TSMC To Produce iPhone 6 Chips

Apple has officially come to the agreement with Taiwanese manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to supply the new generation of chips for iPhone, iPad and other iOS-based devices. It is a well-known fact that Cupertino-based corporation has been in a long-term cooperation with Samsung, but has decided to change the partner because of competition with the South Korean giant, and due to the numerous “patent wars” and corresponding lawsuits.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company was founded in 1987, becoming one of the leading semiconductor manufacturers in the world. Among its clients are such large companies as AMD, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Broadcom and Intel.

TSMC produces “system on a chip” for 20 and 28-nanometer process technology. They are smaller and more energy efficient than a 32-nanometer A5 and A6 chips from Samsung, used in Apple’s contemporary gadgets.

Apple had intentions to sign a deal with TMSC in 2010, but the agreement was postponed because Apple’s representatives remained dissatisfied with performance and power consumption of TSMC processors. Another condition insisted by Apple was the allocation of the complete manufacturing capacities exclusively for iPhone and iPad chips, which TSMC did not want to do.

Today, according to the latest information, TSMC has started the manufacturing process of a new generation of A-chips. Most likely, the processors will be labeled A8, and will be installed in the upcoming iPhone 6, as well as in the updated version of iPad Air. Presumably, both devices will be shown in the autumn of 2014.

According to the insider sources, Samsung has not managed to establish the required mass production of 20-nanometer chips of A-series, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company was able to meet the demands of Apple. The sources also note that Apple will request TSMC to start manufacturing of the brand new A9 chips (based on 16-nanometer crystal) in 2015. Later, when Samsung is able to start a mass production of 14-nanometer chips in a sufficient (for Apple) amount, Apple will restart its cooperation with the South Korean corporation.

However, according to the KGI Securities analyst, Ming Chi Kuo, new iPad Mini with Retina display is unlikely to undergo dramatic changes this year. He also expressed the opinion that the “professional” model of iPad has been postponed to the next year (i.e. 2015). As for the rumors about the new iPhone 6, the latest information that has appeared in the web was related to some “spy” photos of the future gadget.

Friends of Technology: How to Get the Real Start Menu Back in Windows 8 o...

Friends of Technology: How to Get the Real Start Menu Back in Windows 8 o...: Continued support for Windows XP was discontinued by Microsoft  recently , so many PC people may now...

How to Get the Real Start Menu Back in Windows 8 or 8.1

Continued support for Windows XP was discontinued by Microsoft recently, so many PC people may now be migrating over to Windows 8. One thing newcomers will notice missing in the latest version of Windows: the Start menu!

If you’re feeling instantly lost without the old Start menu, don’t worry; you’re not alone. Thousands of PC fans would argue that the Start menu offers a more compact, concise, customizable listing of programs and files than the tile-filled Start screen.

Microsoft scoffs at that idea. It points out that every time there’s a new version of Windows, there’s an instant spike in popularity of shareware programs that make it work like the previous version of Windows. Eventually, the public stops panicking and learns to trust the new design.

(Note: The company has backpedaled a touch on this and announced that a Start menu resembling your old beloved will be coming back to Windows 8.1 in a future update. Until then, however, enjoy these tips on living with a Start menu-less version of Windows.) 

The Start buttonStill, much has changed in this department since Windows 8. First, in Windows 8.1, the Start button (Windows button) is back. It’s there in the lower-left corner of the desktop, right where it always was. (It even appears in TileWorld if you point your mouse to that corner.)

The Start button does not open the traditional Start menu, however. It’s another way to open the Start screen. If you tap or click it, you just go back to TileWorld.

The secret Start menuWindows 8.1’s new (old) Start button may not be the same thing as the old Start menu, but it does harbor a secret: It can sprout a tiny utility menu, as shown below.

The trick to making it appear depends on where you’re starting:
• At the desktop. Right-click the Windows button, or hold your finger down on it. At the desktop, that’s easy; the Windows button is always in the lower-left corner of the screen.

• In TileWorld. The Windows button appears only when you move the mouse to the lower-left corner. If you don’t have a mouse, swipe in from the left edge of the screen.

There, in all its majesty, is the secret Start menu. What it doesn’t do is list your own programs and documents, like the old Start menu; that’s what the Start screen is for. But it is seething with shortcuts to toys for the technically inclined.
Some of these items are especially useful to have at your mousetip:
• System opens a window that provides every possible detail about your machine.
• Control Panel. This is the quickest known method to get to the desktop Control Panel.
• Search. Having the option to choose Search here saves you a trip into TileWorld and its Charms menu.
• Shut down or sign out. Huge. This is huge. Now shutting down, signing out, or restarting is a single step — and it doesn’t require leaving the desktop. This submenu offers commands for “Sign out,” “Sleep,” “Shut down,” and “Restart.” No longer must you go to the effort of installing a Shut Down tile on your Start screen just to avoid red tape.
Restoring the real Start menu

If you want the full, traditional Start menu back during your transitional learning time, that’s easy to do. All kinds of free or cheap programs are available to restore the Start menu to its rightful place at the desktop, bearing names, like StartIsBack, Start8, Power8, Pokki, StartW8, and Classic Shell.

Friends of Technology: Sick of Double-Clicking Icons? Here’s How to Turn ...

Friends of Technology: Sick of Double-Clicking Icons? Here’s How to Turn ...: In some ways, a Windows 8 File Explorer window is just like Internet Explorer, the Web browser. It h...

Sick of Double-Clicking Icons? Here’s How to Turn on Single-Click in Windows

In some ways, a Windows 8 File Explorer window is just like Internet Explorer, the Web browser. It has a Back button, an address bar, and so on.

If you enjoy this PC-as-browser effect, you can actually take it one step further. You can set up your PC so that one click, not two, opens an icon. It’s a strange effect that some people adore, that some find especially useful on touchscreens — and that others turn off as fast as their little fingers will let them.

In any File Explorer window, on the View tab of the Ribbon, click Options. The Folder Options control panel opens. Turn on Single-click to open an item (point to select). Then indicate when you want your icons’ names turned into underlined links by selecting Underline icon titles consistent with my browser (that is, all icons’ names appear as links) or Underline icon titles only when I point at them. Click OK. The deed is done.

Now, if a single click opens an icon, you’re entitled to wonder how you’re supposed to select an icon (which you’d normally do with a single click). Take your pick:

• Point to it for about a half-second without clicking. (To make multiple selections, press the Ctrl key as you point to additional icons. And to drag an icon, just ignore all this pointing stuff — simply drag as usual.)

• Turn on the checkbox mode by going to View in the File Explorer window and checking Item check boxes.

Friends of Technology: Facebook Launches Mobile Advertising Network to Fo...

Friends of Technology: Facebook Launches Mobile Advertising Network to Fo...: Facebook launched a mobile advertising network at its F8 developer conference, giving it the abi...

Facebook Launches Mobile Advertising Network to Follow You Across Apps

Facebook launched a mobile advertising network at its F8 developer conference, giving it the ability to target users across the applications they use while targeting them based on the information they have shared with Facebook. Facebook Audience Network, as the new product is called, will allow brands to advertise on third-party apps using Facebook’s detailed targeting data. The network, which Facebook has been testing since 2012, will let advertisers use both standard banner ads and custom units. It will compete with companies like AdMob, InMobi, and Twitter, which has taken a similar approach to mobile advertising since acquiring the ad network MoPub last year.

Mobile advertising has been hugely successful for Facebook, which says it has 1 million advertisers using its platform. Its signature mobile ad, which lets developers advertise app installations, now accounts for 59 percent of the company’s ad revenue. Zuckerberg said Wednesday that Facebook has been responsible for 1 billion app installations to date. “I’m really excited about this Audience Network,” Zuckerberg told developers. “This is really the first time that we’re going to help you monetize in a serious way on mobile.”

The mobile ad network was one of a number of new services Facebook is now offering to advertisers on developers. The company is also adding a way for apps to link to one another without sending users to the mobile web, a mobile like button to drive viral traffic, and a way to share items from third-party apps using Facebook Messenger.