Hardware Archive

Floating point provides a convenient, approximate representation of real numbers that can greatly simplify scientific and engineering algorithms. This article gives an overview of two floating point formats used in the z990 architecture and discusses key FPU issues that system architects should consider in new designs.

What happens when two coalitions within a standard come into conflict, and it doesn't get resolved quickly? The ultrawideband technology standard shows you.

Designed for the PlayStation 3, Sony, Toshiba and IBM's new "Cell processor" promises seemingly obscene computing capabilities for what will rapidly become a very low price. In this 5-part article you can look at what the Cell architecture is, look at the profound implications this new chip has, not for the games market, but for the entire computer industry. Has the PC finally met it's match?

Maybe you all know the old joke about the definition of a workstation: A trainstation is where a train stops, a bus station is where a bus stops, so a workstation ... In this article I will try to define the workstation market, the current models, what they are used for and some thoughts about their future.

ServerWatch: Vast marketing budgets from the likes of Dell, Microsoft, and IBM ensure the behemoths take much of the server limelight, leaving high-performance computing (HPC) niche players, such as NEC and Bull, to receive scant coverage. Even a company like HP, which spends as much on marketing and public relations as a small country's GDP, hardly seems to give its AlphaServer line more than a mention. Yet, these platforms have a lot to offer and shouldn't be automatically bypassed. Read part one...

While many programs can obtain acceptable performance by simply letting the processor manage its own caching, programs with special requirements may obtain dramatically improved performance by giving the processor explicit instructions and manipulating the cache directly. More typically, boot firmware may need to flush and enable the cache.

The microprocessor changed the world: how did we get from the first 4-bit models in the 1970s to today's 64-bit multicore monsters? This article covers the history of the micro from the vacuum tube to today's dual-core multithreaded madnes.

Major electronics companies have come together to form a new standards body focused on Power Architecture technology. Power.org will create and promote a family of standards, reference designs, and more. Here's a developer's-eye view of the future and implications for Power Architecture standardization.

Bob Gezelter writes: On December 16th, an article was posted on OSNews that stated, in effect, that HP was "Exiting Itanium". A careful review of the facts suggests that this press report was based upon an incomplete understanding of the HP-Intel arrangememnts. I have just published an article on OpenVMS.org, based directly on public published information, containing a more complete reprise of this week's announcements. Update: HP will be investing $3 billion on its Itanium-based server line.