| November 6, 1998 |
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By: David K. Every
Small Dog Electronics
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Both KNI and AltiVec are SIMD (Single
Instruction, Multiple Data) implementations, or they are
also called (short) Vector Processors. What they do is to
allow a single instruction to work with multiple pieces
of data at once (instead of one at a time), so they can
do 8 things (or sometimes as much as 32 things) at once.
Each piece of data, or path through an instruction, is
called a vector. If you still don't understand the
basics of SIMD or Vector Processing (what MMX, KNI, and
AltiVec are), then read What is AltiVec or the older
MMX/VMX (from before the specifics of AltiVec were
known). They can give you a pretty good understanding of
SIMD and design decisions and tradeoffs.
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November 5, 1998
Semiconductor Business News
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Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has
completed development of a144-megabit Rambus DRAM Direct
componentand 144-megabyte Rambus In-line Memory Module,
providing twice the capacity and all the same functions
as the 72-megabit Rambus it announced in July. The
South Korean memory maker said it expects to begin
producing 100,000 of the devices a month beginning early
next year and plans, and up to 1 million units in the
third quarter.
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| November 5, 1998 |
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November 5, 1998
Insanely-Great
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After Intel's Andy Grove made glowing
comments about Apple's iMac, Intel appears to be
following in Apple's footsteps. The Pentium chipmaker
providing chips for a majority of PCs sold worldwide,
Intel recently built a "concept" PC to
demonstrate its own vision of the future. Intel added
when demonstrating the concept PC that they were not
getting into the PC-making business but wanted to show
off their ideas. |
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By Michael Kanellos
November 4, 1998
C/Net
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Intel is out to convince people that it
can make computing attractive and easy too--an elusive
goal in the PC industry. The chip giant this week is
showing off prototypes of modular computers, most notably
the ziggurat-shaped "Aztec," in an effort to
promote how the company plans to better integrate
technology into the home.
The prototypes seem to clearly take their cue from
Apple Computer's iMac, which was the third highest
selling computer in retail outlets for the month of
September, according to analyst reports.
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| November 4, 1998 |
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October 3, 1998
Semiconductor Business News
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Advanced Micro Devices Tuesday
introduced a new K6 microprocessor for embedded system
designs needing compatibility with x86-based desktop PCs.
AMD said its AMD-K6E processor is designed to run both
16- and 32-bit software. It supports x86 operating
systems, including the Windows CE, Windows 95, and
Windows 98 operating systems and applications that run on
them. The 8.8-million transistor chip also contains the
industry standard MMX instruction set and is designed for
the Socket 7 infrastructure.
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| November 3, 1998 |
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By Carmen Nobel
November 2, 1998
PC Week Online
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They're at it again. IBM,
Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp., the three
rival systems makers that developed the PCI-X
specification for faster server I/O, are now developing
an even faster switched-fabric-based I/O that could
challenge a similar Intel Corp. project. The Future I/O
switched fabric will double the sustained I/O speed of
PCI and scale better than any PCI architecture, IBM
officials said.
The new architecture will likely be available in
servers in late 2000, about a year after the PCI-X
architecture, said Tom Bradicich, director of server
architecture and technology at IBM, in Research Triangle
Park, N.C.
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By Andrew MacLellan
November 2, 1998
Electronic Buyers' News
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Intel Corp.'s $500 million investment in
Micron Technology Inc.-and the Boise, Idaho, company's
subsequent capitulation to the Direct Rambus DRAM
camp-could trigger a royalty windfall for technology
architect Rambus Inc. Having taken the king's shilling,
Micron will do the king's bidding and accelerate its
ramp-up of Direct RDRAM into next year's PC market. The
investment will allow Micron to fulfill its
capital-investment agenda and will likely guarantee that
a few million more Rambus chips hit the street in 1999.
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| November 2, 1998 |
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By Mark Hachman
October 30, 1998
Electronic Buyers' News
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Although PC OEMs can't be certain what
they'll find in their stockings this Christmas, the 1999
release date of Intel Corp.'s Katmai processor should put
to rest one ghost from Christmas Past. Third-quarter
earnings from PC and chip companies alike indicate a
strong seasonal growth pattern, bolstered by a sudden
unexpected boost in demand (see story on page 20). As a
result, industry executives and analysts don't expect
holiday buyers to delay their PC purchases until
Katmai-based machines are available next spring.
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By Mark Hachman
October 30, 1998
Electronic Buyers' News
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An Intel Corp. spokesman has said that
Craig Barrett, president and chief executive of Intel
Corp., will match wits with Bill Maher in a spoof of the
“Politically Incorrect” TV show Tuesday,
November 17th at Las Vegas' Comdex trade show. The
“Technically Incorrect” panel will feature Penn
Gillette, the vocal half of magician duo Penn &
Teller; Bill Nye, “The Science Guy”; and
industry pundit Esther Dyson in debating and berating a
variety of high-tech topics.
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November 2, 1998
Semiconductor Business News
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STMicroelectronics here today said it
was working with Microsoft Corp. to support its STPC
series of PC-on-a-chip products with Windows CE operating
system software. For a couple of years, St. Genis,
France-based ST has been pursuing embedded x86-based
solutions offering highly integrated ICs with 486 cores.
The latest to be introduced is aimed at industrial and
commercial systems (see Oct. 26 story).
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See Related
Stories ST
rolls out its latest PC-on-chip for industrial, embedded
applications
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By Linley Gwennap
October 26, 1998
Microprocessor Report
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Buying a technology company is tricky:
the key assets go out the door every night, and you never
know if they will all walk in again the next morning.
Digital's fate provides a good example. After Compaq and
Intel carved up Digital like a Thanksgiving turkey last
year, both felt satisfied with their portions. But like
giblets that fell on the floor, the CPU designers who
walked out on their new employers may turn out to have
been the best parts of the bird. Digital has been
bleeding CPU designers (as well as many other employees)
for the past few years as the company spiraled down
toward its ultimate demise. The pace accelerated with
last November's announcement that Intel would purchase
some of Digital's assets (see MPR 11/17/97, p. 1). As a
result, the Alpha and StrongArm teams suffered
significant losses.
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By Pete Sherriff
October 30, 1998
The Register
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The Great Satan of Chips has lured Homer
Simpson into one of its secret skunk operations and will
"upgrade" his brain, the company said today. Simpson,
who has in the past criticised both Intel and Microsoft,
is to receive the ultimate insult to his IQ.
This is all very intriguing. At the Intel Developer
Forum some weeks ago, which The
Register attended, a very senior Intel architect said
that even given Moore's Law, Intel chips will not be able
to deliver the power of the brain of a bumble-bee by the
year 2012.
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