 |  |
 | |
|  |
|  |
|  |
|  |
|  |
|  |
|  |
|  |
|  |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Microprocessor
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top Stories for April 20, 2000 (details below) | |
| SiliconValley.com | Intel shares slip amid manufacturing concerns |
| TechExtreme.com | Master Tactician: AMD's strategy for conquering Intel |
| C/Net | AMD unveils new generation of cheap notebook chips |
| TechExtreme.com | A look at Intel's chipset |
| The Register Files | |
| The Register | Intel confirms major chip shortages |
| Microprocessor
Headline News Collected By Robert R. Collins |
Week of April 16, 2000 |
Older News |
| April 20, 2000 | ||
Intel shares slip amid manufacturing concernsApril 19, 2000 |
Intel Corp. shares fell on Wednesday as concerns over manufacturing constraints overshadowed the computer chip leader's first-quarter earnings, which came in just slightly ahead of estimates.
Intel's shares had a huge run-up on both Monday and Tuesday ahead of the earnings report, which came after the close of the market on Tuesday. On Wednesday, its shares fell 9-15/16 to close at 119-1/16 in heavy late trading on the Nasdaq. That compares with a 52-week high of 145-3/8. |
|
Master Tactician: AMD's strategy for conquering IntelApril 19, 2000 |
On the 24th of April, expect Athlon prices to take yet another nose-dive. But within this new pricing scheme AMD is quietly giving Intel more to worry about. Of course, it isn't just the fact that they are lowering prices; it's the way the processor line is priced towards to lower end. First, lets re-cap some stories about Intel and it's cpu shortages and let's see if we can't sort through the tangled mess of press releases, conferences, and trade shows to find out the real reason AMD prices its low-end Athlon's the way they are. | |
AMD unveils new generation of cheap notebook chipsBy Michael Kanellos April 19, 2000 |
Advanced Micro Devices released two new lines of microprocessors for notebooks this week, and Intel will follow with new portable chips in a few days.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chipmaker released the K6-2+ and K6-3+ microprocessors this week. The chips--which run at 450, 475 and 500 MHz--are enhanced versions of AMD's K6-2 and K6-3 families. Rather than market these processors for both desktops and notebooks, AMD will concentrate on portables with these chips. A notebook version of its touted Athlon chip will appear toward the end of the year, the company said. |
|
A look at Intel's chipsetApril 19, 2000 |
With all of the new technology available today, it was time to reexamine building a new test bed for my house. In the past three months since I first broached the topic of which drive technology is better, I have been on the lookout for what my next system platform would be. Would I continue with another SCSI based motherboard, and implement a second server using the SCSI160 technology? Or is the IDE platform capable of meeting my high performance system requirements? As I have tried to identify the best way to approach this issue, I have found some major drawbacks to making any system builds these days. | |
The Register Files |
||
Intel confirms major chip shortagesBy Mike Magee April 19, 2000 |
Demand exceeded supply for Intel microprocessors in the first half of this year, and that has led to an uncomfortable shortage of chips, CEO Craig Barrett conceded yesterday as the firm reported its Q1 financial results.
That is leading Intel to spend more money investing in increased fab capacity, Barrett said. "While supply remains tight entering the second quarter, we are ramping our .18 micron manufacturing technology rapidly in five facilities, and expanding to eight facilities by year-end, which will substantially increase supply in the coming quarters. We are excited about our product introductions slated for the second half, when we will refresh our entire microprocessor line." |
|
| April 19, 2000 | ||
Questions surround Intel earnings, futureBy Michael Kanellos April 18, 2000 |
Intel today reported first-quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates, but the next three months will be a tough time for the leading chipmaker.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company reported earnings of 71 cents a share, excluding several extraordinary events, coming in 2 cents above First Call's consensus analyst estimate. The figure is 32 percent better the 57 cents per share reported in the first quarter of last year. Revenue came to $8 billion, 13 percent higher than sales in the first quarter of 1999. |
|
Intel achieves tax-break-aided $3.1B in Q1 earningsApril 18, 2000 |
Intel Corp. achieved first quarter net earnings of $3.1 billion excluding acquisition-related costs, or 88 cents per share, based on $8 billion in revenues.
The earnings figure included a tax settlement with the Internal Revenue Service that boosted earnings for the quarter by $600 million, or 17 cents a share. Interest and investment-related income also reportedly played a factor in Intel's quarterly results. |
|
National strikes two partnerships for Internet appliances based on Geode processorApril 18, 2000 |
National Semiconductor Corp. here is working with the Internet ApplianceNetwork and Vestel USA Inc. to promote and develop Internet appliances based on National's Geode WebPAD technology.
Today, the chip maker announced a strategic partnership with Vestel, of Mountain View, Calif., under which Vestel will manufacture an inexpensive Internet access device using the Geode WebPAD hardware and software reference design. |
|
AMD releases K6 processors for notebook PCs in 0.18-micronApril 18, 2000 |
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. here today brought out mobile K6-III and K6-2 processor families that are the first mobile devices to be fabricated with AMD's advanced 0.18-micron technology.
The Mobile AMD-K6-III+ and Mobile AMD-K6-2+ processors boast speeds up to 500 MHz. They feature high-speed on-chip L2 cache, AMD's PowerNow! battery-saving technology, and an enhanced implementation of AMD's 3DNow! instruction set with digital signal processing (DSP) instructions. PowerNow! allows the processor to operate at different clock speeds and voltages, depending on the user's need. |
|
The Register Files |
||
Via-S3 deal won't solve Intel riftBy Mike Magee April 18, 2000 |
The complex deal brokered between Via and S3 is unlikely to put an end to the legal wrangling kicked off by chip giant Intel last year.
Sources close to S3 told The Register today that despite the extensive cross-licensing deals that exist between it an Intel, Via will not get respite despite its acquisition of the firm. The source said that the cross-licensing deals between S3 and Intel, which came about as a result of some wise buying of Exponential patents, were not part of the territory that Via has bought. |
|
Intel CuMine supply problems a twisted, complex taleBy Mike Magee April 17, 2000 |
On Friday, we reported that a large number of manufacturers have been told there will be continuing shortages of Coppermines until June. Intel has 70,000 employees working for it worldwide and a large number of fabrication plants, R&D centres, as well as a large headcount of admin, sales and marketing staff. It's little wonder, therefore, that from time to time things go awry.
We'd dearly love to see Intel's supplier list but suspect that getting those details are even harder than finding out its roadmap for the next six months. Which lucky vendor, for example, supplies Intel with its soap, flannels and bog rolls? Who makes its bunny suits? Any of these factors going terribly wrong could all have an effect on Intel's ability to supply enough microprocessors for the market. |
|
| April 17, 2000 | ||
With S3's graphics biz, Via assembles PC's holy trinityBy Mark Hachman and Faith Hung April 14, 2000 |
With the assimilation of S3 Inc.'s graphics-chip unit, Via Technologies Inc. now stands on the three legs necessary to serve as a top-tier supplier in the low-end-PC market: graphics, core logic, and microprocessors.
Via, which is emerging as the Intel Corp. of the Far East, last week added S3's graphics-chip unit to S3-Via Inc., the joint venture shared by both companies. However, Via, Taipei, Taiwan, has now assumed majority control of the venture, said Wen-chi Chen, president and chief executive of Via. The transaction was characterized as a transferral of assets. |
|
AMD commands 24 percent market share in JapanApril 14, 2000 |
On a visit to Tokyo marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of AMD Japan Ltd, W. Jerry Sanders III, chairman and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), said his company's market share for x86 processors in Japan is growing rapidly. According to AMD's own figures, the company's share of the overall Japanese market for x86-based PCs has reached 24 percent, with AMD processors being used in 35.3 percent of desktop machines and 17 percent of notebook PCs sold in the retail sector, Electronic Business Asia, an e-inSite affiliate, reports. | |
Intel Is Still No. 1 Chip MakerBy Bolaji Ojo April 13, 2000 |
Intel the world's No. 1 microprocessor maker, held onto its leadership position in 1999 as the world's largest semiconductor company on a revenue basis, by claiming a global market share of 15.9 percent, according to the latest industry ranking by Dataquest.
Dataquest, in San Jose, Calif., said worldwide semiconductor sales rose to $168.7 billion in 1999, up 21.6 percent, from $138.7 billion in 1998 as the industry bounced back strongly and eclipsed the prior sales record of $151.3 billion set in 1995. |
|
AMD's blowout quarter has analysts reelingBy Ken Popovich April 13, 2000 |
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. had market analysts seeing double Wednesday with its stunning first-quarter earnings, which were twice as large as what Wall Street had expected.
"Unbelievable, I mean literally unbelievable," said Peter Wolff, an analyst with ING Barings in New York shortly after learning of AMD's earnings. "They blew away the Street." AMD posted record net income for the quarter of $189.3 million, or $1.15 a diluted share -- nearly double Wall Street analysts' expectations of 58 cents a share. |
|
The Register Files |
||
Caminogate: Will the horror never end?By Andrew Thomas April 14, 2000 |
Intel's chipset from hell, the i820, has projectile vomited in Chipzilla's face yet again. The cursed Cape Cod mobo hit the headlines again this week, this time Intel blaming memory manufacturers for problems with the Serial Presence Detect (SPD) chip included on new SDRAM
DIMMS.
The SPD holds information about the speed and size of the memory and passes it to the system BIOS. If the data is missing or unreadable, the system either hangs or fails to boot at all. |
|
Disaster hits Intel Coppermine supplyBy Mike Magee April 14, 2000 |
PC manufacturers and distributors have learned from Intel that there will be a massive shortage of Coppermine processors until June.
The problem is at its acutest on the Pentium III desktop range, but is particularly bad for chips running at speeds over 700MHz, sources says. However, The Register understands that Dell, a premier customer, will continue to receive ample supplies of microprocessors, while other firms will have to make do with what they get. |
|
AMD's Athlon strategy pays offBy Mike Magee April 13, 2000 |
Semiconductor firm Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) made a net profit of $189.3 million on a turnover of $1.09 billion for its latest financial quarter, and attributed the profit surge to strong sales of both flash memory and its x86 Athlon microprocessor.
The profit came in a quarter that is usually not the best for semiconductor firms, but was helped by Intel's inability to ship as many of its x86 processors as it would have liked. |
|
Rambus far from Rambust despite lossBy Mike Magee April 13, 2000 |
Licensing technology for Sony's PlayStation accounted for the bulk of Rambus revenues in its second financial quarter to 31 March, the firm said yesterday.
Revenues, at $15.7 million for the quarter, were a record, but after taking into account employee stock option charges amounting to $171 million, the balance sheet showed a paper loss of $166.8 million. Revenues for this period include $4.4 million from an unnamed licensee which Rambus has cancelled its contract with. Rambus licenses its technology in return for royalties to third-parties. |
|
| Advertisement |