March 10, 2008

News      p. 11

Niigata Seimitsu Plans to Revive with Civil Rehabilitation Law

Fuji Xerox Installs Dynamic Reconfigurable Technology in a Multifunction Copy Machine

Toyota “Crown” Shows Software Creates New Value for Automobiles

Sony and Sharp Form a Joint-venture for LCD Manufacturing

ROHM and Qualcomm Co-develop an MDDI Compatible Host Bridge LSI for Mobile Phones

NE Interview

Kadokawa Digix’s President, Tadashi Fukuda: “We Allied with Google Because They Represent the ‘External Pressure’”               p. 38

Kadokawa Group Holdings, Inc. announced on January 25, 2008 that the company will launch ad serving and other businesses on the YouTube video sharing website operated by Google Inc. affiliate YouTube, LLC.  The Kadokawa Group’s decision to not only provide official content through the website, but also to actively utilize content uploaded by users is in sharp contrast to policies of other companies.  Video recognition technology developed by Google and YouTube will be used to determine whether or not a user submission will be employed.  Kadokawa Digix, Inc., the Kadokawa Group company headed by Tadashi Fukuda, was involved in developing the technology and will now be operating the business.

Key Person

National Agricultural Research Center, Masayuki Hirafuji:

“How Will You Avoid Agricultural Terrorism?”            p. 43

Keyword

Inverter  p. 45

World Report

From India: Close Attention Is Being Paid to Electronics Manufacturing” p. 47

Cover Story

The Next Generation DRM Enables Freeing Copies    p. 51

Digital rights management (DRM) technology used to encrypt digital content, as a way of restricting data access and duplication, is approaching its limits.  While users criticize DRM for the inconvenience it causes, rights holders are questioning the effectiveness of the technology.  Options that do not depend on encryption are starting to be explored through YouTube and other video sharing websites.  DRM technology has to transform into a new brand that will please both users and rights holders.

Escaping the Frustration    p. 54

Creator compensation and user freedom

Conventional DRM technology, designed to restrict access and copying, is approaching its limits—unable to prevent content piracy to a level expected by rights holders on one hand, the technology also inhibits new forms of Internet-based activity as typified by video sharing websites.  Rights holders are frustrated because they want to deliver as much content as possible to users but are not willing to accept the deterioration of value which that entails.  Novel forms of content distribution technology will relieve that frustration.  A new DRM framework is required to alter notions held during earlier development.

Technology for the Transition                        p. 66

Digital fingerprinting and watermarking get a boost from demand for new DRM technology

Media companies and creators are concerned that the use of video sharing websites and other new forms of content distribution might destroy their own content.  Systems that identify content, using digital fingerprints and watermarks for example, while generating revenue through that distribution could potentially dispel their fears.  Research into these technologies is a decade old, but they are only now about to take off as applications are found under a new DRM framework.

Special Feature

The Retirement of HD DVD Starts the Quest for “Optical Disc plus Internet”         p. 87

Toshiba Corp. President and CEO Atsutoshi Nishida on February 19, 2008 declared that Toshiba will discontinue its HD DVD business.  On February 19, 2002, Sony Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. released their Blu-ray Disc format.  Exactly six years on, Blu-ray Disc was effectively determined to be the common standard for next-generation DVDs.  Now the battle between the standards is over, the Blu-ray Disc standard finds itself facing a new challenge—the integration of optical discs and network services.   Sony, Matsushita, Toshiba and Microsoft Corp., all major players in the battle of the formats, now seem likely to square off in a heated battle to gain control of this domain.

Mobile World Congress: The Search for “Next Generation” Mobile Technology Spreads Hot Sparks Around              p. 93

The world’s largest event in the mobile phone industry, Mobile World Congress 2008, was held mid-February in Barcelona, Spain, attracting more than 55,000 participants, the highest ever. Featured at the exhibition were prototypes and demonstrations using Google Inc.’s Android software platform, the latest trends relating to Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Mobile WiMax next-generation mobile broadband standards, and advancements of elemental technologies such as foldable electronic paper and ultra-small projection modules.

The Semiconductor Conference ISSCC Shows New Directions in the Medical, Lifestyle and Biology Fields

p. 103

This report from the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) provides an overview of nine topics that offer a feel for new directions and new opportunities in the semiconductor field and elucidates on their impact.

Guest Paper

Analyzing International Competitive Power in Semiconductor Manufacturing                   p. 115

Who is leading in terms of semiconductor production? This question elicits insight into the competitiveness of semiconductor production in various countries and thus insight into the best course for the Japanese semiconductor industry. Were Japanese manufacturers right in their decision to withdraw from memory product operations and steer toward SoC (system-on-chip) business? Are Japanese electronics manufacturers ready to take on the enormous BRIC markets? The author of this paper, who has had experience in DRAM development at Hitachi, Ltd., introduces and offers analysis of the situation in Japan today as experienced through a 48-day world tour.

Documentary

The Singing Voice Synthesis Personal Computer Software “Hatsune Miku”(Final): It’s Become Everyone’s Miku      p. 123

Tutorial

Decay Analysis of Red/Infrared Light Emitting Device (Part 1): The Three Degradation Mechanisms which Control Device Reliability           p. 132

Red/infrared light-emitting diodes (LED) and laser diodes have been incorporated into a wide range of devices. Deterioration of these diodes as a result of inappropriate application to products or use in harsh conditions can cause device and system faults, damage or accidents. Here, deterioration of red and infrared LEDs is analyzed and methods to inhibit deterioration are explained.

High-speed Transmission Related Design and Evaluation (Part 2):

Spectrum and Time Domains Help Understanding of the Characteristics of Transmission  p. 141

As intersymbol interference becomes more pronounced at higher speeds, waveforms are distorted and eye patterns close. Signal amplitude attenuation is caused by parasitic components such as connectors and through-holes in the transmission path and resonance also occurs due to parasitic components. The second installment in the series profiles the issues and the causes.

For further information, please contact:

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