digitizer pen

DIGITIMES中文網 原文網址: 關於觸控筆的重要性…賈伯斯錯了嗎?

太瀚科技(Waltop)行銷業務處副總經理李炳林(Ben Lee)先生表示，一般消費者電腦所搭配的輸入裝置，大多以鍵盤與滑鼠為主，只有專業或美工人士，會配備繪圖板加觸控筆，來做為生產創意的用途。隨著後來可攜式裝置與行動網路的流行，帶動了PDA、Pocket PC、與微軟的Tablet PC的流行，嘗試把〝筆〞 (Stylus)帶進我們的使用情境。
直到2007年，蘋果賈伯斯推出了iPhone之後，將〝觸控〞的方式帶入我們的生活，而後續產品如iPad平板，以及Android陣營廠商的所有手機與平板，甚至連Windows 8，也將〝觸控〞發揚光大，成為當今主流的輸入、與電腦互動的方式，甚至推翻了早期以筆輸入的裝置。

李炳林在演講中向賈伯斯先生致敬，感念他把〝觸控〞帶到當今的所有行動裝置，讓大家可以用手滑呀滑的來控制，不過他覺得賈伯斯曾說過的〝If you see a stylus, they blew it.〞這句話說得太滿…

李炳林認為，也許西方國家的拼字文化，讓電腦的發展史中，除了用手、滑鼠來做指標與互動控制之外，資料輸入只需搭配鍵盤就足夠精準輸入了。然而事實證明，手寫並無法完全取代筆寫，因為在書寫、註記、繪圖、簽名等，用手寫總是無法像筆寫那樣的自然、精準。

李炳林並舉例，當今蘋果的主要對手Samsung(三星)，在Galaxy Note與S2/S3/S4系列，都有隨附觸控筆，將書寫體驗帶給消費者，並以筆來激發用戶的創作靈感。讓手機/平板變成生產力工具，事實證明，三星手機的銷售量世界第一。此外，從華碩最新發表的Fonepad Note也納入數位筆的趨勢，可看出亞洲IT廠商對東方國家之書寫文化的重視與情有獨鍾。
觸控筆的種類與 電磁筆的優勢

當今觸控筆技術，主要分成Passive EM Digitizer(被動式電磁筆)與Passive Capacitive Stylus(被動式電容筆)兩區域。前者的優勢在於：可懸浮(Hovering) 10mm的高度、可在筆上加入按鈕、感應Z軸壓力度(達1,024或2,048階)、筆尖寬僅1mm、具4,000 LPI的解析度、手掌可以放在螢幕上休息、防雜訊干擾強、並可設計專屬應用程式(如三星AirView懸浮預覽功能)，且筆傾斜角度也可以感應的出來(達50度)。

太瀚科技是EM Pen (電磁筆)技術的領導廠商，擁有涵蓋sensor layout、筆的動作與IC晶片等周延的技術專利。李炳林介紹其產品的組成與運作原理：免電池的電磁筆模組(EM Module)，涵蓋了Sensor Board(感應板)、Controller(控制IC)或Control Board(控制板)和Pen(筆)本身。其中，感應板(僅0.25mm以下厚度)放在手機背光板與後蓋的中間，而控制器可整合在手機PCB上，然後透過發射電磁波的方式，來感應出筆的移動或姿勢(Gesture)。

免電池電磁筆，主打5吋以上平板手機/平板/觸控筆電市場，除了9mm、7.2mm、5.5mm外，太瀚更發表直徑僅4.5mm的電磁筆，為全球最細緻的電磁筆，可幫助機身厚度降低1~2mm，讓手機/平板的厚度達到9.0mm/7.8mm以下，使帶筆的行動裝置可以設計得更輕薄，勢將帶動筆寫市場的興起。
觸控筆（stylus或是stylus pen）是一種小筆形的工具，用來輸入指令到電腦螢幕、行動裝置、繪圖板等具有觸控式螢幕的設備，使用者可以透過觸控筆點擊觸控螢幕來選取檔案或繪畫。

得知電磁感應觸控技術分為2大類:
一為被動式
又稱為無電池筆技術
由Wacom主導市場

另一為主動式
筆需要置入電池來發射訊號
除Wacom外
其他台廠或美國廠商都是主動式的技術

使用電磁感應觸控技術的觸控筆稱作Digitizer Pen
其他應用於電阻或電容式觸控面板的觸控筆則稱為Stylus

資料來源: http://www.digitimes.com.tw/tw/b2b/Seminar/shwnws_new.asp?CnlID=18&cat=99&product_id=051A20606&id=0000339969_ET2L4BOY5E09I8LAHV1C0
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%A7%B8%E6%8E%A7%E7%AD%86
http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=605&t=2347432

Intel UMA (Unified Memory Architecture)

UMA (Unified Memory Architecture) just means the graphics adapter uses system RAM as video memory. It's ok for everyday use like surfing the web, watching movies etc but it's not good for gaming.

For gaming you'll want a graphics card made by Nvidia or ATI/AMD, not Intel's graphics.

資料來源: http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120402234344AAWknkD

AMD APUs (Accelerated Processing Units)

AMD Accelerated Processing Unit, formerly known as Fusion, is a marketing brand of AMD for a SoC aimed at adding Heterogeneous System Architecture ("HSA") features with the goal of making it easier to program, easier to optimize, easier to load balance, higher performance, and lower power. Fusion was announced in 2006 and has been in development since then. The final design is the product of the merger between AMD and ATI, combining general processor execution as well as 3D geometry processing and other functions of modern GPUs (like GPGPU computation) into a single die. This technology was shown to the general public in January 2011 at CES. Second-generation "Trinity" parts were released in June 2012

AMD APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) allow you to configure small-form-factor, long-battery-life PCs that consumers crave, while enabling the powerful, next-generation visual experiences that can set you apart and help create a competitive advantage in a hyper-competitive market. 

Enable the powerful visual computing experiences that your customers are looking for

• Build PCs for next-generation applications enabled by AMD's ongoing APU programming collaboration with the ISV community
• Deliver a superior visual experience that can set your products apart from the competition
• Leverage the AMD Radeon™ design DNA for discrete-level graphics in a single-chip PC

Deliver PCs in today's sleek, modern form factors

• Configure systems in the form factors and designs that consumers want, from ultrathin and mainstream notebooks to all-in-one desktops
• Extend real-world battery life without compromising the visual experience

Extend a better experience across more price bands

• Deliver lower-cost systems that still meet growing demand for high-definition computing capabilities
• Reach a broader audience by pairing an excellent experience with desirable form factors -at an affordable price
• Develop mainstream performance systems for a lower cost -to help you create systems differentiated by high-margin add-ons within your existing price bands

Systems powered by AMD APUs

• Includes AMD Catalyst™ Graphics driver, Vision Engine Control Center, and AMD’s driver for OpenCL™
• Download regular updates that are designed to enable performance updates, new features and/or stability improvements

資料來源: http://www.amd.com/us/products/technologies/apu/Pages/apu.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_Accelerated_Processing_Unit

GPS運動表

1. 一支GPS運動表最重要的功能就是準確的記錄，因為所有其他功能都是基於準確紀錄上才有意義。而決定一支GPS手錶準確度最重要的因素就是使用的GPS晶片，XT馬拉松運動表使用的是目前最精準最靈敏的Sirf IV晶片，所以在跑步的運用上才能達到極佳的效果及表現。
2. 我們知道不管日曬雨淋都無法阻止真正的跑者，所以XT馬拉松運動表一開始就設定IPX7防水等級的設計，達到跑者全天候運動的需求。
3. 假如你還不知道你運動時的心跳變化為何，那你應該要使用XT馬拉松運動表來幫助你了解以及監控心跳變化。現代的科學訓練已經離不開以心跳為基礎的訓練，因為如此才能在安全的範圍內達到最高的運動效果，按步就班的提高運動強度，減少受傷的機率是進步的最重要因素。而且XT馬拉松運動表採用最新式的軟式心跳帶，不但更舒適，適合長久配帶，也更準確以及耐用。
4. 針對跑者設計十分實用的分段功能不但可以依照設定的距離或者時間來自動分段，還可依照起跑點的位置來分段，假如啟動依起跑點位置分段，每次通過起跑點就會自動加一圈。當然也支援手動按鈕分段。上傳至網站後還可將每圈的配速以及時間做比較分析。
5. 自行車訓練是作為交互訓練常見的項目，當你在做自行車訓練時，就可以使用附贈的自行車車架。聰明的設計可以讓你將XT馬拉松運動表固定在自行車上當成GPS車錶使用。
6. 跑步時要觀看數據也是是一項重要的基本功能，XT馬拉松運動表獨特的超大螢幕讓你在跑步時觀看還是很舒服。不但如此，XT馬拉松運動表還提供了4個不同的頁面可以隨時接換，每一個頁面要觀看的數據都可以自行設定調整，完全可以達到專業跑者的需求。
7. 在比賽或者是訓練時若是想依照心跳區間來做為配速依據，可以使用XT馬拉松運動表的警示功能，只要設定好心跳的上下區間，XT馬拉松運動表就會在你心跳超過這個區間時發出警告聲提醒你該適度的調整你的配速。運用在訓練時可以讓你一直保持在有效運動區間，這樣可以不但可以增加運動強度同時也達到最佳的減重效果。若是運用在比賽則可以讓你輕鬆跑出最佳成績。
8. 當起跑聲響，夾在人群中的你想必是跟著熱血沸騰一起興奮的起跑，往往跑到後段時爆掉了，就是因為前半段亂衝造成的。利用XT馬拉松運動表的配速功能可以讓你在比賽中從頭到尾跑持你賽前所設定的速度穩定前進，讓你更有保握達成目標。
9. 可以照自己手腕大小自行更換合適的錶帶，是XT馬拉松運動表的另一項貼心設計。
10. 若是要參加超馬或者是12小時計時賽都不用擔心電力問題，即使沒有要參加超馬，在平常練習時，充飽電就可使用一整個星期以上，十分的方便。
11. 手錶提供繁體中文的操作介面，不用再猜來猜去，使用起來更安心順手。當然也有提供紙本繁體中文說明書，方便隨時查看。
12. 手錶本身是由國內GPS大廠所製作。穩定的技術以及台灣製造是品質的另一項保證。
13. 馬拉松世界提供在保固一年內免費到府收送服務，以及客服專線，讓你買到的不只是一隻手錶，而是一個專業的服務及保證。

PCHome:

http://www.pcstore.com.tw/itravel-tech/M10519122.htm 

http://www.pcstore.com.tw/itravel-tech/M10517966.htm
XT馬拉松運動錶 $4,880/$5,280
http://www.sportsnote.com.tw/running/view_article.aspx?id=4139f387-8556-49d4-9a74-7f24464e1f5b

GoHappy:

http://www.gohappy.com.tw/shopping/Browse.do?op=vp&sid=7&cid=40716&pid=688153

GH-625M GPS $4,999 六期零利率

Garmin:

http://www.garmin.com.tw/products/intosports/

Forerunner 910XT $12,990

Polar:

http://www.polartaiwan.com.tw/tw-zh

Casio:

http://www.casio.com.tw/wat/product_2.php?TRE_ID=1431

http://shopping.pchome.com.tw/?mod=item&func=exhibit&IT_NO=BHAC1M-A54534704&SR_NO=

SGW-200-2V $2,500

資料來源: http://www.marathonsworld.com/app/preorder.php

Physical memory in Task Manager

Free – This one is quite simple. This memory has nothing at all in it. It’s not being used and it contains nothing but 0s.

Available – This numbers includes all physical memory which is immediately available for use by applications. It wholly includes the Free number, but also includes most of the Cached number. Specifically, it includes pages on what is called the “standby list.” These are pages holding cached data which can be discarded, allowing the page to be zeroed and given to an application to use.

Cached – Here things get a little more confusing. This number does not include the Free portion of memory. And yet imight see that it is larger than the Available area of memory. That’s because Cached includes cache pages on both the “standby list” and what is called the “modified list.” Cache pages on the modified list have been altered in memory. No process has specifically asked for this data to be in memory, it is merely there as a consequence of caching. Therefore it can be written to disk at any time (not to the page file, but to its original file location) and reused. However, since this involves I/O, it is not considered to be “Available” memory.

Total – This is the total amount of physical memory available to Windows.

Installing the maximum 4 gigabytes of RAM into your computer may not result in all 4 gigabytes being available. We'll look at why.

Right click on My Computer, click on Properties, and in Windows Vista you'll get a window that includes, among other things, this information:

That's a snapshot taken from my laptop. The laptop with 4 gigabytes of RAM installed but showing only 3326 Megabytes of RAM available.

That window also includes another important clue: "32-bit Operating System". Ultimately therein lies the dilemma.

(A quick over-simplification and aside for some: a "bit" is simply a single digit that can contain either a 0 or a 1. Thus when we talk about a "32 bit" operating system or processor, we're talking about systems that operate natively on 32 bits at a time.)

If you look at all possible arrangements of a collection of 32 1's and 0's, you'll find that there are 4,294,967,296 possible combinations. 4 Giga-combinations.

Computer memory is arrange in bytes, so when you order 4 gigabytes of RAM, you're actually getting 4,294,967,296 bytes of memory. And yes, each byte of memory is assigned it's own unique number or "address" - that's how the processor tells the memory hardware which bytes of RAM it wants to operate on.

All's well and good, and you would expect that while a 32 bit operating system would be able to addressat most 4 gigabytes of RAM, it seems like it should be able to address all 4 gigabytes of RAM.

"There is one solution, but you probably won't like it. At least not yet."

Unfortunately, not so.

Enter the concept of "memory mapped" hardware.

The best, and often the largest example, will be your video card. It typically includes video memory of its own. That memory is "mapped into" or made visible within your PC's 4 gigabyte address space. Say I have a 512 megabyte video card, the memory layout might look something like this:

What you'll notice is that since the video card must place its 512Meg video memory somewhere into the 4 gigabyte address range that your computer can access, it "gets in the way of" 512Meg of your system RAM. That 512Meg of system RAM becomes inaccessible.

Windows works very hard to minimize the impact, and on any system that has less than 4Gig of RAM you'd never notice, since Windows will make sure to put the video and other memory mapped hardware in places that don't conflict with physical RAM. But as soon as you put in 4Gig of RAM that's the maximum a 32 bit system can address and as a result there's no place the memory mapped hardware can hide. It will have to obscure some of that RAM.

There is one solution, but you probably won't like it. At least not yet.

64bit Windows.

資料來源: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/5860-63-available-stand-free-cached-memory-differences
http://ask-leo.com/why_doesnt_windows_show_all_4gigabytes_of_memory_i_have_installed.html

Mobile PCI Express Module (MXM)

A Mobile PCI Express Module (MXM) is an interconnect standard for GPUs (MXM Graphics Modules) in laptops using PCI Express created by MXM-SIG. The goal was to create a non-proprietary, industry standard socket, so one could easily upgrade the graphics processor in a laptop, without having to buy a whole new system or relying on proprietary vendor upgrades.

A common misconception about MXM is that a certain model graphics card (e.g. Nvidia 9800M GT) "is MXM 2.1", and therefore any notebook with a 9800M GT fully implements MXM 2.1. However, this is incorrect. While Nvidia defines a lot of MXM specifications, they do NOT manufacture or design MXM cards themselves, which mostly consist of a PCBwith vRAM and an Nvidia or ATI GPU core. Therefore any model of GPU can be manufactured in MXM, but a laptop released with any particular graphics card model may or may not implement MXM regardless. This is because its the decision of the ODM whether or not to implement MXM, not Nvidia's or ATI's.

2nd generation configurations (MXM 3)

Smaller graphics modules can be inserted into larger slots. Heatsink mounting remains the same for type A and B modules.

MXM Type	Width	Length	Module Compatibility	Thermal Compatibility	Max. Power	GPU memory bus
MXM-A	82mm	70mm	A	A	55W	64-bit or 128-bit
MXM-B	82mm	105mm	A, B	A, B	100W	256-bit

資料來源: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_PCI_Express_Module

ECC DIMM - Error-Correcting Code DIMM

ECC DIMMs are those that have extra data bits which can be used by the system memory controller to detect and correct errors.

(Error-Correcting Code memory) A memory system that tests for and corrects errors automatically, very often without the operating system being aware of it, let alone the user. As data are written into memory, ECC circuitry generates checksums from the binary sequences in the bytes and stores them in an additional seven bits of memory for 32-bit data paths or eight bits for 64-bit paths. When data are retrieved from memory, the checksum is recomputed to determine if any of the data bits have been corrupted. Such systems can typically detect and automatically correct errors of one bit per word and can detect, but not correct, errors greater than one bit.

資料來源: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIMM
http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,1237,t=ECC+memory&i=42325,00.asp

Platform Controller Hub - PCH

The Platform Controller Hub (PCH) is a family of Intel microchips. I/O Functions have been reassigned between this new central hub and the CPU. Somenorthbridge functions, the memory controller and PCI-e lanes, were integrated into the CPU while the PCH took over the remaining functions in addition to the traditional roles of the southbridge.

PCH是什么

PCH是一个intel公司的集成南桥，PCH的产品名称为Intel P55。PCH芯片具有原来ICH的全部功能，又具有原来MCH芯片的管理引擎功能，把它称之为北桥也好，称之为南桥也好，都无所谓。

为什么会有PCH温度

Intel引入“加速中心架构”，用MCH（内存控制中心）取代了以往的北桥芯片，用ICH（输入输出控制中心）取代了南桥芯片，MCH和ICH通过专用的Intel Hub Architecture（Intel集线器结构）总线连接。MCH和ICH的连接增加了带宽，名称也改为DMI（直接媒体接口）。 Intel的Core i7 800和i5 700系列成功地把原来的MCH全部移到CPU内，支持它们的主板上只留下PCH（平台管理控制中心）芯片。因此就有了现在的PCH温度。

PCH温度为什么变化不大

相比传统的南北桥设计，PCH目前的工作的工作强度不大，PCI-E管理器和内存管理器功能都被CPU所吸纳。因此PCH主要功能来自传统的南桥，工作强度、发热均不高。

PCH的发热为什么这么高

由于LGA1156平台PCH本身功能不多，因此发热量并不是很过分，而是由于离GPU及CPU太近，会受到两者发热的影响。当然，机箱风道的规格也会影响PCH的温度，当风通过PCH的时候，就能起到帮助PCH散热的作用，不通过则反之。目前能够帮助PCH散热的方案主要有机箱前进后出风道方案及TAC2.0散热方案。

資料來源: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platform_Controller_Hub
http://www.ludashi.com/html/20100817/948.html

Smart Response Technology - SRT

In computing, Smart Response Technology (SRT) (pre-launch name SSD Caching) is a proprietary caching mechanism introduced in 2011 by Intel for their Z68 chipset (for theSandy Bridge–series processors), which allows a SATA solid-state drive (SSD) to function as cache for a (conventional, magnetic) hard disk drive.

SRT is managed by Intel Rapid Storage Technology software version 10.5 or later, and implemented in its device driver and the Z68 motherboard's firmware (option ROM). It is available only when the (integrated) disk controller is configured in RAID mode (but not AHCI or IDE modes) by implementing a style of RAID-0 striping. Write-back (Maximized mode) or write-through (Enhanced mode) caching strategy can be selected by the user. The maximum utilizable cache size on the SSD is 64 GB. Caching is done at the logical block addressing (LBA) level, not the file level.

Shortly before the announcement of the new chipset, Intel also introduced the Intel 311 (Larson Creek), a 20 GB single-level cell (SLC) solid-state drive, which it markets as suitable for caching. TRIM garbage collection is currently not supported for SRT caching devices, so the SSD's performance is solely maintained by its own firmware.

Maximized Mode vs Enhanced Mode

The tow different modes set up the SSD caching in different ways. Enhanced mode is designed for maximum security, reducing the possibility of data loss but also limiting write speed as it writes data to the SSD and HDD at the same time. Maximized mode is designed for optimum performance, writing data to the SSD and only periodically transferring it to the hard drive. This means that if anything should go wrong with the SSD, you could lose some data. The outcome of an SSD failure would depend largely on what the SSD was caching at the time of failure, so it's difficult to predict how it would affect your system.

資料來源: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Response_Technology

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/printpage/Intel-Smart-Response-Technology-Explained/1292

Intel CPU Roadmap

資料來源: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haswell_(microarchitecture)

Intel Haswell

The new chips will still be running on the same 22nm production process, but with a new architecture that should see the graphics performance of the HD 4600 graphics components doubling.

That should give us some rather tasty-performing Ultrabooks, and with the upgraded GT3E version of the HD graphics on the mobile side we should get some svelte gaming laptops too.

One of the interesting points is the increase in TDP from the 77W of the Ivy Bridge up to 84W in the new Haswell chips. I expect that’s mostly down to the beefier graphics components with higher clockspeeds.

Sadly there’s no boost in the general clockspeed of the CPUs themselves. We’re still limited to 3.5GHz for the top-end i7-4770K and 3.4GHz for the i5-4670K.

It’s not a surprise to see Intel isn’t upping the core count either – sticking to four cores/eight threads for the i7 series and four cores/four threads for the i5.

Performance

Compared to Ivy Bridge (expected):

• At least 10% CPU performance increase.
• Double the performance of the integrated GPU.

Features carried over from Ivy Bridge

• A 22 nm manufacturing process.
• 3D tri-gate transistors.
• A 14-stage pipeline (since the Core microarchitecture).
• Mainstream up to quad-core.
• Native support for dual channel DDR3.
• 64 kB (32 kB Instruction + 32 kB Data) L1 cache and 256 kB L2 cache per core.

Confirmed new features

Haswell New Instructions (includes Advanced Vector Extensions 2 (AVX2), gather, bit manipulation, and FMA3 support).

• New sockets — LGA 1150 for desktops and rPGA947 & BGA1364 for the mobile market. It is possible that Socket R3 will replace LGA 2011 for server Haswells
• Intel Transactional Synchronization Extensions (TSX).
• Graphics support in hardware for Direct3D 11.1 and OpenGL 4.0.
• DDR4 for the enterprise/server variant (Haswell-EX).
• Variable Base clock (BClk)^[18] like LGA 2011.
• Supervisor mode access prevention (SMAP)

Expected features

• Shrink PCH from 65 nm to 32 nm.
• A new cache design.
• Up to 32MB Unified cache LLC (Last Level Cache).
• Support for Thunderbolt technology.
• There will be three versions of the integrated GPU: GT1, GT2, and GT3. According to vr-zone, the fastest version (GT3) will have 20 execution units (EU). Another source, SemiAccurate, however says that the GT3 will have 40 EUs with an accompanying 64MB cache on an interposer. An additional source, AnandTech, agrees that GT3 will have 40 EUs, and states there will be a version with up to 128MB of embedded DRAM, but makes no mention of an interposer.^[27][28] Haswell's predecessor, Ivy Bridge, has a maximum of 16 EUs.
• New advanced power-saving system.
• Fully integrated voltage regulator, thereby moving a component from the motherboard onto the CPU.
• 37, 47, 57W thermal design power (TDP) mobile processors.
• 35, 45, 65, 84, and ~100W+ (high-end, Haswell-E) TDP desktop processors.
• 10W TDP processors for the Ultrabook platform (multi-chip package like Westmere) leading to reduced heat which results in thinner as well as lighter Ultrabooks, but performance level will be lower than the 17W version.

Haswell Lineup

資料來源: http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/12/13/intels-haswell-i5-and-i7-line-ups-leaked/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haswell_(microarchitecture)

Intel Management Engine Interface - IMEI

IMEI is one component of Intel's VPRO remote access technology.

From what I can understand of the technical literature it is to allow remote access over a LAN for IT admin / repair purposes even when the system is powered down.

The Intel Management Engine (Intel ME) refers to the hardware features that operate at the baseboard level, below the operating system. By enabling interaction with low-level hardware, Intel gives administrators the ability to perform tasks that previously required someone to be physically present at the desktop.

The initial setup of Intel's Management Engine starts by activating it in a compatible PC’s BIOS. Once you enable Intel's ME, you gain access to several BIOS functions.

Zoom

You're required to configure an initial administrative password the first time you enter the ME BIOS interface.

Zoom

As you can see in the screen shot above, Intel's Active Management Technology (AMT) is turned on through the management engine.

Generally, you want to enable the option "ON in S0, ME Wake in S3, S4-5". This translates to the management engine and AMT being on when the host is powered up. When the host is in S3 to S5 and the platform is connected to AC power, the management engine shuts down after a defined period of time, but wakes back up when it receives a network message. By using this feature, an IT department can allow desktops to sleep, saving power, and then wake up once everyone goes home and the admin can push out updates using cheaper energy.

Within these same BIOS screens, you can perform several different low-level AMT-related configuration tasks.

Zoom

Intel lets you save certificates for a given environment to the management engine so that a PC can authenticate prior to being granted network access.

WOL vs ME
Classic WOL has inherent weaknesses for DOS attacks - ME WOL requries authenticated users to wake the system and can even include CA's and Cerberus encryption coverage. The cool thing is you can shut a system down remotely and have ME WOL avaialbe to wake the system up any time and any where, securely - we have a number of success stories about Me WOL and how much power is being saved, check it out

資料來源: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/vpro-amt-management-kvm,3003-6.html

http://communities.intel.com/thread/3165

Intel Active Management Technology - AMT

Intel Active Management Technology (AMT) is hardware-based technology for remotely managing and securing PCs out-of-band. Currently, Intel AMT is available in desktop PCs with Intel Core 2 processor with Intel vPro technology and available in laptop PCs with Centrino or Centrino 2 platform with vPro technology.

Intel AMT is hardware and firmware technology that builds certain functionality into business PCs in order to monitor, maintain, update, upgrade, and repair PCs. Intel AMT is part of the Intel Management Engine, which is built into PCs with Intel vPro technology. Intel AMT is designed into a secondary (service) processor located on the motherboard.

AMT is not intended to be used by itself; it is intended to be used with a software management application.^[1] It gives a management application (and thus, the system administrator who uses it) better access to the PC down the wire, in order to remotely and securely do tasks that are difficult or sometimes impossible when working on a PC that does not have remote functionalities built into it

Hardware-based management and software-based management

Hardware-based (or out-of-band) management is different from software-based (or in-band) management and software management agents. Hardware-based management works at a different level than software applications, uses a communication channel (through the TCP/IP stack) that is different from software-based communication (which is through the software stack in the operating system). Hardware-based management does not depend on the presence of an OS or locally installed management agent.

DHCP, BOOTP, WOL vs Intel AMT hardware-based management

Hardware-based management has been available on Intel/AMD based computers in the past, but it has largely been limited to auto-configuration using DHCP or BOOTP for dynamic IP allocation and diskless workstations, as well as Wake-on-LAN (WOL) for remotely powering on systems

Intel AMT features

Intel AMT includes hardware-based remote management, security, power-management, and remote-configuration features. These features allow an IT technician to access an AMT featured PC remotely.

Intel AMT relies on a hardware-based out-of-band (OOB) communication channel that operates below the OS level, the channel is independent of the state of the OS (present, missing, corrupted, down). The communication channel is also independent of the PC's power state, the presence of a management agent, and the state of many hardware components (such as hard disk drives and memory).

Most AMT features are available OOB, regardless of PC power state. Other features require the PC to be powered up (such as console redirection via serial over LAN (SOL), agent presence checking, and network traffic filtering).^[1] Intel AMT has remote power-up capability.

Hardware-based features can be combined with scripting to automate maintenance and service.

Hardware-based AMT features in laptop and desktop PCs

Hardware-based AMT features include:

• Encrypted, remote communication channel for network traffic between the IT console and Intel AMT.
• Ability for a wired PC (physically connected to the network) outside the company's firewall on an open LAN to establish a secure communication tunnel (via AMT) back to the IT console. Examples of an open LAN include a wired laptop at home or at an SMB site that does not have a proxy server.
• Remote power up / power down / power cycle through encrypted WOL.
• Remote boot, via integrated device electronics redirect (IDE-R).
• Console redirection, via serial over LAN (SOL).
• Keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) over network.
• Hardware-based filters for monitoring packet headers in inbound and outbound network traffic for known threats (based on programmable timers), and for monitoring known / unknown threats based on time-based heuristics. Laptops and desktop PCs have filters to monitor packet headers. Desktop PCs have packet-header filters and time-based filters.
• Isolation circuitry (previously and unofficially called "circuit breaker" by Intel) to port-block, rate-limit, or fully isolate a PC that might be compromised or infected.
• Agent presence checking, via hardware-based, policy-based programmable timers. A "miss" generates an event; you can specify that the event generate an alert.
• OOB alerting.
• Persistent event log, stored in protected memory (not on the hard drive).
• Access (preboot) the PC's universal unique identifier (UUID).
• Access (preboot) hardware asset information, such as a component's manufacturer and model, which is updated every time the system goes through power-on self-test(POST).
• Access (preboot) to third-party data store (TPDS), a protected memory area that software vendors can use, in which to version information, .DAT files, and other information.
• Remote configuration options, including certificate-based zero-touch remote configuration, USB key configuration (light-touch), and manual configuration.
• Protected Audio/Video Pathway for playback protection of DRM-protected media.

Intel® Active Management Technology Overview (pdf file)


Intel AMT Release 2.0 is a component of the Intel® vPro workstation platform. It uses a number
of elements in the Intel vPro platform architecture. Figure 1 shows the relationship between these
elements.

The Intel AMT functionality is contained in the firmware (ME FW).
• The firmware image is stored in the Flash memory.
• The Intel AMT capability is enabled using the Intel® Management Engine (Intel® ME) BIOS extension as implemented by an OEM platform provider. A remote application performs enterprise setup and configuration.
• On power-up, the firmware image is copied into the Double Data Rate (DDR) random-access memory (RAM).
• The firmware executes on the Intel ME processor and uses a small portion of the DDR RAM (Slot 0) for storage during execution. RAM slot 0 must be populated and powered on for the firmware to run.

Intel AMT stores the following information in the Flash (ME Data):
• OEM-configurable parameters 
• Setup and configuration parameters such as passwords, network configuration, certificates, 
and access control lists (ACLs) 
• Other configuration information, such as lists of alerts and System Defense policies 
• The hardware configuration captured by the BIOS at startup 

Intel AMT Release 2.5 Architecture 
Intel AMT Release 2.5 extends active management to enterprise wireless mobile computing. As
shown in Figure 2 below, the architecture has a mobile version of ICH8, the Crestline MCH and a
wireless NIC.

資料來源: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Active_Management_Technology

http://software.intel.com/sites/default/files/m/2/3/8/9/c/17992-intel_amt_overview.pdf