John G. Spooner

Intel is about to deliver the opening salvo in a wave of multicore processors that could ultimately lead to chips with scores of cores. The chip maker will begin the rollout of its Core Microarchitecture—new chip circuitry that emphasizes power efficiency—June 26 with the arrival of the dual-core “Woodcrest” Xeon 5100-series server chip. But Intel […]

Intel is about to deliver the opening salvo in a wave of multicore processors that could ultimately lead to chips with scores of cores aboard. The chip maker will begin the rollout of its Core Microarchitecture—new chip circuitry that emphasizes power efficiency—June 26 with the arrival of the dual-core “Woodcrest” Xeon 5100 series server chip. […]

The PC markets outlook is improving, a new report says. IDC has raised its forecasts for shipment growth in 2006, 2007 and 2008 following a first-quarter 2006 that topped expectations. The improved outlook for 2006 comes thanks to notebooks continued strength and despite the combination of delays with broad availability of Microsofts Windows Vista operating […]

Dell is still hungry for more. Kevin Rollins, CEO of the worlds largest PC manufacturer, said Dell is going through a shake-up—something he said seems to happen every four or five years at the company—but that it will emerge stronger than ever. The Round Rock, Texas, PC maker has faced a series of problems of […]

Intel may have found its transistor of the future. The companys researchers feel that the combination of a three-dimensional or tri-gate transistor, which combines the use of advanced materials and manufacturing techniques, could be the answer to delivering future chips that are both speedy and energy efficient processors, Intel researchers said in a presentation at […]

Intel is upping its commitment to lowering server power. The chip maker on June 6 disclosed to analysts plans to launch its dual-core “Woodcrest” Xeon DP 5000 series processor on June 26 and to pull the introduction of its “Tulsa” Xeon MP ahead by a quarter, while also delivering lower-power versions of that chip. The […]

Headline-making data losses may someday be a thing of the past, thanks to widespread use of data encryption, hard drive makers hope. The Trusted Computing Groups Storage Work Group—whose membership includes representatives from hard drive, tape drive and optical drive manufacturers—is readying a hardware-based data encryption technology standard it says will allow hard drive makers […]

Intel wants its forthcoming Core 2 Duo desktop chips to be very popular. To that end, the chip maker will aim the dual-core chips, due to start shipping in July, at desktops priced under $1,000, versus restricting them to more expensive hardware. Although those looking for extra performance or exclusivity will be able to purchase […]

Hewlett-Packard is offering small and midsize businesses a two-for-one deal by introducing a new notebook PC based on Advanced Micro Devices dual-core Turion processor. The computer maker on June 6 unveiled its HP Compaq Business Notebook nx6325, which incorporates AMDs new Turion 64 X2 processor. The chip, unveiled on May 17, is the first AMD […]

Microsoft is making it much more difficult to access and steal a businesss vital data from one of its PCs. The company will deliver BitLocker, a hard drive encryption tool, as part of its forthcoming Windows Vista operating system. BitLocker, which will come with Windows Vista Enterprise and Ultimate editions, can be used to encrypt […]

A company executives recent statement that Lenovo Group would no longer support Linux on its ThinkPad line sparked disapproval among aficionados of the operating system. However, the PC maker, whose ThinkPad notebooks are said to be popular among Linux enthusiasts, said June 5 that it would not only continue to support Linux, but that it […]

Intel may sell off two communications processor product lines, exiting a major portion of its communications chip business, a published report says. A San Jose Mercury News report says the chip maker has been shopping a package consisting of its xScale processor and IXP network processor lines to prospective buyers. Intels xScale is best-known for […]