March 24, 2008

News      p. 11

Apple Releases the iPhone SDK

Pioneer Retires from Manufacturing Plasma Display Panels

An iPod nano Causes a Spark

“The Father of the Opteron” Starts a New Company which Optimizes Memory Performance in the Chipset

Displaying Datacasting Causes a Problem in Hitachi’s LCD Televisions

Zuken Develops an Upper Process Support Tool for Device Design

NE Interview

Yokohama Science Frontier High School, Permanent Super Advisor, Akiyoshi Wada: “I Want to Raise People Who Can Effectively Use Science”    p. 34

The City of Yokohama will open the Yokohama Science Frontier High School in April 2009 as it reorganizes the Tsurumi Industrial High School. The school will be making the transformation from an industrial high school that trains human resources for manufacturing centers into a prep school specializing in science and mathematics. Special advisor to the school, Akiyoshi Wada, was the one who pushed for the school’s lean towards science in the committee deliberating on policy for the school’s reorganization. Wada is also responsible for inviting an elite group of scientists to serve as special advisors to the high school, including two Nobel Prize winners—Masatoshi Koshiba, known for his Kamiokande experiment, and Harold Kroto, who discovered fullerenes. We asked him about the current need for a high school teaching the sciences.

Key Person

Taipei Computer Association, Akira Yoshimura: “Japanese Companies Should More Fully Utilize the Strengths of Taiwanese Manufacturers”              p. 39

Keyword

OpenID  p. 41

Watcher

Samsung: The Source of Globally Competitive Power Is Acquiring Creative People         p. 43

Cover Story

Machinegun Camera Shock: The Beginning of the Second Generation of Digital Cameras                 p. 47

The Future Comes Closer  p. 48

High-speed continuous shooting and image recognition will revolutionize the user experience

Initial advancements of the second generation of digital cameras have begun.  A core function is provided by auto shutter systems employing high-speed continuous shooting and image recognition technologies.  Image recognition technology is also likely to alter functions for “viewing” photos on the camera screen.  Any company will be able to make a camera, but what is needed now is the ability to completely restyle the user’s experience.  The manufacturers who are able to turn out such a product will emerge as winners in the market for second generation digital cameras.

Existing Digital Camera Analysis

EX-F1 high-speed continuous shooting camera—issues remain despite immense novelty             p. 59

Casio Computer Co., Ltd.’s EX-F1 camera incorporates high-speed continuous shooting technology able to capture sixty frames per second.  What kind of experience does the camera offer the user?  We borrowed and tested a prototype.  Our analysis might provide ideas for future product planning and technological development.