Chips

Texas Instruments has a new OMAP chip to set upon the world, and this time around it's eyeing more than mobile phones.

The new OMAP3440 made its debut in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress 2008. This is the latest in TI's line of OMAP applications processors, which are the equivalent of the CPUs inside PCs.

TI sells standalone applications processors like the 3440 to customers such as Nokia for use in high-end smartphones, but it is also talking up the potential for the 3440 as a chip for Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs). That's Intel's name for … Read more

I finally got my hands on a MacBook Air. Though I'm sure I'm repeating what some others have said already, I needed to state one thing before I do a more extensive evaluation: this unbelievably thin notebook is rock solid.

NOTE: This is not an official CNET review. And is not by any means a full review. Just a quick first-look. Official CNET product review is here.

One of the concerns I had--and I'm sure I'm not alone--is whether a notebook this thin will be flimsy and overly delicate. The answer is a resounding no. It … Read more

Let the quad-core competition begin. The arrival of consumer systems based on AMD's quad-core Phenom processor at retail stores will finally bring much-needed four-core rivalry to the high-end PC segment, where, until January, there was only one choice: Intel. Gateway Computer's Phenom-based models had a widely publicized debut at Best Buy this week, making the Irvine, CA-based company the second major U.S. PC vendor after Hewlett-Packard (HP) to adopt the Phenom processor. Earlier in January, Wal-Mart began selling the HP Phenom-based Pavilion M8330F desktop (which, according to Wal-Mart's Web site, is now out of stock).

Gateway'… Read more

Mike Magee, who founded two of the cheekiest-yet-influential technology news sites ever to grace the Internet, plans to leave The Inquirer in February.

If you're not in the chip industry, or if you've never written about it, you might not know Magee. But Intel and AMD executives, all the way to the top, are all too familiar with his work covering their industries over the past decade in classic British tabloid style. Magee confirmed his plans to leave via e-mail, saying he wanted "to try something a little different."

Both The Inquirer and The Register, Magee'… Read more

Given that the point of Windows Home Server is to allow you to store your media files, a bug in the storage process that could result in corrupted files is bound to get attention.

Microsoft has issued a support document for the 13 or so (just kidding) people using Windows Home Server, the company's latest product for those attempting to build the digital home of the future. Apparently there's a flaw in the way Windows Home Server works with certain Microsoft applications, such as Windows Vista Photo Gallery, that could result in corrupted files if you use those … Read more

AMD will be forced to delay the ramp of its Barcelona server processor after running into a bug, the company has confirmed.

Barcelona, AMD's first quad-core processor for servers, is shipping to some customers in the high-performance computing market. But the company had hoped to start shipping it to a wider variety of customers this month, as well as introduce a faster model that could better compete with Intel's latest Penryn chips.

Unfortunately for AMD, that's going to have to wait, according to a company spokesman. The Tech Report has an excellent description of the problem that … Read more

The first major fruits of Advanced Micro Devices' acquisition of ATI Technologies are ready for the public just as the market for those products is going through some profound changes.

Spider will be AMD's first "platform" product when it makes its expected debut Monday. It is designed for desktop PCs, and the entire Spider package comes with a new processor, AMD's quad-core Phenom chip, the new 7-series chipsets, and new graphics chips.

The two Phenom processors launching Monday are essentially desktop versions of AMD's Barcelona quad-core processors. They're designed for the upper half of … Read more

The state of the PC gaming industry is fine. Just ask any executive whose business depends on PC gaming.

Representatives from Nvidia, Intel, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, and Crytek held a combination political rally/pep talk for the PC gaming industry Friday at Nvidia's GeForce LAN 4 event in Alameda, Calif. The audience--several hundred rabid PC gamers with plans to spend the entire weekend playing Crysis--cheered the panelists as they reassured attendees that all was well in the PC gaming world.

The runaway success of gaming consoles like Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii, and Sony's PlayStation 3 … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--AMD CEO Hector Ruiz devoted his opening keynote spot Monday morning to educating thousands of corporate technology types on the technology challenges facing the gaming, sports, and movie-making industries.

The 42,000 attendees at the Oracle OpenWorld show probably weren't expecting to hear about how Electronic Arts needs more technology to support online gaming. Or how Major League Baseball is buying servers to support the growth of MLB.com. But that's what they got in a presentation from Ruiz that only mentioned Oracle a handful of times, but spent plenty of time with AMD partners EA, MLB, … Read more