Hasta La Gadget!

Whoa, Nelly! AMD, a company that has struggled to nail its ship dates in years past, has just pulled the ultimate 180. If you’ll recall, we heard last month that its quad-core Llano APU was on track for a Q3 2011 release, but now, we’ve word straight from the equine’s mouth that the action will be going down far sooner. In fact, AMD’s Singapore plant just celebrated the first shipment of the company’s 32nm Llano A-series APUs, complete with discrete-level graphics and a promise to change the way we think about netbook / nettop / ultraportable performance. Of course, just because these chips are headed out to OEM partners doesn’t mean that they’ll be gracing the pages of your favorite PC maker tomorrow; Chief Financial Officer and Interim CEO Thomas Seifert notes that AMD is looking forward to seeing Llano-based machines during this quarter, but given that Q2 just got going, we may be waiting awhile still. Nothing like a little Zacate to tide you over in the meantime, right?

Continue reading AMD ships 32nm quad-core Llano APU, expects systems ‘later this quarter’

AMD ships 32nm quad-core Llano APU, expects systems ‘later this quarter’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 02:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Okay, so we might be chasing the flying unicorn of modern technology here — and, no, we’re not talking about the white iPhone 4 — but as you’ve probably noticed, our hunger for a quantum computer is basically insatiable. Lucky for us, some folks who actually know something about producing qubits are similarly persistent — a team of researchers recently presented a scalable quantum chip at a meeting of the American Physical Society in good old Texas. The 6 x 6-cm processor sports four qubits, the basic units of quantum computing, and its creators say it has the potential to be scaled up to support 10 of the things within the year. So what does that mean for our quest for the ultimate super computer? Well, it means we’re closer than we used to be… and the dream lives on.

Researchers show off scalable architecture for quantum computing, expand our minds originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 21:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The race for ever-tinier computer chips is on, and barring physical limitations, doesn’t seem to be slowing anytime soon — but with chips, as with humans, the smaller they get, the more fragile they become. A team of researchers called CRISP (Cutting edge Reconfigurable ICs for Stream Processing) is working to create a self-repairing multi-core processor that would allow on-chip components to keep on shrinking, while combating concerns over accelerated degradation. Basically, the team’s conceptualized a chip that allows for 100 percent functionality, even with faulty components. With multiple cores sharing tasks, and a run-time resource manager doling out those tasks, the chip can continue to degrade without ever compromising its intended functions — a process CRISP calls graceful degradation. Once one core fails, the on-chip manager assigns its task to another core, continuing on in this fashion for the complete lifetime of the chip. Of course the technology is still in its infancy, but if CRISP’s chips comes to fruition, we could see virtually indestructible processors that make 14nm look bulky by comparison.

Researchers tout self-repairing multi-core processors originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 18:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When Paul Otellini isn’t too busy talking about being jilted by Nokia, he spends his time hosting presidents and splashing billions of dollars on new manufacturing facilities. Intel’s CEO is wrapping his tumultuous week on a high note, having welcomed Barack Obama to Chipzilla’s Oregon facility and treated the president to the happy news that Intel will invest $5 billion back into the US economy by building its most advanced fab yet — which will introduce an impossibly small 14nm production process — in Arizona, to begin operation in 2013. Construction starts in the middle of this year and is expected to create “thousands” of jobs, both temporary and permanent. Aside from that, Otellini has disclosed Intel’s intention to create 4,000 new jobs in the US, mostly in R&D and product development. Music to Obama’s ears, we’re sure.

Continue reading Intel to spend $5 billion on new 14nm fab in Arizona, create 4,000 new jobs this year

Intel to spend $5 billion on new 14nm fab in Arizona, create 4,000 new jobs this year originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Feb 2011 15:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, along with all the other things that happened this year at CES, Bang & Olufsen announced a new cooperation agreement with Intel. What does that mean to you, the consumer? Not terribly much, on the outside — B&O products have carried Intel chips in the past, but this marks the first time the two companies have had an official relationship, and should mean we’ll be seeing refreshes of B&O products every time Intel brings forth new chips. And that’s always great news, isn’t it? Hit up the source link for full, flowery quotes from reps at both Intel and Bang & Olfusen. Full press release is after the break.

Continue reading Bang & Olufsen announce chip co-op deal with Intel

Bang & Olufsen announce chip co-op deal with Intel originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 19:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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