may the force be with you

Titanium is as strong as steel, but weighs only about 60 percent as much. It's also highly resistant to corrosion, and handles temperature extremes well. So, not surprisingly, the aerospace industry wants to use much more of it in the next generation of planes, making them lighter and reducing fuel costs.

But there's a hitch: at around $40 per pound today, titanium is expensive -- and the price keeps going up.

Now a startup, Avanti Metal, using technology developed at MIT, hopes to commercialize a process that drastically reduces the cost of producing titanium, making more of it available for large, lighter-weight airplanes. The process, developed by MIT chemist Donald Sadoway, applies an environmentally benign, direct electrolysis method to make the metal.

Titanium is naturally abundant. But processing titanium oxide found in the ground to make a usable metal is slow and produces toxic waste. "The price of titanium has gone through the roof," says Corby Anderson, director of the Center for Advanced Mineral and Metallurgical Processing at the University of Montana. "It's double what it was this time last year -- and last year it was pretty high."

Jeffrey Sabados, president of the four-person Avanti, estimates that, based on production plans published by Boeing and Airbus, there'll be a 30,000-ton shortage of titanium by 2010. He claims that Avanti's process for refining titanium could slash costs to about $3 per pound. Then, if the metal then sells for even $25 per pound, an estimate he calls conservative, it's a huge potential profit.

Since the early 1950s, titanium has been produced through the Kroll process. Manufacturers first make titanium chloride, which gets processed into titanium tetrachloride, and then mixed with magnesium, which draws out the titanium and produces chlorine gas. The result is a porous material, contaminated with magnesium salts, which requires further processing to remove the salts and make it usable for manufacturing. The process is so toxic that it's difficult to get the permits needed to build a new plant in order to expand production.

Sadoway says their process is much greener. They mix titanium oxide with other oxides, such as magnesium oxide or calcium oxide; then they heat the mixture to about 1,700 degrees Celsius. This produces a bath of molten oxides, through which an electric current can be run. The electricity produces electrolysis, breaking the bond between the titanium and oxygen atoms, and the heavier titanium sinks. The result is a pool of liquid titanium at the bottom and oxygen bubbling out the top. The other molten oxides remain in place, acting as the electrolyte when more titanium oxide is added. "You just keep making more and more and more metal," Sadoway says.

So far, though, Sadoway and colleagues have made only a few grams with an experimental reactor cell. It's hard for the small, ceramic device to sustain the high temperature needed. Avanti is hoping to raise enough money from investors to build a larger prototype to actually produce a pool of liquid titanium. Sadoway hopes to begin putting together a team of scientists by August and to build working titanium smelters by August 2008.

Nabil Elkouh, president of Erigo Technologies, a consulting firm that puts together deals between researchers and investors, and who's an advisor to Avanti, cautions that their projection of producing titanium at one-tenth of the current cost, may be optimistic at this point. "They may have something great, but it may take four years," he says. "It may not ever be one-tenth the cost -- but what if it were half the cost? That'd still be great."

Anderson says plenty of people, from university researchers to companies like DuPont, are working on better ways to produce titanium. He hopes to visit MIT this summer to look at Sadoway's process and see how well it works.

source:http://www.techreview.com/printer_friendly_article.aspx?id=16963

In remarks made to Japanese website Impress Watch, and translated by consumer website Beyond3D, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Ken Kutaragi has commented in more detail on the concept that the PlayStation 3 is a computer, rather than a game console.

Kutaragi pointedly commented of the next-gen console, which is due to launch this November at dual price points of $499 and $599 in North America: "We don't say it's a game console (*laugh*) - PlayStation 3 is clearly a computer, unlike the PlayStations [released] so far."

He went on to outline a scenario where many parts of the PS3 were upgradable, much more like a PC, noting: "Since PS3 is a computer, there are no "models" but "configurations"", and continuing (though talking in the theoretical): "I think it's okay to release a [extended PS3] configuration every year". It's clear from the comments that Sony is indicating that it will be possible to upgrade hard drives and perhaps even other components easily.

The Sony CEO gave another example in the interview: "As PS3 is a computer... it also wants to evolve. We'll want to upgrade the HDD size very soon - if new standards appear on the PC, we will want to support them. We may want the [Blu-ray] drive to [have a writable version upgrade]." He then tempered his comments: "Well, BD may not develop like that, though." But extensibility is what Sony is stressing that you get for the price of a PS3, nonetheless.

Kutaragi's comments echo a recent Phil Harrison interview in which he commented: "We believe that the PS3 will be the place where our users play games, watch films, browse the Web, and use other computer functions. The PlayStation 3 is a computer. We do not need the PC." The combined executive comments appear to signify a change in marketing tactics for the company, who may have always had this scenario in mind, but are pushing it much more strongly following a somewhat mixed E3 showing from a PR perspective.

source:http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=9642

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Move over Bud. College life isn't just about drinking beer. In a rare instance, Apple Computer Inc.'s iconic iPod music player surpassed beer drinking as the most "in" thing among undergraduate college students, according to the latest biannual market research study by Ridgewood, N.J.-based Student Monitor.

Nearly three quarters, or 73 percent, of 1,200 students surveyed said iPods were "in" — more than any other item in a list that also included text messaging, bar hopping and downloading music.

In the year-ago study, only 59 percent of students named the iPod as "in," putting the gadget well below alcohol-related activities.

This year, drinking beer and Facebook.com, a social networking Web site, were tied for second most popular, with 71 percent of the students identifying them as "in."

The only other time beer was temporarily dethroned in the 18 years of the survey was in 1997 — by the Internet, said Eric Weil, a managing partner at Student Monitor.

Though beer might soon regain its No. 1 spot, as it quickly did a decade ago, the iPod's popularity is still "a remarkable sign," Weil said. "For those who believe there's an excessive amount of drinking on campus, now there's something else that's common on campuses."

Student Monitor conducted the survey the week of March 6, interviewing full-time undergraduate students at 100 U.S. colleges. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.

source:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060608/ap_on_hi_te/colleges_ipods_8

June 9 (Bloomberg) -- Customers of Intel Corp. said the world's biggest computer-chip maker plans to reduce prices on Pentium processors by as much as 60 percent to reclaim market share from Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

Executives at Micro-Star International Co. and Gigabyte Technology Co., two of Taiwan's biggest makers of circuit boards for computers, said Intel officials told them the price cuts will start July 23. Tom Beermann, a spokesman for Santa Clara, California-based Intel, declined to comment.

Advanced Micro last quarter increased its share of the $35 billion computer chip market to more than 20 percent for the first time in more than four years. Intel Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini forecast the company's first annual sales decline in five years and Dell Inc. decided last month to buy some Advanced Micro chips for the first time.

``They're very aggressive about getting market share back,'' said Max Tsai, a product manager at Gigabyte. Tsai said yesterday that his Intel account manager in Taipei said prices will be cut. ``We're all surprised.''

Intel said it will reduce prices of faster dual-core chips by about 15 percent, according to Alex Lin, a product marketing manager at Micro-Star, Taiwan's third-largest maker of motherboards, which connect electronic parts in computers. Intel also told him that it plans to lower Pentium prices by 60 percent.

Citigroup Inc. analyst Glen Yeung on June 7 published a list of price cuts he anticipates from Intel in July, based on discussions with makers of computers and their components.

Pentium prices will fall 61 percent, Yeung said. Advanced Micro also told Gigabyte that it plans to cut prices, though not by as much as Intel, Tsai said.

`Fighting Back'

Intel typically posts its prices on its Web site. The most recent change was May 1.

Anand Chandrasekher, Intel's sales chief, declined to comment on the company's chip prices earlier this week. Chandrasekher, Yeung and the components makers are among attendees of the Computex trade show in Taipei.

Shares of Intel have fallen 33 percent since Otellini succeeded Craig Barrett in May last year. Advanced Micro's stock has gained 77 percent during the same period. Intel fell 31 cents to $17.08 at 12:06 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. Advanced Micro dropped $1.55, or 5.5 percent, to $26.45 on concerns that Intel will lower prices.

``Intel is fighting back,'' Ray Chen, president of Compal Electronics Inc., the world's second-largest maker of notebook computers, said yesterday in an interview. Such competition ``means the consumer will get the benefit and the unit price will get lower so we can stimulate demand.''

Lowered Estimates

Citigroup's Yeung, citing conversations at the Computex trade show, predicted ``a more aggressive price war in microprocessors is forthcoming'' and cut his profit estimates for Intel and Sunnyvale, California-based Advanced Micro.

In a research note, Yeung lowered his prediction for Intel's 2006 profit to 77 cents a share from 86 cents and cut his revenue estimate to $34.5 billion from $35.4 billion. Yeung kept his price target for Intel shares at $21. He rates the stock ``buy.''

Yeung cut his Advanced Micro profit estimate to $1.14 a share from $1.28 and reduced his target for the stock price to $33 from $42. He rates the stock ``hold.''

Not Prepared

Advanced Micro isn't positioned for a price war, Yeung said. Discussions with customers at Computex signaled Advanced Micro hasn't responded to the planned cuts.

``If Intel chooses to create a more aggressive market environment over the long term, that's something we'll have to respond to,'' Advanced Micro President Dirk Meyer said earlier this week at the conference. He declined to give details on Advanced Micro's price cuts.

Advanced Micro spokesmen Dave Kroll and Drew Prairie didn't immediately return phone calls seeking comment.

Intel's share of computer processor chips fell to 74 percent during the first quarter, according to Cave Creek, Arizona-based Mercury Research.

``They want to kill AMD market share,'' said Micro-Star's Lin. ``I believe Intel will steal at least 3 percent'' because of the price cuts.

Intel will introduce the Woodcrest chip for computer servers this month, the Conroe processor for desktops next month and the Merom for notebooks in August.

``From the second half, we believe Intel's product can stimulate the market demand, and will have pretty good performance,'' said Sunny Han, marketing director of Asustek Computer Inc., the world's largest maker of motherboards.

Dell Breakthrough

Advanced Micro had a breakthrough in May when it won its first order from Round Rock, Texas-based Dell, the world's biggest PC maker. The contract for processors in some server machines ended Dell's 22-year exclusive use of Intel chips.

Taiwanese companies made 98 percent of the world's motherboards, 30 percent of desktop computers, 82 percent of laptops, and 72 percent of LCD monitors last year, according to Taiwan's Institute for Information Industry.

``The idea of price competition or competition in general is new to the other guy,'' Advanced Micro's Meyer said of Intel. ``Price competition doesn't scare us.''

source:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=a9bSLIkNBj4M