Japanese researchers downplay super CPU effort

A group of Japanese researchers are collaborating on a software standard for multicore processors to be used in a range of technology products, including mobile phones and in-vehicle navigation systems. The effort could lead to the development of a super CPU, according to the researchers.

First reported in Japanese publication Nikkei Business News early this month, the initiative involves local chipmakers and IT companies including Canon, Fujitsu, Hitachi, NEC, Panasonic and Renasas, a joint venture between Hitachi and Mitsubishi. It is supported by the Japanese government, which will be providing an initial capital of between 3 billion and 4 billion yen (US$33.3 million to US$44.4 million).

Hironori Kasahara, professor at Waseda University's department of computer science and lead designer for the project, told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail interview that the project has been approved, by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (Nedo), to begin a one-year basic planning phase. Nedo is a funding agency under Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The grant also includes a three-year detailed research proposal, which involves research in multicore processor architectures, the development of a "parallelizing compiler with power reduction capabilities" and work on the API (application programming interface), Kasahara said.

"We are developing software de facto standard or API for multicore processors for consumer electronics and real-time embedded systems, [such as those used in] automobiles," he explained. "Our targets are for consumer electronics and real-time embedded systems like cell phones, digital television sets, car navigation systems, robotics and automobiles."

Contrary to earlier reports that suggest the super CPU project would challenge Intel, Kasahara noted that the targeted application areas were different from the American chipmaker's processors. In addition, there are no hardware standards involved, he pointed out.

When contacted, a Japan-based NEC spokesperson confirmed the company is participating in an API standardization project "using energy-saving software invented by Waseda University's professor Kasahara".

"NEC is simply aiming to advance unified standards among software technologies," the spokesperson added. "NEC is not, however, planning to develop a new CPU, as described in recent reports, which handles these latest technologies."

Kasahara added, however, that if the follow-up three-year proposal is accepted by the authorities, he would be looking to "develop a test chip by 2012 with one or two companies" tapping the parallelizing compiler and API.

In an e-mail interview, Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst for compute platforms at iSuppli, said the initiative appears to point toward a primary focus on consumer embedded applications, with compute as potential applications at a later date. However, Wilkins said gaining entry to the mainstream server business would be "extremely difficult" if the CPU is not x86-compatible as the de facto operating systems, Linux and Windows, run on x86 architecture.

Nick Jacobs, group PR manager at Intel Asia-Pacific, said the chipmaker does not have details to announce in its processor roadmap that pertain specifically to solar technology. "[However, Intel] has been making significant inroads into power reduction for processors over the years", he said. As of August 2009, the company has invested over US$100 million in clean-tech startups globally.

Microsoft's New Free Antivirus Hits the Streets

Microsoft today lifted the curtain on its Microsoft Security Essentials, the free successor to its OneCare security program.
MSE uses the same antivirus engine as the phased-out OneCare, but the new free program focuses only on malware blocking. It doesn't include a firewall, system optimizer or other security suite-type features.
When I reviewed a beta version of Security Essentials back in July alongside other free antivirus programs, MSE did a good, but not top-notch job at detecting Trojans, keyloggers and other malware, with a 97.8 percent overall block rate as tested by AVTest.org. It did shine in proactive tests that simulate how well an antivirus program can detect new malware that doesn't yet have a signature, and its performance there was topped only by Avira's AntiVir Personal.
The strong proactive performance may be thanks to its Dynamic Signature Service feature that checks new, potentially suspicious files against the latest available data on Microsoft servers . But its pokey scan speed held it back in our free AV software rankings - it was the slowest scanner we tested. For a full list of the MSE beta's performance results, see its lab test report.
Today's MSE, now available for download, doesn't add any new features or look any different from the beta version I reviewed, according to a Microsoft spokesman. The final version only includes some "code quality improvements, bug fixes, etc." when compared with that beta.
That beta looked good and was easy to use. If Microsoft has managed to ramp up Security Essential's scan speed, and ideally bump up its detection rate just a tad, since I checked out the beta, then it will likely be a good choice for budget-conscious protection. Tech-savvy users willing to put up with an at-times annoying interface, as well as a daily pop-up ad, might prefer the stronger malware detection rate in Avira AntiVir Personal, which took top billing in the free AV ratings.
If you do decide to use MSE, be sure you enable the built-in Windows firewall or use a third-party alternative. You might want to pair Security Essentials (or any other free AV app) with the also-free PC Tools Threatfire, which adds an effective additional layer of behavioral detection that can catch new, unknown malware.

How to Convert a FAT Partition to NTFS

To convert a FAT partition to NTFS, perform the following steps.
Click Start, click Programs, and then click Command Prompt.
In Windows XP, click Start, and then click Run.

At the command prompt, type CONVERT [driveletter]: /FS:NTFS.

Convert.exe will attempt to convert the partition to NTFS.

NOTE: Although the chance of corruption or data loss during the conversion from FAT to NTFS is minimal, it is best to perform a full backup of the data on the drive that it is to be converted prior to executing the convert command. It is also recommended to verify the integrity of the backup before proceeding, as well as to run RDISK and update the emergency repair disk (ERD).

Convert.exe will attempt to convert the partition to NTFS.

Speed up your browsing of Windows 2000 & XP machines

Here's a great tip to speed up your browsing of Windows XP machines. Its actually a fix to a bug installed as default in Windows 2000 that scans shared files for Scheduled Tasks. And it turns out that you can experience a delay as long as 30 seconds when you try to view shared files across a network because Windows 2000 is using the extra time to search the remote computer for any Scheduled Tasks. Note that though the fix is originally intended for only those affected, Windows 2000 users will experience that the actual browsing speed of both the Internet & Windows Explorers improve significantly after applying it since it doesn't search for Scheduled Tasks anymore. Here's how :

Open up the Registry and go to :

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace

Under that branch, select the key :

{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}

and delete it.

This is key that instructs Windows to search for Scheduled Tasks. If you like you may want to export the exact branch so that you can restore the key if necessary.

This fix is so effective that it doesn't require a reboot and you can almost immediately determine yourself how much it speeds up your browsing processes.