Is transparent the colour (or lack thereof, rather) of future semiconductors? The combination of metal oxides and ultraviolet (UV) light might pave the road to such electronics, according to a team of scientists.

Current non-transparent semiconductors are based on silicon, gallium arsenide (GaAS) and other opaque materials. Metal oxide semiconductors, on the other hand, are not only transparent but also very efficient. However working on metal oxides demands very high temperatures (350C)-- too high for the plastic substrates flexible devices demand. Read more...

Does it seem contrary to logic that a loss-making, employee-shedding company would have been a sponsor for the Olympics?

Panasonic was the only TOP sponsor from Japan. The others included Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Acer, Atos, Dow Chemical, General Electric, Omega, Procter and Gamble, Visa and Samsung Electronics.

More than $64 million of AV kit and installations included cameras for 3D broadcasting, (an Olympic first) as well as 45 large LED screens, sound systems (36 locations) and 2500 security cameras. Panasonic engineers even developed, Read more...

A US federal jury in San Jose awards Apple $1.05 billion in damages from Samsung for infringing on six patents.

In a patent case that may alter the high tech landscape, the jury decided Apple's patents are valid. The jury believed Apple did not violate any of Samsung's patents. They also concluded Samsung willfully violated a series of Apple's patents related to the software and design of mobile device

Samsung will, of course, challenge the jury’s decision, so courtroom drama could continue for years—amplified by the dozens of lawsuits/countersuits in 10 countries between Apple and Samsung.

This defeat will dent Samsung $21 billion cash-pile, but in a strange turn…this case may actually benefit Samsung. Not as much as if it won, but a $1 billion defeat will only be a hiccup in the grinding growth of the Korean giant.

The damages equal less than half the $2.5 billion compensation Apple sought and that’s just 1.5% of annual revenues from Samsung phone and tablet business that generates around 70% of the group’s net profit of $4.5 billion (last fiscal April-June 2012).

Sure, Samsung’s Galaxy smartphone could be banned from sale in the United States but probably this large OEM maker ALREADY has planned non-patent infringing devices should the ban came into place. Read more...

Well known fact-- the data centres belonging to the biggest companies are secretive business... S noo wonder GigaOm taking a tour around Facebook's very first facility comes as something of a surprise. 

Located in Oregon, the first Facebook data centre is reportedly one of the most energy efficient. It has to be, since it keeps servers cool while temperatures outside reach over 30 degrees Celsius.  

The site has two buildings, each using a different cooling system-- the system cooling Building No. 1 (open from 2011, houses the company's first "open Read more...