processors

As a lifelong gamer, 3D performance (and by "3D" I mean polygonal, not stereoscopic) in tablets is something of particular interest to me. Over the last couple of years, I've watched mobile devices increase in performance, getting closer and closer to the capabilities of PCs and consoles. Judging by their performance histories, tablet and smartphone 3D performance is likely to exponentially increase over the next few years and we may soon be carrying around devices that are as powerful as an Xbox 360 (or more powerful) right in our pockets.

Futuremark's latest version of its long-running … Read more

A kitchen appliance or gadget that does anything and everything is only useful if it actually gets used. Sure, the device in question may chop, slice, and dice with the best of them, but if for one reason or another it is uncomfortable to the user, then it will end up not being used. Through no fault of its own, the kitchen tool gets shunned and ignored, doomed to live out an unproductive life tucked away in the back of the cupboard. It doesn't have to be this way.

The food processor is a tried-and-true addition to any kitchen … Read more

IBM has come up with a new technique for making the tiny switches and memory cells at the heart of computer chips: a drop of ionic liquid.

The technique converts a metal oxide on a computer chip from a conducting to an insulating state and back again, a transition that, using a different approach, is at the heart of conventional semiconductor chips today. Insulators don't conduct electricity and conductors do, so changing a material's state is instrumental to how it performs the logical operations of computer processing.

Today's semiconductor chips work by applying electrical voltage to a &… Read more

Busy place, the kitchen. Fast-moving knives and quick-rising heat abound. Blink and it could mean the difference between delicious and destroyed. That's OK; it is part of what makes cooking fun. The puzzle that is the meal to be comes together a piece at a time. Layers build upon each other, creating towers of flavorful food that may not literally reach for the sky, but does have the ability to send our taste buds into orbit. All it requires is a little planning. And prep work.

As far as food-prep tools go, the food processor has to be one … Read more

Apple and its manufacturing partner are readying the next-generation processor expected to land in future iPhones and iPads.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, is expected to tape out -- one of the final steps before manufacturing -- Apple's A7 chip this month, according to a report in Digitimes.

That will set the stage for pilot production by TSMC this summer and commercial production by the first quarter of 2014.

The A7 will use TSMC's future 20-nanometer manufacturing process -- which isn't expected to be ready until 2014.

Apple, in fact, is designing products now based on … Read more

Back in February I first posed the question, "Do separate components sound better than AV receivers?" when I checked out the Outlaw Audio 975 surround processor and 7125 power amp and compared their sound with a Denon AVR-1912 AV receiver. The Outlaws handily trumped the receiver.

I ran another comparison with the Denon, this time with the Emotiva UMC-200 seven-channel surround processor ($599) and UPA-500 five-channel amplifier ($399). If you just go by the numbers, the AVR-1912's 90 watts per channel might appear to be slightly ahead of the Emotiva UPA-500 amp, which has 80 watts per … Read more

Intel might be trying to line up Apple's chip production, according to a new report.

The companies over the past year have been in talks for Apple to move its mobile chip production from Samsung to Intel, Reuters is reporting today, citing people who have knowledge of their discussions. So far, however, Intel and Apple have been unable to reach an accord.

CNET previously reported that Apple and Intel have been talking about a foundry relationship.

That Apple and Intel have talked boosts a claim made last week to Reuters by Intel custom foundry vice president and general manager … Read more

Every kitchen needs a set of tools. Sometimes, that just means a bowl or plate and the microwave. (An eating utensil might come in handy, too.) Other times, it seems that meal preparation requires every kitchen tool in the house. In any event, to keep things mixing, chopping, slicing and blending smoothly, it's important to have the right tool for the job. Or in this case, all of the tools.

The Breville All-In-One Immersion Blender and Food Processor ($199) combines the versatility of a food processor with the convenience of a stick blender. An evolution from Breville's Control Grip … Read more

Qualcomm today announced a pair of new mobile processors designed for entry-level and mid-range smartphones. Expected in handsets later this year, the Snapdragon 200 and 400 balance the high-end 600 and 800 processors introduced in January.

As the model number suggests, the Snapdragon 200 is the lower-tier processor that provides a balance of value and performance as well as improved battery life. Details include a quad-core ARM Cortex A5 with up to 1.4GHz per core, an Adreno 203 GPU, and support for HD video playback, dual SIM cards, and up to 8 megapixels in the camera.

The mid-range Snapdragon … Read more