The Future of CPUs: What’s After Multi-Core?
As Moore's Law continues to hold, IC designers are finding that they have more and more silicon real estate to play with. David Chisnall hazards some guesses as to what they might do with it.
Hardware Archive
Nvidia Has Balls and May Circumvent X86 Licences
"Nvidia is making a CPU, but the only questions are what kind of CPU, and how the heck is it going to do it. Making an X86 based CPU is not a trivial venture, and there are enough problems to make even a company with the engineering bandwidth of Nvidia cringe. Those problems are mainly called lawyers."
Review: Sony Vaio VGC-LA1 PC
El Reg reviews the Sony Vaio VGC-LA1, and concludes: "Sony has engineered a superbly attractive piece of kit in the LA1 but at this price point we expect something that is far more serious and ideally has a larger screen. As things stand the price would need to come down significantly to make the LA1 really appealing to anyone who values performance and functionality over looks."
IBM/Lenovo, Apple Top Support Firm’s Hardware Reliability Ratings
Who makes the most reliable computers? Lenovo, closely followed by Apple, if you believe online service and support company Rescuecom's latest reliability audit, derived from more than 20,000 calls made by the firm's customers during the second quarter this year. Rescuecom assigned a reliability rating to computer vendors. Lenovo, in its guise as provider of IBM desktops and notebooks, scored 243. Apple attained 201. Third-placed HP/Compaq scored a mere 12. Dell's rating was 4, Gateway -12 and all the rest together scored -16.
NEC Confirms Packard Bell Sale
NEC confirmed that it was exiting the European PC market, announcing it had reached a deal to sell its Netherlands-based Packard Bell subsidiary to Chinese entrepreneur Lap Shun 'John' Hui. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Although a popular brand of computers in for a short period of time in the mid 1990s worldwide, Packard Bell quickly was eclipsed by competitors, mainly for a reputation of lackluster quality and poor customer support.
How Do You Secure 100 Million Laptops?
Submitted by
If the plan is perfectly executed, Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child project will deploy 100 million laptops in the first year. In one fell swoop, the nonprofit organization will create the largest computing monoculture in history. Wary of the security risks associated with a computing monoculture - millions of machines with hardware and software of identical design - OLPC officials are seeking help from the world's best hackers to review the full specifications of the laptop's security model.
Sun, Fujitsu Promise Sparc Speed Surge
Submitted by
Sun Microsystems and Fujitsu engineers on Tuesday promised significant performance increases with two next-generation chips, models that they hope will help keep the Sparc line relevant. Company representatives speaking at the Fall Processor Forum promised significant gains over the chips' predecessors - the first Niagara (now called UltraSparc T1) and the single-core Sparc64 V.
Fujitsu To Recall 287000 Sony-Made Batteries
Japanese electronics maker Fujitsu said on Wednesday it would recall 287000 notebook PC batteries made by Sony, bringing the number of Sony batteries recalled to more than 7.5 million. After Apple, Dell, Toshiba, and IBM/Lenovo, and Sony itself, Fujitsu is the 6th company to recall Sony batteries.
Review: Lenovo’s Linux-Supported ThinkPad T60p
Submitted by
"Few computers have more right to the term 'business machine' than the ThinkPad laptop series - and not just because the brand was developed by a company named International Business Machines (IBM). Traditionally ThinkPads have been built for speed and durability, but recently GNU/Linux users have discovered that the ThinkPad is built for compatibility as well. The latest in the ThinkPad T series is a landmark in several ways: it's the first to use a Core Duo processor; the first to be made and sold by Lenovo instead of IBM; and the first to offer official manufacturer support for GNU/Linux."
The Heath Robinson Rube Goldberg Computer
Imagine a computer formed from a mixture of technologies ranging from relays to fluidic logic. Now imagine being able to create a single piece of such a computer (perhaps as small as a single word of memory) in the technology of your choice, and then using the Internet to run your masterpiece in conjunction with other portions of the system created by contributors located around the world! Author Clive Maxfield explains the creation of just such a computing engine and how you can be involved.
Sony Issues Global li-ion Battery Recall
Submitted by
Sony has finally bitten the bullet and issued a worldwide recall of all Sony-manufactured lithium-ion batteries used in notebook computers. Earlier in the day, Lenovo/IBM joined the ranks of Dell, Apple, and Toshiba in issuing a recall for all Sony batteries that ship with their notebooks.
HP Buys VoodooPC
Submitted by
After Dell buying Alienware, HP has now bought VoodooPC. "Even though you may not know it, there is one thing about HP that makes them stand out among the rest: serious innovation. Backed by a USD 3.5+ billion dollar R&D budget, HP labs was generating an average of eleven unique patents a day. We're not talking about 'supply chain innovations' either; they are sitting on a treasure trove of product innovations with massive potential. For me, getting a ticket into HP Labs would be like Charlie getting a ticket to Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory. I was relentless... Yes, HP was/is the company that both my brother and I agreed is the perfect match for Voodoo."
Mini Linux PC Breaks USD 100 Barrier
Submitted by
Taiwanese integrator E-Way Technology Systems is shipping a tiny, 200MHz x86-compatible mini PC for USD 99, in single quantities. The TU-40 is passively cooled, comes with 128MB of RAM, and can run lightweight versions of Linux, such as Puppy, the company says.
Alan Cox’s Thinkpad Explodes
Alan Cox, the famous Linux kernel hacker, saw his Thinkpad explode. His wife writes on her weblog: "Alan was on the other side of the room from the laptop. I was elsewhere. He yelled out, I ambled towards the room in my own good time, and then I heard 'Fire! Real fire! Call the fire brigade, now!' and I speeded up a bit." This is the first laptop of a tech 'celebrity' to explode.
HP Chairman Resigns Over Leak Probe Scandal
Submitted by
The scandal surrounding Hewlett-Packard's investigation into boardroom leaks has claimed its first high-profile victim. HP on Friday said that Patricia Dunn would step down immediately as chairman and board member, to be replaced by CEO Mark Hurd.
Review: Asus Lamborghini VX1 laptop
El Reg has published a review of the Asus Lamborghini VX1 laptop. "The Lamborghini brand stands for luxury, speed and performance, but price aside, the Asus VX1 fails to deliver on the promise. It's not a bad machine, but neither is it the laptop equivalent of its famous namesake."
Toshiba To Recall Sony-Made Laptop Batteries
After Dell and Apple, Toshiba is now too issueing a massive recall of Sony-made laptop batteries. The batteries, used in Dynabook and Dynabook Satellite laptops manufactured between March and May this year, could fail on the road because of problems with storing and transmitting power, Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Ohmori said. The total of recalled Sony batteries is now about 6.5 million. Even airlines have prohibited the use of Dell and Apple laptops in-flight.
‘Dell 2.0’ To Focus on Customer Satisfaction
Computer manufacturer Dell is to focus on customer satisfaction, which it admitted on Wednesday it "had not done perfectly in the past". The company is investing USD 150m in customer relationships this year, said chairman Michael Dell in New York on Tuesday. He hopes the business plan, called Dell 2.0, will reverse the flagging fortunes of the biggest computer maker in the world. Recent woes have included a poor quarterly earnings report and exploding laptop batteries.
OLPC Screen Is Clever, But Very Odd
"When I first heard about the LCD used in the OLPC project, I was equally intrigued and sceptical. The claimed specifications put it, on paper, well into the league of the best panels available and, if manufactured using conventional technology, would present a major step forward in LCDs, which you would expect to carry a significant price premium."
VIA’s Carbon-Neutral CPU: the C7-D
VIA Technologies announced this morning that the company's new C7-D processor is now available. That wouldn't seem like such a big deal if it weren't for the fact that VIA has also taken the initiative to make this the world's first carbon-free desktop CPU.