astronomy

Universal Abit

Universal Abit is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Universal Abit rather than just read about it. In short: Universal ABIT Co., Ltd (formerly ABIT Computer Corporation) was a computer components manufacturer, based in Taiwan, active since the 1980s. Its core product line were motherboards aimed at the overclocker market.

Key takeaways

Universal Abit belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Universal Abit to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Universal Abit from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Universal ABIT Co., Ltd (formerly ABIT Computer Corporation) was a computer components manufacturer, based in Taiwan, active since the 1980s. Its core product line were motherboards aimed at the overclocker market. ABIT experienced serious financial problems in 2005. The brand name "ABIT" and other intangible properties, including patents and trademarks, were acquired by Universal Scientific Industrial Co., Ltd. (USI) in May 2006. The brand name was discontinued on 31 March 2009.

History

Early history ABIT was founded in 1989. In 1991, the company had become the fastest growing motherboard manufacturer, claiming US$10 million in sales. In 2000, ABIT underwent an initial public offering (IPO) on the TAIEX stock exchange. To keep pace with their "good" sales figures, they opened a factory in Suzhou, China, and moved to new headquarters in Neihu, Taipei. The number of motherboards sold was claimed to have doubled between 2000 and 2001. Abit chose to outsource two low-end boards for trial production from June 2002 to Elitegroup Computer Systems. Confirmation of the outsourcing move was made public in July 2002, accounting for 10% of Abit's motherboard shipments for the first model, and by August 2002, this would increase to 15-20% for the second model, for the company's niche products, such as servers and routers, Abit's factory in Taoyuan, Taiwan factory will then serve as their base. Abit had somewhat of a blow in March 2003, when Oskar Wu, a leading engineer on the famous ABIT NF7-S motherboard, resigned after the NForce series to become head of the LANParty range at competitor DFI.

Investigation and financial problems On 15 December 2004, the Taiwan Stock Exchange downgraded ABIT's stock due to questionable accounting practices. Investigations revealed that the majority of their import/export business was conducted through seven companies, all located at the same address and each of which had a capital of only HK$2. This made it easy to inflate the reported number of motherboards sold. The Hong Kong media also reported that the management was being investigated for embezzling funds from the company. In June 2005, ABIT partnered with Wan Hai Industries. This container shipping company, also a principal investor in China Airlines, brought the company much needed capital, since the company had financial problems at this time, partly due to a class action lawsuit involving faulty capacitors on their products, but also because of marketing highly technical products to the general public while offering longer-than-average warranties and generous return policies.

Acquisition by USI and demise On 25 January 2006, ABIT announced that USI intended to purchase ABIT Computer's motherboard business and brand and announced a special shareholders' meeting to discuss the sale of ABIT's Neihu building, changing ABIT's company name, the disposition of the company's assets, and the release of the directors from non-competition restrictions. ABIT sold its own office building in Taipei to Deutsche Bank in order to raise money to cut its debt. Following USI's acquisition of the motherboard business, the remaining divisions of ABIT switched to distributing components and networking products, while using its Suzhou, China plant only to offer some motherboard contract manufacturing services. The acquired motherboard business and the 'ABIT' brand name were used by USI under the new brand name Universal Abit. In the US, it was known as Universal Abit USA Corporation. The old company, ABIT Computer Corporation (USA), is now dissolved and is no longer in existence. Universal Abit later announced that it would close on 31 December 2008, and officially cease to exist on 1 January 2009. By 2009, Abit no longer sold motherboards. Universal Abit was located in Neihu, Taiwan with regional offices in China, USA, Iran and the Netherlands.

Technical achievements ABIT had a reputation among PC enthusiasts for producing motherboards that support overclocking. In the late 1990s, the company introduced their Softmenu feature, one of the first jumperless CPU configuration systems that enable overclocking to be adjusted from the BIOS instead of fiddling with jumpers. Softmenu was later extended with the development of the μGuru chip. μGuru is a custom microprocessor on Abit motherboards which, in conjunction with ABIT software, gives the ability to modify overclocking settings in real-time while the OS is running. By providing instant feedback on the results of a particular overclock setting, μGuru reduced the time required to discover optimal settings. μGuru provided a special connector for a panel in a 5¼" drive bay to display CPU speed and voltage settings. They were also one of the first motherboard manufacturers to enable undervolting. ABIT was the first motherboard manufacturer to introduce 133 MHz FSB operation for the Intel BX chipset with the aptly named AB-BX133. ABIT also achieved symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) operation for Intel's Mendocino Celeron CPU, in their BP6 motherboard. This was an achievement because Intel had blocked SMP operation in the Celeron. In 2004, they introduced the OTES cooling system. This heat pipe based cooling system is intended to transfer heat from the chipset or the motherboard's voltage regulators and expel it out of the system through the rear I/O panel. During Computex 2008, Universal Abit unveiled the FunFab P80 Digital Photo Frame and Printer. It integrated a photo printer directly to a mobile phone.

Products

References

S. Chen, S. Shen. "Abit cuts debts by selling properties, but trouble remains", DigiTimes.com, 28 December 2005. E. Wang. "Abit reaches tentative agreement with creditor banks", DigiTimes.com, 21 January 2005. E. Wang. "Abit stock downgraded to requiring full delivery", DigiTimes.com, 15 December 2004.

External links

Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 2005-02-09)

Illustrations

Classic ABIT Logo

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Universal Abit

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Universal Abit claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Universal Abit before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Universal Abit ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Universal Abit

In research: Universal Abit appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Universal Abit in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Universal Abit is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1989 establishments in Taiwan, 2008 disestablishments in Taiwan, Companies disestablished in 2008, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Universal Abit outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Universal Abit in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Universal Abit means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Universal Abit out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Universal Abit in simple terms?

Why does Universal Abit matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Universal Abit?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Universal Abit.