PMTC APPROVED FOR COMPLIANCE TESTING FOR EXPESSCARD STANDARD.

PCMCIA, San Jose, Calif., the trade association for PC Card(TM) and ExpressCard(R) technologies, has announced that leading European test house Testronic Laboratories, via its PMTC facility in Hasselt, Belgium, has been approved to offer compliance testing for the ExpressCard Standard in Europe.

ExpressCard technology (www.expresscard.org) is the next-generation PC Card technology for high-performance expansion of mobile and desktop systems. ExpressCard and PC Card slots can be found on more than 95 percent of notebook computers.

Testronic Laboratories is the third test house to be approved to test ExpressCard products to ensure that they meet the Standard's requirements. Compliant systems and modules are able to display the ExpressCard logo -- an orange rabbit that tells consumers that ExpressCard products are interoperable, hot swappable and plug'n'play.

"We are pleased to have added ExpressCard product testing to our array of services," said Johan Craeybeckx, CTO of Testronic Laboratories. "As the leading test house, we offer a proven track record in product testing that will help European companies bring their ExpressCard products to market more quickly. We look forward to working with PCMCIA to support this standard."

"The heart of the ExpressCard Standard is its compliance program, which assures any user anywhere that their product will interoperate with other ExpressCard products," said Brad Saunders, chairman, PCMCIA. "The addition of Testronic Laboratories expands ExpressCard testing capabilities to three major markets: the United States, Europe and Asia. This geographic coverage will enable product developers to more easily verify product interoperability and earn the right to display the ExpressCard logo."

The multi-step ExpressCard compliance program assures product interoperability. The first step requires manufacturers to submit an approved product compatibility checklist. The second step requires formal interoperability testing, which consists of (1) a standardized test procedure conducted between participating host systems and module products and (2) a set of mandatory tests against a "gold" suite of compliant host systems and modules. This can be done either through a test house or PCMCIA-sponsored workshop.

ExpressCard "plug 'n' play" applications include memory, local area network (LAN), wireless broadband (WWAN), WiFi, memory adapters, parallel adapters, serial adapters, TV tuners, smart card readers, instrumentation, 1394A&B and serial ATA (SATA). ExpressCard technology also supports the advanced serial I/O technologies: USB 2.0 and PCI-Express.

Compliant products are listed on the ExpressCard Resource Directory page at www.expresscard.org. Information on where to purchase ExpressCard products can be found on the Where to Buy page at http://www.expresscard.org.

Dell, Fujitsu, Fujitsu Siemens, HP, Intel, Lenovo, Lexar Media, LG Electronics, Microsoft, Sony, Texas Instruments and Toshiba are among those supporting development of the ExpressCard standard.

About Testronic Laboratories

Testronic Laboratories is the world's leading test house for hardware quality assurance and certification of many types of multimedia equipment and interfaces. The company is the world's largest DVD testing company and a leading specialist in testing of computer games. In addition to its PMTC facility in Belgium, Testronic also has operations in the United States, the United Kingdom and Poland.

About PCMCIA

PCMCIA is a non-profit trade association founded in 1989 to establish technical standards for PC Card technology and to promote interchangeability among computer systems. Already a feature in almost every notebook and palmtop computer, PC Card technology empowers users to configure systems and create unique, integrated solutions to meet their computing needs. Based in San Jose, California, the association has a growing membership of 150 companies worldwide. The PCMCIA also has a specification development and co-publishing relationship with the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) covering PC Card and Smart Media technologies.

For more information, visit http://www.expresscard.org and http://www.pcmcia.org or call 925/926-0326. >TX MICREL LAUNCHES DUAL CHANNEL HOT-PLUS POWER CNTROLLERS >TX Micrel Inc., (NASDAQ:MCR), San Jose, Calif., an industry leader in analog, high bandwidth communications and Ethernet IC solutions, has launched the MIC2341 and MIC2342. The devices are Dual Channel Hot-Plug Power Controllers that support the power requirements for PCI Express Specification v2.0. The MIC2341 and MIC2342 augment Micrel's growing PCIe product family and are ideal for high performance enterprise computing network system processor boards, DDR memory boards, embedded systems and gigabit Ethernet add-in cards for the server networks and RAID/storage network markets. The devices are currently available in volume quantities and are priced at $4.54 for 1K quantities.

"The MIC2341 and MIC2342 both offer an integrated solution that minimizes solution component count and lower overall BOM cost," noted Andy Cowell, Micrel's marketing vice president for analog products. "In addition, both ICs feature very rapid response times to potentially catastrophic overcurrent load events, key in mission-critical applications for the server and RAID/storage network markets."

The MIC2341 and MIC2342 provide support for 12V, 3.3V, and 3.3VAUX supplies and are equipped with many features -- including programmable gate voltage slew-rate control, voltage supervision, programmable current limit, and circuit breaker functions. The devices support two independent PCI Express slots, offer integrated power MOSFETS for 3.3VAUX rails with low backfeed on the MAIN +12V and +3.3V rails, an important consideration during standby operation for Wake-on-LAN applications. The ICs also offer dual-level, dual-speed overcurrent fault protection and a user-programmable primary overcurrent filter to eliminate nuisance tripping. Separate MAIN and AUX overcurrent fault output signals and load card detection (present) switch inputs are also offered. Power will be delivered only when the module/card is fully inserted and power fault isolation allows an unaffected power rail(s) to remain active and accelerates debugging effort(s) when locating a faulty area(s) in the circuit. In addition, the ICs provide system management flexibility in offering either a latched or auto-retry option. The MAIN output rails of the MIC2342 shut down during an overcurrent fault on AUX for a given slot, whereas MAIN outputs of the MIC2341 are independent of an overcurrent fault occurring on AUX. Both ICs are available in RoHS compliant 48-pin TQFP Pb-free package. All options feature a 0-deg C to +70-deg C ambient temperature range.

About Micrel, Inc.

Micrel Inc., is a leading global manufacturer of IC solutions for the worldwide analog, Ethernet and high bandwidth markets. The company's products include advanced mixed-signal, analog and power semiconductors; high performance communication, clock management, Ethernet switch and physical layer transceiver ICs. company customers include leading manufacturers of enterprise, consumer, industrial, mobile, telecommunications, automotive, and computer products. Corporation headquarters and state-of-the-art wafer fabrication facilities are located in San Jose, CA, with regional sales and support offices and advanced technology design centers situated throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. In addition, the company maintains an extensive network of distributors and reps worldwide.

For more information, visit http://www.micrel.com or call 408/474-1276.