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| Top Stories for October 5, 2001 (details below) | |
| Business Week | Should Intel Stick to its Day Job? |
| ZDNet News | Intel goes face to face with ServerWorks |
| VNU Net | Transmeta targets embedded devices |
| Electronic News | Chipworks Details Intel's Copper P3 |
| Truths...from the rumor mill | |
| The Inquirer | Intel warns of black screen of death |
| The Inquirer | Via September sales falter |
| The Inquirer | Intel to Via as hammer to tongs |
| The Inquirer | Intella shuffles up on Brookdale-G? |
| The Inquirer | More details leak of AthlonXP, MP |
| The Register | AMD confirms QuantiSpeed marchitecture slogan |
| Microprocessor
Headline News Collected By Robert R. Collins |
Week of September 30, 2001 |
Older News |
| October 5, 2001 | |
Should Intel Stick to its Day Job?October 4, 2001 |
Declining profits have investors wondering if the company
would be better off curtailing its venture-capital investments When Intel Corp. announces third-quarter earnings on Oct. 16, losses on its venture-capital investments are likely to take a big bite from its bottom line. Over the past 10 years, Intel has pocketed net gains of $4 billion from the portfolio run by its Intel Capital unit, which invested in the likes of BlackBerry pager maker Research In Motion, Red Hat Software, and incubator CMGI. But shortly before the September 11 terrorist attack, Intel warned that VC losses were mounting and would exceed interest income in the third quarter. The losses, the first since the chipmaker began disclosing VC results in the fall of 1999, could well drain $200 million from the parent's pretax operating income. |
Intel goes face to face with ServerWorksBy Stephen Shankland October 4, 2001 |
ServerWorks, a Broadcom subsidiary that manufactures chips
that connect CPUs to everything else in a server, faces its
first real competition in years from Intel, but the company
says Intel is no threat. ServerWorks is both a competitor and a partner with Intel. On the one hand, ServerWorks' chipsets compete with Intel's own designs. But on the other hand, ServerWorks' mission is to enable better Intel servers, and selling CPUs is more important to Intel than selling chipsets. |
Transmeta targets embedded devicesBy John Geralds October 4, 2001 |
Transmeta has confirmed that it will target its
next-generation low-power Crusoe processor at embedded
computing devices to help it build up volume. The company said it is firming up product plans and finalising its evaluation processes and benchmarking. The growth of embedded computing and communications devices is based on the evolution of faster and cheaper processors and the need for intelligent real-time communication devices. |
Chipworks Details Intel's Copper P3October 4, 2001 |
Technical details of Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel Corp.’s
Pentium III processor on 0.13-micron copper process technology
are beginning to emerge. Reverse engineering company Chipworks Inc. today said Intel has re-launched the device a year out, changing its architecture from the 0.18-micron manufacturing process to 0.13-micron technology utilizing copper metalization. "The Intel 0.13-micron all copper interconnect process is reported to consume up to 40 percent less power and is up to 20 percent faster than the previous 0.18-micron process," said Dave York, Chipworks’ manager of process analysis, in a statement. |
| Truths...from the rumor mill | |
Intel warns of black screen of deathBy Doctor Spannerola October 4, 2001 |
CHIP GIANT INTEL has warned of a problem using its Active
Monitor and the ATA storage driver, version 6.10 and above,
when installed on a P4 system running Windows 2000. In an urgent note to its customers, it said that an "intermittent black screen" which means the system will not post, can occur when a machine is switched on. Intel claims the problem is a timing issue with the SM Bus driver in the Intel Active Monitor. |
Via September sales falterBy Mike Magee October 3, 2001 |
VIA CHIPSET, CPU and associated semiconductor sales plunged by
over 25 per cent in September compared with the same month
last year. The firm posted net sales of $75,268,000 for September 2001 compared to net sales of $102,483,000 last year. But Via said that on a sequential basis its sales from January to September increased by 14.72 per cent compared to the same months in 2000. |
Intel to Via as hammer to tongsBy the Wild Wibbly Webbler October 4, 2001 |
THERE'S AN INTERESTING exchange over at Digit-Life which
explores the current litigation between La Intella (Intel) and
Marmosetzilla (Via). What's interesting here is that it appears to be conducted as a three way conversation. Lots of meat and argy-bargy, Via appears to be relying on its Cyrix patent portfolio rather than anything picked up via S3-Exponential - read it for yourself. |
Intella shuffles up on Brookdale-G?By Mike Magee October 4, 2001 |
A REPORT ON THE Digitimes wire claimed that Brookdale-G - the
graphics integrated version of the firm's 845 chipset, will
now be released in quarter two of next year rather than
quarter three. That, according to the report, is a kneejerk response to chipsets planned by both Via and SiS, both of which are set to ship integrated Pentium 4 chipsets any time now. Our information is that Intella has actually recruited ALi to help it get the Brookdale-G out of the door faster than it originally planned. |
More details leak of AthlonXP, MPBy Mike Magee October 4, 2001 |
AS WE REPORTED earlier, the official date for the introduction
of AMD's Athlon XP is October 8/9. And, as we also reported early, AMD will follow this announcement up on October the 15th and 16th with the introduction of Athlon MP processors at 1.4GHz and 1.53GHz. Nor has AMD stopped its wilful price cutting, and despite this being the worst ever period of selling chips, it will once more tweak La Intella's beard by dropping prices on October the 25th/26th next. |
AMD confirms QuantiSpeed marchitecture sloganBy Tony Smith October 4, 2001 |
We can confirm AMD's attempt to prevent punters from assuming
that its chips are much slower than Intel's because its Athlon
XP clock speeds are rather lower than Pentium 4 megahertz
ratings will indeed be called QuantiSpeed. Don't take our word for it, take's AMD's. The company has registered QuantiSpeed as trademark, and lists the name on its Web site as one of its many words it owns. This dire example of marchitecture - the way some IT companies try to disguise empty marketing slogans as real technology - will be unveiled next Tuesday (9 October) when AMD launches its Athlon XP processor, the long-awaited successor to the current desktop Athlon based on the Palomino core that also powers the mobile Athlon 4 and the server-oriented Athlon MP. |
| October 3, 2001 | |
Via cuts fiscal outlook on weak PC demandBy Faith Hung October 2, 2001 |
Via Technologies Inc. has cut its fiscal 2001 earnings and
sales forecast as the PC industry remains in the doldrums
following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Via, a major competitor of Intel Corp. in the area of PC chipsets, reduced its full-year pretax profit target by 37.8% to $152.4 million. Sales forecast fell to $985.5 million, 24.4% less than projection made in April, according to a company statement today. |
Intel unveils new graphics core, low-power processorsBy Jack Robertson October 1, 2001 |
Intel today will introduce its first new graphics core in
years in two versions of the 830 chipset for the company's new
Tualatin Pentium III-M processor line. The Santa Clara, Calif., chipmaker disclosed during the Intel Developer Forum in August that it had developed a new graphics technology to succeed its aging 752 core. The official launch includes an 830M version that is said to boost performance 118% higher than the existing 815 integrated graphics chipset, and an 830MHG chipset positioned for the value segment that Intel claims is 68% faster than the 815. Intel developed the new core itself rather than partner with another graphics chip designer. |
Transmeta goes after non-PC chip marketBy Michael Kanellos October 2, 2001 |
Transmeta has begun marketing its Crusoe processor to
manufacturers of networking equipment, printers and other
"embedded" applications in an effort to achieve critical mass. "By this time next year, it could equal the notebook market," Mark Allen, Transmeta's CEO, said of the company's prospects in the market for embedded chips. "They are firming up product plans. They are still going through the evaluation process and benchmarking." |
New Duron kicks off AMD chip paradeBy Michael Kanellos October 1, 2001 |
Advanced Micro Devices is getting October off to a start by
releasing a series of processors for desktop PCs. On Monday, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chipmaker announced a 1.1GHz Duron processor for the value segment of the PC market. As earlier reported, the chip matches the clock speed of Intel's 1.1GHz Celeron, but benchmark testers have stated that the Duron could be a better overall value. The AMD chip will be priced at $103 in quantities of 1,000. Systems based on the chip should be available in the fourth quarter, the company said. |
| October 1, 2001 | |
Intel prompts notebook makers to lighten upBy John G. Spooner September 30, 2001 |
Intel wants to help popularize the ultra-portable laptop. To that end, the chipmaker will launch five new low-power Pentium III-M chips Monday. They include low-voltage chips at 733MHz and 750MHz, two at 800MHz, and an ultra-low-voltage 700MHz model. The Pentium III-M, which uses Intel's new 130-nanometer (0.13-micron) manufacturing process, was introduced in late July. |
PC makers think small with new laptopsBy John G. Spooner September 28, 2001 |
PC makers will launch a huge wave of tiny notebooks in coming
weeks, using new Intel chips. Compaq Computer will be among the first when it ships its tiniest notebook yet, the Evo N200, in mid-October. The new 2.5-pound mini-notebook will follow by a couple of weeks the launch of a new low-power Pentium III-M chip expected from Intel next week, sources familiar with Compaq's plans said. |
Intel rolls out 12 new processors in move to corner mobile marketBy Mark LaPedus September 30, 2001 |
In an attempt to corner the mobile microprocessor market,
Intel Corp. here today announced 12 new central processing
units for notebook PC systems, including the world's fastest
product for this segment to date. The new product launch is aimed to expand Intel's market share lead in the four major and separate mobile PC segments: mainstream, thin-and-light, mini-notebooks, and sub-notebooks/tablet PCs, according to analysts. It is also geared to fend off competitive threats from its processor rivals, most notably Advanced Micro Devices, Transmeta, and Via. |
AMD boosts Duron; Athlon nextBy Michael Kanellos September 30, 2001 |
Advanced Micro Devices will begin October by releasing a
series of processors for desktop PCs. On Monday, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chipmaker will usher in a 1.1GHz Duron processor for the value segment of the PC market. The chip will match the speed of Intel's 1.1GHz Celeron, but benchmark testers have stated that the Duron could be a better overall value. |
Despite recent setbacks, AMD remains a viable competitorBy Bruce Gain September 28, 2001 |
The timing couldn't have been worse: Less than 24 hours after
it confirmed that PC maker Gateway Inc. would no longer use
its processors, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. this week
announced it will close two factories and lay off 15% of its
workforce. At first blush, it looked as if AMD was taking drastic measures to offset its third major design loss in a few weeks. But according to observers -- including some of AMD's toughest critics -- the company remains well positioned to continue gaining microprocessor market share against rival Intel Corp. |
| Truths...from the rumor mill | |
Intel action clobbers Taiwan stock marketBy Andrew Thomas September 28, 2001 |
Stock prices in Taiwan have fallen by 4.5 per cent following
Intel's legal action against VIA, reports Bloomberg. VIA fell
NT$4 to NT$85 earlier today following Intel claims that the
company had infringed a number of its Pentium 4 patents. The TAIEX dropped by 1.6 percent, to 3567.63, after recovering from an earlier fall of 2.2 percent. Trading volumes were down to just 44 per cent of normal. Stocks also fell due to concern that the US, the island's biggest export market, is moving into recession. |
AMD Palominos to ship 9 OctoberBy Robert Blincoe September 28, 2001 |
AMD's Palomino processors will launch on 9 October. Now called the Athlon XP, it will come in 4 speeds - the XP 1500 plus, XP 1600 plus, XP 1700 plus and XP 1800 plus. Prices to OEMs are $115, $124, $152 and $210 respectively, but may vary depending on volume. |
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