Hardware Archive

Start-up’s Goal: Run Software on Any Chip

Adam Scheinberg 2003-07-13 Hardware 27 Comments

"Can Macintosh software run on an Intel machine at speeds that approach the same performance as on Apple hardware, or visa versa? Not yet, but that day may be closer if a Los Gatos start-up gets its product off the ground, and it could have implications for chip makers." Read the rest at siliconvalley.com.

Next-gen SCSI Prototype Shown

Eugenia Loli 2003-06-22 Hardware 22 Comments

Three tech allies demonstrated a new storage technology that they believe will keep a venerable hard drive standard safe from extinction.

The Next Big Thing? Open Peripheral Hardware Connectivity – Part II

Guest post by Jim Kirkley 2003-06-19 Hardware 18 Comments

Recently, an article published in OSNews by Joshua Boyles entitled "The Edge Computing System" captured my attention. This led me to publish my own article entitled "The Next Big Thing? Open Peripheral Hardware Connectivity." I appreciate all the feedback, but I feel that there is still a certain amount of confusion concerning what I was proposing. So, here is a Part II. follow-on article...with some insights that hopefully may flesh things out a bit more.

SciTech Asks OSNews Readers for Feedback on Linux Support

Guest post by Andrew Bloo 2003-06-17 Hardware 33 Comments

The latest "SciTech SNAP Graphics for Linux Beta" now provides plug-and-play support for more than 100 of the most popular chipsets, full 2D acceleration, and is certified by SciTech to be compatible with nearly a dozen different Linux distributions.

The Next Big Thing? Open Peripheral Hardware Connectivity

Guest post by Jim Kirkley 2003-06-12 Hardware 33 Comments

Back on June 9 2003, OSNews posted an article by Joshua Boyles entitled "The Edge Computing System". In that article Joshua lays out his vision, "of a new and very unique computing system". In this new article, an attempt will be made to further build on Jonathan's ideas through what can be termed, "Open Peripheral Hardware Connectivity".

Poll: Vote for the Hardware You Always Desired

Eugenia Loli 2003-06-08 Hardware 116 Comments

Slow day today, so here is another poll to have fun with. Let's see what hardware most geek readers around here desire!

eCosCentric Delivers eCos 2.0

Eugenia Loli 2003-05-20 Hardware 1 Comment

eCosCentric Limited, the eCos and RedBoot experts, working in conjunction with the eCos maintainers, today announced the release of eCos 2.0, the latest version of the eCos real-time operating system.

More to SciTech SNAP than X

Submitted by Andrew 2003-05-13 Hardware 22 Comments

Andrew Bloo from SciTech Software sent us in a clarification to our yesterday's story: "The SciTech SNAP drivers are not actually XFree86 specific at all, but rather the XFree86 driver is just a small module that interfaces to SciTech SNAP. Once SciTech SNAP is installed on the system, developers can actually code directly to the SciTech SNAP API's via the SDK, and bypass X entirely.

Chips Could Crunch at Light Speed

Eugenia Loli 2003-05-05 Hardware 10 Comments

Researchers at IBM have used carbon molecules to emit light, a breakthrough that could replace silicon as the foundation of chips and lead to faster computers and telecommunication equipment. The focus of the research team was ultratiny, tube-shaped carbon molecules, or nanotubes, that are more than 50,000 times thinner than an average human hair, according to a statement from IBM this week.

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.