Computer Briefs

SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Sony has released its sixth-generation DVD burner, the dual-format DRU-540A. The internal drive can burn dash or plus rewritable media at 4x speed with 12x DVD+R and 8x DVD-R write speeds, and it is also a 24X CD-RW burner. The drive will ship with a suite of video-authoring software, including Nero's Express, VisionExpress 2, InCD 4 and ShowTime. The drive will ship in August with a $180 suggested retail.

SUNNYVALE, CALIF. — Advanced Micro Designs announced a new family of processors of entry-level notebook and desktop computers. The line, called AMD Sempron and AMD Mobile Sempron, will ship in the second half of 2004; pricing was not released. While the upcoming processor's specifications were also not released, the company said the chips will be capable of handling much more than basic Web surfing and word processing, such as music downloading and digital imaging. The affordable Sempron line will be positioned opposite AMD's pricier 64-bit and Athlon processors.

AUSTIN, TEXAS — The Wi-Fi Alliance elected its 2004 board, naming Bill Carney of Texas Instruments as chairman. Carney, who served as the Alliance vice chairman in 2003, is senior director of strategic marketing and business development senior director of Texas Instruments. He is joined by Paul Meche, Nokia, vice chair/secretary; Jayne Stancavage, Intel, marketing chair; Liam Quinn, Dell, regulatory chair; and Sarosh Vesuna, Symbol, technical chair. Board members include Larry Rigge, Agere; Andrew Myles, Cisco; Dennis Eaton, Conextant; Amer Hassan, Microsoft; Stuart Kerry, Philips; and Ko Togashi, Sony.