BEERLE.com

Hitachi Cable Manchester (HCM), a leading manufacturer of copper and fiber optic cables, recently announced the release of a 24 fiber Nanocoreâ„¢ Single Jacket-style cable, increasing the breadth of the Nanocoreâ„¢ line of fiber optic cable perfectly suited for Infiniband and other Active Optical Cables (AOC). The company’s new cable product comes in response to technology developments that are combining the benefits of fiber optic cabling, copper connectors and optical transceivers, marrying the best properties to deliver superior performance.

“Hitachi’s Nanocoreâ„¢ 24 fiber single jacket cable was developed in response to growing requirements for 12X Quad Data Rate (QDR) Infiniband Active Optical Cables and industry demands for a very small diameter yet robust fiber optic cable that could fit into the copper connector footprints, notably CXP and QSFP”, explained Joseph Iamartino, Director of New Business Development at Hitachi Cable Manchester.

“Our Nanocoreâ„¢ cable is perfectly suited for these AOC connections. Active Optical Cables provide customers with all the benefits that fiber optic delivers such as long distance transmission and electro-magnetic immunity, without the hassles of end face dust contamination or scratches. The Active Optical Cables embed the optical glass interface and optical to electrical conversion inside a protective connector cover, exposing only the copper interface. The copper connector, with its gold-plated contacts yields will stay tarnish-free and, when plugged, will self-wipe away any dust particles. AOCs are certainly the next generation in high-speed connectivity. System designers realize the value of AOCs and are increasingly adding power pins to interface connections to power these ’smart’ cables”.

Hitachi Cable Manchester provides a full range of Nanocoreâ„¢ indoor loose tube cables for AOC applications and offers it in fiber ranges from (8) up to (24) fibers. For example, a 4x Infinibandâ„¢ application requires (8) fibers while a 12x Infinibandâ„¢ requires (24) fibers. Hitachi Cable, the sister company to Hitachi Cable Manchester also just announced that its new Infiniband 12X QDR Active Optical Cable assembly.

Companies interested in obtaining more information about the Fiber Optic Nanocore Single Loose Tube Cable are encouraged to contact the Sales Department at Hitachi Cable Manchester at 800-772-0116, or visit the website product page for more detailed information.

About Hitachi Cable Manchester

Hitachi Cable Manchester, located in Manchester, NH manufactures a complete line of copper and fiber optic cables. Over 3,300 different cable products are manufactured at their facility. Products include Category 7 shielded cable, Category 6A UTP cable, Cat 6 ECOâ„¢ shielded, outdoor Category 5e and 6 cable, armored plenum-rated fiber optic cable as well as plenum-rated indoor/outdoor fiber optic cables.

To learn more about HCM cable products, please contact Hitachi Cable Manchester or call toll free at 800-772-0116.

By Ben Charny

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)–Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iPhone software store contributes next to nothing to the company’s revenue. Yet, the digital bazaar continues to prove a key weapon keeping Apple’s iPhone atop a growing number of smartphone rivals.

Since it opened 10 months ago, the App Store has been a runaway hit selling a host of software that turn the smartphone into everything from a carpenter’s level to a virtual change purse. Any day now, the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer company is expected to announce total downloads have surpassed 1 billion.

The App Store shows no sign of letting up. That, analysts say, is key to the iPhone retaining its popularity with consumers, even as a host of new competitors are readied for market. “They are little value enhancers,” Gartner analyst Mike McGuire said of the downloads. They are why “Apple is the platform of choice” in the consumer smartphone area, he added.

The App Store’s popularity may never have been more important. In coming weeks, Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) will begin selling Palm Inc.’s (PALM) Pre smartphone, a cutting-edge gadget that’s getting good reviews and is seen as a big challenger to the iPhone’s popularity. Meanwhile, Nokia Corp. (NOK) and Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM), both battling the iPhone with their latest smartphones, have launched online application markets hoping to capture some of the magic the App Store has delivered for Apple.

On Wednesday, Apple is expected to report second-quarter results that show earnings rising 5% to nearly $8 billion even as the economy sputters. During the quarter, sales of iPhones, which retail at $199 apiece, are expected to reach 2.3 million units. The App Store will likely contribute less than 1% to revenues, even though roughly 110 million “apps” are downloaded every month.

On Monday, Apple shares were down 2.7% at $120.04. Apple had no immediate comment.

Behind the App Store’s success is a dedicated army of software companies that prefer to write for the iPhone rather than for rival devices. More than 30,000 developers write iPhone software. Though many are smaller than the companies focusing on phones from Nokia and RIM, they stock the App Store with somewhere around 4,000 new programs a month.

This puts Apple ahead of competitors, chiefly because developers will devote more of their time to the iPhone, instead of its competitors. This impact is felt more so in smaller software operations rather than large iPhone developers, like game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) and online auctioneer eBay Inc. (EBAY), with the resources to churn out iPhone-compatible versions of their products.

-By Ben Charny, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-8230; ben.charny@dowjones.com

by- Nick Spence, Macworld.co.uk

As Apple launched a countdown, rather count up, to 1 billion iPhone apps downloaded from the iTunes Store over the Easter weekend, the company also revealed the ‘All-Time Top Paid Apps,’ and ‘All-Time Top Free Apps.’

Games dominate the paid apps Top 20 and the iPhone and iPod touch seems to be increasingly pitched as an alternative mobile games console to rival those from Nintendo and Sony. Last week a US focused study from comScore, a market research firm that specialises in Internet-related data, found Tapulous’s free Tap Tap Revenge the most popular iTunes app, with 32 per cent of iPhone owners having installed the game.

Meanwhile the Software Development Kit (SDK) for iPhone 3.0 unveiled by Apple in March, includes new features specifically aimed at game developers. Among them App Purchase, which lets developers create additional content for apps that users can buy after they’ve made their initial purchase. Both EA Mobile and Ngmoco, two leading publishers of games for the iPhone, both showed games at the Apple event that will highlight this new feature.
While we wait for an anticipated summer launch of a new iPhone here’s the current Top 20 listed by Apple.

by- Larry Dignan

AT&T chief Randall Stephenson not-so-surprisingly wants to extend an exclusive deal with Apple until 2011, but the larger question is whether Steve Jobs & Co. should stick with Ma Bell.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

AT&T’s exclusive deal to carry the iPhone in the U.S. expires next year, according to people familiar with the matter, and Mr. Stephenson is now in discussions with Apple Inc. to get an extension until 2011.

For AT&T doing another deal with Apple is a no brainer. AT&T has brought in new customers with the iPhone and Apple fans have low churn rates too. In addition, AT&T has built out its 3G network to support the iPhone.

But what about the other side of the equation? Sure, Apple has sold 4.3 million iPhones in the second half of 2008 and benefited from AT&T’s marketing heft. However, Apple could have sold more iPhones if Verizon Wireless offered them too. Shelf space matters and the iPhone could benefit from another carrier or two. Caris & Co. analyst Robert Cihra said that he expects the iPhone—and derivatives such as a rumored tablet—to account for all of Apple’s profit and revenue growth in the years ahead.

Just about everyone who works with a computer knows they should perform regular backups, but only a very small percentage actually do. While people’s intentions are good, most simply think backing up their computer is too much trouble or software is too complex to figure out. Unfortunately, when the big crash finally does occur or a laptop is stolen, for example, the resulting loss of important data has us pulling our hair out wondering why we didn’t take the plunge on backup software.

Today, a front-runner in backup software on Windows machines released a strong backup solution for Mac. Backblaze takes the guesswork out of backing up your data with an easy to understand interface, simple scheduling tools, and a brand-new external drives backup interface. To keep your data safe, use the Backblaze preference pane to securely back up your data online so when the unthinkable happens, you can resync your data from the last backup. Backblaze lets you restore from the Web or you can get a DVD or USB drive sent through FedEx.