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UPS turns data analysis into big savings

When you have an organization as large as UPS, with its armada of tens of thousands of brown trucks prowling the streets of the world to pick up and drop off packages, even the smallest inefficiencies can add up to substantial costs.

The reverse is true, as well, of course, and that's why the company is in the middle of a long-term technology upgrade for its giant fleet of delivery vehicles that is designed to wring every possible efficiency out of the trucks. In the process, it will save millions of dollars a year, make a significant reduction in … Read more

Why Nehalem-EX matters

Every new IT product, it seems, is "revolutionary." A "breakthrough." "Transforms the economics of computing." Yeah, right.

Very few products really are, or do, these things. There are, however, a handful of products each year that are excellent milestones to the progress IT is making, and that are themselves impressive and important accomplishments that move the industry forward. Intel's just-introduced Nehalem-EX is one of those. Why?

Completing the set All together, Intel's "Nehalem" processor generation is pretty darn impressive. It's distinguished by its aggressive manufacturing density (45nm and 32nm), … Read more

AMD, Intel ready 'many core' processors

Advanced Micro Devices is the latest to up the processing core ante with a 12-core chip. Intel is expected to follow this with a chip that contains eight cores.

Both of these chips move beyond the traditional two- and four-core processors that have been around for years. Chips integrating six or more cores are targeted at pricey, high-end server computers that need to process huge workloads in parallel. Ideally, the more cores, the faster the processing, though software has to be properly "parallelized" to take advantage of multiple cores.

Servers using these chips typically cluster together scores, if … Read more

Midrange Sony LED LCD sips power, turns off automatically

The Sony KDL-EX700 is the second edge-lit LED-based LCD we've tested from Sony this year, and readers of the review of the first, the KDL-NX800, will notice more similarities than differences. The price disparity--of $400 between the two series' 46-inch members--gets you improved styling, Wi-Fi networking, and a couple of other minor niceties on the NX800, but for some reason loses you the innovative "presence sensor." That feature turns the EX700's picture off automatically when you leave the room, and can really save power use if you're prone to leaving the TV on. Even ignoring … Read more

Casio refreshes budget-friendly ultracompacts

Though budget cameras aren't exciting news, they are what a lot of people end up buying--especially as gifts for friends and family. Casio's low-end models are better than most, too, which is what makes them even more worthy of coverage. The EX-S7 and EX-Z35 are updates to 2009's EX-Z33 and EX-S5.

The 12-megapixel S7 uses Casio's Exilim Engine 5, improving image processing and battery life (it uses a rechargeable lithium ion). On its front is a 3x f3.1-5.6 36-107mm-equivalent lens. On its back is a 2.7-inch LCD and, along with the camera's … Read more

Microsoft and Funai sign patent deal

Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it has set up a new deal to swap patents with LCD TV maker Funai.

Funai, which makes TVs sold in the U.S. under the brands Philips, Magnavox, Sylvania, and Emerson, will gain access to Microsoft's exFAT file system, an enhanced version of the company's older FAT (file allocation table) used to store and organize data on a disk.

The exFAT (extended FAT) system supports much higher-capacity drives and devices than can FAT and will quickly save files onto SD cards, USB drives, and other portable gadgets. Microsoft sees it as the … Read more

Samsung announces large-format LED displays

LAS VEGAS--As Samsung and other vendors continue their CES-LED onslaught, not even giant Large Format Displays (LFD) are safe, as the company announced what it claims is the first LFD displays to incorporate LED Backlight Unit (BLU) technology.

The Samsung Syncmaster LED LFD 460EX, 460EXn, 550EX, and 550EXn are new LFDs with LED backlight tech. According to Samsung, the LED LFD series is Samsung's thinnest, lightest, and most energy-efficient professional LCD display in the 46-inch- and 55-inch-screen class to date. They will measure a small 1.6 inches deep and will boast a purported 43 percent weight savings over … Read more