Collected By Robert R. Collins

Week of March 19, 2000

Older News

Corel chief dismisses Transmeta Crusoe

By CrusoeWill Knight

February 25, 2000
ZD Net UK

Canadian software giant Corel has already dismissed the idea of developing software for the Crusoe family of microprocessors, according to president and CEO Michael Cowpland.

The new chip, designed by Californian start-up Transmeta, is going to have little impact on the consumer computing market, if any at all, according to Cowpland.

VNU Net: Transmeta's Crusoe chip: survivor or castaway?

By Neil Fawcett

March 23, 2000
Linux Today

In the world of mobile computing, there is a new pretender to the throne - a new technology, a new supplier, a new chip and a new concept to play around with. It's called Crusoe, and comes from a company called Transmeta. Don't feel too bad if you've never heard of it - it's early days for Transmeta.

Interview With Dave Taylor Of Transmeta

By David Pitlyuk

March 23, 2000
SystemLogic.net

A:  I am an engineer at Transmeta. I end up sticking my nose in a lot of things, but my job description du jour is Mobile Linux hacker. I came from the game industry, where I helped write Doom and Quake, and I financed/produced Abuse and Golgotha (not released). I'm probably best known for being one of the earlier Linux adopters in the game industry

If you can't stand the heat...

March 22, 2000
ZD Net UK

The question was a trick question. I already knew that if we ran the PC Mag 3D Winbench test on his biggest, fastest machine, it would start out with truly astonishing frame rates, but that if you kept running the test, it would slow down to a crawl. What I didn't know, was whether this guy knew it.

Is Intel worth the wait?

By Matthew Broersma

March 21, 2000
ZD Net UK

While UK-based manufacturers working with chip maker, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are rushing to introduce machines based on the new 1,000MHz (1GHz) Athlon microprocessors, those relying on Pentium III equivalents will have to wait weeks, or even months, to join the gigahertz revolution.

Intel hopes to hold top position in low-end PC market with two new chips

By Matthew Thomas

March 23, 2000
Electronic News Online

The dominant supplier of microprocessors is expected to announce 633MHz and 667MHz Celeron microprocessors, and a 700MHz version is likely to be introduced by mid-year, sooner than previously expected. The new Celerons will include support for SSE multimedia extensions, which are currently included in its Pentium III microprocessors, and increase performance of special versions of software that make use of the microcode extensions.

Intel's 'me too' marketing

By Peter Jackson

March 23, 2000
ZD Net UK

It was hard not to remember this odd scene when Intel announced the 1GHz Pentium III at the latest Developer Forum earlier this month. The big number is certainly impressive, and Intel presumably feels it had no choice but to announce the chip given AMD's launch of the 1GHz Athlon a few days earlier. But it was an odd thing to do, given that the previously available Pentium III Coppermine processors ran at a maximum speed of 800MHz. What happened to the orderly roll-out of the 850MHz and 866MHz variants at least, and perhaps a 933 or 950MHz before the big hoop-la of 1GHz?

VIA MPU spinoff take two: Cyrix departures and equity stakes

March 23, 2000
Electronic News Online

The new company, which has yet to be named, will be 100 percent owned by VIA. In Taipei, Robert Brown, marketing manager, denied rumors circulating on the Internet that VIA intends to enter some form of partnership with AMD.

Rambus takes Hitachi patent suit to ITC, adds Sega to complaint

By Jack Robertson

March 23, 2000
Semiconductor Business News

Rambus, of Mountain View, Calif., reiterated claims in the new ITC suit that were filed in its earlier federal court suit that Hitachi violated Rambus patents on clock timing in semiconductor chips (see Jan. 18 story). The ITC suit speficially identifies the Hitachi SH microprocessor family as well as SDRAM and double data rate (DDR) SDRAM memory chips. The Sega Dreamcast electronic game console uses the Hitachi SH processors.

The Register Files

Chen pep talk fails to stem Cyrix resignations

By Mike Magee

March 23, 2000
The Register

Insiders said that Chen arrived at the HQ yesterday, and addressed the troops for around 30 minutes. "He said that nothing is really going to change, even in the wake of [Tuesday's] mass exodus," our inside source said.

AMD board stands firm behind Jerry Sanders

By Mike Magee

March 23, 2000
The Register

In the latest SEC filing, which outlines changes to be discussed at the meeting on 27 April, AMD says that the proposal, which is similar to one made two years back and then rejected, should be rejected by shareholders now, too.

Cheap chip onslaught from Intel, AMD

By Michael Kanellos

March 22, 2000
C/Net

Next week, Intel will unveil two new Celeron processors for inexpensive computers running at 566-MHz and 600-MHz, according to sources. The company will then follow up in late April with two more Celerons running at 633-MHz and 667-MHz. A 700-MHz Celeron, which in February was slated for the second half of the year, may also come out toward the end of the second quarter.

The Register Files

Cyrix folk walk out after Via revelation

By Mike Magee

March 22, 2000
The Register

According to sources in Richardson, Steve McMahan, former director of engineering, and eight other key people left the firm yesterday to join startup Navarro Networks, run by a former Cyrix vice president called Mark Bluhm. The move, apparently, was unrelated to the announcement.

Via Technologies plans to spin off CPU business

By Macabe Keliher

March 20, 2000
Electronic Buyers' News

“We already have CPU products on the market, and business is suitable to create a separate company to deal exclusively with CPUs,” said We-chi Chen, president and chief executive of Via.

Via will own the new company and invest between $100 million and $300 million in the venture. Chen said that he considered acquiring a CPU company, but instead decided to spin off the business.

Rambus shares slide as questions multiply

By Michael Kanellos

March 21, 2000
C/Net

Shares of Rambus, which designs high-speed memory for computers, were at $266.58 at the close of regular trading today, down $50.44 for the day and more than $200 below the all-time high of $471 hit earlier this month. The stock traded at volume of approximately 7.5 million shares, more than triple the average 2.2 million.

Rambus uses stock to spur RDRAM output

By Anthony Cataldo

March 21, 2000
EE Times

NEC reached certain shipment goals of RDRAMs and Rambus-in-line memory modules (RIMMs) to PC makers to qualified to receive the stock warrants, which enable NEC to purchase 30,000 shares of Rambus for less than the market price, according to Rambus.

The Register Files

Consumers told to watch out for Intel samples

By Mike Magee

March 21, 2000
The Register

That follows a number of reports from savvy end users who have discovered machines containing engineering samples, which do not have overclockability removed, and also from one reader who was sold an overclockable CPU by mistake and wants to keep it.

Via scotches AMD merger rumours

By Mike Magee

March 21, 2000
The Register

The news is already prompting widespread speculation that AMD and Via could tie up their businesses, in a bid to give chip major Intel an even tougher run than it has had in the course of the last four months.

Intel i820 sales flap weakly towards flop

By Mike Magee

March 20, 2000
The Register

At CeBIT 2000 last month, we reported that a number of Taiwanese mobo manufacturers were unhappy with sales of mainboards using the i820 (Camino) chipset, despite attempts to fix problems which dogged its introduction last year.

Overheating Intel parts threaten Toshiba laptops

By Joe Wilcox

March 17, 2000
C/Net

The flaw, which first appeared in Toshiba Satellite 4100 models, affects certain notebooks containing 400-MHz Pentium II and Celeron processors. Toshiba Tectra 8000 notebooks also could be affected. The problem, however, may not be confined to Toshiba.

Intel was saddled with a number of product glitches in 1999, including an embarrassing bug that delayed the release of PCs containing Rambus memory.

Intel takes on OEM role with new cache-server product line

By Jack Robertson

March 17, 2000
Electronic Buyers' News

Intel is billing the platform as its NetStructure product line, though its competitors refer to the systems more often as network-appliance or cache servers. Semantics aside, Intel's first box is one of seven that the company eventually plans to ship under its own brand.

Though it's not a stranger to the OEM market-having long manufactured PC motherboards and white boxes for third-party resellers-Intel's latest foray will pit it against some of its largest processor customers, most notably stalwart supporter Dell Computer Corp., Round Rock, Texas, which makes the Power Edge cache server.

I/O silicon suppliers get behind new PCI standard

By Mark Hachman

March 17, 2000
Electronic Buyers' News

This week, vendors such as Adaptec Inc., LSI Logic Corp., and QLogic Corp. gathered in San Jose at the PCI-X Forum to feel out OEMs and win their support for the new standard, an extension of the peripheral-components interface. While no chip suppliers announced products, most laid out timetables for delivery by the second half of this year.

National reveals chip plans for wireless market

By Stephan Ohr and Rick Merritt

March 17, 2000
EE Times

National made the disclosure during its technology demonstrations here, which emphasized its strength in market-focused processors and analog components. The company used the demos to take the lid off its wireless WebPAD devices, motor controllers, thin-client terminals, DVDs and audio players. The showings were also intended to show strength in mixed-signal communications and interface ICs, as well as National's own tweaks to the X86 processor architecture.

The Register Files

Tom's Hardware dissects Rambus

By Drew Cullen

March 16, 2000
The Register

Reviewer Van Smith explains why poor yields makes Rambus so costly (a whopping 750 per cent more expensive than SDRAM equivalents) and he notes the vendor "misinformation" concerning performance. "It seems to be common practice at Intel and Rambus to unload everything they can find to handicap SDRAM when comparing it with RDRAM," he says.

Rambus memory gets Dataquest vote

By Mike Magee

March 16, 2000
The Register

Richard Gordon, at Dataquest said that last year the future of Rambus was unclear because of conflicting messages sent out by market leaders. "Intel left the whole market in limbo," he said. But now Intel has made its position clear on Rambus, partly because existing memory technology will run out of steam.

Why Intel's Foster will use DDR memory

By Mike Magee

March 17, 2000
The Register

Now, at last, there is clarification on the topic, from a savvy reader, as well as a leading industry analyst.

Today's Related Stories

Intel Module Flaw Hits Toshiba Notebooks

By Amanda Stirpe

March 16, 2000
Computer Reseller News

Manny Vera, an Intel spokesman, said Intel discovered the problem in February. He said the issue was confined to the Toshiba Satellite 400MHz notebooks, which used a faulty processor module.

Chip bugs hobble Toshiba laptops

By Ken Popovich

March 17, 2000
PC Week Online

The problem was brought to Intel's attention in late February after buyers of Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. notebooks began complaining to the Irvine, Calif., PC maker about CPU failures.