Boeing rolls out the 787 Dreamliner
Boeing rolls out the 787 Dreamliner (here). Yup, that's the airplane I want.
Often missed in the news coverage is that Boeing has yet to announce exactly how the 787's composite structures-- skin, wings, tail, etc.-- are made. Early in the project there were some very definite rumors that Boeing had decided to go with a new kind of carbon-titanium composite made from layers of carbon fibers alternating with layers of titanium foil. The combination was said to have more fatigue resistance and a longer service life.
But as far as I know, Boeing has never addressed these rumors. The company said the 787 is 50% "composite materials" (usually meaning carbon or fiberglass plus a resin binder) by weight, 20% aluminum, 15% titanium, 10% steel, and 5% "other." But what parts are made of what material? I'm looking forward to finding out.
In other news, AMD announced price cuts (here) for its desktop processors. All dual-core Athlon 64 parts are under $200; the Athlon 64 FX chips a priced at $599 for two. Single-core chips go for $31 to $79. These cuts keep AMD's prices well under Intel's, and presumably make room for the arrival of the quad-core Barcelona next month.
Peter N. Glaskowsky is a computer architect in Silicon Valley and a technology analyst for the Envisioneering Group. He has designed chip- and board-level products in the defense and computer industries, managed design teams, and served as editor in chief of the industry newsletter "Microprocessor Report." He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. 
