(AP) -- Pioneer Corp. will start selling Blu-ray disc recorders in Japan sometime before March 2009, the company said Tuesday, the latest in a string of Japanese electronics makers entering the increasingly competitive sector.
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Maryland Professor Creates Desktop Supercomputer
A prototype of what may be the next generation of personal computers has been developed by researchers in the University of Maryland's A. James Clark School of Engineering. Capable of computing speeds 100 times faster than current desktops, the technology is based on parallel processing on a single chip.
Prototype Space Probe Prepares to Explore Earth's Deepest Sinkhole
Scientists return this week to the world's deepest known sinkhole, Cenote Zacatón in Mexico, to resume tests of a NASA-funded robot called DEPTHX, designed to survey and explore for life in one of Earth's most extreme regions and potentially in outer space.
Lunar Dust Buster
Ever get a fragile item packed in a box filled with Styrofoam peanuts? Plunge your hands into the foam peanuts to search for the item, and when you pull it out foam peanuts are clinging to your arms. Try to brush them off, and they won't fall off—instead, they seem to hop away, only to cling to your legs or elsewhere. The smaller the peanuts, the more tenacious they seem. In fact, if you break a foam peanut into bits, the tiny lightweight bits are almost impossible to brush off.
Nanotech pioneer, buckyball discoverer, Nobel laureate Richard Smalley dead at 62
Nobel laureate Richard Smalley, co-discoverer of the buckyball and one of the best-known and respected scientists in nanotechnology, died today in Houston after a long battle with cancer. He was 62.
Universal Music Group Joins Blu-ray Disc Association
Universal Music Group (UMG) has joined the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) as a contributing member. The addition of Universal Music Group to the BDA's current lineup of more than 140 leading companies in the hardware, software, consumer electronics and information technology industries is expected to have a major impact on how music is created and enjoyed by consumers.
Blu-ray Disc Association Adds New Copy Protection Features
In a move to protect against illegal copying and large scale piracy while leaving consumers the flexibility to manage and enjoy copies of their legally purchased content, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has adopted the most comprehensive content management system ever employed on an optical disc format. The Blu-ray Disc content management system includes three primary components: Advanced Access Content System (AACS), "BD+", a Blu-ray specific enhancement for content protection renewability, and "ROM Mark", a measure unique to Blu-ray Disc to guard against mass production piracy or the mass duplication and sale of unauthorized copies of pre-recorded media.
Philips breaks data storage barriers
Philips unveiled its new all-in-one PC writer, the OPU81, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this month. The triple laser optical pick-up unit (OPU) can read and write CD-R/-RW, DVD+R(DL)/+RW and the next generation in optical storage:
Blu-ray Disc (BD). The unit is scheduled to be introduced in the second half of 2005.
Thomson to Support Next-Generation DVD Formats
Thomson to Introduce HD DVD Players and Provide Disc Replication Support for HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc Formats
Thomson today announced that it will support next-generation
DVD formats by manufacturing HD DVD and
Blu-ray discs through its Technicolor business and providing consumer
HD-DVD players through its THOMSON and RCA brands. Next generation DVD formats provide higher resolution video and audio, advanced navigation, web connectivity and other advanced features. Other essential features include advanced content access and robust content security technology, which are critical for content owners. In addition, the development of the next-generation DVD formats is expected to fuel the continued consumer acceptance of high definition television around the world.