application software developers to be responsible for a portion of the maintenance services. Server and computing systems vendors include those from IBM, HP, and Dell; storage device vendors include EMC, NetApp, and Hitachi; networking and communications equipment were provided by Cisco, Juniper, Brocade, and etc.Data centers designed under traditional vendor differentiation can increase the value of system developers but are not able to reduce subsequent data center operating costs, which is why the new "vanity free" design concept is impacting the entire industry ecosystem. With silicon ICs/components, CM/ODM, and maintenance services determined during the system design phase as well as system software implemented based on open source codes integrated with in-house software, vanity free data center designs can significantly reduce early-phase costs as well as operating expenses.Gan said that the most famous vanity free project is Facebook's Open Compute Project (OCP) which establishes one of the most efficient computing infrastructures at the lowest possible cost. Its servers are vanity free in order to reduce the cost of computing nodes, while the design of its storage system is also segmented to include low-cost storage device areas, thereby building a highly energy efficient data center. Virtual IO is used to design open and scalable computing resources, with remote control management tools designed to ensure solid hardware management. In addition, certification standards are also designed for solutions providers.Between April 2011 and April 2012, OPC open computing centers totaling 300,000 square feet in floor space were built in Prineville, Oregon, and Forest City, North Carolina, respectively. In 2014, another OCP data center opened in Lulea, Sweden which occupies a plot of land totaling 968,000 square feet. At the end of 2014, there will be 1.4 million-square foot OCP data center in Altoona, Iowa. Vanity free design brings an additional 38% of energy efficiency in computing and save an additional 24% in costs.Marvell buildse end-to-end industry ecosystemGan also pointed out that Marvell has built a consolidated end-to-end industry ecosystem centered around customer demand. Marvell provides fundamental silicon solutions as well as box-level solutions for manufacturing services to the CM/OEM/ODM. Marvell also engages in application-level solutions in collaboration with independent software vendors.He concluded that Marvell provides complete silicon components, software and hardware resource including multicore application processors, system software, wireless networking components, and Ethernet physical layer connectivity components for mobile phone, as well as the packet processors needed by switches, the network processors needed for network packet control, and control panels, thereby enhancing the end user experiences.Weining Gan, Chief Solution Architect at Marvell Semiconductor

From the Xiaomi tablet running on NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor to Asus' 5-in-1 Transformer notebook, a new mobile device specification war is raging. The various new technologies, such as 4K Ultra HD, USB 3.1 Type C, 802.11ac, WiGig, and WiHD will bring new technological challenges to product developers. In collaboration with the organizer of Computex Taipei 2014, Digitimes organized the "DTF2014 Mobile Summit" on June 4 at the Taipei International Convention Center. There were guest speakers from Broadcom, Marvell, VIA Lab, Wilocity, Corning, AverLogic, Silicon Image, and DTS, discussing a wide range of topics. They analyzed technology and applications trends, showing R&D engineers how they could incorporate the latest mobile technologies and designs into their product developments.Digitimes Mobile Summit, Computex Taipei 2014

AAEON, a major developer of industrial computing solutions, has released the world's smallest network appliance, the FWS-2250.The compact chassis and use of the Intel Atom E3815 processor has resulted in a highly affordable SMB/SOHO desktop unit. Equipped with four GbE ports with Intel controllers and with up to 8 GB installed in the two memory slots, there is ample memory, processing power and networking capability for applications such as small firewalls, IDS/IPS, load balancing, network access control, bandwidth management, web filters and anti-spam applications. Drawing only about 20 watts, the low power consumption is an added benefit.The AAEON FWS-2250 also offers a good selection of I/O ports. In addition to the LAN ports, there are also a CompactFlash socket, an RJ-45 console port and three USB ports. Furthermore, there is an optional Mini-PCIe port and bypass on one pair of the Ethernet ports.The greatest benefit considered to its compact size. "Compared to our competitors, the FWS-2250 is about 30% smaller in size, which save customers' shipping expense and provides SMB/SOHO users with secure and stylish network appliance" said Wayne Chen, CTO of AAEON. "We also offer a competitive price within the fanless solution market."About AAEONAAEON is a leading manufacturer of advanced industrial and embedded computing platforms. Committed to innovative engineering, AAEON provides integrated solutions, hardware and services for premier OEM/ODMs and system integrators worldwide. Reliable and high quality computing platforms include industrial motherboards and systems, industrial displays, rugged tablets, PC/104 modules, PICMG half-size and full-size boards and COM modules, embedded SBCs, embedded controllers and related accessories. AAEON also offers customized end-to-end services from initial product conceptualization and product development on through to volume manufacturing and after-sales service programs. AAEON is an Associate member of the Intel Internet of Things Solutions Alliance. http://www.aaeon.com/

Good Way Technology, a global leading USB peripherals and Docking solution provider, has announced the USB3.0 4K Ultra HD Docking station at COMPUTEX Taipei 2014, which shows its cutting edge of 4K display technology development.More and more 4K ultra-high resolution displays are in the markets. They are more affordable with features offering an amazing picture for work or even entertainment. Good Way Technology's USB3.0 4K Ultra HD Docking station is one of the major launch products this year in COMPUTEX, which is enabling DisplayPort display technology and 4K video over USB3.0 interface for Notebooks and other Desktop PCs. This result is great news for an industry on the cusp of widespread adoption of 4K video technologies. Good Way Technology is targeting the mass market with the desktop-friendly design of USB3.0 Docking station, which allowing user to display 4K resolution even through popular HDMI ports.This docking station is built-in USB 3.0 ports which could enable the Super Speed data transfer between USB peripherals and provide full backwards compatibility with older USB specifications. Also, Supporting BC1.2 charging port design is fitting the flexible demands on charging various mobile devices.The Docking station equipped with three USB3.0 downstream ports, one DisplayPort and one HDMI port and both with resolution up to 3840x2160, one DVI-I port with resolution up to 2048x1152, one stereo audio out, one mic in port and one Gigabyte Ethernet port. To meet the demands for handling massive files in 4K video production to proper displaying with different sized ultra-high resolution displays, Good Way Technology's solution is well tested and performed with Windows 8.1 DPI scaling enhancements to massively improve user experience.USB3.0 4K Ultra HD Docking Features• Support 4K UHD displays with DPI optimized capability • Backup of video display with resolution up to 2048x1152 through DVI-I ports• Support 4K UHD displays for HDMI or DisplayPort with resolution up to 3840x2160• Coexist with USB Battery Charging 1.2 specificationFor more information, please visit: www.goodway.com.tw.

According to a recent IDC research note, the transition toward mobile and cloud-based computing is unstoppable, with tablet volumes expected to pass total PC volume in the fourth quarter of 2014 and on an annual basis in 2016. Even smaller tablets are facing stiff market competition from large-size smartphones (phablets).While some semiconductor firms are using Moore's law to design increasingly more powerful, 64-bit, multiple-core processors to power mobile devices, others IC design houses are focusing on how to better tap the functionality and potential of mobile devices by connecting them to an increasing array of peripheral devices - such as TVs, keyboards, mice, and storage devices. One such company is Analogix and at Computex 2014, Digitimes stopped by to speak with Matt Ready, sales VP at Analogix, and discuss the importance of connectivity with mobile devices.Q: Analogix has a brand called SlimPort. Can you give us a primer on the difference between SlimPort and DisplayPort?A: DisplayPort is an industry standard display interface developed by VESA that is used to connect computing devices to a display. It was developed to replace interfaces such as VGA and DVI, with the key being DisplayPort is royalty-free and the interface can also be used to carry audio and high-speed data (USB).On the mobile side, VESA developed a lighter version called MyDP (Mobility DisplayPort) that provides connectivity between mobile devices and external displays and HDTVs. SlimPort is the Analogix brand that complies with MyDP. So basically, SlimPort-based devices can connect to any DisplayPort device and there are adapters to connect to any HDMI or VGA device as well. And there are more than 800 million DisplayPort devices in the market, so it's quite a big market.Q: Where and why is SlimPort being implemented?A: SlimPort was first implemented in the Google Nexus 4 back in 2012 and has continued to be used in a number of high-end tablets and smartphones from Fujitsu, Asustek, LG, and ZTE, as well as finding its way into Chromebooks from brands like Hewlett-Packard (HP), among others. The key is that the technology enables more features and can reduce costs. For example, users want to have the ability to take mobile audio and video and get it up on a big screen. Previously, the ability to get the video off of a tablet/smartphone was typically done by running it through a micro-HDMI port. Using SlimPort allowed the OEMs to drop the micro-HDMI port and simply run everything through the five-pin micro-USB port that is needed for charging. SlimPort simply takes control of the connector when a SlimPort dongle is plugged in, and while the devices are connected, SlimPort enables the display to also charge the mobile device. In 2013, support for Full HD was added but we really expect the technology to take off this year with SlimPort Pro.Q: Why's that?A: While SlimPort was great for connecting mobile devices to a display, the issue was that it was unidirectional. When you plug a SlimPort accessory into the micro-USB connector, it takes over the bus and allows the audio and video to come off of the mobile device, but you no longer have the USB functionality, which is the data functionality. This year, Analogix introduced SlimPort Pro, which is bidirectional. So now you can have audio and video, while also supporting data simultaneously. All are moving across the PHY in the micro-USB connector, and that data connection is moving both ways. This means a mobile device can be plugged into a hub where multiple USB ports can connect to a mouse, keyboard and monitor. And the content that is viewed can be controlled externally through the mouse and keyboard. So basically, a mobile device like a smartphone can become a PC in your pocket.A number of other improvements are included with SlimPort Pro as well. Bandwidth increased from 5.5Gb/sec to 6.75Gb/sec so you are seeing support for Ultra HD (4K) video. We are also working with partners like Qualcomm for improving the charging performance in the PHY. SlimPort delivered up to 9W of charging but with Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 users can receive up to 18W, enabling a much quicker recharge for the mobile device.Q: So how does SlimPort Pro work? Are the chips the same in all devices? Are they in the market?A: There is a transmitter chip (SlimPort Pro Tx) in the mobile device and a receiver chip (SlimPort Pro Rx) that will go into accessory devices like hubs, dongles and docking stations. We saw first silicon in the first quarter of this year and you are now seeing demos at Computex 2014. We should be the first out there with mass production with that push coming in the second half of the year. The first products for both tablets and smartphones should be coming to market late this year.Q: How has the reception been at Computex?A: If you look at Analogix, we have a number of revenue streams, including licensing DisplayPort IP. We also have a family of converter chips used in ultrabooks, motherboards and on dongles and we have PC related products such as timing controllers. But this year at Computex the main interest in the market has been for SlimPort Pro.First of all, application processors all have Ultra HD capable engines so customers are looking to moving to the Ultra HD support we have in SlimPort Pro. But with a bidirectional PHY, we are also enabling simultaneous audio, video and data connectivity. This is really capturing the imagination of players in the market, from mobile device vendors, to in-car entertainment suppliers, to IoT (Internet of Things) players.The reason is that people are seeing SlimPort Pro as having the potential to unlock the power of mobile devices such as smartphones. If you look at the development of the smartphone market through today, the increased functionality of the devices has killed off the digital camera market and it has killed off the GPS device and MP3 device markets. All of that functionality has become standard across all smartphones. Now if you embed a SlimPort Pro Tx into a high-end smartphone, you can exploit the increased performance that is being supplied by the wave of new quad-core and 8-core processors hitting the market. You now have a PC in a pocket.The ability to simply put your mobile device into a cradle and have all types of functionality, such as enabling keyboard, mouse, and external storage support, as well as audio and display support allows for a number of potential solutions that can seriously challenge the consumer notebook market over time. With SlimPort Pro we believe that mobile devices will get there sooner rather than later.Matt Ready, sales VP at AnalogixPhoto: Company

At Computex Taipei 2014, WD, a Western Digital company, is demonstrating its first hard drive with PCI Express (PCIe) support. Technological cooperation with its partners has resulted in the creation of a storage product prototype that uses the SATA Express interface, allowing computers to easily exceed previous performance limits.With cloud computing and big data technologies advancing and telecoms gearing up for 4G LTE services, terminal data output rates have been increasing. Therefore, it can be anticipated that in tomorrow's digital world, data will be generated faster and users will be more demanding in terms of real-time data transmission. Although front-end access speeds have continued to improve, transmission speeds of the mainstream terminal storage interface SATA has been limited at 550MB/s. If this bottleneck could not be overcome, current and future high-speed applications would continue to be restricted.The SATA-IO organization spent three years developing the SATA Express specifications, which was announced and introduced in 2013, with a goal to create an environment where PCIe and SATA would co-exist, and the relatively superior bandwidth capabilities of PCIe could be used to enhance the read/write speeds of SATA storage devices. One year after the SATA Express specifications were unveiled, WD and its technology partners have built a corresponding prototype storage product to allow computer manufacturers to adopt SATA Express into their motherboards running on the Intel 9 series chipsets.WD's Senior Director of Platform Engineering Kevin Peterson has showcased the world's first-ever hard drive with PCIe support at Computex 2014.According to Kevin Peterson, in the future, the speed of global data creation is likely to dramatically increase, especially with IoT applications becoming more widespread, which will likely result in a steep growth. This will come as a strong contrast to the relatively flat growth of storage devices. This demand gap between the two sectors will create endless opportunities for hardware equipment vendors. However, whether or not they will be able to seize this business opportunity will depend on whether or not there is a high-speed interface available for speeding up data processing rates. It is clear that the SATA 6G specifications alone cannot meet user expectations.With SATA Express, vendors can use a new type of connector to simultaneously route both PCIe and SATA interface signals, thereby integrating the world's most popular computer bus with the world's most popular storage bus. This innovative combination allows users to use a single bus for SSDs, SSHDs, or HDDs. It also allows SATA's transmission speed to exceed the 550MB/s limit, further advancing toward the second-generation PCIe x2 interface's 900MB/s, or even the third-generation PCIe x2 interface's 1,800MB/s. Many of the storage applications that have been available in recent years have been developed around standard SATA technology, which is why SATA Express is an extremely meaningful development for users. SATA Express has the ability to provide a path for significant improvements to the existing applications environment.SATA Express features the SRIS (Separate RefClock with Independent SSC) technology that allows the removal of the PCIe Sync line. This means that PCIe components that support SRIS will automatically produce their own clock signals, without the main system and device having to jointly send reference clock signals, thereby achieving the benefits of SSC. This way, computer manufacturers can maintain synchronization between the main system and devices simply by using a general PCIe connection, thereby reducing overall connection costs.Kevin Peterson stressed that WD is at the forefront of SATA-based technologies, and clearly sees a future market where SATA Express will be the mainstream. This is why it is showcasing its SATA Express prototype at Computex 2014. This brand-new platform is built around a SATA Express core architecture in a dual hard drive environment consisting of a 128GB SSD and 4TB HDD. It also uses a standard AHCI driver, providing compatibility with existing user-end operating systems.Extensive tests have shown that the read/write speeds provided by this architecture are consistently maintained at 680-700MB/s, clearly exceeding the performance of traditional SATA technologies.However, there is clearly still room for taking the performance beyond 700MB/s to approach the 900MB/s limit of the second-generation PCIe x2 interface. Therefore, WD hopes that motherboard manufacturers will continue to work on it to boost performance to almost 900MB/s by using SSDs and HDDs with even better specifications, as well as optimizing the designs of their architectures. Furthermore, WD is looking to extend its partnerships from the PC motherboard sector to the server or even testing equipment sector, creating a diverse environment for the development of ubiquitous end-to-end high-speed storage applications.Kevin Peterson, Senior Director of Platform Engineering at WD

Today sees the release of two products from Lanner: The LEC-7388, an Open Pluggable Standard (OPS) compliant module; and the LEC-7388S, a digital signage industrial PC. Both the LEC-7388 and the LEC-7388S are 4K-ready, offering support for the Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) resolution via their unique hardware configurations.The LEC-7388 and the LEC-7388S are both powered by the Intel Haswell processors and the Intel HD Graphic 4600 GPU. They are designed to deliver performance and reliability for Ultra HD applications such as broadcast content playback, video surveillance and interactive whiteboard.While the LEC-7388S's hardware specifications include native support for 4K content delivery, the LEC-7388 aims to bring such support for other 4K compatible systems without compromising the demand for compact design and hardware performance.The Open Pluggable Standard on which the LEC-7388 is based offers three major benefits:- Speeding up the development and simplifying the deployment of interconnected devices- Drawing up a blueprint for designing compact and streamlined hardware- Future-proofing interoperability, upgradability and scalabilityBoth products support the fourth generation Intel Core i3/i5 CPU, the Intel QM87 chipset and the Intel AMT for remote management. The LEC-7388 offers two USB 3.0 ports and supports hardware-based 4K decoders on external HDMI output port whereas the LEC-7388S offers the same support on both external HDMI output port and DisplayPort. The LEC-7388S also features a swappable 2.5" HDD/SSD drive bay, DDR3L memory (max. 16GB), three USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports and a mini-PCIe slot with SIM card reader.4K-ready OPS-compliant digital signage module powered by the Intel Haswell processors4K-ready digital signage IPC powered by the Intel Haswell processorsIn terms of physical dimensions, the LEC-7388S measures at 220mm x 46mm x 172mm while the LEC-7388's smaller form factor measures at 200mm x 30mm x 118mm.You can contact a Lanner representative at contact@lannerinc.com for more information.About LannerLanner Electronics Inc (TAIEX 6245) is a world-leading provider of design, engineering and manufacturing services for advanced network appliances and rugged applied computing platforms. Founded in 1986, Lanner is an ISO 9001 accredited organization with headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, and offices in the USA, Canada and China.Lanner is an associate member of the Intel Intelligent Systems Alliance, a group of companies committed to developing modular, standards-based solutions based on technologies, processors, products, and services from Intel.

GigaFast Ethernet, an OEM/ODM manufacturer of HomePlug powerline (PLC) technology equipment, has launched a series of HomePlug AV2 MIMO PLC Ethernet Bridges during Computex. HomePlug PLC technology is an innovative solution that turns the electrical outlets into wired network connections by simply plugging a pair of these bridges into sockets without pulling any extra cables. No extra wires means saving time and money on installation cost and cable material cost. The addition of MIMO technology to PLC utilizes the third ground wire to create multiple paths for data communication, providing an increase in home coverage.The launch of GigaFast's HomePlug AV2 MIMO Ethernet Bridges is a major step forward in the next generation of multimedia networking. GigaFast's HomePlug AV2 MIMO Ethernet Bridges provide better performance, higher quality networking over existing home wiring, and additional coverage compared to their predecessors. At the same time, HomePlug AV2 MIMO Ethernet Bridges are completely interoperable with HomePlug AV, HomePlug Green PHY, and IEEE 1901 certified devices.GigaFast's HomePlug AV2 MIMO Ethernet Bridges is designed to future proof PLC deployment for tomorrow's high demand for reliable and fast network performance needed in next generation digital entertainment and broadband access. GigaFast's HomePlug AV2 Ethernet Bridges provides gigabit-class speed to every electrical outlet, making each outlet ideal for HDTV, IPTV, multi-room HD DVR, online gaming, HD/3D video, HD audio, smart grid utilities management, home monitoring, and other home networking applications demanding ultra-fast network speed. GigaFast's HomePlug AV2 MIMO Ethernet Bridges can also stream multiple HD video and audio programs on the PLC network simultaneously and can be be connected anywhere throughout the home. Currently, GigaFast has 4 Homeplug AV2 Ethernet Bridges. The most notable one is the small AV2 Pass Through Bridge (PS959-EP65), which is the smallest and fastest bridge of its kind with a built-in noise filtering AC socket for another device needing power to be plugged into this socket without taking up another wall socket space. There will be many more GigaFast HomePlug AV2 MIMO devices being launched in the next couple of months.Also showcasing at Computex is GigaFast's HomePlug HD AV Home Monitoring System: IP Camera with Night Vision (PC11). This home monitoring system is extremely easy to setup since this system is sending signal through existing home electrical wires, eliminating pulling long cables throughout the house. Users can monitor their home anytime from anywhere in the world with iOS/Android devices. Unlike most home monitoring systems, this system does not have website configuration or long serial numbers to enter. The entire setup takes only three easy steps: Simply plug in the camera, download the app for either iOS or Android devices, and scan the QR code for pairing. This system has a built-in microSD slot to save recorded videos and the recorded videos can be viewed anywhere with an iOS or Android device without any subscription fee. The camera has infrared night vision for little to no light environment and has email notification for motion detecting. This camera also has 2-way digital audio for listening from and speaking to the surrounding from the mobile device.This camera system can be used as day to day home or small office security surveillance. Another usage for this camera system is for baby safety monitoring. Parents can monitor their baby sleeping inside the crib or monitor the nanny while the parents are away using their mobile devices.GigaFast prides itself in designing and manufacturing the highest quality of HomePlug PLC products and being the first ones out with the newest PLC technology. That also goes the same when it comes to our casing designs. This camera system's casing is the smallest one of its kind on the market and the camera and the camera securing stand designs are unconventional to other home monitoring systems. It has a clean and streamline egg-shape design that is aesthetically pleasing when placed in different areas inside a home. The casing for the camera was inspired by the concept of an egg resting gently inside a nest. The egg nest functions as a camera stand that a securely hold the camera in place with the desired camera angle.For more information on GigaFast PLC products, please visit www.gigafast.com or visit GigaFast's Computex booth at D0309a, Hall 1, 1F.The small AV2 Pass Through Bridge (PS959-EP65) comes with a built-in noise filtering AC socket for another device needing power to be plugged into this socket without taking up another wall socket space.Photo: Company

In collaboration with Intel and Asus Cloud, AAEON will be revealing the world's first Intel Quark SoC gateway in a live demo at Computex 2014. Named the AIOT-X1000, this platform represents one of the latest technological advances for the Internet of Things (IoT). AAEON is an associate member of the Intel Internet of Things Solutions Alliance.The AAEON AIOT-X1000 is a gateway platform supporting the Intel Quark SoC X1000 series. The processor core at the heart of this system-on-a-chip (SoC) is a 32-bit, single-core, single-thread Intel Pentium instruction set architecture (ISA) compatible CPU operating at speeds up to 400 MHz. The SoC includes support for DDR3, Mini-PCIe, Ethernet, USB device, USB host, SD, UART, I2C, PIO, SPI, JTAG, IDE and WinRiver Linux. The AIOT-X1000 also can support CAN Bus, PAN (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, RFID), LAN (Ethernet, Wi-Fi), and WAN (2G/3G/LTE). Development for the AIOT-X1000 is supported by the Intel Gateway Solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) Development Kit DK100 and the Intel Gateway Solutions for IoT Production Kit PK100 Series."AAEON's AIOT-X1000 is based on the Intel Gateway Solutions for IoT which is a family of platforms enabling companies to seamlessly interconnect industrial devices into an IoT-ready system over cross-platforms. Designed to connect edge devices to the cloud, the AIOT-X1000 gateway is ideal for manufacturing, transportation and energy applications," said Wayne, CTO of AAEON. "By supporting a variety of connectivity protocols, the AIOT-X1000 is a COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) product ready for OEMs and operators.""Asus Cloud platform is capable of big data computing and storage, connecting and compiling numerous signals on various types of smart devices and sensors to have such signals gathered, computed, and analyzed on the platform. This means our platform enables real-time bilateral control of device availability as well as many innovative applications," said Peter Wu, CEO of ASUS Cloud. "It is a great honor for us to work with AAEON and Intel this time, and I believe our Internet of Things cooperation is going to bring in brand new intelligent applications to the manufacture sector."Live demos of the AIOT-X1000 for factory automation will be demonstrated to the public in AAEON's booth (KO315a) and Intel's booth (MO820) at Computex in Taipei from June 3-7, 2014.AAEON AIOT-X1000Photo: CompanyAbout AAEONAAEON is a leading manufacturer of advanced industrial and embedded computing platforms. Committed to innovative engineering, AAEON provides integrated solutions, hardware and services for premier OEM/ODMs and system integrators worldwide. Reliable and high quality computing platforms include industrial motherboards and systems, industrial displays, rugged tablets, PC/104 modules, PICMG half-size and full-size boards and COM modules, embedded SBCs, embedded controllers and related accessories. AAEON also offers customized end-to-end services from initial product conceptualization and product development on through to volume manufacturing and after-sales service programs. www.aaeon.comPress ContactAAEON Technology Inc.Patty WuTEL: +886-2-8919-1234 ext. 1118Email: pattywu@aaeon.com.tw