US continues testing e-passports

The US Department of Homeland Security is to begin a second round of testing of its electronic passport initiative this week, reports News.Com.

The initiative is aimed at reducing the use of fake passports at international airports. Testing of the e-passports, which carry biometric identification technologies, will be conducted at San Francisco International Airport in the US, Singapore`s Changi Airport and Australia`s Sydney Airport.

The passports contain biometric information as well as biographic information. The technology being tested promises to read and verify the electronic data when those carrying the e-passports attempt entry into the countries via participating airports.

Texas Instruments (TI) is expected to unveil software today aimed at helping Internet telephony operators manage devices, reports News.Com.

The Piqua software works by detecting quality problems such as an echo on a call and then automatically making adjustments to ensure better quality.

TI says Piqua is designed to improve quality of service and reduce support costs, which remain two of the biggest obstacles to adoption of IP telephony services.

The global LCD television sector is expected to post an average annual growth rate of 55.8% for the next four years, says Beijing-based research house Analysys International.

Forbes reports that the demand for LCD televisions will drive global demand for larger TFT-LCD panels, with Analysys predicting that 37-inch televisions will take over from 32-inch LCD televisions as seventh-generation panel product lines go into production in 2007.

Analysys says China still lags behind South Korea and Taiwan in panel production and needs to focus on technology innovation to make greater inroads in the global market.