New minor versions of Microsoft SQL Server are available, offering performance and security fixes. Amazon RDS for SQL Server supports them for Microsoft SQL Server 2017, 2016, 2014 2012, and 2008 R2 for Express, Web, Standard and Enterprise Editions on Windows operating systems.

Today, AWS added a third Availability Zone (AZ) to the AWS GovCloud (US) Region. A third AZ provides customers with sensitive data and regulatory compliance requirements, additional flexibility to architect scalable, fault-tolerant, and highly available applications in AWS GovCloud (US). It also allows customers to take full advantage of advanced new AWS services.

The AWS Storage Gateway service expanded the set of CloudWatch Events for File Gateway to help automate hybrid cloud workflows, and now supports “Requester Pays” Amazon S3 buckets.

Education pricing is now available for Amazon WorkSpaces. With this release, qualifying education institutions can save up to 14% per month by leveraging license discounts from Microsoft. This equates to a savings of $3.52 per user per month or $0.03 per user per hour if you qualify, based on Microsoft Licensing Terms and Documentation .

Goodyear has developed a prototype tyre for the electric vehicle market. Traditional tyres can wear out up to 30% faster on electric vehicles due to the powerful, instant torque from electric motors and the additional vehicle weight from heavy battery packs, says Goodyear. “The combination of increasing regulations to reduce emissions, the desire to reduce …

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To save space in battery chargers, Texas Instruments has introduced a 6A three-level buck converter, the bq25910, aimed at phones, tablets and electronic point-of-sale devices. Charging single Li-ion or Li-polymer cells, 95.4% efficiency is available at 1.5A from a 5V input, or 93.3% at 3A from 9V. As well as four switching fets, there is …

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Diodes has announced ZXGD3113, a synchronous rectifier controller intended to work with a mosfet to replace the voltage drop associated with a Schottky diode on the secondary side of an isolated power converter such as ac-dc power supplies – potentially removing the need for secondary-side heatsinking. “ZXGD3113 controls an external MOSFET, such as the 100V …

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MxC200 is a configurable 15W dc-dc power IC from fabless chip firm Helix Semiconductors. Previously known as HS200, MxC200 is a switched capacitor converter with three voltage halving stages, accepting 12-48V at the input. The three stages have separate inputs and outputs and can be mixed and matched in several configurations. When configured as a …

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Microsemi is sampling the first of its next-generation 1.2kV silicon carbide mosfets, the 40m[Ohm] MSC040SMA120B, plus 1.2kV SiC Schottky barrier diodes to go with it. For rugged operation in industrial, automotive and commercial aviation, the SiC mosfet family is avalanche-rated and offers a high short circuit withstand rating. Additional members of the product family will …

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To ease the layout of industrial Linux computer PCBs, at Embedded World in Nuremberg Microchip announced a complete processor, memory and comms sub-system in a 40 x 38mm module. The module is single sided, and can be soldered straight to a PCB via its 0.8mm interconnect. “There is a great deal of design effort and …

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