2012-04-30

Broadcom rolls two-port 100G switch

Broadcom rolls two-port 100G switch

SAN JOSE – Broadcom brings to Interop 2012 next week another strategic piece of the puzzle for the 100 Gbit/second networks that are just starting to emerge. The BCM88650 is a high-end switching fabric that sports two 100G ports and also can be flexibly used for 10 and 40G nets.

The 40 nm switch is the first to fuse the company’s serdes and packet processing capabilities with the high-end switching fabric Broadcom acquired with Dune Networks. The chip aims to displace ASICs network systems makers design for a variety of their telecom and data center systems.

The switch includes traffic management, packet processing and media access control functions. The chip can be configured to support about 24 10G, six 40G or two 100G ports.

The chip targets a range of core, aggregation and top-of-rack switches. It also can be used as a fabric tying together as many as 4,000 100G ports across multiple cards and systems.

“We will reset the market in density and cost for 100G, and we think this will start a new cycle of 100G adoption to make the technology more mainstream,” said Nick Ilyadis, chief technology officer of Broadcom’s infrastructure and networking group.

The news comes just a week after Broadcom announced a 100G network processor, another piece of the puzzle for 100G networks just starting to roll into the market. Currently 10 and 1G switches represent the majority of today’s shipments, and 10G is growing to become the largest slice of the pie.

The 100G links are just starting to be deployed in telecom and high-end data center networks. The Broadcom chip can be used for any of the 10, 40 or 100G links.

The chip essentially doubles the throughput of Broadcom’s previous high-end switch. It likely will find most of its use handling traffic at 10 and 40G, said Jag Bolaria, a senior analyst at the Linley Group (Mountain View, Calif.).

“Most of the designs today are at 10G--that’s where the bulk of shipments are--so if Broadcom relied on 100G sockets for this product, they would not have a strong return on investment,” Bolaria said.

Indeed, Linley Group estimates merchant chips shipping in 2015 will power only about 100,000 ports of 100G links. Shipments of merchant chips for 40G ports will be triple that size, and both will be dwarfed by the dominant 10G market, it predicts.
TAG:100G Switch Data Centers Optical Networking Broadcom 100G Switching Networking Switches Telecom Optics Ethernet Marvell

Broadcom rolls two-port 100G switch

Broadcom rolls two-port 100G switch

SAN JOSE – Broadcom brings to Interop 2012 next week another strategic piece of the puzzle for the 100 Gbit/second networks that are just starting to emerge. The BCM88650 is a high-end switching fabric that sports two 100G ports and also can be flexibly used for 10 and 40G nets.

The 40 nm switch is the first to fuse the company’s serdes and packet processing capabilities with the high-end switching fabric Broadcom acquired with Dune Networks. The chip aims to displace ASICs network systems makers design for a variety of their telecom and data center systems.

The switch includes traffic management, packet processing and media access control functions. The chip can be configured to support about 24 10G, six 40G or two 100G ports.

The chip targets a range of core, aggregation and top-of-rack switches. It also can be used as a fabric tying together as many as 4,000 100G ports across multiple cards and systems.

“We will reset the market in density and cost for 100G, and we think this will start a new cycle of 100G adoption to make the technology more mainstream,” said Nick Ilyadis, chief technology officer of Broadcom’s infrastructure and networking group.

The news comes just a week after Broadcom announced a 100G network processor, another piece of the puzzle for 100G networks just starting to roll into the market. Currently 10 and 1G switches represent the majority of today’s shipments, and 10G is growing to become the largest slice of the pie.

The 100G links are just starting to be deployed in telecom and high-end data center networks. The Broadcom chip can be used for any of the 10, 40 or 100G links.

The chip essentially doubles the throughput of Broadcom’s previous high-end switch. It likely will find most of its use handling traffic at 10 and 40G, said Jag Bolaria, a senior analyst at the Linley Group (Mountain View, Calif.).

“Most of the designs today are at 10G--that’s where the bulk of shipments are--so if Broadcom relied on 100G sockets for this product, they would not have a strong return on investment,” Bolaria said.

Indeed, Linley Group estimates merchant chips shipping in 2015 will power only about 100,000 ports of 100G links. Shipments of merchant chips for 40G ports will be triple that size, and both will be dwarfed by the dominant 10G market, it predicts.
TAG:100G Switch Data Centers Optical Networking Broadcom 100G Switching Networking Switches Telecom Optics Ethernet Marvell

Here comes silicene, possible graphene replacement

Here comes silicene, possible graphene replacement


LONDON – Science researchers have reported the growth of a single layer of silicon on top of silver, in a hexagonal 2-D form of silicon similar to the graphene form of carbon.

A team from universities in Berlin and Marseille and research institutes in Rome and Saint Aubin, France has published a paper in Physical Review Letters that claims to show evidence of the synthesis of epitaxial silicene sheets on a silver (111) substrate.

Silicon and carbon both have four valence electrons which means that the two elements should be able to demonstrate a degree of similarity including the possibility of silicon-based life forms and carbon-based conductors and semiconductors.

Graphene has attracted much attention recently because it offers higher electron mobility than materials used to date in silicon-based transistors. However, before it has reached commercial deployment if could be rivaled its silicon equivalent, especially because of the inherent compatibility silicene has with silicon-based electronics and how easily it could be used in wafer fabs.

Academics speculated about the possible synthesis of silicene in 2010 and some claimed to have seen structures suggestive of silicene. The team from Technical University Berlin, Aix-Marseille University, CNR-ISM Rome and Synchrotron Soleil in Saint Aubin, France state in the abstract to the Physical Review Letter that their evidence, based on a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and angular-resolved photoemission spectroscopy in conjunction with calculations based on density functional theory, is compelling.

Silicene is thought to differ from graphene by having a rippled surface but the electronic properties of silicene nanoribbons and sheets are said to resemble those of graphene, according to a review of silicene published by another team.


Related links and articles:

Physical Review Letters

Surface Science Reports

News articles:


Research finds semiconductor derivative of graphene

U.K. to spend $120 million on graphene institute

Researchers find bilayer graphene acts as insulator

Graphene printed via ink-jet, ups mobility



TAG:silicene graphene silicon carbon materials semiconductor

2012 chip market to grow 7%, says analyst

2012 chip market to grow 7%, says analyst


LONDON – Growth in the semiconductor market will accelerate in the second half of 2012 and achieve an annual percentage figure of 6 to 7 percent, according to Mali Venkatesan, research manager for semiconductors at International Data Corp.

As large companies with cash in hand vie for competitive positions, mergers and acquisitions will continue to be trend, he said. A number took place in 2011 including: Qualcomm's acquisition of Atheros, Texas Instruments buying National Semiconductor, Conexant falling to SMSC, Broadcom's capture of Netlogic, CSR-Zoran and Microsemi-Zarlink. Also a number of startups were taken up in the recent past inluding Icera by Nvidia and Picochip by Mindspeed.

IDC reckons that 2011's global chip market was worth $301 billion up 3.7 percent from 2010.


Related links and articles:

Pure-play foundry market to grow 12% in 2012, says IHS

Semi funding decreased in March, says GSA

TSMC raises capex to record $8.5 billion, pulls in 20-nm


TAG:International Data Corp IDC chip market semiconductor forecast

2012 chip market to grow 7%, says analyst

2012 chip market to grow 7%, says analyst


LONDON – Growth in the semiconductor market will accelerate in the second half of 2012 and achieve an annual percentage figure of 6 to 7 percent, according to Mali Venkatesan, research manager for semiconductors at International Data Corp.

As large companies with cash in hand vie for competitive positions, mergers and acquisitions will continue to be trend, he said. A number took place in 2011 including: Qualcomm's acquisition of Atheros, Texas Instruments buying National Semiconductor, Conexant falling to SMSC, Broadcom's capture of Netlogic, CSR-Zoran and Microsemi-Zarlink. Also a number of startups were taken up in the recent past inluding Icera by Nvidia and Picochip by Mindspeed.

IDC reckons that 2011's global chip market was worth $301 billion up 3.7 percent from 2010.


Related links and articles:

Pure-play foundry market to grow 12% in 2012, says IHS

Semi funding decreased in March, says GSA

TSMC raises capex to record $8.5 billion, pulls in 20-nm


TAG:International Data Corp IDC chip market semiconductor forecast

滇港珠宝商打造珠宝盛宴 1.2亿翡翠套件亮相

滇港珠宝商打造珠宝盛宴 1.2亿翡翠套件亮相

  一批“天价”翡翠亮相春城,翡翠销售还用上了3D技术……昨天,一场代表国内目前最高水准的极品翡翠展在昆明举行。展会上,一套10颗的翡翠套件,其行内交易价为1.2亿元,每颗翡翠的价格约1200万,相当于两张法拉利FF的价格。

  一港商携8亿珠宝来昆参展

  此次珠宝展的主题为香港-昆明“春之韵”珠宝玉石文化展,展期从4月27日至4月30日,共展出价值超10亿元的珠宝。活动由云南紫云青鸟珠宝产业有限公司、香港玉器商会、云南珠宝玉石文化促进会主办,香港健兴利翡翠珠宝、博信珠宝、碧德云南等11家珠宝商参展。展会地点在昆明出口加工区紫云青鸟已经完工的示范园区内,市民可乘118路等公交车到羊甫公交车场下即可。

  “超千万的货在我们这次的展出品中比比皆是,一串翡翠项链业内交易价就要8000多万元,市场交易价约在1.6亿元左右,5年前的进价是6800万元,因为我们的货都是高档翡翠,多是业内交易,所以价格比外面的市场价要便宜。”香港健兴利翡翠珠宝有限公司被誉为中国翡翠第一家,也是此次参展中备受瞩目的珠宝商。其公司总裁闪桂林自信地说,公司主要经营中高档珠宝,全世界60%的高档翡翠出自健兴利,此次参展,公司共带来超过8个亿的翡翠首饰。

  他指着一套仅有10颗的翡翠套件笑着说,这套翡翠业内交易价是1.2亿元,平均算下来每颗价值1200万元。项链上总共镶了7颗满绿的翡翠,另外还有1颗戒面、2颗耳环,这是老坑种,颜色均匀,颗粒大,市面上很少见,因此价格也相对较高。

  闪桂林透露说:“我们希望到明年在中国大陆再开30家门店,3年后,让我们的加盟店达到660家。”

  高档珠宝年涨幅10%至20%

  “去年上半年价格涨得比较高,涨幅在50%,甚至有些涨幅达100%,但是下半年至今,翡翠价格保持平稳状态。”参观完“春之韵”珠宝玉石文化展,云南省珠宝协会副理事长、中国宝玉石协会宝玉石鉴定师张位及有些兴奋。他说,此次展出的珠宝从质量上来说,都是难得一见的好货。云南是翡翠的发祥地,翡翠产业正在逐步完善,好的珠宝展有利于产业更快地发展。

  对此,闪桂林表示,高档翡翠珠宝由于购买人群特殊,因此涨幅并不大,年均涨幅约为10%-20%,自己感觉云南有几十名好的玉雕师,但对整个产业来说还不够。云南的玉石产业还存在散兵游勇、单打独斗的问题,从广州四会、揭阳等地的情况来看,抱团发展显然更具竞争实力。不过有句老话是“地基决定层高”,如果要实现玉回云南,首先云南省政府要打好基础。

  3D科技珠宝秀昆明“首现”

  “这太精美了!”站在博信珠宝的展厅内,一名消费者被一个名为炫立方的3D成像终端所吸引,消费者站在该设备前,不需要戴任何眼镜,就可以裸眼看到3D画面。

  云南博信珠宝有限责任公司副总经理陈滨介绍说,此次展会,公司率先使用了目前国际最先进的3D全息影像珠宝展示终端——“炫立方”。该终端以精湛的3D技术,在光和影的作用下,让精美的珠宝呈现出令人惊叹的流光溢彩,非常逼真动人。“在云南我们是第一家使用炫立方3D技术展示珠宝的,在国内珠宝行业内,使用的也不多,主要是因为我们定位于高端珠宝销售,公司特意从台湾引进了该设备。”

  “紫云青鸟依托昆明出口加工区,以保税物流集聚翡翠原料,打造翡翠产业平台,实现玉回云南夙愿。 ”云南紫云青鸟有限公司总经理周晓东介绍说,紫云青鸟国际珠宝加工贸易基地示范园区今年已对外开放,公司在规划中创意性地将整个地块规划为常态加工贸易区、综合功能区、保税功能区三大区域。建成后的紫云青鸟将成为云南省规模最大的专业珠宝玉石产业基地。

  此次“春之韵”珠宝玉石文化展旨在推动香港与昆明珠宝行业之间的交流,并为广大市民提供一个集中欣赏高档精品翡翠的机会。因此,除顶级珠宝可观之外,还开辟了专门的赌石区域,同时举办齐派嫡传弟子萧玉芝国画精品展,以展示不同文化之间的独特魅力。(完)(吴双红)


TAG:滇港珠宝商打造珠宝盛宴 1 2亿翡翠套件亮相

两贼光天化日砸窗作案 车厢内价值45万元玉石遭窃

两贼光天化日砸窗作案 车厢内价值45万元玉石遭窃

  东方网4月27日消息:据《新闻晚报(微博)》报道,车主将车厢当成保险箱,将两包价值人民币45万余元的各类籽料原石及青白玉佩共计39件放在车内,结果被两名窃贼得手。近日,静安法院以盗窃罪判处黄刚有期徒刑13年,剥夺政治权利2年,并处罚金人民币5万元;以盗窃罪判处涂某有期徒刑4年,并处罚金人民币2000元;以掩饰、隐瞒犯罪所得罪,判处黎飞有期徒刑1年2个月,并处罚金人民币1万元。

  1月10日下午4时许,黄刚和涂某共骑一辆助动车行至延安中路某饭店附近,见一辆黑色别克轿车内无人,后排座位上有两个黑色电脑包。按事先分工,涂某负责望风和接应,黄刚悄悄靠近车辆,用作案工具砸坏后排车窗,快速从车内取出两只沉甸甸的电脑包。

  路旁一店员发现黄刚行窃,便大声喝斥。黄刚则迅速坐上涂某的助动车,双双飞快逃逸。令黄刚欣喜若狂的是,包内虽无电脑,却有大量和田玉石。警方接到报案后,迅速将黄刚等抓捕归案。黄刚交代,他只知道和田玉价值不菲,但不知究竟值多少,便将和田玉交给黎飞寻找下家出手。黎飞明知这些玉石系犯罪所得,仍以1.3万元将两块青白玉佩件卖给案外人。

  作者:钱朱建


TAG:两贼光天化日砸窗作案 车厢内价值45万元玉石遭窃

钻戒还可以这样镶嵌:独特钻石镶嵌法

钻戒还可以这样镶嵌:独特钻石镶嵌法

  四爪、六爪……几种传统的钻石镶嵌法是否有些看腻了吗?不妨看看这五枚戒指,运用了不同的镶嵌法,带出的则是俏皮感十足的非主流婚戒,简洁且易于情侣佩戴。

独特镶嵌独特镶嵌钻石镶嵌在了六角形的黄金中钻石镶嵌在了六角形的黄金中

  将钻石镶嵌在了六角形的黄金中,层次的质感反倒有复古的感觉。

光板的戒圈光板的戒圈

  光板的戒圈更适合情侣佩戴。

放大镜一样的镶嵌手法放大镜一样的镶嵌手法

  如同放大镜一样的镶嵌手法充满了鬼马的创意。

钻石放置于戒圈内钻石放置于戒圈内

  将钻石低调的放置于戒圈内,也创意十足。


TAG:钻石 戒指 镶嵌 独特设计 钻戒还可以这样镶嵌:独特钻石镶嵌法

2012-04-29

Heliatek pushes organic solar cell efficiency higher

Heliatek pushes organic solar cell efficiency higher


LONDON – Heliatek GmbH (Dresden, Germany), a startup developing organic solar cells, has pushed the record efficiency for organic solar cells higher, achieving an efficiency of 10.7 percent in a 1.1 square centimeter tandem cell. The efficiency was measured by indepdendent test house SGS SA (Geneva Switzerland).

Heliatek, founded in 2006 as a spin off from the universities of Desden and Ulm, is based on the use of small organic molecules to produce highly tailorable, low temperature, low cost organic photovoltaics, which although less optically efficient than silicon could prove to be more economically efficient.

SGS measurements included showed that the cell has improved efficiency under low light conditions and that the efficiency remains constant with temperature.

Heliatek is currently working on its first roll-to-roll manufacturing line installed in Dresden, Germany, to go in production in the third quarter of 2012. It has also kicked off a third financing round to raise 60 million euro from current and new investors for a new roll-to-roll 75 megawatt-peak production line.

"Heliatek is the only solar company in the world that uses the deposition of small organic molecules in a low temperature, roll-to-roll vacuum process," said Martin Pfeiffer, co-founder and CTO of Heliatek, in a statement

Heliatek, founded in 2006, is included in version 13.0 of the Silicon 60 list of emerging startups published by EE Times. Heliatek entered the Silicon 60 at version 10.0 in April 2010.


Related links and articles:

www.heliatek.com

News articles:


EE Times updates 'Silicon 60' list of emerging startups

Stion begins PV shipments from Hattiesburg factory

Heliatek opens organic PV factory, plans second plant

Dark discovery could double solar cell efficiency

Heliatek achieves 9.8 percent organic solar cell efficiency


TAG:solar cell Heliatek efficiency record Dresden Ulm photovoltaic organic oligimer

Heliatek pushes organic solar cell efficiency higher

Heliatek pushes organic solar cell efficiency higher


LONDON – Heliatek GmbH (Dresden, Germany), a startup developing organic solar cells, has pushed the record efficiency for organic solar cells higher, achieving an efficiency of 10.7 percent in a 1.1 square centimeter tandem cell. The efficiency was measured by indepdendent test house SGS SA (Geneva Switzerland).

Heliatek, founded in 2006 as a spin off from the universities of Desden and Ulm, is based on the use of small organic molecules to produce highly tailorable, low temperature, low cost organic photovoltaics, which although less optically efficient than silicon could prove to be more economically efficient.

SGS measurements included showed that the cell has improved efficiency under low light conditions and that the efficiency remains constant with temperature.

Heliatek is currently working on its first roll-to-roll manufacturing line installed in Dresden, Germany, to go in production in the third quarter of 2012. It has also kicked off a third financing round to raise 60 million euro from current and new investors for a new roll-to-roll 75 megawatt-peak production line.

"Heliatek is the only solar company in the world that uses the deposition of small organic molecules in a low temperature, roll-to-roll vacuum process," said Martin Pfeiffer, co-founder and CTO of Heliatek, in a statement

Heliatek, founded in 2006, is included in version 13.0 of the Silicon 60 list of emerging startups published by EE Times. Heliatek entered the Silicon 60 at version 10.0 in April 2010.


Related links and articles:

www.heliatek.com

News articles:


EE Times updates 'Silicon 60' list of emerging startups

Stion begins PV shipments from Hattiesburg factory

Heliatek opens organic PV factory, plans second plant

Dark discovery could double solar cell efficiency

Heliatek achieves 9.8 percent organic solar cell efficiency


TAG:solar cell Heliatek efficiency record Dresden Ulm photovoltaic organic oligimer

PolyCore upgrades multicore development tool

PolyCore upgrades multicore development tool


LONDON – PolyCore Software Inc. (Burlingame, Calif.) has upgraded its Poly-Platform tool to version 2.0 with the inclusion of Poly-Mapper which provides control of memory used for messaging in multi-core software.

The Poly-Platform, is a bundle of productivity software tools and runtime communications engine that simplifies the process of migrating to and developing applications for multicore platforms. It is aimed at applications in telecommunications, data communiations, military, aerospace, and process control.

Poly-Mapper is a graphical configuration tool that maps the application functions to multicore architectures. Developers can graphically define memory usage across the system. Poly-Platform supports the Multicore Association's Multicore Communications API (MCAPI).

Because Poly-Platform is model-driven ports to different operating systems and processor hardware are relatively simple to implement the company said through a spokesperson.

The supported processors are x86, PowerPC, Blackfin DSPs, Texas Instruments DSPs, Tensilica DSPs and ARM 9. The supported operating systems include Linux, Windows, ThreadX, DSP BIOS, RTXC and uCOS, the spokersperson said.


Related links and articles:

www.polycoresoftware.com

News articles:


Samsung announces quad-core Exynos processor

Adapteva close to sampling 28-nm, 64-core coprocessor

Huawei claims quad-core chip outguns Tegra3

ZiiLabs samples 100-core, HEVC-ready Android SoC


TAG:PolyCore multicore development tool embedded software semiconductor processor

Wholesale Designer Handbags- Womens First Choice Fashion Designer

Handbags are an influential fashion statement for ladies. With the introduction of handbags in the fashion market, the scope of fashion designers have increased. Designer handbags are termed as stylish, chic and exotic. Contemporary fashion is incomplete without having the designer handbags slinging down your arms.

Designer handbags are inalienable and essential accessories that boost your personality. Moreover, they aid to carry important necessity item in an elegant and stylish way. Designer bags are obtainable in numerous styles. Each and every one is trendy and stylish in its own way. They come in different shapes and design. The possibilities are endless. Moreover, there are handbags made utilizing several stuffs like, cotton, velvet, leather, wool, etc. they can be decorated with beads and glitter to enhance their value.

Designers style a bag that is trendy and according to the style that is in vogue. They have began trimming the standard designs a bit too, without having changing their main capabilities.

Designer handbags are a luxurious accessory that can be the centre of attention wherever carried. This is created feasible only when you have selected the correct handbags for yourself. Handbags represent a woman’s status, mood and individuality. The style and fashion statement of females can be judged from the handbags they carry.

Buying wholesale handbags can save you a lot of income, which is surely a bonus for females. If you want to grow a full collection of designer handbags, acquiring wholesale designer handbags is the finest way. Their costs are way below that of the original designer handbags. Wholesale purchases can save you practically 50-75% on retail costs.

boost up your shopping spirit. You can purchase two or three designer handbags instead of getting 1 handbag on retail price. Wholesalers buy their goods at rock bottom costs, and they pass the cost savings on to you. On-line retailers offer much better savings, simply because their overhead expenses are low as compared to wholesale shops in shopping malls.

The enterprise in designer bags is acquiring extremely successful now. This is an accessory, which is consumed in big volumes. The trade of wholesale designer bags is capturing the world market. There are stores that deal only in such bags. Each and every one is produced in a significant quantity and is supplied via efficient channels.

When spending your money, be careful with folks who claim that they are authentic designer handbags wholesalers. There are numerous designer inspired bags, obtainable in the market now. They can simply deceit you. They claim that they are authentic ones, but originally, they are not. But, now there are many reputable wholesale sources on the web, from which you can acquire authentic designer handbags.

 

For a lot more data on wholesale designer handbags, please visit


Wholesale Designer Handbags- Womens First Choice Fashion Designer

TAG:

2012-04-28

中山首次交易翡翠原石

中山首次交易翡翠原石

  由北京董氏博石珠宝有限公司、广东省收藏家协会玉器珠宝专业委员会、中山古陶瓷研究会联合主办的广东省中山市首届翡翠原石(赌石)交易会将于4月28日至5月6日在中山古玩城一楼展厅举行。据悉,此次交易会将有8吨缅甸翡翠原石运至中山,价值从千元至数百万元不等。

  赌石,就是翡翠原石在开采出来时,被一层风化皮包裹着,任何仪器都无法探测到其内在的好坏,须“解石”后方能知道其价值。因此,人们只有根据皮壳的特征和在局部所开的“门子”凭自己的经验来推断翡翠原石内部品质的好坏。(许悦)


TAG:中山首次交易翡翠原石

玉器收藏:新玉胜古玉名家玉雕潜力大

玉器收藏:新玉胜古玉名家玉雕潜力大

新疆和田玉白玉籽料 龙凤呈祥  新疆和田玉白玉籽料 龙凤呈祥

  乱世黄金盛世玉.当下,老百姓手中可供支配的资产越来越多,玉器收藏、投资已成为一个正在崛起的巨大市场.

  目前在北京、上海、武汉、广州的各大收藏品市场中,玉器商户都是随处可见;在全国工艺美术大师作品展、北京国际艺术博览会、北京古玩博览会等一系列文化博览会上,各式各样的玉器作品都占据了相当大的比例,玉的需求之大可见一斑.

  然而,熟悉和田玉收藏的业内人士都很清楚的知道,和田玉古玉的收藏鉴定与和田玉新玉的收藏鉴定完全是两种不同的收藏概念和鉴定方式.对于一般的和田玉收藏爱好者来说,究竟选择其中的哪种投资更合适和物有所值呢?

  这里我们先来说下古玉和新玉究竟指的是什么.古玉的定义颇有争议,就像古玉本身一样,有些人认为真,有些人却认为假,从年代上分,一些人认为清代的玉器不能算是古玉,清代往前的才是,但权威人士认为,即使清代玉石甚至是民国时期的玉也标志着当时的一些雕刻特点,有着它自身的历史价值,所以也应该算是古玉.新玉,我们就不必多说,这里就是指用近期开采出来的和田玉籽料或山料,用现代的加工理念和加工手法雕刻出的玉石.当然,如果要作为收藏品的话,我们应该把这个定义放得更窄一些,指那些料质、工艺及颜色都比较一流的玉石成品.

  古玉“看不懂” 收藏难度高

  如今古玉市场假货充斥,古玉的鉴定标准也不确定,没有权威的鉴定部门为之把关并出具权威的证明,收藏难度非常之高.在古玉的鉴定研究行业中,可以说是仁者见仁智者见智,观点不能统一,除了一些大开门的东西,不同年代的古玉,在不同的几位行家眼中会有着不同的鉴定结论.它究竟是真是假,对于一般的收藏者而言就更是满头雾水;古玉的产品一般玉质都不是很好,各种产地及各种档次的玉料都兼而有之,除去那些官用或用来进贡的玉石件以外,大部分的民间老工的东西也没有现代的雕刻工艺成熟细腻.所以,对于普通玩家来说,花大价钱买一个料质不是很好,有着许多不确定因素老玉件就肯定不如买一件雕工料质都很好的新玉件来得更值得.

  新玉人见人爱 收藏上等新玉踏实又省心

  对某些新贵阶层来说,玩玉就是玩心情,与其花大钱买一件“说不清”的古玉,倒不如买件光鲜“开门”、人见人爱的新玉,这样显摆起来自己也有面子.

  尽管玉器收藏热一浪高过一浪,但为投资、理财而买玉者不占少数,真正识玉、懂玉的藏家又有多少呢?“这年头投资股票老是亏,买黄金也未必有保障,不如买几块和田玉放着实在.”相对古玉而言,料好工精的和田玉籽料和上等翡翠饰品较古玉好辨别,加之上品越发见少,近年来价格又一路飙升,是真正的财富象征.因此,从投资的角度讲,掏腰包买块上等新玉比收藏古玉省心又踏实——这或许是所谓当下古玉市场价格干不过新玉的最直接原因.

  其实,翻翻中国十余年来的拍卖纪录,真正古玉的价格并不便宜.早在1996年北京瀚海秋拍时,红山文化的那件岫玉质“太阳神”就拍出了242万元的高价;2011年北京保利秋拍古董珍玩夜场,乾隆“太上皇帝”圆玺以6800万元起拍,并以1.61亿的天价成交.

  玩玉的人大都知道,时下的古玉造假势头之猛、规模之大,远胜宋代乃至明清,可谓史无前例,致使古玉市场中假古玉比比皆是且便宜,真古玉则一块难觅.在这种情况下,新玉成为投资新宠就见怪不怪了,尤其是以御府、雅园等为代表的海派精工和田玉籽料玉器,玉质要比一般古玉高出一截,工艺也比古玉更加精湛,自然让玉石藏家趋之如骛,价格也水涨船高,将普品古玉甩在了后头.



来源:新浪收藏


TAG:玉器收藏:新玉胜古玉名家玉雕潜力大 翡翠 翡翠手镯 feicui 翡翠观音 jade 七彩云南 云南翡翠 缅甸翡翠 瑞丽翡翠

Win a trip to the Indy 500

Win a trip to the Indy 500

If you've always dreamed of hanging with the pit crew at Indy, your opportunity has arrived. Littelfuse Inc. is sponsoring the Speed2Design contest that enables its winners to attend the race, visit the pits, and talk engineer-to-engineer with crew members.

"This gives you the opportunity to be next to the car, with the mechanics, and with the engineers," Pete Pytlik, field application engineer for Littelfuse, told Design News. "You can see all the behind-the-scenes action that takes place in the pits, you get to watch them change the tires, and you get to see the car roll out to the track."


Littelfuse's TechTalk program will enable participants to visit an Indy garage and watch behind-the-scenes action prior to an Indy race.
Source: Littelfuse Inc.

Known as TechTalk, the experience gives winners access to the garage of KV Racing Technology and Indy Racing League champion driver, Tony Kanaan. It's part of a larger weekend program called Speed2Design, which will include a travel voucher, hotel accommodations, race ticket, and access to hospitality events.

The Speed2Design promotion is connected to five upcoming races on the 2012 Indy Racing League series, including Indianapolis (May 27); Forth Worth (June 9); Qingdao, China (August 19); Sonoma, Calif. (Aug. 26); and Fontana (September 15). Littelfuse will randomly select five participants who enter the promotion to attend each Speed2Design event.

Readers can enter the contest at the Speed2Design. Entry requirements include filling out a registration form and uploading a 90-second video, explaining why you're passionate about racing and engineering. The company is partnering on the race events with Mouser Electronics, a primary sponsor of the racing team.

Littelfuse, a maker of circuit protection devices, says that the TechTalk experience is the highlight of the Indy race package because it provides engineers with a close-up view of Indy vehicle components that they would never otherwise get. "Normally, when you attend an Indy race, you don't get to see the vehicles up close," Pytlick said. "All you see is the car, the body. Here, you get to see all the mechanicals and electricals."

While engines and carbon fiber composites steal many of the headlines, the level of electronics in today's Indy vehicles is equally impressive, Pytlik said. Today's Indy vehicles employ as many as 200 data channels to monitor sensors that examine fuel pressure, oil pressure, driveshaft speed, exhaust gas temperature, and dozens of other parameters. He added that race teams typically employ multiple networked laptop computers in the garage, enabling them to communicate wirelessly with the sensors in the vehicles as they race around the track.

"It's amazing to see how much electronic equipment is used in today's Indy races," Pytlik said. The biggest thrill, however, is the opportunity for winners to be in the garage until shortly before "the greatest spectacle in racing" begins, he said. "You're right there," he told Design News. "You're going to be shoulder-to-shoulder with these guys."

Where to Enter:

Click on the link to access the page with the entry form for theSpeed2Design contest.

Related posts:

  • Suppliers Bring Data Logging to Drag Racing
  • Slideshow: Racing at Indy Grand Prix & Le Mans
  • Drag Racing Goes Electric
  • Automotive Infotainment Grows Up
  • Slideshow: Airbags From the Inside Out

Charles Murray is senior technical editor for electronics and test at Design News, an EE Times sister publication.


TAG:Indy 500 Littlefuse Circuit Race

Looking For A Fashion Design Course In Singapore? Look No More Fashion Designer

Singapore is 1 of the busiest , most crowded cities in the world. It is also a one of the countries with the highest density of population. Furthermore, it is also the trade capitol of South-East Asia. A person can locate many opportunities here for several companies and enterprises. But what about the finer issues in life, like arts, or fashion? It need to be noted that when it comes to these, Singapore still really has a lot to offer. Here we will talk about about the numerous fashion style courses that can be found in some of the Singapore`s prominent educational facilities.

Appropriate now, there are six colleges and universities in Singapore that provide some sort of courses which are oriented towards fashion design. They are, in no certain order: Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, LASALLE College of the Arts, Raffles Style Institute, Raffles Merchandising School, Cavalry School of Management And Design and the Initial Media Style School. We will discuss only some of them here, but if you are interested, you ought to make sure you look up for all of these institutions on the Web.

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

This Academy has really a lengthy history. It started its courses as early as 1938, and had considering that became one of the most essential institutions of the sort in Singapore. When it comes to fashion style courses, this academy`s Department of Fashion Studies supplies education on the subject of fashion design. The studies provided here have a nicely rounded curriculum which is created to give the students the required abilities and knowledge that will enable them to function in the fashion market.

LASALLE College of the Arts

This college has been offering to its students several studies related to the subject of arts for over 20 years. Today, it is also offering several studies concerning fashion style. They are created to supply both a holistic understanding of the fashion culture and business, but also to develop a expert perspective at each student, concerning fashion design.

Raffles Design Institute

This institute was established in Beach Road, Singapore in1990. Even though a fairly new academic institution, this institute has became one of the most prominent schools in Singapore when it comes to the subject of fashion design. Fashion design is 1 of the main study courses offered by this school. The courses held here try to educate students on the subject of fashion design by developing an in-depth understanding of fashion style processes in their students. This is achieved primarily by explanatory and experimental processes.

As mentioned, these are just some of the prominent educational institutions in which you can check out some sort of a fashion style course in Singapore. And as also mentioned, the Internet will offer you a wonderful insight on this subject. So, if you are interested, browse a bit, and you will surely find a fashion school that fits your requirements.


Looking For A Fashion Design Course In Singapore? Look No More Fashion Designer

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2012-04-27

révélateur du désarroi du sac longchamps le pliage personnage

Tatiana Antolini-Dumas s’intéresse à la représentation de Lisbonne dans O Ano da morte de Ricardo Reis de José Saramago, roman fantastique où le personnage éponyme, hétéronyme de Pessoa, continue de vivre sous nos yeux après la mort de son créateur : l’auteure nous montre comment Lisbonne est perçue comme un espace labyrinthique, révélateur du désarroi du sac longchamps le pliage personnage, mais aussi comme lieu d’un pèlerinage littéraire sur les traces de Pessoa bien sûr, mais aussi de Camões, tout cela contribuant à faire de la ville un lieu infernal et dysphorique. Dans ses conclusions, Alain Montandon revient sur la légitimité et la fécondité de la démarche géocritique, et insiste sur le lien unissant deux des mots-clés évoqués par Bertrand Westphal, stratigraphie et déterritorialisation, tel que l’ont montré diverses communications. Il s’interroge ensuite sur la spécificité de Lisbonne, qui tient à sa position géographique particulière, à « l’extrême-occident ».

ainsi qu’à ses qualités esthétiques et mythiques (rappelons que selon la légende la ville aurait été fondée par Ulysse), son caractère labyrinthique mis en évidence par plusieurs articles. Il s’agit donc d’une ville ouverte, sans cesse à réinventer et offerte à la rêverie de celui qui s’y promène. Corrado Vivanti, Guerre civile et paix religieuse dans la France d’Henri IV, « La mesure des choses », Desjonquères, 2006. L’image que nous avons aujourd’hui d’Henri IV est celle d’un roi pacificateur qui a su endormir les conflits religieux grâce à l’Édit de Nantes. Mais on connaît moins les nombreuses tentatives sac longchamps planete de dépassement des oppositions confessionnelles, émanant de juristes, de philosophes, de penseurs de la fin de la Renaissance, catholiques ou protestants. Ce sac longchamps pliage pas cher sont ces propositions que retrace Corrado Vivanti dans son ouvrage récemment traduit en français, Guerre civile et paix religieuse dans la France d’Henri IV. L’historien italien y met en lumière des tentatives moins connues de conciliation entre les deux partis sous sac pliage besace le règne d’Henri IV.


révélateur du désarroi du sac longchamps le pliage personnage

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louis vuitton website withstand the theory

louis vuitton website withstand the theory
allaround clothing just about every a . m . will fade away. Certainly, your own clothing have got to oftentimes end up being uncomplicated in addition to elegant. Usually, you can certainly become any style patient. Despite the fact that with all the lean in addition to thin dual grabs, this specific Louis Vuitton Graffiti Neverfull case can make an ideal classes case first school girlfriend to be able to carry considerably products within. Once you skin any case thats together simple in addition to stylish, is it possible withstand the theory Internet marketing reluctant Post cant Nonetheless My business is not necessarily abundant plenty of possessing this specific high end case without difficulties. .replica louis vuitton Post have been in search of that Louis Vuitton reproduction choices. You will discover different options is around online shops offering the most beneficial excellent reproduction shopping bags. If youre lucky enough, it is possible to consider the most beneficial excellent reproduction custom made luggage housing by using a reduced amount of expense. They are going to set up the same impact because the originals. That article writer is actually qualified about replicate in addition to publishes articles or blog posts round the design with regard to longer opportunity. Review reproduction to clear up that writers supporte.Authentic Louis Vuitton d verdict. website Label Heuer Monaco twenty four Idea CalibreIf youre any extractor in addition classes Well not required Perfromance cluch Cash take part in that may suppos VISION SET in addition to possibly the consequence of a genuine published 2 year contract these kinds of not one but two are produced for every additional, for a several levels. Or possibly they will only ought to have one another, nonetheless Post suppose which depends upon your own thoughts about Kim in addition to Kanye. These kinds of pictures in the several were being snapped close to the Kirna Zabete in addition to Louis Vuitton stores with.louis vuitton outlet store in Soho in the saturday and sunday, in addition to Post cant aid nonetheless ask yourself when Kim jumped within Rush, that is certainly correct round the part, in addition to gifted that lots regarding men and women waiting around within collection to receive in the enjoyment. Certainly, you will discover individuals who make to the lane to be able to end up being pleasant relief having access to that Kardashians shop, which often includes absolutely no precise Kardashians. Theyre place now there to the pavement all the time Post look at Soho. Certainly, jointly almost all end up being result in to the solar. Noneth.louis vuitton website eless perhaps this specific saturday and sunday, they will obtained notice a dash of any present Most likeyl have, Internet marketing convinced they will loved Kims Celine Phantom Suitcases Cooler within treatment suede.Although Post dont look at virtually any in the Kardashian illustrates at this time, Internet marketing vaguely m ain over the internet once combination that is certainly costfree. You will discover absolutely no shipping charges expenses in addition to a good number of settings regarding repayment are obtainable in several range. It is possible to decide any one of these and they also almost all tend to be one hundred secure in addition to safe so you may confidence these folks blindly. The majority seek the stores religious louboutin reproduction Almost all buyers obtain reproduction gucci accessories with regard to guys Just what are you waiting forTop articleThe Classy in addition to High end Louis Vuitton Shopping bagsLouis Vuitto
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louis vuitton website withstand the theory

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Hermes KellyThe stars love Which bag put it down _ clothing with skills _ Japan and South Korea appa

Sexy and subtle,Hermes Picotin, noble and deep , black is the most blurred mystery , how many kinds of women , there are many different flavor of black . The same black knit shirt playing a black knitted coat of black and white concept of playing the same black and white concept , not the same as black and white is not the same flavor, with a large white bag , a black large sunglasses , black and white once again it was amazing

      Daily life, we often see is a black, white, gray and other colors with . Black, white, gray is no color , so no matter what colors are not major problems . In general, if the same color and white with , it will appear even brighter ; it is dark and black . Therefore making clothing color should weigh , you are in order to highlight which part of the clothing . Do not calm colors , such as : dark brown , dark purple and black ,Hermes Plume, so black show the consequences of the Assembly of the yellow striped shirt , white under the best combination of soft colors ; dressed in ivory trousers , wearing a lavender suit , accompanied by plain white shirt is a color ,Hermes Kelly, you can fully display their own individuality ; with ivory trousers and light shirt to wear, is a successful combination ; white pleated dress with pale pink sweater , giving a soft elegant feel . The red and white with a bold combination . Dressed in a white casual shirt, wearing a red mini skirt and enthusiasm. In strong contrast , the white of the heavier the weight , looks more gentle. Black and yellow is the most dazzling mix of red and black , very grand,Hermes Bolide, but without losing the charm of


Hermes KellyThe stars love Which bag put it down _ clothing with skills _ Japan and South Korea appa

TAG:hermes kelly hermes picotin hermes plume

Chip execs see 20 nm variants, 3-D ICs ahead

Chip execs see 20 nm variants, 3-D ICs ahead

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Next-generation 20 nm processes can support optimized versions for low power and high performance, according to an IBM expert. GlobalFoundries will decide in August whether or not it will offer such variations.

Those were just two data points from wide ranging discussions at the GSA Silicon Summit here. Separately, executives said a variety of 3-D ICs will hit the market in 2014 despite numerous challenges, and CMOS scaling is slowing down but still viable through a 7 nm node.

“Recently TSMC said at 20 nm there are no significant differences [in process optimizations], but I don’t believe that,” said Subramanian Iyer, an IBM fellow and chief technologist in its microelectronics division. “I believe at same node you can have two [different variations],” he said in a keynote here.

Indeed, GlobalFoundries is debating whether it wants to offer high performance and low power variants of a 20 nm process it is putting in place today.

“We are still talking with lead customers to see what is the right thing to do, and there’s a lot of interest in performance and power trade-offs,” said Subramani Kengeri, head of advanced technology architecture at GlobalFoundries in a brief interview with EE Times.

The variations available at 20 nm may be relatively narrow and may not be economically viable, he said. Iyer of IBM said TSMC’s decision to offer one flavor of 20 nm may have been more of an economic than a technical decision.

The follow-on 14 nm process using FinFETs will open up greater opportunities for a high performance version at up to 0.9 volts and a low power variant at down to 0.6 volts, Kengeri said. In addition, the 14 nm node could offer as much as twice the typical benefits of moving to a new node.

The historic challenge of offering variations of a process is that each one requires a different set of unique and complex features added to the base process, said Iyer of IBM. “All the little features we have are like drugs, we can’t drop them without severe withdrawal symptoms,” he said.


There's room for variation at 20 nm, said Subramanian Iyer.

TAG:3D ICs 20 Nm Process Technology Chip Stacks TSVs IBM Qualcomm Cisco Packaging ASE GlobalFoundries TSMC

黄金有价玉无价 弄清玉石种类再投资

黄金有价玉无价 弄清玉石种类再投资

  东方网4月27日消息:据今天出版的《城市导报》报道,人们常说:“黄金有价玉无价”,这里的无价指的玉的投资价值。玉石种类繁多,简单的分类就有六种,分别是和田玉、汉白玉、青玉、古玉、玉石石料、玉石工艺品。如此丰富多彩的玉石自然形成了灿烂的中国玉文化。常听说谁家买了玉石,转手卖了就赚了几十万甚至上百万,于是大家就一股脑的扎向玉石收藏市场,想淘上一桶金。但是也有不少人因为不懂其中的门道,交了高昂的“学费”,损失惨重。

  收藏不在于早晚,但不能说一点“学费”都不用交。“学费”多少,完全在于我们自己。因此,做任何收藏之前都要弄清收藏领域的分类,玉石更不能例外。

  根据现代地质学的理论,玉石可以分为“硬玉”和“软玉”两种。

  硬玉”专指翡翠,属辉石类,质地坚密,有玻璃光泽,把玉对着光看有隐约的水晶结构。其摩氏硬度为7,硬度较高,比重为3.33,这类玉拿在手里面有沉甸甸的压手感。

  软玉代表——和田白玉

  “软玉”属角闪石类,其摩氏硬度最高一般不超过6-6.5,较硬玉软。软玉的玉石种类非常多,岫玉、南阳玉、蓝田玉、和田玉、玛瑙、水晶、珊瑚、绿松石、青金石等等,均属于软玉范畴。丝绸之路的开通,新疆和田地区出产的玉石得到了一致的认可,开始在宫廷、官方及民间的玉器加工中,逐渐成为主角,软玉逐渐演变成了和田玉的代名词。

  和田玉摩化硬度为6-6.5,比重为2.963,由于和田玉成分的不同,和田玉在色彩上又分为白玉、青玉、碧玉、墨玉、黄玉,其中黄玉最为罕见珍贵,次之则是羊脂白玉(因其温润洁白如羊脂而得名),墨玉的数量也非常少。青玉是和田玉中数量最多的玉石,也是质量和价格最低的一种玉石。现在市面上很多价格极低的“京白玉”和“阿玉”以及“巴玉”这些料器和玉挂不上勾,属于大理石的一种,大理石有的放射性元素极高,如果配戴在身上,对身体还有极大的损害。

  除此之外,和田玉中的碧玉也开始受到人们的关注,碧玉多用于制作器皿,也有一些用来生产首饰和玉器,是历来是玉雕工艺品的上乘之选。

  远在夏商周时代,中国就有了玉器加工业,到目前为止,已经绵延了数千年,由于和田玉的矿藏有限,目前已经很少出产,所以目前玉器市场上有不良商贩用青海白玉和俄罗斯白玉冒充和田玉的玉器,牟取暴利。

  对于玉器爱好者来说,弄清楚玉的种类是收藏玉器的第一步,也是最关键的一步,只有弄清楚了玉的种类,才可以在日后的玉器收藏与玉石鉴别中顺利地收到自己喜爱的玉器。夏 阳


TAG:黄金有价玉无价 弄清玉石种类再投资

创意令观赏石增值四成

创意令观赏石增值四成

  本版文、图 信息时报记者 徐毅儿

  今年2月23日,在浙江产权交易所挂牌的浙江首个“观赏石资产包”进行了公开竞价购买活动,以1200万元起价,经过13次竞价,最终以1430万元的最高叫价被联合参与竞价购买的企业和个人购得。据悉,该“观赏石资产包”于2011年8月3日在浙江产权交易所挂牌,原始200件奇石评估价1000万元。在半年的封闭期内,资产包原始持有人又投资金,精心进行文化创意开发,全新组合开发出观赏石艺术作品112件,并最终实现430万元的高增值。“观赏石资产包”之所以在短短半年间增值40%,以浙江产权交易所董事长颜春友的话来说,“是文化创意开发的成果”。

  观赏石经组合加工大大增值

  “虽然这些观赏石都具有稀缺性,但毕竟只是石头,单颗拿出来并不会吸引太多眼球,但经过艺术加工、设计就能体现出它的价值。比如这桌寿石宴,能收集到这么多形似食物的石头本身不容易,再作为组合,价值就提高了。经过创意开发的观赏石作品,除了受到观赏石收藏爱好者的关注和喜欢外,也吸引了做实体的老板的眼球,比如做餐饮的。”该观赏石资产包原始持有人浙江石景旅游文化产业集团总经理王嘉明如此说。

  浙江产权交易所董事长颜春友也认为,创意开发是“观赏石资产包”实现保值、增值的有效手段。而奇石收藏家陈连峰表示:“先不论以文化产权形式进行的权益转让是否存在炒作行为,我们认同文化创意开发可令观赏石增值!奇石欣赏本身就是一种艺术创作,只有经过收藏者的解释和命名,奇石作为一种自然类艺术品才能成立。多年的玩石、赏石和收藏经验,使我觉得,奇石欣赏不同于一般艺术品的欣赏,是没有套路的、具有个性化的特殊欣赏。其欣赏过程就是一种艺术,你要从石纹中找出惟妙惟肖的图案,说得人口服心服,本身就是一种艺术创作过程。”

  天然奇石价值高于观赏石

  据奇石收藏行家胡成伟介绍,奇石并不等同于观赏石。“奇石属于不可再生资源,奇石的"神奇"就在于它是大自然鬼斧神工的结晶,其形态、色泽、质地和纹理都具有"唯一性",都是独一无二的,值得珍藏。”奇石,贵在天然,天然是奇石收藏的根本:“奇石是不可雕琢、不可打磨的。奇石要求必须没有一点人工痕迹,甚至连石头底部也不能切,这才是真正意义上的奇石。凡经过打磨的、切割的、钻孔的、修形的石头,在严格意义上来说都不叫奇石,只能叫观赏石或工艺石。”胡成伟说。

  胡成伟以一块名为《千山万水》的戈壁石为例子向记者介绍:“这块石的主体形态不错,有如连绵的群山。如果没有切底,这块石的价格可在20万到30万元,但由于它切了底,因此只值3万元左右。”

  据了解,奇石分水冲石、卵石、山采石、沙漠石、木化石、矿物晶体石等。“如果作为茶余饭后的娱乐、把玩,可以选择象形石或者画面石。作为居室内陈列,可选择总体视觉效果好的、优雅的景观石等。而更高层次的玩石标准则追求古朴和意境。”胡成伟建议,收藏奇石应建立在“精品意识”上。

  收藏故事

  眼光独到创业十年拥两间奇石店

  胡成伟是一个年纪轻轻的资深奇石收藏行家。15年前,年仅16岁的胡成伟独自一人从家乡连州来穗打工,在学习木雕技艺、做打磨小工的过程中,偶然接触到奇石收藏。聪明小伙子看到石头也可以卖钱,随即联想到家乡的河里也有许多漂亮的石头,于是加入奇石买卖的队伍中,并于2001年以3000元自主创业。

  “在陈村经营奇石生意,租铺押金是好友资助的。3000元进的第一批货为10件,一周内卖出第一块石,成本价为250元,售价高达800元。创业首月,除去进货成本与铺租,净挣800元。”谈到初次“试水”市场已有不俗成绩,胡成伟笑不拢口:“学习、了解、积累各地石种知识非常重要,这是成本控制以及销售定价的必要条件。同时必须具备专业的赏石眼光,一块石头,横置竖放"景致"各不相同,能否在云云众石中挑出靓货,并迅速做出配座等设计规划,是盈利能力强弱的关键。”

  据了解,创业10年间,胡成伟已经从一个穷小子成功蜕变为拥石过千的奇石收藏家。目前,他在广州拥有两间奇石店,而近期目标则是在市区内开一个面积可达过千平方米的私人奇石艺术馆,与藏友分享奇石收藏心得。来源信息时报)


TAG:创意令观赏石增值四成

赌石:从缅甸到中国内地

赌石:从缅甸到中国内地

  随着近年来翡翠价格疯涨,翡翠原石的价格也随之疯狂。赌石产业链暴利的背后,是原石资源的逐渐枯竭和造假手段的层出不穷

  ◆导报首席记者 刘翔 济南报道

  两万元赌下的一块原石,事后开解出一块成色极佳的祖母绿翡翠,标价800万元起拍……22日,在国家黄金钻石制品质量监督检验中心、山东珠宝玉石首饰行业协会、山东花卉盆景奇石艺术家协会等联合主办的首届山东(齐鲁)赌石文化节上,经济导报记者听到了这样一个故事。

  “一刀穷,一刀富,一刀穿麻布;疯子卖,疯子买,还有疯子在等待。”在赌石圈里,流传着这样的顺口溜。随着近年来翡翠价格疯涨,翡翠原石的价格也随之疯狂。然而,缅甸公盘赌石、国内再赌石、加工、批发,赌石产业链暴利的背后,是原石资源的逐渐枯竭和造假手段的层出不穷。

  “赌石也叫赌玉和猜石,实际上是一个对原石进行评估的过程,也是珠宝商获取玉材的主要途径之一。但是,由于赌石的不确定性和投机性,使得赌石过程中产生许多不理智的行为。”山东省珠宝玉石首饰行业协会常务副秘书长辛国金,24日接受导报记者采访时如是表示。

  赌石疯狂

  24日上午,济南佛山街。山东(齐鲁)赌石俱乐部展厅内,前来看石、问石的人络绎不绝。李先生以160元买下一块重约300克的原石,现场切割后,椿色的内里呈现在众人眼前,经专业人估价约在8000元以上。

  实际上,真实的赌石,远比此疯狂。在俱乐部一处静谧的角落,俱乐部常务副秘书长、经营部经理井长清向导报记者揭开了翡翠身价暴涨之路。

  从原石开采到销售,赌石一次次推高价格,运输、加工、销售各环节不断提升成本,由此,粗陋的原石在变身消费者手上华丽饰品的同时,也完成了身价的倍增。

  由于原石在开采出来时有一层风化皮包裹着,人们只能通过辨认场口、颜色、水头等来判断原石的价值,若要确定里面的货色,只能等待切割。这也就增加了赌石的投机性。

  据介绍,缅甸是最主要的翡翠原石的产地,全球上等翡翠几乎都产于此地。“近年来,缅甸几大翡翠场口经过几十年大规模的开采,资源已经是逐渐匮乏。缅甸当地政府为了保护资源,争取更大的利润,也在控制原石的出口。”井长清介绍说,各地玉商要想购买原石,最佳的机会就是每年当地举办的公盘大会。

  “在公盘大会上,赌石多是暗标交易。”井长清举例说,一块石头本身标价5万元,如果多名玉商都看上,相互之间就会暗自加价,价格因此被越抬越高,最终原石成交价可能翻上10倍甚至更多。

  “目前,国内翡翠原石价格飙涨,主要原因就是缅甸政府控制出口,取消了部分公盘,同时,好的原石也越来越少。”井长清表示,原石离开缅甸后,主要被运到广东、云南等省再次进行公盘。

  随后,翡翠原石进入加工环节。由于目前优秀加工工匠的稀缺,所以在竞得原石以后,一般选择就地加工。“在广东、云南当地,有许多加工一条街,上百家店面都是店内销售、店后加工的模式。”井长清说。

  经过国外、国内两次赌石,随后是切割加工,成品翡翠在此流向各地的批发商。“翡翠成品每经过一级批发商,价格都会有不同程度的提高,市民购买时,价格可能又会翻倍。”24日,在济南市英雄山文化市场附近的一家玉器店,店主李文娟向导报记者介绍,每年都会从广州进两次货,近两年来进货价格涨得厉害,因此终端售价也随之水涨船高。

  警惕作假

  “设立俱乐部的初衷,就是为树立一种健康的消费理念,避免盲目 、不理智的赌石行为。”井长清表示,赌石需要一定的专业技术,同时还有一定的运气成分,公众应该冷静看待。

  俗话说,神仙难断寸玉。许多“一刀”暴富的例子,让赌石过程中作假手段频现。

  在赌石俱乐部,井长清向导报记者展示了一块看似成色颇佳的翡翠原石:青黑的石头上,有一个切割的开口,里面翠绿色的翡翠煞是诱人。“这样的原石,真品售价起码要几十万,但这实际上是一块经过作假处理的普通石头。”

  “之所以摆放这块假原石,就是要向公众提个醒,目前原石做假的手段很多,胶粘法、化学法、激光法等层出不穷,缺少专业知识很难辨别。”井长清介绍说,赌石俱乐部的原石都是经专业人士在缅甸实地挑选的,尽可能避免出现假石,同时也省去许多中间环节。

  采访中,导报记者注意到,前来看石、问石的,并非全是业内懂行的人。许多人抱着买到的玉石或原石,来请专家辨别真伪。“随着经济文化生活的丰富,买玉、藏玉的人越来越多,但是许多人并不真正懂行,在这种情况下,一个鉴赏、学习的平台就显得尤为重要。”在俱乐部大厅,有着十几年玉石收藏经验的张先生说。


TAG:赌石:从缅甸到中国内地

奇珍异石展让你见识疯狂的石头

奇珍异石展让你见识疯狂的石头

  昨天上午在南京凤台南路华东文化市场开幕的“奇珍异石展”,让南京市民体会了“疯狂的石头”。

  陈列在室内的珍品奇石每一件的身价都在数十万,而作为业内有名的收藏者,张家夫拥有的一块灵璧石在过去25年时间里,身价翻了300倍,达到2000万。张家夫告诉记者,翡翠、寿山石等“疯狂的石头”价格一路飙升,也让越来越多的人把目光投向奇石收藏。据悉,金融危机后,奇石的行情曾一路走跌,特别是一些高价奇石少人问津,随着国内经济形势转好,奇石鉴赏重新繁盛。本届奇石展上,华东赏石沙龙首次面向市民开放,市民家中若有奇石可带到赏石沙龙与资深藏家交流。从今天起到5月6日,华东文化市场奇石展还将展示彩蜡石、戈壁石、玛瑙石等奇珍异石。冯秋红


TAG:奇珍异石展让你见识疯狂的石头

揭开红山玉石文化神秘面纱

揭开红山玉石文化神秘面纱

红山文化玉璧 红山文化玉璧 红山文化玉环 红山文化玉环

  文/本刊记者李荣坤

  红山文化源远流长。由于年代久远,其神秘的面纱总是半遮半掩,人们更加痴迷于此,不断现世的各种精美器物还将牵引着后人的耐心,继续发掘、研究并探索。红山文化原本是北方地区的一种原始文化类型,也是新石器时代的一种文化类型,其地域主要分布在我国辽宁的西辽河流域,包括辽宁西部,内蒙古东南部以及河北北部的广大地区。其年代距今约5000年——6000年之间,而我们所说的比较有典型性代表性的红山文化,在距今约5500年前后。

  上世纪30年代,日本学者在我国内蒙古赤峰一个被当地人称为“红山”的地方,发现并出土了距今五、六千年前的文物,包括石器和陶片。我国的著名考古学家梁思永根据他的发现和研究,在50年代初正式提出了“红山文化”的命名。

  原中国文物交流中心主任、中国国家博物馆(微博)研究员雷从云为记者讲述了关于红山文化所独有的特点,“它是祭坛神庙的遗迹、遗物,其独具特点的玉器和陶器,在中国原始文化史上占有着十分重要的地位。”他强调说,在原始社会晚期,人类跨向文明之前所使用的工具和用具主要是这两类,除此以外还有骨器、木器,包括南方的竹器等,但这些大多都因不易保存而难以见到。按照考古学的发掘和研究,原始文化往往是以陶器的不同类型及演变包括石器的变化,作为对某一类文化特征的表述。

  红山文化的陶器

  红山文化的陶器从选用的原材料来看包括夹砂和泥质两种,他的制作还比较粗糙,均为手制。夹砂陶器可以放在火上进行烧煮,多用作煮食物的炊具器;泥质的陶器多用作盛放东西的容器。从器型上来看,现在发现的有桶形器、罐形器、瓮形器、钵形器和盆形器。晚期的后红山文化则更加丰富,包括罐、钵、盆、盂和壶等。

  红山文化陶器的装饰很有特色。纹饰有压纹、刻划纹、附加堆纹和彩绘。不同的制作手法和装饰,使陶器变得丰富多彩。这里要特别提到的是彩陶,所谓彩陶,是指装饰着彩绘图案的陶器,它的创烧已有7000年的历史。红山文化彩陶的特点是,在泥质陶上先用黑色、红色等矿(植)物颜料绘画图象如三角纹、菱形纹、涡纹等,加以磨压后烧制而成。另有附加堆纹,即将器型做好后再进行堆塑或贴塑,用绳索或手指摁轧形成纹饰。刻划纹有斜平行线纹、锥刺斜线纹和斜平行线组成的网状纹。一般来说,红山文化的陶器中更多的是素面无纹。

  红山文化的新器型也在民间收藏或新的出土遗址中被发现。如赤峰出土的一件凤鸟为头,椭圆身的杯形器就很是特别。其中,牛河梁遗址出土的人形泥塑中,有一件“女神像”,眼睛以玉石镶嵌,极为精美,是我们迄今发现的年代最久远的泥塑(或陶塑)品之一。

  红山文化的玉石器

  红山文化的石器主要分为工具(石刀、石斧、石凿、石锛、叶形斧)和武器,其被打制的痕迹还很明显,而到了红山文化后期,磨制精细的石器的比例随着技术的提高也逐渐增多,叶形斧和钺形斧是石器中比较典型的器型。这个时期,石器里还有一种很具代表性的圆雕像,它是中国最早的圆雕石像之一,主要是被作为祭祀(崇拜)的对象使用。

  玉器在红山文化中有着举足轻重的地位,红山人在承袭了兴隆洼文化的基础上有了长足发展,创作了更多、更精美的玉器。红山玉器的材料主要以岫岩玉为主。从功能上来看,包括礼器、神器、工具和装饰品等。

  众所周知,红山文化玉器中最具典型性的就是有“中华第一龙”之称的C形龙,它的嘴似猪,眼睛似马……是不同动物的综合体。“龙”是中国文化中很重要的一个形象和图腾,由此学术界有“中国最早的龙凤文化始于红山文化”之说法。C形龙虽是龙的雏形,其意义可见一斑。红山文化玉器中还有另外一种龙形象—猪龙,猪龙实际上是一种獣形玉玦。除了龙还有很多如龟、鸟、虫、鱼、蝉等像生动物的形象。对鸟佩、勾云佩、马蹄形器等都属于红山文化玉器中比较典型的造型。管型的玉器——勒子也是红山文化玉器中比较常见的,它多用于佩戴和结扎东西使用。值得一提的还有红山文化中的玉璧,如扁方形、双联璧、三联璧等造型都不规整,与其他文化的玉璧不同。

  红山文化时期,人们对自然和自身的认识尚处于一个很低的阶段,玉器是他们生活中很重要的精神文化载体,人们将其看作崇拜、祈求及驱灾辟邪的对象,从某种意义上来说,这是人类的一个进步,这个发展很重要。在制作工艺上,他们使用了切割、钻孔、磨制、抛光等多种技术,包括对器物造型的把握都达到了很高的水准。后人在遵从和继承红山玉文化的基础上,才有了更高的创新,红山玉是中国原始文化玉器发展过程中的最高表现水准之一。

  民间收藏和考古学发现的红山文化中还存在大量的骨器。陶器、玉石器、骨器不仅反映了这个时期生产力的发展水平,还反映了这个时代社会文化和精神文化状态,它们共同记下了五千年前后人们的生活印记。由出土文物的考古发现,当时的生活形态是以“户”为单位,很少合葬,说明红山文化时期已经有了婚姻和家庭,是中国从原始社会步入文明的开始,红山文化与东南良渚文化、西北马家窑文化、齐家文化共同构成了中国文明发展史中三块重要的奠基石。所以红山文化的遗址及其文物在东北地区大量出土,是中国历史上的重要考古发现之一。

  民间收藏 大有人在

  正因为红山文化在中国原始文化中有着很重要的地位,它不仅受到学术界的重视和研究,也被各界收藏家和收藏爱好者看好,热衷收藏红山文化的陶器、玉器、石器和骨器的民间爱好者众多。雷从云肯定道,考古调查发掘与发现毕竟有限,而民间收藏作为国家收藏的有益补充,同样为我们保护了一批重要的文化遗产,包括红山文化文物。

  2011年的春节,内蒙古自治区翁牛特旗古代艺术馆的馆长张军没有闲着,他到当地的周边农户家去买彩陶。他说,早年像石斧包括小的玉件之类在山上还是随处可见的,但后来由于很多人为的破坏,普通大众对文物又缺乏认识,很多破旧的陶器就被损坏或扔掉。“今后真正的红山文化陶器更难找了,只要碰到好的陶器就得马上出手。”

  张军从20世纪80年代开始做红山文化的收藏,至今花费上百万元打造出了自己的私人博物馆。他告诉记者,目前收藏有红山文化出土器物的博物馆只有朝阳博物馆、赤峰博物馆、敖汉旗博物馆、巴林右旗博物馆。博物馆是个烧钱的地方,他自己开发了几种红山文化的工艺品,作为旅游纪念品出售来维持博物馆的正常开销,政府每年也会有些补贴,但他也向记者诉说了私人博物馆的诸多难处。

  收藏红山文化 谨防“地雷”

  在民间收藏红山文化器物热潮的驱动下,“假红山”文物不在少数,特别是红山文化中的玉器,其存世量比较小,因此价格被追捧得很高,动辄几万、几十万甚至上百万元。玉在当时的功能被“神性”化,加之生产力低下,玉加工难度大,一个部族中只有一个人即首领才可以拥有它们(玉龙、玉管、玉刀、玉佩、玉环等),所以红山文化遗址中出土的红山玉并不多。张军指出,在我国有明确记载的出土红山玉只有200多件,他自己所知所见的也不超过2000件。在利益的驱使下,大量人员开始作假,也包括陶器。红山文化的造假从上世纪80年代末开始,在牛河梁遗址挖掘之后开始盛行,现在更为猖獗。

  造假者为了以假乱真,将现代工艺和原始工艺相结合。在辽宁的锦州和岫岩有专门的少则几人多则几十人的大大小小的作坊仿作红山玉,甚至已经发展成为产、供、销一条龙的产业链,连北京的潘家园市场也随处可见,而且多是大批量批发而来。假陶器的制作更为简单,张军介绍说,当地熟悉彩陶的农民就可以自行制作完成。有的是用当地遗址的土制作,以假乱真的程度连他本人都曾上过当,可见买家一不留神就会碰到“地雷”。特别是玉器更难辨别,张军在选择时极为慎重,“因为玉器的出土地不同,其沁色各不相同,有很多器型也是以前不曾见过的,其中包括的因素很复杂,所以打眼看上去有丝毫的异常,我就宁可放弃。”他还告诉记者一种怪象:因为北方的气候原因,夏天水会渗到泥土里,到冬天固定的冰冻期时,埋在土里的陶器因为热涨冷缩就极易破裂,因此出土的红山陶器器型多不完整。而假陶的器型比较完整,而且绘制美观,因此比真陶卖得价钱要高。

  对于社会上流传的民间不存在或只有少量红山文化遗物的观点,雷从云表示某种程度的怀疑,“仅仅几个考古发掘点就出土了大量的红山文化的文物包括玉石器和陶器等,那可想而知到现在为止在红山文化地域进行的大量的土木工程(如公路工程、土木建筑、植树造林、开荒种田、正常耕作)水土流失,特别是猖獗的盗掘活动等诸多原因,民间存在不少红山文化文物也属正常,甚至其收藏的数量和种类要远远多于考古发现中出土的红山文化器物。我曾在辽宁、内蒙古、北京等不同地方亲眼所见的一些民间藏家手中的红山文化玉器,就是实例。”

  所谓仿制就一定有漏洞,有破绽,能否明察秋毫,这与藏家本身的知识量有直接关系。雷从云提醒藏家,要避免收藏执着所产生的某些偏见。他强调,收藏要把心态放平和,收藏红山文化也是这样,要读书,要参观博物馆,认真研究真正的红山文化文物,才能有辨别真伪的能力。正所谓“像”红山玉未必“是”红山玉,“像”和“是”是两个完全不同的概念。已有一定数量收藏的朋友,要认真梳理自己手中的红山文化知识和器物,将真的、假的,有疑问的区分开来,这样才会使自己的收藏活动提高到新的水平。

  知识小链接:

  玉石器包括玉器和石器。自古就有:玉,美石的叫法。古人会遵照前人的经验,根据不同的材料的特质,制作不同的器具,但对“玉”本身的分类并不清晰,新石器时代早期将其统称为石器,到了新石器时代的中期,红山文化里的玉器完全从石器中分离出来,而后成为独立的发展体系。所以,红山文化中对“玉”的使用尤为突出。之后,人们崇玉、爱玉的传统更得到了发扬。

  红山文化器物真伪辨别:

  陶器辨别:

  真正的红山文化陶器经过各种物理和化学变化,在色泽感觉和材质、纹饰等方面会保留当时代的气息。从分量上来说,多年深埋于地下的陶器比较轻,而新做的陶器中含有铅等其他元素的量较高,相对分量较重。其次,新旧陶器的光泽度不同,经过使用的光泽度不好,而新陶较亮。

  玉器辨别:

  到目前为止,用科学的方法还难以鉴别玉器的年代,主要是根据它的材质、器型、纹饰、工艺、包浆、沁色等多方面来判断。古玉的色泽比较自然、通体有肌理,新玉的做旧处理或停留在表面,或因酸碱处理不当而破坏了玉本身的肌理。假玉做得再好也没有古玉的“精、气、神”,其神韵无法拷贝。买家要认真研究真正的红山玉。

  小提示:

  有的红山文化器物的器型在考古发现中没有,但存在于民间,这样的新器型未必都是假的。


TAG:揭开红山玉石文化神秘面纱

Spansion looks for return to profitability in Q2

Spansion looks for return to profitability in Q2

SAN FRANCISCO—Flash memory vendor Spansion Inc. Thursday (April 26) reported a loss on declining sales for the first quarter, but said it expects a revenue increase and return to profitability in the second quarter.

"I think it's safe to say there is increased confidence with customers," said John Kispert, president and CEO of Spansion, when asked about the second quarter environment. Kispert, who acknowledged that the first quarter was a challenging quarter, said Spansion secured a number of design wins in the quarter and that it was having success with new products.

Spansion, which also reported a loss for the fourth quarter of 2011, last turned in a profitable quarter in the third quarter of last year.

Spansion (Sunnyvale, Calif.) reported first quarter sales of $219 million, down nominally from the previous quarter and down 25 percent compared to the first quarter of 2011. Spansion reported a net loss in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) of $13 million, or 22 cents per diluted share, narrowed from GAAP net losses of $74.4 million and $14.1 million in the previous and year-ago quarters, respectively.

On a non-GAAP basis, excluding charges, Spansion reported a net income of $4.4 million, or 7 cents per share, compared with a non-GAAP net loss of $7.3 million in the previous quarter and a non-GAAP net income of $29.6 million in the year-ago quarter.

Spansion's first quarter sales were slightly below consensus analysts' expectations of about $221 million, but the company's non-GAAP earnings per share exceeded analysts' target of 1 cent, according to Yahoo Finance.

Spansion said it expects second quarter sales to grow modestly to between $220 million and $235 million, roughly in line with consensus analysts' expectations at the high end, according to Yahoo Finance. The company said it expects to report a profit for the second quarter of 34 to 43 cents per diluted share.


TAG:Spansion Quarter Loss Income Million Flash

Spansion looks for return to profitability in Q2

Spansion looks for return to profitability in Q2

SAN FRANCISCO—Flash memory vendor Spansion Inc. Thursday (April 26) reported a loss on declining sales for the first quarter, but said it expects a revenue increase and return to profitability in the second quarter.

"I think it's safe to say there is increased confidence with customers," said John Kispert, president and CEO of Spansion, when asked about the second quarter environment. Kispert, who acknowledged that the first quarter was a challenging quarter, said Spansion secured a number of design wins in the quarter and that it was having success with new products.

Spansion, which also reported a loss for the fourth quarter of 2011, last turned in a profitable quarter in the third quarter of last year.

Spansion (Sunnyvale, Calif.) reported first quarter sales of $219 million, down nominally from the previous quarter and down 25 percent compared to the first quarter of 2011. Spansion reported a net loss in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) of $13 million, or 22 cents per diluted share, narrowed from GAAP net losses of $74.4 million and $14.1 million in the previous and year-ago quarters, respectively.

On a non-GAAP basis, excluding charges, Spansion reported a net income of $4.4 million, or 7 cents per share, compared with a non-GAAP net loss of $7.3 million in the previous quarter and a non-GAAP net income of $29.6 million in the year-ago quarter.

Spansion's first quarter sales were slightly below consensus analysts' expectations of about $221 million, but the company's non-GAAP earnings per share exceeded analysts' target of 1 cent, according to Yahoo Finance.

Spansion said it expects second quarter sales to grow modestly to between $220 million and $235 million, roughly in line with consensus analysts' expectations at the high end, according to Yahoo Finance. The company said it expects to report a profit for the second quarter of 34 to 43 cents per diluted share.


TAG:Spansion Quarter Loss Income Million Flash

ARM TechCon 2012 – Call for abstracts closes on Friday 27 April 27 2012

ARM TechCon 2012 – Call for abstracts closes on Friday 27 April 27 2012

This year's ARM TechCon will be held October 30 – November 1, 2012 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.

This year's conference will feature more than 100 educational sessions focused on the latest strategies and techniques for designing or developing with ARM cores and IP.

The deadline for submitting abstracts is Friday 27 April!


The conference program will feature dedicated themes for each day of the event providing a comprehensive curriculum and a full agenda of keynotes, technical sessions, demos and hands-on workshops for system designers and software developers. The 2012 tracks are listed below with separate submission forms for Chip Design Day (Day 1) and Software and Systems Design Days (Days 2 and 3).

Chip Design Day
October 30, 2012
  • SoC Architecture & Analysis
  • SoC Design & Verification
  • SoC Design for Power & Performance
  • SoC IP

Click Here to submit one or more abstracts for the Chip Design Day


Software and Systems Design Days
October 31 - November 1, 2012
  • Android / Open Source
  • Compute Platforms
  • Developing & Debugging
  • Low Power Design
  • Microcontroller and Programmable Platforms
  • Multimedia Processing: Graphics, Audio & Video
  • Networking & Connectivity
  • Safety & Security
  • Software Optimization on ARM-Powered Systems
  • The Fundamentals of ARM

Click Here to submit one or more abstracts for the Software and Systems Design Days


If you found this article to be interest, visit Microcontroller / MCU Designline where – in addition to my blogs on all sorts of "stuff" (also check out my Max's Cool Beans blog) – you will find the latest and greatest design, technology, product, and news articles with regard to all aspects of designing and using microcontrollers.

Also, you can obtain a highlights update delivered directly to your inbox by signing up for my weekly newsletter – just Click Here to request this newsletter using the Manage Newsletters tab (if you aren't already a member you'll be asked to register, but it's free and painless so don't let that stop you [grin]).

Last but certainly not least, make sure you check out all of the discussions and other information resources at MicrocontrollerCentral.com, including blogs by yours truly.
TAG:ARM TechCon 2012

ARM TechCon 2012 – Call for abstracts closes on Friday 27 April 27 2012

ARM TechCon 2012 – Call for abstracts closes on Friday 27 April 27 2012

This year's ARM TechCon will be held October 30 – November 1, 2012 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.

This year's conference will feature more than 100 educational sessions focused on the latest strategies and techniques for designing or developing with ARM cores and IP.

The deadline for submitting abstracts is Friday 27 April!


The conference program will feature dedicated themes for each day of the event providing a comprehensive curriculum and a full agenda of keynotes, technical sessions, demos and hands-on workshops for system designers and software developers. The 2012 tracks are listed below with separate submission forms for Chip Design Day (Day 1) and Software and Systems Design Days (Days 2 and 3).

Chip Design Day
October 30, 2012
  • SoC Architecture & Analysis
  • SoC Design & Verification
  • SoC Design for Power & Performance
  • SoC IP

Click Here to submit one or more abstracts for the Chip Design Day


Software and Systems Design Days
October 31 - November 1, 2012
  • Android / Open Source
  • Compute Platforms
  • Developing & Debugging
  • Low Power Design
  • Microcontroller and Programmable Platforms
  • Multimedia Processing: Graphics, Audio & Video
  • Networking & Connectivity
  • Safety & Security
  • Software Optimization on ARM-Powered Systems
  • The Fundamentals of ARM

Click Here to submit one or more abstracts for the Software and Systems Design Days


If you found this article to be interest, visit Microcontroller / MCU Designline where – in addition to my blogs on all sorts of "stuff" (also check out my Max's Cool Beans blog) – you will find the latest and greatest design, technology, product, and news articles with regard to all aspects of designing and using microcontrollers.

Also, you can obtain a highlights update delivered directly to your inbox by signing up for my weekly newsletter – just Click Here to request this newsletter using the Manage Newsletters tab (if you aren't already a member you'll be asked to register, but it's free and painless so don't let that stop you [grin]).

Last but certainly not least, make sure you check out all of the discussions and other information resources at MicrocontrollerCentral.com, including blogs by yours truly.
TAG:ARM TechCon 2012

Pixel Qi claims it can beat iPad display

Pixel Qi claims it can beat iPad display


LONDON – Pixel Qi Corp. (San Bruno, Calif.), a developer of reflective liquid crystal displays that can be read in sunlight thereby saving power, has announced that it can produce a screen with higher image quality than the iPad 3 retina screen. The company said it is in discussions to finalize partners and customers for the technology and the screen sizes they need.

The two drawbacks currently faced by the Pixel Qi LCD technology are that when it is backlit and in full color the contrast and saturation are not as good as conventional LCD technology and when it goes into reflective mode it drops back to monochrome display.

However, CEO Mary Lou Jepsen said on the company's website that: "We have a new architecture that matches the resolution of the iPad 3 screen and its full image quality, including matching or exceeding contrast, color saturation, the viewing angle and so forth with massive power savings."

At the same 2048 by 1536 resolution Pixel Qi claims that its display will consume about 1 watt compared with the iPad 3 display's 8 watts (see table below).


Click on image to enlarge.

Comparison of iPad 2 and iPad 3 with shipping and proposed Pixel Qi displays. Source: Pixel Qi

Jepsen added that there is an additional very low power mode that consumes just 1 percent of the power consumed by the iPad 3 screen.

However, no indication was given of when the improved Pixel Qi screens would be forthcoming or any photographs provided of the next generation Pixel Qi displays.

Before founding Pixel Qi in 2008 Jepsen was CTO of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization.

Pixel Qi, founded in 2008, is included in version 13.0 of the Silicon 60 list of emerging startups published by EE Times. Pixel Qi entered the Silicon 60, EE Times' list of emerging startup companies at version 11.0 in October 2010.


Related links and articles:

www.pixelqi.com

News articles:


EE Times updates 'Silicon 60' list of emerging startups

Pixel Qi ships 3 million low-power displays

3M makes strategic investment in Pixel Qi

Pixel Qi strikes Taiwan LCD foundry deal


TAG:Pixel Qi Apple iPad display LCD power

Pixel Qi claims it can beat iPad display

Pixel Qi claims it can beat iPad display


LONDON – Pixel Qi Corp. (San Bruno, Calif.), a developer of reflective liquid crystal displays that can be read in sunlight thereby saving power, has announced that it can produce a screen with higher image quality than the iPad 3 retina screen. The company said it is in discussions to finalize partners and customers for the technology and the screen sizes they need.

The two drawbacks currently faced by the Pixel Qi LCD technology are that when it is backlit and in full color the contrast and saturation are not as good as conventional LCD technology and when it goes into reflective mode it drops back to monochrome display.

However, CEO Mary Lou Jepsen said on the company's website that: "We have a new architecture that matches the resolution of the iPad 3 screen and its full image quality, including matching or exceeding contrast, color saturation, the viewing angle and so forth with massive power savings."

At the same 2048 by 1536 resolution Pixel Qi claims that its display will consume about 1 watt compared with the iPad 3 display's 8 watts (see table below).


Click on image to enlarge.

Comparison of iPad 2 and iPad 3 with shipping and proposed Pixel Qi displays. Source: Pixel Qi

Jepsen added that there is an additional very low power mode that consumes just 1 percent of the power consumed by the iPad 3 screen.

However, no indication was given of when the improved Pixel Qi screens would be forthcoming or any photographs provided of the next generation Pixel Qi displays.

Before founding Pixel Qi in 2008 Jepsen was CTO of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization.

Pixel Qi, founded in 2008, is included in version 13.0 of the Silicon 60 list of emerging startups published by EE Times. Pixel Qi entered the Silicon 60, EE Times' list of emerging startup companies at version 11.0 in October 2010.


Related links and articles:

www.pixelqi.com

News articles:


EE Times updates 'Silicon 60' list of emerging startups

Pixel Qi ships 3 million low-power displays

3M makes strategic investment in Pixel Qi

Pixel Qi strikes Taiwan LCD foundry deal


TAG:Pixel Qi Apple iPad display LCD power

2012-04-26

Samsung announces quad-core Exynos processor

Samsung announces quad-core Exynos processor


LONDON – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has announced that it is manufacturing a quad-core application processor for smartphones and tablet computers built on a 32-nm CMOS manufacturing process with high-k metal gate transistor stack.

The Exynos 4 quad, previously codenamed Aquila, is based on a quad-core Cortex-A9 quad-core processor from ARM Holdings plc but Samsung has not confirmed which GPU provides the graphics performance. The part was also the subject of an ISSCC paper presented in February 2012. The Exynos 4 quad-core chip is set to be used in Galaxy smartphones from Samsung and is also sampling to other handset makers, the company said.

The Exynos 4 includes an ARM Cortex-A9 quad-core processor. It operates at clock frequencies up to 1.4-GHz and provides double the processing power at a 20 percent less power than its predecessor, the 45-nm Exynos 4 Dual. The Exynos 4 has identical form factor measurements (12-mm by 12-mm by 1.37-mm) and is pin-to-pin compatible with the Exynos 4 dual-core, allowing mobile device designers to immediately adopt the new solution without additional cost, engineering or design efforts.

This indicates that the Exynos 4 includes a Mali quad-core T400 as its GPU as this is the GPU in the Exynos 4210 dual-core on 45-nm and the Exynos 4212 dual-core on 32-nm HKMG.

However, as Samsung is not explicit about the GPU, it is possible that the quad-core Exynos 4412 includes the Mali T604, the Mali T658 or that the company has switched back to Imagination as a source of GPU core.

The quad-core Exynos 4 quad core does include an improved codec that provides 30 frame per second 1080p video recording and playback, an embedded image signal processor interface for high-quality camera functionality and an HDMI 1.4 interface for sharp and crisp multimedia content transmission.

To improve power efficiency, Samsung has adopted on-off switching for each core as well as the per-core dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS).

Samsung has also developed the S5M8767 power management IC as a companion chip to power the Exynos 4 Quad processor. By integrating nine programmable voltage converters and 28 low-dropout regulators (LDOs) into the chip is designed to alter the applied voltage in 6.25-mV steps, depending on the clock frequency required.

"Samsung's next Galaxy device, which will be officially announced soon, offers uncompromised performance and ground breaking multi-tasking features, thanks to Exynos 4 Quad's powerful performance and efficient energy management technology," said Hankil Yoon, senior vice president of product strategy at Samsung's mobile communications business, in a statement.


Related links and articles:

Samsung gives peek at quad-core mobile CPU

Samsung samples 2-GHz dual-core A15 processor

Samsung shrinks Exynos dual-core processor






TAG:Samsung Exynos quad core ARM Mali semiconductor processor Galaxy

Smartphone sales to grow 17% in 2012, says analyst

Smartphone sales to grow 17% in 2012, says analyst


LONDON – Mobile phone handset shipments worldwide grew 6.5 percent in 2011 to 1.51 billion units compared with 12 percent growth in 2010, according to Will Strauss principal analyst with Forward Concepts. The market research firm predicts an 11 percent growth rate for 2012 taking unit shipments to 1.68 billion units.

However, smartphones will continue to take an increasing share of the handset market and are expected to grow 17 percent to the 502 million unit level in 2012, or nearly one third of the handset market. As a result unit shipments of so-called feature phones will continue to be squeezed and only grow by 1.6 percent.

At the same time cellular-enabled tablet computer shipments are expected to grow 40 percent to 95 million units in 2012.

In 2011 three Chinese suppliers of handsets moved into the top ten list, according to Strauss. These are Huawei, ZTE and TCL. The top three in unit shipments were Nokia, Samsung and Apple. However in revenue terms the order was Apple, Samsung and Nokia, Strauss said.


Related links and articles:

Analyst comments on 11 vendors' LTE chips

IHS boosts 2012 chip market forecast

Nokia downgraded to 'junk'



TAG:Forward Concepts mobile phone feature phone cellphone smartphone tablet computer mobile semiconductor

Smartphone sales to grow 17% in 2012, says analyst

Smartphone sales to grow 17% in 2012, says analyst


LONDON – Mobile phone handset shipments worldwide grew 6.5 percent in 2011 to 1.51 billion units compared with 12 percent growth in 2010, according to Will Strauss principal analyst with Forward Concepts. The market research firm predicts an 11 percent growth rate for 2012 taking unit shipments to 1.68 billion units.

However, smartphones will continue to take an increasing share of the handset market and are expected to grow 17 percent to the 502 million unit level in 2012, or nearly one third of the handset market. As a result unit shipments of so-called feature phones will continue to be squeezed and only grow by 1.6 percent.

At the same time cellular-enabled tablet computer shipments are expected to grow 40 percent to 95 million units in 2012.

In 2011 three Chinese suppliers of handsets moved into the top ten list, according to Strauss. These are Huawei, ZTE and TCL. The top three in unit shipments were Nokia, Samsung and Apple. However in revenue terms the order was Apple, Samsung and Nokia, Strauss said.


Related links and articles:

Analyst comments on 11 vendors' LTE chips

IHS boosts 2012 chip market forecast

Nokia downgraded to 'junk'



TAG:Forward Concepts mobile phone feature phone cellphone smartphone tablet computer mobile semiconductor

古玉辨别:可买一把21倍的放大镜

古玉辨别:可买一把21倍的放大镜

  【鉴赏知识

  古时,中国人把玉看作是天地精气的结晶,亦把玉看作是显示等级地位、权力、财富、德行、人格与情操的圣物。我国文化的演进,以玉器为最古,其他都在玉器之后。这是中国文化——“玉文化”有别于世界其他文化的显著特点,亦是东方精神生动的物化体现,是中国文化传统精髓的物质根基。那么,收藏和投资玉器,需要注意哪些方面呢?

  一、不要被假玉、假古玉迷了眼。现在古玩市场上、地摊上到处都兜售假玉、假古玉,你千万不要上当受骗。而要不上当受骗,就要了解古玉的常识,如和阗玉、南阳玉、岫岩玉等的硬度、比重、色泽,每朝每代用玉的特征,每朝每代玉的器形和纹饰。同时要拜出道多年的有德行的人为师,请他们“掌眼”。还要多看书,多听行家谈经验教训,多上手。

  二、买一把21倍的放大镜。用它去看古玉的雕工、刀法和历史痕迹。再高明的造假者,都不可能造到21倍的放大镜都看不出来的程度。同时,造假造得越真,其成本就越大,他总不可能赔本去造假吧!

  三、多跑市场,留意玉器的行情。如果拍卖行、文物商店里有自己的朋友,你的信息就更灵通,视野就更开阔了。

  四、要多做“作业”,练好眼力。就是经常将真假玉器混在一起,再从中把真玉器拣出来。当然,这不是一朝一夕就可以办到的,但有志者事竟成。

  五、有关玉的知识,最好找一些书看看,如刘大同著的《古玉辨》、故宫(微博)博物院编的《古玉精萃》、吉林科学技术出版社出版的《古玉鉴赏与收藏》、漓江出版社(微博)出版的《玉器鉴赏》、山东科学技术出版社出版的 《古玉》等等。(吴小毛)


TAG:古玉辨别:可买一把21倍的放大镜

两岸三地珠宝玉器展开幕

两岸三地珠宝玉器展开幕

  两岸三地珠宝玉器展开幕

  本报讯第十一届城隍珠宝“两岸三地珠宝玉器展”昨天开幕。本届展会由“第二届民间藏玉珍品展”和“名家玉雕精品展”两大主题展组成,同时推出扬州玉雕精品和“苏作”玉器精品两大板块。荟萃了江春源、高毅进、汪德海、杨曦、蒋喜、瞿利军等20多位中国工艺美术大师、中国玉石雕刻大师100多件精品力作,是当代玉雕一次高水平的展示。展会将持续至5月9日,随后还将参展上海国际珠宝首饰展览会。本次精品展由中国宝玉石首饰行业协会玉石分会主办,上海城隍珠宝有限公司承办。(刘芳)


TAG:两岸三地珠宝玉器展开幕

两岸三地珠宝玉器展开幕_翡翠网新闻中心_中国翡翠网_Feicui168.com

两岸三地珠宝玉器展开幕_翡翠网新闻中心_中国翡翠网_Feicui168.com

  两岸三地珠宝玉器展开幕

  本报讯第十一届城隍珠宝“两岸三地珠宝玉器展”昨天开幕.本届展会由“第二届民间藏玉珍品展”和“名家玉雕精品展”两大主题展组成,同时推出扬州玉雕精品和“苏作”玉器精品两大板块.荟萃了江春源、高毅进、汪德海、杨曦、蒋喜、瞿利军等20多位中国工艺美术大师、中国玉石雕刻大师100多件精品力作,是当代玉雕一次高水平的展示.展会将持续至5月9日,随后还将参展上海国际珠宝首饰展览会.本次精品展由中国宝玉石首饰行业协会玉石分会主办,上海城隍珠宝有限公司承办.(刘芳)



来源:新浪收藏


TAG:两岸三地珠宝玉器展开幕 翡翠 翡翠手镯 feicui 翡翠观音 jade 七彩云南 云南翡翠 缅甸翡翠 瑞丽翡翠

世界名钻之阿默达巴德梨型钻石

世界名钻之阿默达巴德梨型钻石

世界名钻之阿默达巴德梨型钻石

阿默达巴德钻石的最早历史来源到现今都不能确定。比较确定的出现时间于1857年由印度女王Hazrat Mahal所拥有。最后到1995年被放于伦敦佳士得拍卖公司(Christie's London)拍卖,最后在拍卖会上由Robert Mouawad己$4,324,554 USD投得。此钻石被美国宝石学协会(Gemological Institute of America)评级为D-color, VS1 clarity, 78.86 克拉。

阿默特巴德(Ahmedabad)位于印度西部古吉拉特省(Gujarat)是印度古代或现在钻石工业贸易发达城市。




TAG:钻石 世界名钻 印度 阿默达巴德钻石

盗贼关闭警报卷走玉器 民警外围调查锁定目标_翡翠网新闻中心_中国翡翠网_Feicui168.com

盗贼关闭警报卷走玉器 民警外围调查锁定目标_翡翠网新闻中心_中国翡翠网_Feicui168.com

  瓯网讯 打开店门,柜台中的450余件玉器首饰竟然不翼而飞.一个月前发生在乐清市望河路某玉器店的这一幕,让店主郑某至今记忆犹新.日前,乐清警方千里追击,在四川成都和湖北巴东将涉案犯罪嫌疑人陈某和周某抓获.至此,乐清“3·5”玉器店被盗案成功告破.

  3月5日9时30分许,乐清市公安局110指挥中心接到报警:乐清市望河路一家玉器店被洗劫一空,数百件玉器珠宝不翼而飞,价值数十万元.接警后,民警立即赶赴现场开展调查,并成立专案组对此案进行侦查.

  侦查员发现,该店原本有监控,但案发时电源是关闭的.侦查员调取了周边的监控,锁定湖北籍男子周某和四川籍男子陈某有重大作案嫌疑.然而,案发后两人就像人间蒸发般销声匿迹了.

  3月28日,专案组民警根据线索综合分析,两名犯罪嫌疑人可能已经逃回老家.于是,侦查员立即兵分两路赶赴湖北、四川追捕周某和陈某.

  4月1日,远赴四川成都的民警发现犯罪嫌疑人陈某的踪迹.为了不打草惊蛇,侦查民警暂缓实施抓捕,对其全天候监视.

  另一组前往湖北的民警也发现,犯罪嫌疑人周某藏在湖北巴东的老家.

  4月3日下午,四川组民警在成都车站出站口将犯罪嫌疑人陈某抓获.4月4日,湖北组民警联合当地刑侦大队对周某实施抓捕,次日凌晨,周某归案.

  据周某交代,3月4日早上,他吃早饭后经过玉器店,刚好看到玉器店的店员开门,于是就叫上陈某大干一场.3月5日凌晨2时,周某伙同陈某来到玉器店,当看到门口有监控时,周某就沿着外露的电线找到该店电源总闸,将电源关闭,这也致使店内报警器停止了工作.

  民警在审讯中发现,案发后,周某企图将赃物独占,他带上赃物逃回老家,将赃物藏于其老家屋后荒废的山地里.

  民警在抓捕周某时发现,周某母亲重病瘫痪在家,其父亲有严重的心脏病不能干重活,家里基本没有收入来源.周某被抓捕后放不下母亲,看着这么一个破碎的家庭,前去抓捕的乐清市公安局林警官和刘警官自掏腰包拿出四千元作为其母亲以后的生活费用.

  目前,周某、陈某已被乐清市公安局刑拘,案件还在进一步侦查中.

  林腾龙 张佳佳

  瓯网讯 打开店门,柜台中的450余件玉器首饰竟然不翼而飞.一个月前发生在乐清市望河路某玉器店的这一幕,让店主郑某至今记忆犹新.日前,乐清警方千里追击,在四川成都和湖北巴东将涉案犯罪嫌疑人陈某和周某抓获.至此,乐清“3·5”玉器店被盗案成功告破.

  3月5日9时30分许,乐清市公安局110指挥中心接到报警:乐清市望河路一家玉器店被洗劫一空,数百件玉器珠宝不翼而飞,价值数十万元.接警后,民警立即赶赴现场开展调查,并成立专案组对此案进行侦查.

  侦查员发现,该店原本有监控,但案发时电源是关闭的.侦查员调取了周边的监控,锁定湖北籍男子周某和四川籍男子陈某有重大作案嫌疑.然而,案发后两人就像人间蒸发般销声匿迹了.

  3月28日,专案组民警根据线索综合分析,两名犯罪嫌疑人可能已经逃回老家.于是,侦查员立即兵分两路赶赴湖北、四川追捕周某和陈某.

  4月1日,远赴四川成都的民警发现犯罪嫌疑人陈某的踪迹.为了不打草惊蛇,侦查民警暂缓实施抓捕,对其全天候监视.

  另一组前往湖北的民警也发现,犯罪嫌疑人周某藏在湖北巴东的老家.

  4月3日下午,四川组民警在成都车站出站口将犯罪嫌疑人陈某抓获.4月4日,湖北组民警联合当地刑侦大队对周某实施抓捕,次日凌晨,周某归案.

  据周某交代,3月4日早上,他吃早饭后经过玉器店,刚好看到玉器店的店员开门,于是就叫上陈某大干一场.3月5日凌晨2时,周某伙同陈某来到玉器店,当看到门口有监控时,周某就沿着外露的电线找到该店电源总闸,将电源关闭,这也致使店内报警器停止了工作.

  民警在审讯中发现,案发后,周某企图将赃物独占,他带上赃物逃回老家,将赃物藏于其老家屋后荒废的山地里.

  民警在抓捕周某时发现,周某母亲重病瘫痪在家,其父亲有严重的心脏病不能干重活,家里基本没有收入来源.周某被抓捕后放不下母亲,看着这么一个破碎的家庭,前去抓捕的乐清市公安局林警官和刘警官自掏腰包拿出四千元作为其母亲以后的生活费用.

  目前,周某、陈某已被乐清市公安局刑拘,案件还在进一步侦查中.

  林腾龙 张佳佳



来源:新浪收藏


TAG:盗贼关闭警报卷走玉器 民警外围调查锁定目标 翡翠 翡翠手镯 feicui 翡翠观音 jade 七彩云南 云南翡翠 缅甸翡翠 瑞丽翡翠

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