Posted 09/24/08 at 11:00:00 AM by Tom Halfhill

AMD continues to suffer through corporate misery, most recently by losing almost $1.2  billion in a single quarter, forcing the replacement of CEO Hector Ruiz with his subordinate, Dirk Meyer. If AMD collapses and Intel becomes the only major vendor of PC processors, will prices soar?

Unfortunately, monopolies usually do inflate prices. They also retard progress. AMD stimulates Intel to price its processors more aggressively and develop better processors. Without AMD, we might not have 64-bit x86 processors today or PC processors with integrated memory controllers. Right now, we’d probably be looking forward to the first quad-core x86 processors instead of the first eight-core chips.

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amd, intel, nvidia, tom halfhill, monopoly, fast forward, columns, competition, progress

Posted 08/13/08 at 01:40:41 PM by Tom Halfhill

Flash memory could become the dominant form of mass storage, replacing magnetic and optical media for many purposes. Although flash retains data without requiring power, the memory cells don’t retain their charges forever. Eventually, the charges dissipate and the bits fade away. Will our data be a flash in the pan?

Consider the trends. USB thumb drives are commonplace, and solid-state drives (SSDs) are appearing in subnotebook computers like the Asus Eee PC and Macintosh Air. SSDs are still too expensive to replace conventional drives in desktop PCs, but some hard drives use small amounts of flash to store startup data, which shortens boot times.

Continue reading after the jump!

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usb, flash, fast forward, flash memory, columns, ssd

Posted 07/17/08 at 05:34:53 PM by Tom Halfhill

Intel’s strategy for Atom processors and WiMAX hinges partly on a new class of handheld computers called mobile Internet devices (MIDs). Larger than cellphones but smaller than subnotebook PCs, MIDs are supposed to make the Internet available anytime, anywhere.

Actually, MIDs aren’t new. They’re the third major attempt to establish the nebulous product category of personal digital assistants (PDAs). Hit the jump for a history lesson, and read what challenges need to be overcome.

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Posted 06/30/08 at 02:10:48 PM by Tom Halfhill

Will they never learn? Another start-up hoping to compete with mighty Intel has crashed, sending some 200 engineers to the unemployment line and squandering about $74 million from disgruntled investors. Montalvo Systems, originally named MemoryLogix, is now just another smoking crater in Silicon Valley.

Hit the jump for the full scoop on another chip maker who coulda been a contendah.

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tom halfhill, fast forward, VIA, transmeta, columns, Montalvo Systems

Posted 05/14/08 at 04:42:06 PM by Tom Halfhill

Intel's Atom has low power consumption, full x86 compatibility, and good performance.

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intel, tom halfhill, fast forward, x86, atom

Posted 04/29/08 at 03:22:10 PM by Tom Halfhill

Exciting times for mobile PCs as VIA introduces its new low-power-consumption x86 mobile processor, code-named Isaiah.

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fast forward, columns, subnotebook, may 2008, from the magazine, mobile pc

Posted 03/25/08 at 12:15:20 PM by Tom Halfhill

For the first time, 'low power' and 'x86' will taste great together

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Posted 02/27/08 at 07:19:32 PM by Tom Halfhill

Asus' Eee is inspiring a new generation of teeny-weeny Linux subnotebooks. UMPC? Yeah, we've never seen one either.

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asus, fast forward, subnotebook, eee