Hasta La Gadget!

While we think of optical connections as cutting edge, they’re positively decrepit in server rooms; current fiber interconnect technology got its start in the 1980s. Intel may soon drag servers into the modern era with its just-teased MXC format, however. The standard (not pictured here) will combine both silicon photonics and a new form of Corning fiber to link servers at 1.6Tbps — more than quick enough to eliminate many data bottlenecks. The connectors themselves are smaller, too. Intel won’t say more about MXC until the Intel Developer Forum next month in San Francisco, but we already suspect that supercomputer operators will be happy with all that extra bandwidth.

Filed under: Desktops, Networking, Intel

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Via: PCWorld

Source: Intel

In a Wired piece published recently, Ryan Singel assails Google’s newfound hypocrisy when it comes to net neutrality. And he’s right. Having spent many years fighting to stop Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from discriminating between different types of Internet traffic, the tech giant is now perpetuating a long-standing form of that discrimation with Google Fiber, its own ISP, by adopting a terrible Terms of Service clause that bans the use of “servers.” Google’s ban on servers is sadly not a departure from the norm, as similar prohibitions can be found within the Terms of Service of other large ISPs.

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It’s hardly a secret that AMD has stepped out of its x86 comfort zone to develop an ARM-based server chip, but now we know a little more about it. Going by the name of “Seattle” and scheduled for launch in the second half of next year, it’ll be built around ARM’s 64-bit Cortex-A57 in either 8- or 16-core configurations, which will likely be clocked at a minimum of 2GHz. In an apparent acknowledgement of ARM’s superiority at low wattages, we’re told that this design has the potential to deliver 4x the performance of AMD’s current Opteron X processors, with improved compute-per-watt. There’s a clear limit to AMD’s reliance on ARM, however, as it’ll use Seattle to up against Intel’s little Atoms, but will continue to sell its own x86 designs for higher-power applications. Meanwhile, we’re still waiting on something more interesting from this union, which might be an ARM CPU paired with a Radeon HD graphics processor in some sort of mobile-class SoC. Guess we’ll just have to be patient.

Filed under: Networking, Internet, AMD

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Plex’s Android app revamp has been brewing for awhile, but it’s at last ready: the 3.0 app is out of beta and available for everyone. The remake provides a much more polished interface, PlexSync support and speedier access to large libraries. It’s facing a rocky start, however. The initial 3.0 release required a myPlex account and didn’t include a remote control widget, and those have only just been fixed with a quick follow-up patch. We wouldn’t lean on earlier versions of Android, regardless of what features you like — the interface rewrite cuts off support for OS releases before Android 3.2.

iOS users aren’t left out of the upgrades. Version 3.2 isn’t as dramatic a makeover, but it does offer tangible improvements over 3.1 that include the Android version’s faster media access and fixes for conspicuous PlexSync bugs. Quick updaters even get a reward for their trouble: the 3.2 client lets the iOS app serve as a remote playback target for other Plex-equipped devices. Whichever platform you prefer, the app update (or a fresh $5 copy) is waiting at one of the source links.

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD, Mobile

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Via: Plex (1), (2), (3)

Source: Google Play, App Store

It’s been roughly nine years since the time that IBM sold off its consumer PC business to Lenovo, and now it looks like IBM’s server business is the next to go for the company. It’s reported that IBM and Lenovo are in talks to make a deal that would see Lenovo buy IBM’s x86 server business for at least $2.5 billion.

According to Bloomberg, the deal would see IBM’s low-end x86 server business be bought out by Lenovo, and it could cost as much as $4.5 billion, with $2.5 billion being on the lower end. IBM’s server business hasn’t been doing so well, so a selloff to Lenovo would mostly likely put IBM’s server business in better hands.

For example, Lenovo used the purchase of IBM’s PC business to become the world’s second-largest PC manufacturer, and now the company is dabbling around in the tablet market, as well as the smartphone market for the first time. Lenovo told its investors today they’re “in preliminary negotiations with a third party in connection with a potential acquisition,” but IBM was not mentioned.

IBM’s latest quarterly earnings weren’t terrible, but they also weren’t good. The company reported a 1% drop in profits over the quarter, which missed predictions by $1.3 billion. Furthermore, IBM’s System x server sales dropped by 9%, while mainframe sales increased 7%. However, IBM’s hardware profits experienced a $405 million loss.

[via Bloomberg]

IBM reportedly selling server business to Lenovo is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
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