Hardware Archive

The 64-Bit Question: Should You Upgrade?

Eugenia Loli 2003-04-29 Hardware 17 Comments

Within the next year, PC makers are expected to start selling a powerful new generation of home computers that run on 64-bit microchips. But consumers might initially find little extra value in these PCs, despite their exponentially more powerful features. Read the rest of the article at Reuters.

NEC Windows Server Wins Speed Test

Eugenia Loli 2003-04-24 Hardware 17 Comments

An NEC server with 32 of Intel's Itanium 2 6M processors and running the Windows Server 2003 takes the top spot in a widely watched performance measurement by displacing a Unix server. NEC is top of the heap right now, but HP has aggressive plans for Itanium. It will release 64-processor Superdome systems initially, then through a technology code-named Hondo that plugs two Itanium processors into a single socket, will sell 128-processor Itanium systems. HP supports three operating systems on its Itanium systems today--Windows, Linux and HP-UX Unix--and will add support for OpenVMS next year.

Call for Beta Testers – SciTech SNAP Graphics for Linux

Guest post by Kendall Bennett 2003-03-29 Hardware 12 Comments

SciTech Software is preparing to release the first version of SciTech SNAP Graphics for Linux to outside beta testers over the coming weeks. If you have an interest and XFree86 based display drivers for your Linux platform and are willing to test out new technology, we would love for you to join our growing Linux beta program! Read more for the rest of the announcement.

PCMCIA Working on Smaller, Cheaper, Faster Card Standard

David Adams 2003-02-24 Hardware 6 Comments

The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association is working on a replacement for its PC Card/Cardbus form factor. In addition to being smaller, faster, and cheaper, the PCMCIA is working with other standards bodies to assure that the new format is compatible with USB 2.0 and PCI Express serial input/output technologies. The new standard is primarily for laptops, but this article in PC World mentions that it is also being intended for desktop use.

SciTech Asks OSNews Readers About Future Support

Submitted by Andrew 2003-02-21 Hardware 67 Comments

Andrew from SciTech writes: "SciTech SNAP Graphics now supports 180 different graphic chipsets. With that said we have been hearing that we now support too many different cards. So OSNews faithful, how many graphics cards should we support and which cards should make the cut in the next release?" And to add to this question, which OSes SciTech should add support for?

Apple Releases New Xserve and Xraid; Sun/AMD Updates

Submitted by Steve Latsch 2003-02-10 Hardware 36 Comments

Continuing their barrage of system upgrades, Apple just released an upgraded XServe in addition to the long awaited Xraid. The Xserve now comes in two configurations: single or dual 1.33 GHz G4 CPU(s), 256MB or 512MB DDR, Firewire 800 and option Fibre Channel support (200mbs). The Xraid features support for up to 2.5 Terabytes of storage (fourteen drive modules) with built-in Fibre Channel support and support fr upt 512mb of cache memory. Prices start at $2799 for the Xserve and $5999 for the Xraid. Also, Sun updated their servers and lowered the prices, while AMD released the Barton 3000+ chip, which according to various benchmarks on the web falls short of its competitor 3 GHz P4.

See This Chip?

Eugenia Loli 2003-02-04 Hardware 16 Comments

It's Intel's most powerful processor ever. It has the ability to take on IBM, sink Sun, make or break HP, and crush or revive AMD. It's keeping every CEO in computing up at night. And it's just getting started. The multibillion-dollar battle between Itanium 2 and its rivals has begun.

Notebooks with Built-in Wireless Becoming More Common

David Adams 2003-01-30 Hardware 28 Comments

According to a PC World article, not only is built-in 802.11b wireless capability becoming the must-have feature for higher-end notebook computers, but vendors are starting to use dual-band chipsets that support both the widespread 802.11b standard and the faster 802.11a. 802.11a operates at 5GHz with maximum throughput of up to 54 mbps, compared to 802.11b's 2.4 GHz/11 mbps.

Goodbye to Ones and Zeros

Eugenia Loli 2003-01-29 Hardware 31 Comments

When National Semiconductor decided to challenge Intel and Advanced Micro Devices in the market for low-end microprocessors in 1997, CEO Brian Halla teased a group of skeptical analysts, saying they probably thought he had been sprinkling testosterone on his corn flakes. Brian Halla predicts a technology transformation in which analog chips displace the zeros and ones at the heart of the binary language used in computing.

Mac and PC, All in One; The Monster Machine

Eugenia Loli 2003-01-15 Hardware 34 Comments

"I love my Mac and I love my PC, but what I don't love is having two monitors, two keyboards, and two mouses. Switching back and forth has become a royal pain. And since Jobs and Gates probably won't be releasing a Mac/PC combo box any time soon, I decided to take matters into my own hands." Read the story at TechTV.

Hitachi Global Unveils 4GB microdrive

Guest post by Kevin Adams 2003-01-06 Hardware 15 Comments

"Newly formed hard disk drive company Hitachi Global Storage Technologies on Monday unveiled plans for a tiny drive that will be used in consumer electronic devices and said it will turn a profit in 2004. Hitachi Global Storage said it plans to sell next fall a 1-inch microdrive that has 4 gigabytes, or 4 billion bytes, of storage space. That compares to the current top of the line microdrive with 1 gigabyte of storage that IBM had made." Read the article at ZDNews.

Supercomputers Set New Goals

Eugenia Loli 2002-12-16 Hardware 9 Comments

By 2010 supercomputers could be carrying out more than 1,000 trillion calculations per second. The ambitious goal has been set by the US Government to help its scientists tackle problems that would otherwise take too long to simulate.

Iyonix Review Part One

Eugenia Loli 2002-12-08 Hardware 25 Comments

Drobe reviews the Iyonix, the machine based on the Intel X-Scale CPU that will run on RiscOS 5.

AMD Places Chips on 64 and Migrating to Itanium

Eugenia Loli 2002-12-02 Hardware 9 Comments

eWEEK Executive Editor/News Michael R. Zimmerman and EiC Eric Lundquist caught up with Ruiz at Comdex in Las Vegas recently for a candid conversation about AMD's challenges, its future and Intel's influence in the market. On another CPU-related interview, HP has the task of migrating its Unix customers running HP-UX on PA-RISC, as well as recently acquired Tru64 Alpha customers from Compaq, over to Intel's Itanium architecture. Making sure this transition happens smoothly in Australia is Steve Williamson who transferred from Compaq and now is business development manager in HP's business critical systems division.

RISC vs. CISC

Submitted by phr0st 2002-11-25 Hardware 39 Comments

AMD has written some things lately, as well as Intel has in the past, pointing out that the difference between RISC and CISC no longer matter (in fact, modern x86 CPUs are largely RISC these days, except the memory interface). That CISC is catching up and surpassing RISC. iGeek looks at the facts.

Soup of CPU News on the Web

Submitted by Nicholas Blachford 2002-10-16 Hardware 19 Comments

"A Brief Look at the PowerPC 970" explains what the new IBM CPU is all about and how does it stand against the x86 competition today, and in a year from now (release time). Another article is titled "When is PowerPC Not PowerPC?". On ExtremeTech you will find "AMD Tips Opteron Benchmarks". Two articles at EETimes, "Intel describes billion-transistor four-core Itanium processor" and "Intel to debut 90-nm 'Banias' processor in 2H '03". Of embedded interest: "MemoryLogix to disclose '586 core' for SoC applications", a CPU to compete with ARM.

Your PC: BIOS Configurations and Upgrades

Eugenia Loli 2002-06-17 Hardware 2 Comments

"PC repair guru Scott Mueller tells you what your computer's BIOS chip is and what it does. Then he teaches you how to know if you need an upgrade, and how to do it." Read the article at InformIT. Free registration required.

Develop Your Own Robotic Applications for the Real World

Submitted by Ian Smith 2002-05-17 Hardware 10 Comments

"As children, many of us watched TV shows like The Jetsons and dreamed about the day we might have our own robot maids, mechanics, and assistants. Evolution Robotics says it's making this happen. The Pasadena, Calif., company has released an operating system designed for the personal-robotics industry and says it hopes to do for that industry what Windows did for the PC. The Evolution Robotics Software Platform contains everything a company needs to develop and program robots, says Jennifer McNally, the company's senior director of marketing. It consists of a robot-control architecture, core software modules, and a set of developer's tools, she says." Read the story at InformationWeek.

Miscellaneous Hardware News

Submitted by Ian Crooks 2002-05-14 Hardware 33 Comments

A lot of interesting hardware-related news lately. First of all, Matrox makes a dynamic come back with its Parhelia512 graphics card and a lot of sites (1, 2, 3, 4) carry the white papers and spec sheets. In the console world, SONY has slashed the prices of PSone ($49) and PS2 ($199), following price cuts by Microsoft on XBOX. However, PS2 remains the No1 console in sales, by far. In the meantime, Intel introduced faster Celerons, based on the Pentium4 core. In fact, these new Celerons are nothing but the older Pentium4 that were selling last year. The newer Pentium 4s have reached a speed of 2.53 Ghz. On the other side of the river, Apple announces a new rack-mount server:

A Closer Look at the i-Mode

Guest post by Mike Bouma 2002-04-21 Hardware 10 Comments

Recently i-mode was unleashed onto the Dutch and German markets. This internet service is hugely popular in Japan, where it connects over 30 million people to the internet through mobile phones. Read more to get to know its features and see two screenshots of the devices.