processors

So, who makes the processor humming under the new BlackBerry PlayBook's hood? That important question was not answered yesterday when RIM announced the 7-inch tablet.

Yesterday, when Research In Motion co-CEO Michael Lazaridis unveiled the BlackBerry PlayBook during the opening keynote event at the DevCon developer conference, the dual-core processor was touted by Lazaridis as a marquee feature. But little else was revealed about what is probably the single most important piece of internal hardware.

Here's what we know about the tablet, due early next year in the U.S.: The PlayBook uses "1 gigahertz dual-core processors that take advantage of built-in symmetric multiprocessing," according to Lazaridis during the keynote speech. In symmetric multiprocessing (SMP), the operating system handles all allocation of threads, or tasks, to the processors. Most current high-level operating systems have built-in support for this mode of operation, according to a description of SMP on ARM's Web site.

That open-ended statement by Lazaridis presents a few possibilities that could fit the bill. Nvidia is shipping a dual-core Tegra processor and Texas Instruments has a dual-core OMAP processor due soon. Both chips--technically referred to as application processors--are based on the ARM Cortex A9 design and support symmetric multiprocessing. And Qualcomm will offer a chipset with a dual-core processor running at up to 1.5GHz next year.

Linely Gwennap, principal analyst, the Linley Group, said the only dual-core 1GHz ARM processor that is in production today is Nvidia's Tegra 2. He also cited TI's OMAP 4, which is due to enter production in Q4 this year as a candidate.

But RIM is a longtime user of application processors from Santa Clara, Calif.-based Marvell Semiconductor.… Read more

Some kitchen tools become indispensable from the moment they are first put to use. From the second they become plugged in, their versatility and convenience become something that is unimaginable to do without. The food processor is one such appliance. Endlessly useful, the one appliance keeps getting better.

The Cuisinart Elite Collection 14-Cup Food Processor is a modern update on the kitchen classic. Featuring a wide assortment of accessories, the food processor is designed for a variety of uses. Included along with the 14-cup work bowl are two additional work bowls: 11-cup and 4.5-cup. Nesting together when not in … Read more

Intel may be opening a can of worms with a pilot program that asks consumers to pay an extra $50 to make a processor, hobbled by design, whole again.

So, here's the deal. Intel is conducting a retail pilot program that introduces desktop PCs with an Intel Pentium G6951 processor that has certain features turned off--namely, part of the cache memory and a function called hyper-threading. Cache memory is critical, very-high-speed memory built into the chip, while hyper-threading allows a processor to use, on some applications, virtual cores, essentially doubling the number of physical processing cores.

If consumers decide (based on an in-store offer from Intel) that they want the extra performance, they pay $50 to unlock those features by either having the retailer (Best Buy, in this case), do the upgrade or downloading code by themselves.

What's the can of worms? In addition to possibly irritating customers by notifying them that they have a hobbled chip, the program spotlights Intel's, otherwise perfectly legitimate, processor marketing strategy. (And I would submit that it doesn't matter how inexpensive the hobbled pilot program processor is, the scheme will still get under consumer's skins.)

First, some background. Though Intel brands the chip as a Pentium (a brand originally introduced back in the early 1990s), certain Pentium processors are in fact based on a cutting-edge design called Westmere, a chip package that contains a 32-nanometer processor core and a 45-nanometer graphics chip.

And the Westmere line includes Intel's best-selling Core i7, i5, and i3 processors. An imperfect though instructive analogy can be made between the pilot program and the Core i3.… Read more

Global PC microprocessor shipments saw a healthy rise in the second quarter, though the outlook is cautious for the third quarter, IDC said.

Worldwide PC microprocessor unit shipments and revenues in the second calendar quarter of 2010 increased 3.6 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively, compared with the first quarter, according to market researcher IDC, in a report released Thursday.

The average sequential change in unit shipments between calendar-year first quarter and second quarter is an increase of 1.6 percent. For revenues, the average sequential change is a decrease of 2.8 percent, IDC said. So, the percentages … Read more

Kitchen countertops have a way of becoming parceled out with areas for specific tasks. Perhaps one area is good for knife work, while another offers a comfortable place to peel vegetables. It is often a matter of available light, counter space, or even access to an outlet, but whatever the reason, it's how we navigate in a familiar kitchen. If you change the landscape that has been forged over countless hours of food preparation, the whole thing can be thrown out of balance. That is, unless the thing doing the upsetting is a food prep appliance that does it … Read more

There is something every kitchen has in common: the need (and hopefully ability) to chop and cut ingredients. While every kitchen has a knife, not all kitchens come equipped with convenience. Given the chance to take the new Ninja Master Prep Professional out for a spin, I jumped at the chance to see how it stacked up.

The Ninja Master Prep Professional is the newest model in the Ninja line. Featuring more blades, increased power, and an additional processing bowl, the do-it-all food processor/chopper/blender aims to be the workhorse of the kitchen. As it says right on the … Read more

AutoBatch It from iRedSoft Technology is a batch image-processing utility consisting of two "modules," one that operates from the command line prompt, and another for timer-based operation that resides in the system tray. The program can save images as JPEG, TIFF, PNG, BMP, and GIF files; add prefixes and suffixes to file names; resize images; and create thumbnails.

AutoBatch It is actually easy to use, even if you don't have much experience with the command prompt. The dialog-based interface has three sections: Image Processing Properties, for setting resizing options; Image Manipulation, which lets you set the interval … Read more

One of the hardest parts about large written projects--academic papers, reports, books, and the like--is keeping large amounts of information organized and accessible. TreePad X Enterprise 12 Gb Single-user combines both word processing and database functions to make it easy to organize--and reorganize--all sorts of written information.

The program's interface is cluttered at first glance, with three rows of buttons across the top. We weren't quite sure how to get started, but a visit to the program's online Quick Start Guide clued us in, and the program quickly started to make sense once we started working with … Read more

Motorola has big plans for its iPhone 4 killer, including a 2Ghz processor. Norton Security is out to defend against Android viruses, but do they exist? What's the deal with the Droid 2, the Droid X, and the HTC Aria? Join Justin Eckhouse along with guest hosts Bonnie Cha and Wilson Tang for a special Android Atlas Weekly from New York.

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