Intel to pay RM5bil to nVidia in patent settlement

SAN FRANCISCO: Intel Corp is paying US$1.5bil (RM5bil) to end a fight it started with nVidia Corp over a key computer technology.

The legal battle centered on nVidia's ability to make "chipsets" that are compatible with Intel's latest processors - a fight that has implications for many of the world's computer users, since Intel and nVidia chips are ubiquitous.

nVidia is a top maker of graphics chips. Intel is the leader in microprocessors, the "brains" of personal computers. Both companies also made chipsets, which are used to help both types of chips talk to each other, among other jobs.

Intel sued nVidia in February 2009, alleging that nVidia would need to pony up for a new licence to make chipsets that are compatible with Intel's latest processors. nVidia countersued, arguing that a licence it has had in place since 2004 is sufficient.

Both sides had a lot at stake. Intel needed the patent deal for access to nVidia's graphics technologies. nVidia needed it because without the ability to talk to Intel's processors, nVidia's chipset business would be essentially dead. Indeed, nVidia announced in October 2009 that it was exiting the chipset business.
Intel will pay nVidia the US$1.5bil in licensing fees over the next five years as part of the deal announced yesterday.


The reason Intel finds itself in the unlikely position of paying nVidia is that Intel gets a licence to nVidia's entire patent library out of the deal, while nVidia gets a licence to some of Intel's patents, but not those covering Intel's primary products - particularly microprocessors and chipsets based on the so-called x86 design.

The settlement comes as the companies are adjusting to their changing roles in the semiconductor industry, as smartphones and Tablets force chipmakers to design smaller and more energy efficient chips, and the explosion of high-definition content online has placed an increased premium on high-quality graphics.

Intel's general counsel, Doug Melamed, said the settlement "preserves patent peace and provides protections that allow for continued freedom in product design."

nVidia's CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang, said the "agreement signals a new era for nVidia" and "reflects the substantial value of our visual and parallel computing technologies."

Parallel computing is the equivalent of multitasking - making computers process different types of data at once, an approach that's critical for rendering graphics.

nVidia's Huang added that the agreement "underscores the importance of our inventions to the future of personal computing, as well as the expanding markets for mobile and cloud computing."

Intel, dominant in PCs, is facing the rise of smartphones and Tablets that use lower-power chip designs than the one Intel uses. nVidia, whose graphics chips have largely been popular with gamers, is trying to boost its profile with mainstream computer users as more people stream high-definition Internet video through their computers, which is taxing for chips that aren't specifically designed for it.

Those pressures have put Intel and nVidia more in competition with each other. Intel has been trying to not only reduce the power consumption of its chips to get into the new types of mobile devices but also to improve its chips graphical performance - with the aim of wooing business from nVidia.

Meanwhile, nVidia has been hammering Intel publicly, arguing that graphics chips that can do general-purpose processing as well are the future. nVidia has also announced plans to build its own general-purpose processors based on the lower-power standard.

Intel also had to pay for another recent settlement with a rival. In 2009 Intel agreed to pay its primary rival in microprocessors, AMD Inc, US$1.25bil (RM4bil) to settle AMD's antitrust allegations. - AP

Intel to pay RM5bil to nVidia in patent settlement

SAN FRANCISCO: Intel Corp is paying US$1.5bil (RM5bil) to end a fight it started with nVidia Corp over a key computer technology.

The legal battle centered on nVidia's ability to make "chipsets" that are compatible with Intel's latest processors - a fight that has implications for many of the world's computer users, since Intel and nVidia chips are ubiquitous.

nVidia is a top maker of graphics chips. Intel is the leader in microprocessors, the "brains" of personal computers. Both companies also made chipsets, which are used to help both types of chips talk to each other, among other jobs.

Intel sued nVidia in February 2009, alleging that nVidia would need to pony up for a new licence to make chipsets that are compatible with Intel's latest processors. nVidia countersued, arguing that a licence it has had in place since 2004 is sufficient.

Both sides had a lot at stake. Intel needed the patent deal for access to nVidia's graphics technologies. nVidia needed it because without the ability to talk to Intel's processors, nVidia's chipset business would be essentially dead. Indeed, nVidia announced in October 2009 that it was exiting the chipset business.
Intel will pay nVidia the US$1.5bil in licensing fees over the next five years as part of the deal announced yesterday.


The reason Intel finds itself in the unlikely position of paying nVidia is that Intel gets a licence to nVidia's entire patent library out of the deal, while nVidia gets a licence to some of Intel's patents, but not those covering Intel's primary products - particularly microprocessors and chipsets based on the so-called x86 design.

The settlement comes as the companies are adjusting to their changing roles in the semiconductor industry, as smartphones and Tablets force chipmakers to design smaller and more energy efficient chips, and the explosion of high-definition content online has placed an increased premium on high-quality graphics.

Intel's general counsel, Doug Melamed, said the settlement "preserves patent peace and provides protections that allow for continued freedom in product design."

nVidia's CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang, said the "agreement signals a new era for nVidia" and "reflects the substantial value of our visual and parallel computing technologies."

Parallel computing is the equivalent of multitasking - making computers process different types of data at once, an approach that's critical for rendering graphics.

nVidia's Huang added that the agreement "underscores the importance of our inventions to the future of personal computing, as well as the expanding markets for mobile and cloud computing."

Intel, dominant in PCs, is facing the rise of smartphones and Tablets that use lower-power chip designs than the one Intel uses. nVidia, whose graphics chips have largely been popular with gamers, is trying to boost its profile with mainstream computer users as more people stream high-definition Internet video through their computers, which is taxing for chips that aren't specifically designed for it.

Those pressures have put Intel and nVidia more in competition with each other. Intel has been trying to not only reduce the power consumption of its chips to get into the new types of mobile devices but also to improve its chips graphical performance - with the aim of wooing business from nVidia.

Meanwhile, nVidia has been hammering Intel publicly, arguing that graphics chips that can do general-purpose processing as well are the future. nVidia has also announced plans to build its own general-purpose processors based on the lower-power standard.

Intel also had to pay for another recent settlement with a rival. In 2009 Intel agreed to pay its primary rival in microprocessors, AMD Inc, US$1.25bil (RM4bil) to settle AMD's antitrust allegations. - AP

Intel to pay RM5bil to nVidia in patent settlement

SAN FRANCISCO: Intel Corp is paying US$1.5bil (RM5bil) to end a fight it started with nVidia Corp over a key computer technology.

The legal battle centered on nVidia's ability to make "chipsets" that are compatible with Intel's latest processors - a fight that has implications for many of the world's computer users, since Intel and nVidia chips are ubiquitous.

nVidia is a top maker of graphics chips. Intel is the leader in microprocessors, the "brains" of personal computers. Both companies also made chipsets, which are used to help both types of chips talk to each other, among other jobs.

Intel sued nVidia in February 2009, alleging that nVidia would need to pony up for a new licence to make chipsets that are compatible with Intel's latest processors. nVidia countersued, arguing that a licence it has had in place since 2004 is sufficient.

Both sides had a lot at stake. Intel needed the patent deal for access to nVidia's graphics technologies. nVidia needed it because without the ability to talk to Intel's processors, nVidia's chipset business would be essentially dead. Indeed, nVidia announced in October 2009 that it was exiting the chipset business.
Intel will pay nVidia the US$1.5bil in licensing fees over the next five years as part of the deal announced yesterday.


The reason Intel finds itself in the unlikely position of paying nVidia is that Intel gets a licence to nVidia's entire patent library out of the deal, while nVidia gets a licence to some of Intel's patents, but not those covering Intel's primary products - particularly microprocessors and chipsets based on the so-called x86 design.

The settlement comes as the companies are adjusting to their changing roles in the semiconductor industry, as smartphones and Tablets force chipmakers to design smaller and more energy efficient chips, and the explosion of high-definition content online has placed an increased premium on high-quality graphics.

Intel's general counsel, Doug Melamed, said the settlement "preserves patent peace and provides protections that allow for continued freedom in product design."

nVidia's CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang, said the "agreement signals a new era for nVidia" and "reflects the substantial value of our visual and parallel computing technologies."

Parallel computing is the equivalent of multitasking - making computers process different types of data at once, an approach that's critical for rendering graphics.

nVidia's Huang added that the agreement "underscores the importance of our inventions to the future of personal computing, as well as the expanding markets for mobile and cloud computing."

Intel, dominant in PCs, is facing the rise of smartphones and Tablets that use lower-power chip designs than the one Intel uses. nVidia, whose graphics chips have largely been popular with gamers, is trying to boost its profile with mainstream computer users as more people stream high-definition Internet video through their computers, which is taxing for chips that aren't specifically designed for it.

Those pressures have put Intel and nVidia more in competition with each other. Intel has been trying to not only reduce the power consumption of its chips to get into the new types of mobile devices but also to improve its chips graphical performance - with the aim of wooing business from nVidia.

Meanwhile, nVidia has been hammering Intel publicly, arguing that graphics chips that can do general-purpose processing as well are the future. nVidia has also announced plans to build its own general-purpose processors based on the lower-power standard.

Intel also had to pay for another recent settlement with a rival. In 2009 Intel agreed to pay its primary rival in microprocessors, AMD Inc, US$1.25bil (RM4bil) to settle AMD's antitrust allegations. - AP

New chips help PCs compete with Tablets

QUANTUM LEAP: Intel and AMD are both unveiling significant changes to their chips' designs at this week's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. - AP

SAN FRANCISCO: Semiconductor companies are whipping up a new generation of chips to bring richer video and better battery life to PCs and help the machines hold off threats from Tablets and increasingly powerful smartphones.

Intel Corp and AMD Inc, whose processors are the "brains" of PCs, are unveiling significant changes to their chips' designs at this week's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Tablet computers and other gadgets have taken on many of the tasks once performed by PCs, and there are already signs that those devices - led by Apple Inc's iPad - are eating away at PC sales.

Intel and AMD are responding with new chips designed to make people think twice before picking a Tablet over a new PC. The new chips won't dampen the success of Tablets, but they will make traditional, low-cost computers more competitive - by making them better at doing graphics-intensive tasks and playing video.

The improvements that Intel and AMD make to their products are felt with every keystroke or click of a mouse, even if most computer buyers aren't paying attention to the intricacies of chip design.

For example, people have come to expect the benefits of Moore's Law, even if they don't know the technical specifics underlying the prediction that computer processors' performance will double every two years.

The principle has guided the industry for more than 40 years, and is a key reason why computers have gotten smarter even as they've gotten smaller.

One major change in chip design that Moore's Law enabled and consumers felt came several years ago. That's when Intel and AMD took chips known as "memory controllers," which have historically been separate from a computer's main processor, and put them on the same piece of silicon as the processor itself.

The controllers act as middlemen between the processor and a computer's memory. Shortening the distance between the parts cuts the amount of time they needed to talk to each other, helping the computers work faster.

A similar thing is happening in the new generation of chips.

This time, Intel and AMD have thrown another feature - graphics, which too had historically been handled by a separate chip - also onto the same silicon as the computer's main, general-purpose processor.

And by coupling graphics more tightly with a computer's main processor, there's another benefit besides faster communication. The power the parts need to talk to each other is also reduced, leading to longer battery life.

Think of what's happening in chips like what's happened with cellphones: Technical innovations mean more stuff can fit into a smaller space. In the case of computer processors, Moore's Law is driven by the fact that transistors, the tiny on-off switches that regulate the flow of data in computer chips, keep getting smaller.

"It's a natural evolution of integration," said Jon Peddie, who studies the semiconductor industry as president of Jon Peddie Research.

"We keep putting more and more stuff into the processor - now it's graphics' turn to get shoved into the processor along with all the stuff that previous generations have shoved in. The big difference this time is because of the processors' smaller size, the capability of the graphics is significantly better."

With the current chips, cheap, low-end laptops are largely poor at playing high-quality video, a task too taxing for the machines' underpowered chips.

Those laptops, which also include so-called "netbooks," will likely benefit first from the new chip designs, said Martin Reynolds, a vice-president and research fellow at Gartner Inc who studies the computer market.

Intel and AMD are using different technical approaches, but the results are similar: Consumers should expect "snappier operations in anything involving pixel movement," from playing games to editing photos and video and preparing PowerPoint and other visually rich presentations, Peddie said.

But Peddie cautions that even with the new chips, the low-end computers will still be too weak for certain uses, including graphics-intensive videogames.

Still, the changes could eliminate the need for many people to buy separate graphics cards, which can add hundreds of dollars to the price of a PC.

More or less

The shift is an opportunity for Intel and AMD, which can charge higher prices for chips that have higher-quality graphics capabilities built in.

Intel doesn't mind if people buy fewer graphics cards since it doesn't sell them. Intel's graphics have been built into its "chipsets," yet another type of chip inside computers. They handle a range of tasks.

The situation is more delicate for AMD, which does make the cards. AMD hopes that stealing even small amounts of business from Intel offsets any risks to graphics-card sales.

The latest lines of chips can be seen as a response to the sudden popularity of Tablet PCs, starting with the launch of the iPad last April.

Tablet makers have turned to such chipmakers as Samsung Electronics Co, Texas Instruments Inc and Qualcomm Inc. Even Apple now makes its own chips. Their chips are built on a different design and sip power rather than gulp it - a requirement of mobile devices and a problem that Intel and AMD have yet to crack.

Intel and AMD are trying to address that problem by aping the sleek and streamlined approach that has helped make Tablets so popular.

"Tablets have forced the PC ecosystem to be thin and light," said Doug Freedman, an analyst with Gleacher & Co. "If they don't want to lose market share, they're going to have to design a more efficient PC."

The new chips aren't likely to upset the historically steady breakdown between Intel and AMD. Intel sells 80% of the chips that run on the so-called "x86" standard for chip design, which is used in Windows and Mac computers. AMD has the remaining 20% of the market.

But the new products could help keep both companies relevant in a Tablet era. After all, despite the rise of Tablets, they aren't good for everything.

"Tablets are great devices for consuming content, but creation of content is best done on PCs," said Tom Kilroy, an Intel senior vice-president.

The attack on Tablets by Intel and AMD isn't without a key disclaimer: Now that Apple has proved that there's an appetite for Tablet computers, both chipmakers want in.

Both companies have been chosen to make chips for Tablets, but analysts say power consumption will likely remain an issue that needs to be resolved.

"It's a great opportunity for them," Reynolds said. "They just haven't figured out a way to do that yet." - AP

New chips help PCs compete with Tablets

QUANTUM LEAP: Intel and AMD are both unveiling significant changes to their chips' designs at this week's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. - AP

SAN FRANCISCO: Semiconductor companies are whipping up a new generation of chips to bring richer video and better battery life to PCs and help the machines hold off threats from Tablets and increasingly powerful smartphones.

Intel Corp and AMD Inc, whose processors are the "brains" of PCs, are unveiling significant changes to their chips' designs at this week's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Tablet computers and other gadgets have taken on many of the tasks once performed by PCs, and there are already signs that those devices - led by Apple Inc's iPad - are eating away at PC sales.

Intel and AMD are responding with new chips designed to make people think twice before picking a Tablet over a new PC. The new chips won't dampen the success of Tablets, but they will make traditional, low-cost computers more competitive - by making them better at doing graphics-intensive tasks and playing video.

The improvements that Intel and AMD make to their products are felt with every keystroke or click of a mouse, even if most computer buyers aren't paying attention to the intricacies of chip design.

For example, people have come to expect the benefits of Moore's Law, even if they don't know the technical specifics underlying the prediction that computer processors' performance will double every two years.

The principle has guided the industry for more than 40 years, and is a key reason why computers have gotten smarter even as they've gotten smaller.

One major change in chip design that Moore's Law enabled and consumers felt came several years ago. That's when Intel and AMD took chips known as "memory controllers," which have historically been separate from a computer's main processor, and put them on the same piece of silicon as the processor itself.

The controllers act as middlemen between the processor and a computer's memory. Shortening the distance between the parts cuts the amount of time they needed to talk to each other, helping the computers work faster.

A similar thing is happening in the new generation of chips.

This time, Intel and AMD have thrown another feature - graphics, which too had historically been handled by a separate chip - also onto the same silicon as the computer's main, general-purpose processor.

And by coupling graphics more tightly with a computer's main processor, there's another benefit besides faster communication. The power the parts need to talk to each other is also reduced, leading to longer battery life.

Think of what's happening in chips like what's happened with cellphones: Technical innovations mean more stuff can fit into a smaller space. In the case of computer processors, Moore's Law is driven by the fact that transistors, the tiny on-off switches that regulate the flow of data in computer chips, keep getting smaller.

"It's a natural evolution of integration," said Jon Peddie, who studies the semiconductor industry as president of Jon Peddie Research.

"We keep putting more and more stuff into the processor - now it's graphics' turn to get shoved into the processor along with all the stuff that previous generations have shoved in. The big difference this time is because of the processors' smaller size, the capability of the graphics is significantly better."

With the current chips, cheap, low-end laptops are largely poor at playing high-quality video, a task too taxing for the machines' underpowered chips.

Those laptops, which also include so-called "netbooks," will likely benefit first from the new chip designs, said Martin Reynolds, a vice-president and research fellow at Gartner Inc who studies the computer market.

Intel and AMD are using different technical approaches, but the results are similar: Consumers should expect "snappier operations in anything involving pixel movement," from playing games to editing photos and video and preparing PowerPoint and other visually rich presentations, Peddie said.

But Peddie cautions that even with the new chips, the low-end computers will still be too weak for certain uses, including graphics-intensive videogames.

Still, the changes could eliminate the need for many people to buy separate graphics cards, which can add hundreds of dollars to the price of a PC.

More or less

The shift is an opportunity for Intel and AMD, which can charge higher prices for chips that have higher-quality graphics capabilities built in.

Intel doesn't mind if people buy fewer graphics cards since it doesn't sell them. Intel's graphics have been built into its "chipsets," yet another type of chip inside computers. They handle a range of tasks.

The situation is more delicate for AMD, which does make the cards. AMD hopes that stealing even small amounts of business from Intel offsets any risks to graphics-card sales.

The latest lines of chips can be seen as a response to the sudden popularity of Tablet PCs, starting with the launch of the iPad last April.

Tablet makers have turned to such chipmakers as Samsung Electronics Co, Texas Instruments Inc and Qualcomm Inc. Even Apple now makes its own chips. Their chips are built on a different design and sip power rather than gulp it - a requirement of mobile devices and a problem that Intel and AMD have yet to crack.

Intel and AMD are trying to address that problem by aping the sleek and streamlined approach that has helped make Tablets so popular.

"Tablets have forced the PC ecosystem to be thin and light," said Doug Freedman, an analyst with Gleacher & Co. "If they don't want to lose market share, they're going to have to design a more efficient PC."

The new chips aren't likely to upset the historically steady breakdown between Intel and AMD. Intel sells 80% of the chips that run on the so-called "x86" standard for chip design, which is used in Windows and Mac computers. AMD has the remaining 20% of the market.

But the new products could help keep both companies relevant in a Tablet era. After all, despite the rise of Tablets, they aren't good for everything.

"Tablets are great devices for consuming content, but creation of content is best done on PCs," said Tom Kilroy, an Intel senior vice-president.

The attack on Tablets by Intel and AMD isn't without a key disclaimer: Now that Apple has proved that there's an appetite for Tablet computers, both chipmakers want in.

Both companies have been chosen to make chips for Tablets, but analysts say power consumption will likely remain an issue that needs to be resolved.

"It's a great opportunity for them," Reynolds said. "They just haven't figured out a way to do that yet." - AP

New chips help PCs compete with Tablets

QUANTUM LEAP: Intel and AMD are both unveiling significant changes to their chips' designs at this week's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. - AP

SAN FRANCISCO: Semiconductor companies are whipping up a new generation of chips to bring richer video and better battery life to PCs and help the machines hold off threats from Tablets and increasingly powerful smartphones.

Intel Corp and AMD Inc, whose processors are the "brains" of PCs, are unveiling significant changes to their chips' designs at this week's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Tablet computers and other gadgets have taken on many of the tasks once performed by PCs, and there are already signs that those devices - led by Apple Inc's iPad - are eating away at PC sales.

Intel and AMD are responding with new chips designed to make people think twice before picking a Tablet over a new PC. The new chips won't dampen the success of Tablets, but they will make traditional, low-cost computers more competitive - by making them better at doing graphics-intensive tasks and playing video.

The improvements that Intel and AMD make to their products are felt with every keystroke or click of a mouse, even if most computer buyers aren't paying attention to the intricacies of chip design.

For example, people have come to expect the benefits of Moore's Law, even if they don't know the technical specifics underlying the prediction that computer processors' performance will double every two years.

The principle has guided the industry for more than 40 years, and is a key reason why computers have gotten smarter even as they've gotten smaller.

One major change in chip design that Moore's Law enabled and consumers felt came several years ago. That's when Intel and AMD took chips known as "memory controllers," which have historically been separate from a computer's main processor, and put them on the same piece of silicon as the processor itself.

The controllers act as middlemen between the processor and a computer's memory. Shortening the distance between the parts cuts the amount of time they needed to talk to each other, helping the computers work faster.

A similar thing is happening in the new generation of chips.

This time, Intel and AMD have thrown another feature - graphics, which too had historically been handled by a separate chip - also onto the same silicon as the computer's main, general-purpose processor.

And by coupling graphics more tightly with a computer's main processor, there's another benefit besides faster communication. The power the parts need to talk to each other is also reduced, leading to longer battery life.

Think of what's happening in chips like what's happened with cellphones: Technical innovations mean more stuff can fit into a smaller space. In the case of computer processors, Moore's Law is driven by the fact that transistors, the tiny on-off switches that regulate the flow of data in computer chips, keep getting smaller.

"It's a natural evolution of integration," said Jon Peddie, who studies the semiconductor industry as president of Jon Peddie Research.

"We keep putting more and more stuff into the processor - now it's graphics' turn to get shoved into the processor along with all the stuff that previous generations have shoved in. The big difference this time is because of the processors' smaller size, the capability of the graphics is significantly better."

With the current chips, cheap, low-end laptops are largely poor at playing high-quality video, a task too taxing for the machines' underpowered chips.

Those laptops, which also include so-called "netbooks," will likely benefit first from the new chip designs, said Martin Reynolds, a vice-president and research fellow at Gartner Inc who studies the computer market.

Intel and AMD are using different technical approaches, but the results are similar: Consumers should expect "snappier operations in anything involving pixel movement," from playing games to editing photos and video and preparing PowerPoint and other visually rich presentations, Peddie said.

But Peddie cautions that even with the new chips, the low-end computers will still be too weak for certain uses, including graphics-intensive videogames.

Still, the changes could eliminate the need for many people to buy separate graphics cards, which can add hundreds of dollars to the price of a PC.

More or less

The shift is an opportunity for Intel and AMD, which can charge higher prices for chips that have higher-quality graphics capabilities built in.

Intel doesn't mind if people buy fewer graphics cards since it doesn't sell them. Intel's graphics have been built into its "chipsets," yet another type of chip inside computers. They handle a range of tasks.

The situation is more delicate for AMD, which does make the cards. AMD hopes that stealing even small amounts of business from Intel offsets any risks to graphics-card sales.

The latest lines of chips can be seen as a response to the sudden popularity of Tablet PCs, starting with the launch of the iPad last April.

Tablet makers have turned to such chipmakers as Samsung Electronics Co, Texas Instruments Inc and Qualcomm Inc. Even Apple now makes its own chips. Their chips are built on a different design and sip power rather than gulp it - a requirement of mobile devices and a problem that Intel and AMD have yet to crack.

Intel and AMD are trying to address that problem by aping the sleek and streamlined approach that has helped make Tablets so popular.

"Tablets have forced the PC ecosystem to be thin and light," said Doug Freedman, an analyst with Gleacher & Co. "If they don't want to lose market share, they're going to have to design a more efficient PC."

The new chips aren't likely to upset the historically steady breakdown between Intel and AMD. Intel sells 80% of the chips that run on the so-called "x86" standard for chip design, which is used in Windows and Mac computers. AMD has the remaining 20% of the market.

But the new products could help keep both companies relevant in a Tablet era. After all, despite the rise of Tablets, they aren't good for everything.

"Tablets are great devices for consuming content, but creation of content is best done on PCs," said Tom Kilroy, an Intel senior vice-president.

The attack on Tablets by Intel and AMD isn't without a key disclaimer: Now that Apple has proved that there's an appetite for Tablet computers, both chipmakers want in.

Both companies have been chosen to make chips for Tablets, but analysts say power consumption will likely remain an issue that needs to be resolved.

"It's a great opportunity for them," Reynolds said. "They just haven't figured out a way to do that yet." - AP

How ARM will impact Intel market

The hard battle between Intel and AMD seems to be long way to go. While Intel clearly has the upper hand in client processors and AMD is playing catch-up, there is another battle brewing for PC processors, particularly in notebooks. Here, we will discuss about the battle for the “secondary” processor and how this battle will not pit Intel against AMD, but rather, x86 architecture against ARM. And it’s not looking good for x86.

Dell and lenovo have come out with the “instant” laptop, which has capability to instantly access mail, calender, web without full boot up of the machine. They run a version of the Firefox browser for Web surfing and provides direct connection to Exchange, GroupWise or IMAP/POP3 e-mail systems through direct memory access. Also included is a dedicated document viewer for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files, dedicated Wi-Fi and a VPN for secure connectivity. In essence, what Dell has done with Latitude ON is provide an embedded “smartphone-lite” device that uses the main screen, keyboard, power and memory systems.

What makes the Dell and Lenovo approach interesting is that first, they utilize low-cost, low-power, ARM-based chips adapted from the smartphone industry. Second, they provide dedicated-function processing. And third, each subsystem is capable of being functionally extended, possibly even by third parties through a future API to include additional convenience and protection capabilities.

It is safe to assume that other manufacturers will follow suit and provide coprocessor subsystem in business and higher-end consumer machines—particularly as prices for ARM chips continue to fall. It is also highly likely that additional functionality will be added over time.

Finally, it is apparent that neither Windows nor x86 will be the preferred platforms utilized by these coprocessor subsystems—at least until x86 can match the low cost and low power of ARM (potentially with future Atom chips).

The bottom line: With the potential of one or more coprocessors per PC, ARM has a lucrative path in which to infiltrate the PC market—a market it has never impacted. While it’s unlikely that ARM will displace x86 for the core processor anytime soon, it nevertheless gives ARM a large potential market of many millions of units—a fact not lost on ARM licensees (for example, Texas Instruments, Freescale, Qualcomm and Samsung).

However, the coprocessing subsystems potentially offer another point of machine failure and/or instability, especially in corporate settings where consistency, security and device management is critical. Companies should be careful when and how to deploy these coprocessor-enabled systems until they prove their worth.

source : www.eweek.com

How ARM will impact Intel market

The hard battle between Intel and AMD seems to be long way to go. While Intel clearly has the upper hand in client processors and AMD is playing catch-up, there is another battle brewing for PC processors, particularly in notebooks. Here, we will discuss about the battle for the “secondary” processor and how this battle will not pit Intel against AMD, but rather, x86 architecture against ARM. And it’s not looking good for x86.

Dell and lenovo have come out with the “instant” laptop, which has capability to instantly access mail, calender, web without full boot up of the machine. They run a version of the Firefox browser for Web surfing and provides direct connection to Exchange, GroupWise or IMAP/POP3 e-mail systems through direct memory access. Also included is a dedicated document viewer for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files, dedicated Wi-Fi and a VPN for secure connectivity. In essence, what Dell has done with Latitude ON is provide an embedded “smartphone-lite” device that uses the main screen, keyboard, power and memory systems.

What makes the Dell and Lenovo approach interesting is that first, they utilize low-cost, low-power, ARM-based chips adapted from the smartphone industry. Second, they provide dedicated-function processing. And third, each subsystem is capable of being functionally extended, possibly even by third parties through a future API to include additional convenience and protection capabilities.

It is safe to assume that other manufacturers will follow suit and provide coprocessor subsystem in business and higher-end consumer machines—particularly as prices for ARM chips continue to fall. It is also highly likely that additional functionality will be added over time.

Finally, it is apparent that neither Windows nor x86 will be the preferred platforms utilized by these coprocessor subsystems—at least until x86 can match the low cost and low power of ARM (potentially with future Atom chips).

The bottom line: With the potential of one or more coprocessors per PC, ARM has a lucrative path in which to infiltrate the PC market—a market it has never impacted. While it’s unlikely that ARM will displace x86 for the core processor anytime soon, it nevertheless gives ARM a large potential market of many millions of units—a fact not lost on ARM licensees (for example, Texas Instruments, Freescale, Qualcomm and Samsung).

However, the coprocessing subsystems potentially offer another point of machine failure and/or instability, especially in corporate settings where consistency, security and device management is critical. Companies should be careful when and how to deploy these coprocessor-enabled systems until they prove their worth.

source : www.eweek.com

How ARM will impact Intel market

The hard battle between Intel and AMD seems to be long way to go. While Intel clearly has the upper hand in client processors and AMD is playing catch-up, there is another battle brewing for PC processors, particularly in notebooks. Here, we will discuss about the battle for the “secondary” processor and how this battle will not pit Intel against AMD, but rather, x86 architecture against ARM. And it’s not looking good for x86.

Dell and lenovo have come out with the “instant” laptop, which has capability to instantly access mail, calender, web without full boot up of the machine. They run a version of the Firefox browser for Web surfing and provides direct connection to Exchange, GroupWise or IMAP/POP3 e-mail systems through direct memory access. Also included is a dedicated document viewer for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files, dedicated Wi-Fi and a VPN for secure connectivity. In essence, what Dell has done with Latitude ON is provide an embedded “smartphone-lite” device that uses the main screen, keyboard, power and memory systems.

What makes the Dell and Lenovo approach interesting is that first, they utilize low-cost, low-power, ARM-based chips adapted from the smartphone industry. Second, they provide dedicated-function processing. And third, each subsystem is capable of being functionally extended, possibly even by third parties through a future API to include additional convenience and protection capabilities.

It is safe to assume that other manufacturers will follow suit and provide coprocessor subsystem in business and higher-end consumer machines—particularly as prices for ARM chips continue to fall. It is also highly likely that additional functionality will be added over time.

Finally, it is apparent that neither Windows nor x86 will be the preferred platforms utilized by these coprocessor subsystems—at least until x86 can match the low cost and low power of ARM (potentially with future Atom chips).

The bottom line: With the potential of one or more coprocessors per PC, ARM has a lucrative path in which to infiltrate the PC market—a market it has never impacted. While it’s unlikely that ARM will displace x86 for the core processor anytime soon, it nevertheless gives ARM a large potential market of many millions of units—a fact not lost on ARM licensees (for example, Texas Instruments, Freescale, Qualcomm and Samsung).

However, the coprocessing subsystems potentially offer another point of machine failure and/or instability, especially in corporate settings where consistency, security and device management is critical. Companies should be careful when and how to deploy these coprocessor-enabled systems until they prove their worth.

source : www.eweek.com

AMD based netbook , Why there are always late

It is already well known that AMD has their own bechmark in high end computing product, especially for games and graphical works ( though I think Apple got extra mark on the second). However, they should not just ignore the huge desire from middle and lower rank users, which could contribute narrowing the gap between its competitor, Mr. Intel.

As I always said, AMD should go after the gaping hole between netbooks and thin-and-lights by releasing a low-power platform with solid graphics abilities, and it looks like the company’s finally coming around — AMD’s John Taylor just told us that the chipmaker will be releasing a netbook-class Fusion CPU / GPU hybrid codenamed “Ontario” with integrated DX11 graphics sometime next year. If Ontario sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve seen it leaked in the past — it’s a part of the “Brazos” platform built around the low-power Bobcat core. Of course, AMD has been promising Fusion chips of all stripes for years now without a single shipping part, so saying that a Fusion chip will get it into the netbook game in 2011 is mildly amusing — while AMD’s definitely turned things around, it’s still incredibly late to the low-end party, and Intel’s solidly beaten it to the hybrid CPU / GPU punch with the Core 2010 and Pine Trail Atom chips. Add in the fact that NVIDIA’s Optimus-based Ion 2 chipset seemingly offers the extended battery life of Atom with the performance of a discrete GPU, and we’d say the market niche Ontario is designed to fill may not actually be so niche when it finally arrives. We’ll see what happens — a year is a long, long time.

AMD based netbook , Why there are always late

It is already well known that AMD has their own bechmark in high end computing product, especially for games and graphical works ( though I think Apple got extra mark on the second). However, they should not just ignore the huge desire from middle and lower rank users, which could contribute narrowing the gap between its competitor, Mr. Intel.

As I always said, AMD should go after the gaping hole between netbooks and thin-and-lights by releasing a low-power platform with solid graphics abilities, and it looks like the company’s finally coming around — AMD’s John Taylor just told us that the chipmaker will be releasing a netbook-class Fusion CPU / GPU hybrid codenamed “Ontario” with integrated DX11 graphics sometime next year. If Ontario sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve seen it leaked in the past — it’s a part of the “Brazos” platform built around the low-power Bobcat core. Of course, AMD has been promising Fusion chips of all stripes for years now without a single shipping part, so saying that a Fusion chip will get it into the netbook game in 2011 is mildly amusing — while AMD’s definitely turned things around, it’s still incredibly late to the low-end party, and Intel’s solidly beaten it to the hybrid CPU / GPU punch with the Core 2010 and Pine Trail Atom chips. Add in the fact that NVIDIA’s Optimus-based Ion 2 chipset seemingly offers the extended battery life of Atom with the performance of a discrete GPU, and we’d say the market niche Ontario is designed to fill may not actually be so niche when it finally arrives. We’ll see what happens — a year is a long, long time.

AMD based netbook , Why there are always late

It is already well known that AMD has their own bechmark in high end computing product, especially for games and graphical works ( though I think Apple got extra mark on the second). However, they should not just ignore the huge desire from middle and lower rank users, which could contribute narrowing the gap between its competitor, Mr. Intel.

As I always said, AMD should go after the gaping hole between netbooks and thin-and-lights by releasing a low-power platform with solid graphics abilities, and it looks like the company’s finally coming around — AMD’s John Taylor just told us that the chipmaker will be releasing a netbook-class Fusion CPU / GPU hybrid codenamed “Ontario” with integrated DX11 graphics sometime next year. If Ontario sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve seen it leaked in the past — it’s a part of the “Brazos” platform built around the low-power Bobcat core. Of course, AMD has been promising Fusion chips of all stripes for years now without a single shipping part, so saying that a Fusion chip will get it into the netbook game in 2011 is mildly amusing — while AMD’s definitely turned things around, it’s still incredibly late to the low-end party, and Intel’s solidly beaten it to the hybrid CPU / GPU punch with the Core 2010 and Pine Trail Atom chips. Add in the fact that NVIDIA’s Optimus-based Ion 2 chipset seemingly offers the extended battery life of Atom with the performance of a discrete GPU, and we’d say the market niche Ontario is designed to fill may not actually be so niche when it finally arrives. We’ll see what happens — a year is a long, long time.

CPU battle - is AMD really going to die?

I still remember somewhere in middle of 2000 when I bought my first PC with my own money ( still 19 that time), the latest AMDk6-II 500 MHz. Really awesome. And I ran it with Windows 2000 (Win2k) since I still blind with Linux during that time. That was my first PC and I really love it. I don`t care if the blower make jumbo jet sound or even the CPU can cook egg 2 or 3 times as long as I can get rid of Intel PC (bad experience when my father bought me stupid 486 with win 3.1).  As the time goes along, so do my PC as well, from Thunderbird to Sempron and the latest AMD Athlon X2-dual  core (waiting for phenom X4 series ). All generation dammed good. Even the market penetration done by AMD (Anti- Microsoft Development ….heheheh)  was very very great until the middle of 2006.

The AMD performance start shrinking. Why?..People say it is because of the huge debt due to big acquisition of the Fat Uncle Bob maker, ATI  Company, and some from other side claim that AMD fail to deliver Barcelona or Opteron Quad-core processor on time. Not even that, AMD also now suffer of the battle among the Top Management due to their performance recently. Poor Ruiz. Undoubtedly, for me, AMD really need ATI in order to boost their track on the game-line compare with Intel. But, is it really a right time just to get the uncertain result from the acquisition together with a bulk loan from Ah Long (shark loan)? Just to remind, Not all PC user are gamers and not All are really highly dependent to great workstation. Most are simple user. And they really not bother about highly giga performance PC.

Another de facto is that most of the users are really comfortable when they heard about intel, compared to AMD. From day one, everybody knows that AMD is an electronic boiler, able cook while operating. And most still think of that till now even though AMD has made a great step to overcome the ‘boiling CPU’ issue.Why?because AMD really not get close to the simple users to sell their new ‘chilled’ CPU series, instead they fight for high end performance features. That is the problem actually. Just do not expect users to go to amd website or anandtech or even tomshardware website to read about new AMD ‘chilled’ CPU series.

From the bottom of my heart, I do believe that AMD will sustain to compete the giant shrek, Intel.  But how long they can survive is depend on their road-map. Whether they really want to gain on gamers and workstation segment, which is really niche market or they have to do something to change people`s mentally about their product performance and quality (if they really have).

Why Dell, or HP, Acer, IBM, Compaq really hard to change to AMD processor? Just think - Politics? performance? friendship? monopoly?…

‘The future is fusion’ - and a lot more confusing……..

CPU battle - is AMD really going to die?

I still remember somewhere in middle of 2000 when I bought my first PC with my own money ( still 19 that time), the latest AMDk6-II 500 MHz. Really awesome. And I ran it with Windows 2000 (Win2k) since I still blind with Linux during that time. That was my first PC and I really love it. I don`t care if the blower make jumbo jet sound or even the CPU can cook egg 2 or 3 times as long as I can get rid of Intel PC (bad experience when my father bought me stupid 486 with win 3.1).  As the time goes along, so do my PC as well, from Thunderbird to Sempron and the latest AMD Athlon X2-dual  core (waiting for phenom X4 series ). All generation dammed good. Even the market penetration done by AMD (Anti- Microsoft Development ….heheheh)  was very very great until the middle of 2006.

The AMD performance start shrinking. Why?..People say it is because of the huge debt due to big acquisition of the Fat Uncle Bob maker, ATI  Company, and some from other side claim that AMD fail to deliver Barcelona or Opteron Quad-core processor on time. Not even that, AMD also now suffer of the battle among the Top Management due to their performance recently. Poor Ruiz. Undoubtedly, for me, AMD really need ATI in order to boost their track on the game-line compare with Intel. But, is it really a right time just to get the uncertain result from the acquisition together with a bulk loan from Ah Long (shark loan)? Just to remind, Not all PC user are gamers and not All are really highly dependent to great workstation. Most are simple user. And they really not bother about highly giga performance PC.

Another de facto is that most of the users are really comfortable when they heard about intel, compared to AMD. From day one, everybody knows that AMD is an electronic boiler, able cook while operating. And most still think of that till now even though AMD has made a great step to overcome the ‘boiling CPU’ issue.Why?because AMD really not get close to the simple users to sell their new ‘chilled’ CPU series, instead they fight for high end performance features. That is the problem actually. Just do not expect users to go to amd website or anandtech or even tomshardware website to read about new AMD ‘chilled’ CPU series.

From the bottom of my heart, I do believe that AMD will sustain to compete the giant shrek, Intel.  But how long they can survive is depend on their road-map. Whether they really want to gain on gamers and workstation segment, which is really niche market or they have to do something to change people`s mentally about their product performance and quality (if they really have).

Why Dell, or HP, Acer, IBM, Compaq really hard to change to AMD processor? Just think - Politics? performance? friendship? monopoly?…

‘The future is fusion’ - and a lot more confusing……..

CPU battle - is AMD really going to die?

I still remember somewhere in middle of 2000 when I bought my first PC with my own money ( still 19 that time), the latest AMDk6-II 500 MHz. Really awesome. And I ran it with Windows 2000 (Win2k) since I still blind with Linux during that time. That was my first PC and I really love it. I don`t care if the blower make jumbo jet sound or even the CPU can cook egg 2 or 3 times as long as I can get rid of Intel PC (bad experience when my father bought me stupid 486 with win 3.1).  As the time goes along, so do my PC as well, from Thunderbird to Sempron and the latest AMD Athlon X2-dual  core (waiting for phenom X4 series ). All generation dammed good. Even the market penetration done by AMD (Anti- Microsoft Development ….heheheh)  was very very great until the middle of 2006.

The AMD performance start shrinking. Why?..People say it is because of the huge debt due to big acquisition of the Fat Uncle Bob maker, ATI  Company, and some from other side claim that AMD fail to deliver Barcelona or Opteron Quad-core processor on time. Not even that, AMD also now suffer of the battle among the Top Management due to their performance recently. Poor Ruiz. Undoubtedly, for me, AMD really need ATI in order to boost their track on the game-line compare with Intel. But, is it really a right time just to get the uncertain result from the acquisition together with a bulk loan from Ah Long (shark loan)? Just to remind, Not all PC user are gamers and not All are really highly dependent to great workstation. Most are simple user. And they really not bother about highly giga performance PC.

Another de facto is that most of the users are really comfortable when they heard about intel, compared to AMD. From day one, everybody knows that AMD is an electronic boiler, able cook while operating. And most still think of that till now even though AMD has made a great step to overcome the ‘boiling CPU’ issue.Why?because AMD really not get close to the simple users to sell their new ‘chilled’ CPU series, instead they fight for high end performance features. That is the problem actually. Just do not expect users to go to amd website or anandtech or even tomshardware website to read about new AMD ‘chilled’ CPU series.

From the bottom of my heart, I do believe that AMD will sustain to compete the giant shrek, Intel.  But how long they can survive is depend on their road-map. Whether they really want to gain on gamers and workstation segment, which is really niche market or they have to do something to change people`s mentally about their product performance and quality (if they really have).

Why Dell, or HP, Acer, IBM, Compaq really hard to change to AMD processor? Just think - Politics? performance? friendship? monopoly?…

‘The future is fusion’ - and a lot more confusing……..