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AMD: Too Needed to Fail

Tom Halfhill — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:00:00 -0500

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.

Flash in the Pan

Tom Halfhill — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:40:41 -0500

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!

MIDs: PDA 3.0? OMG!

Tom Halfhill — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:34:53 -0500

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.

Another One Bites the Dust

Tom Halfhill — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:10:48 -0500

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.

Fast Forward: Intel's Atom: the Smallest x86

Tom Halfhill — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:42:06 -0500

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

Fast Forward: VIA's new Isaiah Processor

Tom Halfhill — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:22:10 -0500

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

Fast Forward: Low-Power Newbie: the x86

Tom Halfhill — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:15:20 -0500

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

Fast Forward: Teeny-Weeny PCs

Tom Halfhill — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 19:19:32 -0600

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