John G. Spooner

Dell appears poised to spark another PC price war. But analysts say that offering lower prices alone isnt likely to help the worlds largest PC maker end a run of lackluster financials. While Dells decision to use an AMD chip for multiprocessor enterprise systems dominated the headlines, the day after for the PC giant brought […]

Dell, in a company first, is readying multiprocessor servers based on Advanced Micro Devices Opteron chip. The Austin, Texas, PC maker, which has long been an Intel-processor-only shop, said on May 18 that it intends to add the Opteron to its multiprocessor server line—machines that offer four or more processors—before the end of the year. […]

Microsoft, for the first time, is telling PC owners exactly what itll take for them to run its forthcoming Windows Vista operating system. As expected, the software giant on May 18 unveiled its Windows Vista Get Ready Web site, along with a set of minimum PC hardware guidelines for Vista Capable PCs—which call for at […]

Microsoft wants PC owners to be ready for Vista. To that end, the software giant will unveil May 18 a campaign designed to help people ensure their PCs can run the forthcoming operating system. The effort, which comes ahead of the annual WinHec (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference) that in 2006 kicks off in Seattle on […]

Advanced Micro Devices is about to roll out a new line of low-power processors in an effort to encourage a move away from the one-size-fits-all desktop PC. The chip maker on May 16 announced a line of low-power processors for desktop PCs, including 35-watt chips such as a dual-core Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor, as […]

Apple Computers MacBook is back in black. The Cupertino, Calif., computer maker launched the MacBook, a widely expected replacement for its iBook G4 portable computer and a lower-priced companion to its MacBook Pro, on May 16. The MacBook, which appears to take design cues from Apples iPod music player, is the latest Mac to adopt […]

Advanced Micro Devices says its new chip design will boost processor performance without increasing power consumption. The Sunnyvale, Calif., chip maker on May 16 previewed a quad-core processor design the company said it will use to create higher-performing Opteron chips, in addition to boosting some of its other chip lines, during 2007. AMD, which has […]

Chip startup multigig says its got an answer to rising data center power bills. The 12-employee company, which emerged from stealth mode on May 8, has created new processor clock technology that it says can halve power consumption by recycling most of the electricity used to regulate processor clocks. The technology, which Multi-gig is offering […]

Dell and the channel are secretly growing fond of each other. VARs, indifferent to shrinking hardware profit margins and prodded by price-sensitive customers, say they are buying Dell computers for their clients. Meanwhile, resellers said the Round Rock, Texas, PC maker has embraced them by granting them sales support, hardware discounts and visits from account […]

Sun Microsystems is close to announcing an effort designed to preload its Java software on more PCs across the world. The Santa Clara, Calif., computer maker is expected to announce on May 16 at its JavaOne conference a streamlined process for licensing of its Java Platform, Standard Edition or Java SE to PC makers. The […]