Hasta La Gadget!

Well, we’ve gone a full month since the last episode of NVIDIA’s and Intel’s ongoing public feud, but it looks like Intel has now stoked the flames once again (albeit inadvertently) in a paper presented at the recent International Symposium on Computer Architecture. That attempted to debunk the “100X GPU vs. CPU myth,” but it also contained the tidbit that GPUs are “only” up to 14 times faster than CPUs in running application kernels, which NVIDIA has more than a happily latched onto. In a blog post, NVIDIA’s Andy Keane says that it’s a “rare day” when a competitor states that their technology is only 14x faster, and that he can’t recall another time when he’s “seen a company promote competitive benchmarks that are an order of magnitude slower.” Of course, he then further goes on to note that Intel’s tests were done with NVIDIA’s previous generation GeForce GTX 280, and that the codes were simply run out-of-the-box without any optimization — but, still, he seems more than happy to accept this bit of “recognition.” In Intel’s defense, however, the overall finding of the paper (linked below) is that the performance gap between a GTX 280 GPU and Core i7 960 processor is actually just 2.5X “on average,” which NVIDIA hasn’t highlighted for some reason.

NVIDIA thanks Intel for saying GPUs are ‘only’ 14 times faster than CPUs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If anybody knows the future of computing, it might be Intel CTO and Labs chief Justin Rattner. So we had to ask him, “What’s next?” Well, for one, Intel Inside your phone. More »

Best Buy selling some new hard drives may not exactly sound like news, but it is when the drives in question are Intel’s X25-M and X25-V SSDs, which just so happen to be the first SSDs that Best Buy has ever stocked on its store shelves. Those should now be available at some 800 Best Buy stores across the U.S., although you’ll still have to go online if you want anything other than the 40GB or 80GB models. Let’s just hope this push into retail is soon followed by some more consumer-friendly prices.

Intel’s X25-M and X25-V SSDs now stocked on Best Buy’s shelves originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While DigiTimes has been known to get a rumor correct now and again, its success rate falls off dramatically when dealing with companies HQ’d outside of its native Taiwan. Keep that in mind when you hear it discuss a Nokia tablet with either a 7- or 9-inch screen. DigiTimes, speaking with “upstream component makers,” claims that the Foxconn manufactured device — of which, about 100 engineering samples have already been produced — will be ARM-based with a Q4 launch targeted. If true (and that’s a big IF) then it would certainly be running the MeeGo OS (that’s a Quanta-built prototype above) when it ships. Of course, DigiTimes has been rumoring an ARM-based smartbook from Nokia due in mid 2010 for almost a year. And guess what? It’s mid 2010, with smartbooks/netbooks now out of style and tablets all the rage. Thing is, we’d have thought that Nokia would be more likely to opt for Intel’s Moorestown in support of their partnership given the Q4 timing. But hey, it’s just rumor, let’s not get too carried away.

Nokia 7- or 9-inch MeeGo tablet rumored to be running ARM (not Moorestown) in Q4 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 07:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure we’ve already had our eyes all over Logitech’s CE4100-powered Google TV box and given its WiFi controls on iPhone and Nexus One a try, but we didn’t know exactly what to look for (or, according to Steve, what we’d probably be avoiding) when it hit stores. That’s been put to rest, as the above picture we received reveals we can expect the Logitech Revue with Google TV. Obviously reminiscent of the “with Google” Android branding on handset, the name also ties into its ability to bring together multiple forms of entertainment, we’ll see this this fall if slick branding is enough to get buyers and developers behind the return of Web TV.

Continue reading Logitech’s ‘companion box’ gets a name: Revue with Google TV

Logitech’s ‘companion box’ gets a name: Revue with Google TV originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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