ZDNet UK Processors Toolkit

Netbook platforms: VIA Nano v. Intel Atom

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Kai Schmerer) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:22:01 +0000

Today's netbooks are mostly Intel Atom-powered, but that could change with the advent of VIA's Nano processor, which outperforms Intel's CPU in several areas.

Intel goes Google with cloud chip

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Rupert Goodwins) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:00:00 +0000

The key innovation in Intel's experimental 48-core chip isn't in the silicon at all. It's what the company's doing with it

Chip revenue falls 11.4 percent in 2009

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Matthew Broersma) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:34:02 +0000

Worldwide semiconductor revenue dropped by $29bn compared with 2008, according to Gartner, the first time the industry has seen two declines in a row

Toshiba Satellite Pro T130

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:35:53 +0000

Toshiba Satellite Pro T130 Toshibas Satellite T series of notebooks is all about CULV processing. There are two models in the range, the 13.3-inch T130 and the 11.6-inch T110, with the T130...

Intel drops plans for Larrabee GPU in 2010

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (David Meyer) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:04:02 +0000

The many-core architecture will instead be used as a software development platform for the time being, the chipmaker said

Intel shows 48-core 'datacentre on a chip'

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Rupert Goodwins) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:00:00 +0000

Intel is seeding industry and academia with a new manycore chip that shrinks many existing ideas onto a single piece of silicon

Photos: Intel's Single-chip Cloud Computer

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Rupert Goodwins) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:00:00 +0000

Intel's experimental 48-core SCC processor is a pointer to the future says the company. Check out the chip and the lab where it was conceived in our gallery.

Less than an OS, less than free

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:42:59 +0000

What's an OS for? Thanks to Rupert Murdoch, Google has spent most of the time it probably wanted to be talking about Chrome discussing the value of paid content on the Web; but that's actually an...

Intel Labs Europe takes on large-scale computing

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Stephen Shankland) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:12:02 +0000

Intel Labs Europe has formed an alliance with three French institutions to investigate the challenges of large-scale computing

Gartner: Chip sales to rise to 2008 levels next year

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (David Meyer) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:59:02 +0000

The analyst firm predicts that semiconductor revenues will return to pre-recession levels in 2010

ARM opens resource centre for Android devs

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (David Meyer) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:03:02 +0000

ARM wants to see Android prosper on its chips, predicting strong growth for the combination next year

Ubuntu 9.10 (karmic Koala) on Netbooks - Part 3 (Kubuntu Net...

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:19:24 +0000

In Part 1 of this series, I looked at the "standard" Ubuntu distribution, and found that with some adjustments, it could be made into what I considered to be a fairly nicely usable netbook. In...

Intel hit with federal antitrust lawsuit in US

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:20:51 +0000

Intel is being sued in the United States for breaking federal and New York state antitrust laws. The New York attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, announced on Wednesday that he had filed the suit,...

Intel's 2010 roadmap

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Joachim Kaufmann) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:20:01 +0000

From hardware-accelerated AES encryption via 32nm manufacturing to GPU integration and six cores, Intel's CPU roadmap holds great promise. The chip-maker's upcoming Larrabee 3D graphics processor remains short on detail though.

Intel investigating Windows 7 iPhone sync flaw

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (David Meyer) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:43:02 +0000

BIOS or system-configuration issues could be to blame for the flaw, which makes it impossible to synchronise iPhones with 64-bit Windows 7 PCs using P55 motherboards

Intel moves closer to next-gen memory

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Stephen Shankland) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:25:01 +0000

Intel and Numonyx have announced practical advancements they believe will make phase-change memory meet its performance and capacity promise

Desktop supercomputer aims for 1.1 teraflops

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Tom Espiner) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:13:02 +0000

Asus has unveiled a mini-supercomputer based on Nvidia graphics chips and a 3.33GHz Xeon

ARM ups speed, drops power with new chip

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Rupert Goodwins) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:09:01 +0100

The world's most popular processor architecture continues to push its performance while aiming for mobile internet dominance over Intel

Sun and Fujitsu update Sparc64 VII chips

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Matthew Broersma) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:55:01 +0100

Sun is touting improved database performance and low upgrade costs in an effort to fight back against competition from IBM and HP

Chip sales bounce back in August

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Sam Diaz ) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:17:02 +0100

Global semiconductor sales showed a small jump on July figures thanks to energy-efficiency programmes and the rise of netbooks

Gartner: ARM-based devices gaining momentum

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Vivian Yeo) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:12:02 +0100

Dominance of the x86 processor architecture in the PC industry will be challenged by the sustained growth of ultra-low-cost computers

Japanese researchers harness parallel chips

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Vivian Yeo) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:22:01 +0100

A group of researchers aims to create a software standard for multicore chips in devices, including mobile phones and car-navigation systems

IBM's 35 atoms and the rise of nanotech

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Stephen Shankland) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:53:01 +0100

Don Eigler moved a single atom two decades ago. Since then, he and IBM have taken new steps in pursuing a dream of compact, power-efficient computing

How Intel's supercomputer almost used HP chips

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Stephen Shankland) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:51:02 +0100

In the 1990s, Intel seriously considered building the world's fastest supercomputer with a rival's processors, but the Pentium Pro arrived in time after all

IDF 2009 roundup: New directions for Intel

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Staff) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:00:01 +0100

At its annual Intel Developer Forum, the chipmaker shows its latest wafers, as well as an emphasis on computing beyond the PC

Intel and the correct use of power

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:38:55 +0100

One of the major themes at this year's IDF in San Francisco is the use and abuse of power. As Intel delicately drip-feeds information about its chips into the world, the picture builds up: these...

Intel Developer Forum 2009 - day one

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:09:24 +0100

I said it was going to be one of those IDFs. It was, more than I could have guessed. To begin at the beginning... but when was that? The 9am first keynote of the day, a little Otellini in the...

IDF: Larrabee, Xeon 3000, Gulftown, Westmere...

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:05:09 +0100

A slight pres release malfunction at IDF has led to the afternoon keynote from Sean Maloney appearing in the pigeon holes of the press room a little before its time. It would be impolite to reveal...

IDF Keynote Moore's Law Sweepstake - result!

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:15:02 +0100

The result of the 2009 IDF Keynote Moore's Law sweepstake are in. Paul Otellini mentioned Moore's Law at 9:08:14 local time, some 3:50 minutes after beginning the first keynote of the conference....

AMD responds to details of Intel's antitrust violations

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:14:26 +0100

Following the European Commission's publication on Monday of how Intel broke anticompetition laws, rival chipmaker AMD - the wronged party in this particular case - has predicted...

Gelsinger out in Intel reshuffle

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:48:58 +0100

No official confirmation yet, but it's being widely reported that Intel has had a major reshuffle of its top-level executives. Pat Gelsinger, a thirty year veteran, one-time CTO and currently in...

Plaintiffs sought in potential battery-life class action

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:06:43 +0100

A Californian law firm is looking for potential plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit over laptop makers' battery life claims. Girard Gibbs has put up a webpage referring to AMD's claims that...

IBM launches new acronym

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:36:27 +0100

IBM has announced the release of a new acronym. FOAK, which stands for "first-of-a-kind", was launched on Wednesday. According to a statement from Big Blue, "IBM's FOAK program pairs IBM's...

In Praise of Gparted

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:09:01 +0100

I have been trying to rationalize the multitude of partitions on my various laptops today, and I just want to say that the Gnome Partition Editor (gparted) has really been fantastic. Using it, I...

Dialogue Box is back!

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:13:54 +0100

Charles and I have donned the lab coats one mo' time for series six - SIX! - of Dialogue Box, and started out by stepping into space. Since a very young Rupert watched Neil Armstrong hop off the...

Samsung ships fast 2Gb DDR3 memory

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:53:43 +0000

The South Korean company, Samsung Electronics said on Thursday it had begun shipping what it claimed were the first high-density, 2Gb DDR3 memory modules using 50nm technology. Designed for use...

Geany-arse colour chooser

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 11:08:07 +0000

A terrible pun, I know. But I couldn't hold back from waxing lyrical about the Geany text editor and its fantastic Colour Chooser (screengrab below). It's such a neat little IDE, and...

Intel to remove up to 300 jobs in Ireland

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:29:29 +0000

Intel is going to cut its workforce in Ireland by between 200 and 300 jobs despite assuring workers there that their jobs were safe. The company confirmed to the Press Association on Wednesday...

Weekend Success - Ubuntu 8.10 on the HP 2133 Mini-Note

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:00:25 +0000

Well, after considerable struggle, it has been a successful weekend. I've been trying since the first day that I got my HP 2133 Mini-Note to get Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) installed on it,...

Intel research: fast radios, flashy chips, low power

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:38:11 +0000

Intel is concentrating on integration rather than acceleration, according to the fifteen papers it will be presenting at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference next week in San...

Linux on the HP 2133 Mini-Note, Part 3

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:48:04 +0000

Thanks to a typically excellent tip from Adam Williamson (AdamW), I now have Mandriva One 2009.0 running on the HP 2133, and it looks really good. When I tried it previously, it appeared that the...

Linux and Disk Partitions

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:30:26 +0000

As usual, this blog post comes out of something I have been working on (read as: struggling with) for the past few days. The purpose is to give an overview of disk partitioning under Linux,...

Configuring GRUB for Graphic Booting

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:47:02 +0000

As I have mentioned previously, there are two popular versions of GRUB in use today, the "standard" or original version, which does only text display while booting (with background colors), and the...

Intel to tackle AMD in 'ultrathin' market

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:53:43 +0000

AMD, having annoyed tech taxonomists everywhere by launching its Athlon Neo chipset for the 'ultrathin' category of notebooks (cheaper than an ultraportable, more highly specced than a netbook),...

Creative's Zii chip - more questions than answers

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:31:27 +0000

Over in Las Vegas, Creative is gearing up to launch its Zii. Or perhaps StemCell Computing, or ZiiLABS, or the ZiiLABS ZMS-05 - or all of the above. And they're talking about billion-dollar...

Intel's quad-core gets a lot cheaper

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:25:02 +0000

Looks like Intel's quad-core mobile processor range now extends into the cheapish space. According to a pricelist that came out a couple of days ago, the new Q9000 processor will cost you $348...

P3 Xubuntu

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 14:41:12 +0000

I've been running Xubuntu 8.1 on a 700 Mhz P3 COMPAQ ENPRO computer with 512 MB of RAM. This system originally had Windows 2000 on it and it ran fairly well if a little slow. I've tried Debian 4.0...

Wheeling on the mobile data centre

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 02:58:01 +0000

A data centre on wheels might look strange, but it's an illustration of some fundamental changes in the way our systems are made. "A single PC processor is now capable of driving systems that...

Virtually Dude. Its Really Cool!

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:43:26 +0000

VMWare Workstation has made me a virtualization convert. I have downloaded the Live CD images for OpenSolaris 10, Fedora 9 and 10, Ubuntu 8.04 and 8.1, Mandriva2009 and openSuse11 and installed...

Nehalem - encounter at dawn

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:08:55 +0000

A little while ago, Intel sent us an evaluation Nehalem board, together with 3GB of memory, an 80GB SSD and a few bits and pieces. Charles and I decided to assemble this beast on camera for...

Intel Core i7 benchmarks...coming soon!

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:03:36 +0000

Intel has taken the wraps off its new Core i7 (Nehalem) processor architecture, which features an integrated memory controller and new QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) point-to-point links. The first...

Overheard at IDF

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:27:38 +0100

All of the below were said, mostly by Intel people, within earshot of yours truly. No names no pack drill, and to further protect the guilty (and my job) I have excised some of the fruitier...

Craig Barrett's love life hits IDF

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:03:53 +0100

As I type, we're half an hour into IDF proper. Pat Gelsinger, patron saint of IDF, has called chairman Craig Barrett a wally well, Waldo, after the American version of the stripy-jumpered...

Intel's cache problems, what they mean and how to solve them

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:42:48 +0100

If you want to get really intimate with hardware, there's nothing like low-level, high-performance coding to remove all barriers between your mind and the silicon. One result, aside from the...

Intel's floating bodies

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:03:44 +0100

Intel got on the phone on Monday to tell us chip-centric hacks about a bunch of papers the company was presenting to the 2008 Symposium on VLSI Technology in Hawaii. I've been trying to turn the...

Apple vs Microsoft - the chips are down

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:07:12 +0100

Should you buy your chips ready-made, or cook them yourself? Depends whether you're Apple or Microsoft. Let's take Microsoft first. It has its own Xbox Semiconductor Design Group, which among...

Atom Power part 2

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:59:50 +0100

Had some time today to re-assess what I had learned yesterday about the Atom. The most astounding item might be that Intel has done an about-face in attitude and discovered that there really is a...

Atom(ic) power, no its not 50's/60's retro !

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 05:44:33 +0100

I got to look at a new processor today (in fact, just a few hours ago) that I first heard about months ago and I started calling Intel CPU vendors about it. What really got my interest is that a...

Atom power hits town

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 30 May 2008 17:50:23 +0100

We've got our first Atom machine in. Full benchmarks and other details later, but... it's interesting. It's the ecoquiet RM One 50, so called because it uses less than fifty watts. Which it can...

Intel's Centrino 2 solid-state play

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:15:40 +0100

Very interesting news on the Intel front - according to the usually-reliable Digitimes, the chipmaker is getting into the solid-state drive business in a big way, with SSDs apparently to be bundled...

RM gets 50 watts of Intel Atom power

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:07:36 +0100

They may not be the first Atom-based computers available for pre-order in the UK - those laurels probably belong to the MSI WInd, although its being a bit coy - but RM's ecoquiet RM ONE 50 and...

Video Chat on the Move!

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:45:22 +0100

I've just had a fascinating and pleasing experience. I had a 15-minute video chat on ooVoo while riding on a bus through the Swiss countryside! First the summary - the quality was good, in fact...

Knuth: multicore engineers 'out of ideas'

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:19:02 +0100

Donald Knuth (yes, that Donald Knuth) has given a long and interesting interview with the Informit website -- which I hadn't come across before: it's a joint venture between various tech book...

Apple buys processor company, opens whole new world of specu...

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:23:22 +0100

If you listen to Intel, the last hold-outs against the x86 instruction set are about to fall -- with super-powered Nehalem swarms mopping up the high end of massed Power PC supercomputers, and...

Flashy balls make for mega-memory

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:42:01 +0100

Carbon. Is there nothing it can't do? As well as being the fundamental element behind life, the premium component in energy storage and the top contender for executioner of the human race, it's now...

Gartner: chip spending to fall 20 percent

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:53:16 +0100

Capital spending on semiconductor manufacturing equipment is set to fall by 20 percent this year, according to analysts Gartner. The analysts say that a weakening US economy and a collapsing...

Nokia squares up to Apple

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:18:20 +0100

Much buzz on the tubes right now about the, er, Tube. This would be the Nokia 5800, Espoo's first touchscreen phone (yes, I know, I shook my head in disbelief at that for a moment too, but it's...

It'll never work, you know

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:07:30 +0100

Here's a Firefox error message I haven't had before. Is it me, or does this sound rather world-weary?

IDF Day Zero: Computers that feel - and squeeze the cheese

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:54:54 +0100

Andrew Chein, director at Intel Research, has taken the stage at the International Press Day of the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai, and he's in full-on future mode. Computers, he says, are...

IDF Day Zero: Of Intel China, Carrying Small and Living Larg...

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:46:20 +0100

It's Day Zero at the Intel Developer Forum: the increasingly first-day-like International Press Day. We're at the Shanghai International Conventional Centre, a huge maze-like building where the...

Nehalem sighted at IDF

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:51:56 +0100

Hot off the press from our Shanghai correspondent at IDF a picture of Nehalem, Intel's next-generation processor: Pressed into Rupert Goodwins' eager hands literally minutes ago, this chip...

ZDNet UK Processors Toolkit

Netbook platforms: VIA Nano v. Intel Atom

Intel goes Google with cloud chip

Chip revenue falls 11.4 percent in 2009

Toshiba Satellite Pro T130

Intel drops plans for Larrabee GPU in 2010

Intel shows 48-core 'datacentre on a chip'

Photos: Intel's Single-chip Cloud Computer

Less than an OS, less than free

Intel Labs Europe takes on large-scale computing

Gartner: Chip sales to rise to 2008 levels next year

ARM opens resource centre for Android devs

Ubuntu 9.10 (karmic Koala) on Netbooks - Part 3 (Kubuntu Net...

Intel hit with federal antitrust lawsuit in US

Intel's 2010 roadmap

Intel investigating Windows 7 iPhone sync flaw

Intel moves closer to next-gen memory

Desktop supercomputer aims for 1.1 teraflops

ARM ups speed, drops power with new chip

Sun and Fujitsu update Sparc64 VII chips

Chip sales bounce back in August

Gartner: ARM-based devices gaining momentum

Japanese researchers harness parallel chips

IBM's 35 atoms and the rise of nanotech

How Intel's supercomputer almost used HP chips

IDF 2009 roundup: New directions for Intel

Intel and the correct use of power

Intel Developer Forum 2009 - day one

IDF: Larrabee, Xeon 3000, Gulftown, Westmere...

IDF Keynote Moore's Law Sweepstake - result!

AMD responds to details of Intel's antitrust violations

Gelsinger out in Intel reshuffle

Plaintiffs sought in potential battery-life class action

IBM launches new acronym

In Praise of Gparted

Dialogue Box is back!

Samsung ships fast 2Gb DDR3 memory

Geany-arse colour chooser

Intel to remove up to 300 jobs in Ireland

Weekend Success - Ubuntu 8.10 on the HP 2133 Mini-Note

Intel research: fast radios, flashy chips, low power

Linux on the HP 2133 Mini-Note, Part 3

Linux and Disk Partitions

Configuring GRUB for Graphic Booting

Intel to tackle AMD in 'ultrathin' market

Creative's Zii chip - more questions than answers

Intel's quad-core gets a lot cheaper

P3 Xubuntu

Wheeling on the mobile data centre

Virtually Dude. Its Really Cool!

Nehalem - encounter at dawn

Intel Core i7 benchmarks...coming soon!

Overheard at IDF

Craig Barrett's love life hits IDF

Intel's cache problems, what they mean and how to solve them

Intel's floating bodies

Apple vs Microsoft - the chips are down

Atom Power  part 2

Atom(ic) power, no its not 50's/60's retro !

Atom power hits town

Intel's Centrino 2 solid-state play

RM gets 50 watts of Intel Atom power

Video Chat on the Move!

Knuth: multicore engineers 'out of ideas'

Apple buys processor company, opens whole new world of specu...

Flashy balls make for mega-memory

Gartner: chip spending to fall 20 percent

Nokia squares up to Apple

It'll never work, you know

IDF Day Zero: Computers that feel - and squeeze the cheese

IDF Day Zero: Of Intel China, Carrying Small and Living Larg...

Nehalem sighted at IDF

Atom Power part 2