Intel and Micron first to 25nm with new flash memory chips

8:22 PM | by Prabhath

Intel and Micron plan to unveil new 25-nanometer flash memory chips on Monday via their IM Flash Technologies joint venture, the first commercial chip products made using advanced 25nm manufacturing technology.
The new 64 gigabit (8 gigabyte) MLC (multi-level cell) NAND flash memory chip will give the companies a significant cost advantage over rivals, chip market researcher Objective Analysis said in a research note. The research note was inadvertently sent out ahead of an official announcement by Intel and Micron, which is slated for Monday.
An Intel representative confirmed the new chips and said they are aimed at smartphones, solid-state drives (SSDs), and portable media players such as iPods.
"We are currently sampling it with production expected in the second quarter," Intel said via e-mail.
The use of tiny 25nm technology puts the companies ahead of rivals in the flash industry. Samsung Electronics, the world's largest producer of flash memory, is starting work on 30nm technology this year and plans to use it in most production lines by the end of 2010.
The nanometer measurement describes the microscopic size of transistors and other parts on a chip. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter, about the size of a few atoms combined.
Developing smaller chip manufacturing technology is crucial to meeting user demand for small devices that can perform many functions, such as smartphones with built-in music players, cameras and computers. Smaller etching technologies also enable companies to increase chip speed and reduce power consumption.
Advances in chip manufacturing technology also lower costs over time, a major benefit to consumers.
Objective Analysis estimates the manufacturing cost of the new 25nm flash chips will be about $0.50 per gigabyte (GB), compared to $1.75 per gigabyte for mainstream 45nm flash. The market price of flash chips has been hovering around $2.00 per gigabyte, Objective Analysis said, and will likely remain there throughout 2010.
Intel and Micron are currently offering chip samples to customers so they can start to plan them into gadget designs, according to the researcher.
The companies started using 34nm technology in their flash memory chip factories in May 2008. The march to 25nm took about a year and a half.
Samsung on Friday noted strong demand for embedded flash memory products used in smartphones and other devices during its fourth quarter investors' conference. The company believes there will be limited flash memory supply increases because a number of memory chip makers were hurt by the recession and have not been able to build new factories nor upgrade old chip lines to the latest technologies.
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Available IPv4 addresses dwindle below 10 per cent

9:40 AM | by Prabhath
~The Number Resource Organization (NRO), the official representative of the five Regional Internet Registries, made the announcement~

The long-awaited depletion of the Internet's primary address space came one step closer to reality on Tuesday with the announcement that fewer than 10 per cent of IPv4 addresses remain unallocated.

The Number Resource Organization (NRO), the official representative of the five Regional Internet Registries, made the announcement. The Regional Internet Registries allocate blocks of IP addresses to ISPs and other network operators.

The NRO is urging Internet stakeholders — including corporations, government agencies, ISPs, IT vendors and users — to take immediate action and begin deploying the next-generation Internet Protocol known as IPv6, which has vastly more address space than today's IPv4.

"This is a key milestone in the growth and development of the global Internet," said Axel Pawlik, Chairman of the NRO, in a statement. "With less than 10 per cent of the entire IPv4 address range still available for allocation to RIRs, it is vital that the Internet community take considered and determined action to ensure the global adoption of IPv6."

IPv4 is the Internet's main communications protocol. IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses and can support around 4 billion IP addresses.

Designed as an upgrade to IPv4, IPv6 uses a 128-bit addressing scheme and can support so many billions of IP addresses that the number is too big for most non-techies to understand. (IPv6 supports 2 to the 128th power of IP addresses.)IPv6 has been available since the mid-1990s, but deployment of IPv6 began in earnest last year.

The NRO recommends IPv6 as a way of ensuring that the Internet can support billions of additional people and devices.The NRO recommends the following actions:

* Businesses should provide IPv6-capable services and platforms.

* Software and hardware vendors should sell products that support IPv6.

* Government agencies should provide IPv6-enabled content and services, encourage IPv6 deployment in their countries, and purchase IPv6-compliant hardware and software.

*Users should request IPv6 services from their ISPs and IT vendors.

NRO officials warned of "grave consequences in the very near future" if the Internet community fails to recognize the rapid depletion of IPv4 addresses.
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