News Blog

Update at 1:30 p.m. PDT July 3, with additional comments from Micron Technology (at bottom).

Has the image of solid state drives as power misers been shattered? A recent review would seem to dispel the notion that these devices are more power efficient than the hard disk drives used in laptops.

In an article at Tom's Hardware titled "The SSD Power Consumption Hoax", the authors state: "We have discovered that the power savings aren't there: in fact, battery runtimes actually decrease if you use a flash (solid state drive)."

(Note: Tom's Hardware has posted a correction to its original report here.)

One of the key selling points of solid state drives has been that they use less power than hard disk drives. The claim has seemed plausible because solid state drives have no moving parts, while hard disk drives have a number of moving components.

The Tom's Hardware review, however, says: "While conventional hard drives may operate at relatively low power when little movement is required...flash based drives do not. They will draw their maximum power level constantly when in use, and as a consequence, simply spend more total time drawing maximum power than conventional drives."

The review goes on to test four solid state drives (SSDs) from Crucial (Micron Technology), Memoright, Sandisk, and Mtron. For example, in evaluating the Crucial CT32GBFAB0 32GB drive, the review states, "Users who purchase this drive because of Crucial's statements such as 'low power consumption' and the product being ideal for 'users who want longer battery life' will most likely be disappointed."

Though Intel's drives were not tested in the review, the chipmaker stated Wednesday that SSDs "can be architected to improve battery life." Intel is expected to bring out drives ranging in capacity from 80GB to 160GB later this year.

Microsoft on Tuesday announced plans to open a search technology center in Europe as it seeks to bolster its Live Search efforts.

The center is slated to open sometime during Microsoft's next fiscal year, which begins on July 1, and a review of potential sites is under way. The site will be modeled after Microsoft's Search Technology Center in Beijing, China, which opened in 2005.

With these international search centers, Microsoft is looking to dive deep into understanding the consumer search habits, methods, preferences of local residents.

"Searchers have different expectations and experiences in every geography in the world, so we believe it is critical to make deep investments in physical locations in multiple markets to ensure that we're applying the best local expertise to our research and development efforts," Satya Nadella, Microsoft's senior vice president of the Search, Portal and Advertising Group, said in a statement.

Microsoft plans to build on its previous projects in Europe, where it has been working on enterprise search via its $1.2 billion acquisition this year of Fast Search & Transfer SA.

The software giant currently reaches 68 percent of Internet users in Europe via its online assets and display advertising, said Kevin Johnson, Microsoft's Platforms and Services Division president.

Nvidia is now firing back at Intel. The world's largest graphics chip maker has responded to Intel's latest statement on the USB 3.0 specification and said chipset maker SiS has also joined the group of companies at odds with Intel.

There are now four companies vying with Intel--all chipset makers: Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, Via Technologies, and SiS.

And they're moving quickly to establish their own so-called "host controller" specification. "We're moving fast. We've already staffed it internally. We have resources submitted from all of the companies (Nvidia, AMD, Via, and SiS)," said a source from Nvidia who asked to remain anonymous.

A host controller allows computer devices to communicate with the operating system and is a crucial component for implementing USB 3.0 on computer systems.

An Intel spokesperson posted a blog on Wednesday stating Intel's position on the release of the host controller specification related to USB 3.0.

Intel stated emphatically that the host controller is outside the scope of the USB 3.0 specification and that the company is under no obligation to release the specification before it deems the specification ready for release. Moreover, because Intel is giving it away for free, chipset makers shouldn't complain, the blog said.

Nvidia counters that if it doesn't get the specification from Intel in a timely manner--meaning now--the group members will be forced to come up with their own host controller, causing a cascade of potential delays. "Effectively, what will end up happening as this plays out (is) the rest of us launch later. But even though we've developed to the Intel host controller spec, we may not interpret it exactly the same way as Intel has implemented it."

This will lead to further delays, according to Nvidia. "By then, they have become the de facto standard and we have no choice but to go back and respin (redesign) the chip, which then adds another nine months," Nvidia says. "Effectively, Intel is building in two years of green field--of a market where they're the sole provider and they can charge whatever they want for their chipsets."

Nvidia also took exception to this statement by Intel: "Intel is investing heavily (think gazillions of dollars and bazillions of engineering man-hours) in resources to create an Intel host controller spec in order to speed time to market of the USB 3.0 technology."

"I think they're overstating the resources and time required to get to a mature spec," said the Nvidia source.

For years, people have wondered when they would be able to voice a command to a digital device, have it understand the query, and respond with some degree of intelligence. That day still isn't here, but speech-technology companies like Nuance are working on it.

On Tuesday, Nuance, maker of Dragon Naturally Speaking for the desktop, said that it has developed a prototype for voice search on Apple's iPhone. In August, the company plans to start selling a downloadable application for the iPhone that lets them speak a question to the phone to retrieve search results from Google or another search engine, according to Steve Chambers, Nuance's president of mobile and consumer services. Chambers said that Nuance hasn't set a price for the application yet.

The prototype, called open-voice search, demonstrates that with a click of a button, people can ask a question, such as "cholesterol of a cheeseburger?" to call up search results without typing on a keyboard. Nuance's application sends the audio file to the company's servers, transcribes it, and then sends it back to the phone's search box for results. Also, in the course of a person's use, Nuance will create a unique acoustical model that learns how that individual speaks. That way, it can deliver more accurate translations over time.

Up next: Nuance plans to tackle voice dictation for SMS, e-mail, and instant chat messages on the iPhone. And even further out would be voice commands for playing music or map directions.

To work well, that kind of iPhone search would require Apple to license the software--which is Nuance's ultimate goal. But there's no indication that the highly proprietary Apple would turn to an outsider for speech technology. One of these days we'll have speech-recognition software.

Via Technologies is set to go mainstream. On Thursday, Via launched the low-power Nano processor line that will compete with Intel's Atom processor and likely give the chip supplier some mainstream PC street cred.

Via Nano processor

(Credit: Via Technologies)

Formerly referred to by the code name Isaiah, Nano is based on the x86 architecture, meaning it can run the same software as chips from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices.

With Nano, Via is angling for more mainstream notebook and mini-notebook designs such as Hewlett-Packard's 2133 Mini-Note PC, which uses Via's current C7 processor. Low-cost desktops will also be a target market, as will designs with Nvidia's graphics processors.

Nano offers two to four times the performance of Via's current C7 but maintains the same power consumption and can be used in the same circuit board designs as the C7.

"We are plug-compatible with our existing C7," said Glenn Henry, president of Centaur Technology, the Via subsidiary that designed Nano. This means that the chip can be plugged into the same processor socket as the current Via C7 chip.

Nano will have a thermal envelope as low as 5 watts at 1.0GHz. This is higher, however, than Intel's Atom chip which tops out at just 2.5 watts. At the high end, Nano will have a thermal envelope--referred to as the TDP or Thermal Design Power--of 25 watts. (See chart)

One of the principal differences between Nano and Atom is that Intel's chip uses a more simple "in-order execution" design compared to Nano's superscalar, out-of-order design. Because of this more sophisticated design, Nano may deliver better performance than Atom in some cases, claimed Henry.

But Nano may compete with Intel's higher-performance Celeron lines too since Nano is also targeted at low-cost notebooks and desktops.

It is not clear how price competitive Nano will be since Via is not disclosing pricing. The Atom processor ranges in price from $45 (800MHz) to $160 (1.86GHz). While Intel's Celeron M (mobile) processor is listed at $86 and the lower-power version of the Celeron M is listed at $161. Intel's ultra-low-power Core Solo processor starts at $241.

"One is going to be cheaper than they are at equal power. One is going to be faster," Henry said. "That's the C7 and the Nano (respectively). Got 'em surrounded," he added, referring to Intel.

Via Nano processor lineup

(Credit: Via Technologies)

Nano is due to ship in volume in the third quarter.

Initially, the processor is expected to find its way into computers that use circuit boards based on the Mini-ITX design, said Richard Brown, vice president, corporate marketing at Via. The processor will not appear in mainstream notebooks immediately since the lead time for these designs is longer, said Brown.

"Notebooks take a longer time to bring to market even once you got the design win," he said.

The Via C7 processor is currently being used in mainstream notebook designs such as the $398 Everex gBook in addition to the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC.

Via is also planning a dual-core processor but is no hurry to bring it out. "We'll do it when Intel makes us do it," Henry said. "I don't think the devices we're talking about need dual core."

The Nano processor family uses Fujitsu's advanced 65 nanometer manufacturing process and comes in a compact 21mm x 21mm package.

Via Nano architecture highlights:
• 64-bit Superscalar Speculative Out-Of-Order MicroArchitecture
• High-speed, low-power Via V4 Front Side Bus starts at 800MHz
• High-performance floating point unit
• Two 64KB L1 caches and 1MB exclusive L2 cache

Chip designer Via Technologies unveiled its OpenBook Mini-Note reference design on Monday, in a move that throws some open source into its core business of developing chips for mobile devices.

The OpenBook design aims to aid PC makers in creating ultra-small notebooks based on Via's Ultra Mobility Platform. Last year, the company trotted out its Via NanoBook reference design, a prototype designed to compete against rivals in the small-computer market but at a lower cost.

"By making the CAD files of the external panels for the OpenBook available for download, Via has simplified design customization. You can now download these open-source files from the (Via) Web site and individualize the look and feel of your OpenBook devices," Via states.

Via, in providing the source files for download, aims to deliver local Wi-Fi, long-range WiMax, and speedy data delivery via 3G mobile connectivity.

With its Via OpenBook design, the Taiwanese company is hoping to ride potential growth in the mini-notebook market, which currently ranks in the small niche category. But as 3G becomes more pervasive and users become more adept using smaller devices to carryout computing and communications functions, demand for mini-notebooks may rise.

Forget Intel and AMD for a minute. The two largest PC circuit board makers, Asus and Gigabyte, are at it.

The Asus motherboard at the center of the feud

(Credit: Asus)

PC motherboard maker spats have typically taken place below the radar. But a recent round of particularly sharp recriminations have become very visible because they go to the core of a new trend in marketing: How green is your motherboard?

This is what happened: Gigabyte, according to reports, said in Taipei earlier this month that Asus' EPU (energy processing unit)-based motherboards do not achieve the power savings that Asus claims.

In short, Asus claims power savings of just over 80 percent, while Gigabyte claims it is closer to 59 percent.

Gigabyte's attack on Asus alleged that the EPU is purely a marketing term and that Asus did not change the design, firmware, or packaging of the motherboards. Asus returned fire saying its claims were legitimate and threatened legal action, concluding its statement with: "Asus reserves the right to take legal action against any individual, organization or corporation which creates or spreads such rumors."

Seemingly pretty tame stuff by Intel-AMD warfare standards but an issue that has serious implications in the green computing age. Motherboard energy efficiency "is a huge marketing issue as of now," said Wolfgang Gruener of TG Daily that reported on the issue along with Tom's Hardware.

But it does cry out for perspective, according to Dean McCarron, principal at market researcher Mercury Research. Some of the interest in this issue emanates from Web sites that cater to enthusiasts that build their own systems. "The build-your-own crowd...that's a tiny, tiny part of the market...on the order of 1 to 2 percent of all motherboards," McCarron said.

"When you ask how important it is, you have to ask--how important is it to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and systems integrators? There it's becoming of increasing importance," he said. "Dell or HP or Lenovo...You'll see them now offering low-power (models). None of those classifications existed five years ago. So, it's becoming an item of increasing importance over time."

This is true. Dell, for example, says on its business desktop page: "Thanks to Energy Smart technologies, the OptiPlex 755...can save you up to 78 percent on power."

The feud may also have some parallels with Intel-AMD wrangling. As Asus grows in size, McCarron sees other motherboard vendors picking on Asus, the way smaller processor suppliers target (rightly or wrongly) Intel. Asus had sales of $6.9 billion in 2007 and, in addition to motherboards, makes laptops, desktops, servers, graphics cards, mobile telephones, pocket PCs, and a host of computer accessories.

Is the end of the Intel-AMD duopoly nigh? Via Technologies is hoping this may be the case when it announces the "Isaiah" processor later this month.

Via Isaiah processor is targeted at mainstream notebooks and desktops; top: Isaiah processor; bottom: $398 15-inch Everex gBook

(Credit: Via, Wal-Mart)

The company's first high-performance x86 chip will be targeted at the mainstream PC market--another first for the Taipei-based chip supplier. Via processors have historically appeared in ultrasmall mobile devices (such as the OQO), embedded computers, or thin-client computers.

"It puts us into the mainstream market for the first time," said Richard Brown, vice president, corporate marketing at Via.

Isaiah, like Via processors before it, will still hew to the lower-power line, however.

Correction: Isaiah's TDP (Thermal Design Power or power envelope) is not confirmed at this point. However, Glenn Henry, president of Centaur Technology (the Via subsidiary that designed Isaiah), said in a previous interview that Isaiah will consume more power than Intel's Atom processor but "has the same power curve" as Via's existing C7 chip.

One of the main differences between Isaiah and Atom is that Intel's chip uses a more simple "in-order execution" design compared to Isaiah's Superscalar, out-of-order design.

Because of this more sophisticated design, Isaiah may deliver higher performance than Atom, though independent benchmarking will be the final judge. But more to the point, Isaiah may be competing more with Intel's low-end Core 2 or Celeron lines than with Atom in some cases (since Isaiah will be initially targeted at mainstream notebooks and desktops).

Via subsidiary Centaur Technology designed the processor. "Centaur has been working on this for the last three years. It's between two and four times the performance of C7 (Via's current processor). So, it' very, very close to (Intel's) Core 2. Core 2 solo (single core)," Brown said.

The Via C7 processor is currently being used in a design that may herald more Isaiah-based mainstream notebooks. The $398 Everex gBook is being sold at Wal-Mart with a 15-inch screen, a 1.5GHz Via C-7M processor, 512MB of DDR2 system memory, a 60 GB hard disk drive, optical drive, Ethernet, and wireless. It uses the gOS Version 2 operating system, a Linux distribution.

"We're in full agreement with the optimized PC concept," Brown said. An idea put forward by Nvidia's CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, it postulates that a consumer will get better PC price-performance by adding a $50 graphics card rather than a two or three hundred dollar quad-core processor. "You can have a processor like Isaiah matched with a better graphics card," Brown said. "There's opportunity in both desktops and notebooks."

Last month, Via and Nvidia announced a platform billed as the "The World's Most Affordable Vista Premium PC," the sub-$45 processing platform will combine Via's Isaiah processor with an integrated Nvidia graphics chipset.

After years of heated debate and lobbying, the Patent Reform Act of 2007, which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and was scheduled for a Senate vote this session, has been taken off the Senate's calendar. It can be revived, but its momentum has effectively fizzled.

Apparently, the Senate has better things to do with its time.

At this point, I don't wish to rehash the issues of, or my viewpoint on, the Patent Reform Act. Besides, as I've said, both sides in the debate were after only their own self-interests. Such is life in a capitalist society. (I think that's a good thing.)

What does fascinate me, though, are the strange alliances the debate over patent reform created. The Coalition for Patent Fairness--a group of more than 150 high-tech and financial-services companies that included Adobe Systems, Apple, Cisco Systems, eBay, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft, News Corp., Oracle, SAP, Time Warner, and virtually all the big banks--supported and lobbied heavily for the bill.