Microprocessor
Headline News

Top Stories for September 8, 2000 (details below)
C/Net	Crusoe to be in Sony laptops next month
TechWeb	Sony Has Transmeta-Based Laptop On Deck
C/Net	Hitachi's Transmeta-based notebooks to debut
VNU Net	Hitachi's Transmeta PC won't reach Europe
ZDNet News	Intel's portable Timna to debut at 700MHz
The Register Files
The Register	Intel shoots self in foot. Twice
The Register	Hitachi plans Transmeta Crusoe notebook for November

Microprocessor Headline News

Collected By Robert R. Collins

Week of September 3, 2000

Older News

September 8, 2000
Crusoe to be in Sony laptops next month By The Associated Press September 7, 2000 C/Net	The power-saving Crusoe chip manufactured by Transmeta that promises to double the life of batteries hits the consumer market next month inside Sony's new ultra-slim laptop. Sony's latest models of the VAIO computer PictureBook, powered by Transmeta's much-hyped microprocessor, are set to land on store shelves in mid- to late October. "It's tailored toward the traveling business professional," Mark Hanson, vice president and general manager of Sony's PC product line, said of the Crusoe-backed PictureBook. "Now they can fly coast-to-coast without having to look for another battery."
Sony Has Transmeta-Based Laptop On Deck By Reuters September 8, 2000 TechWeb	If chip giant Intel Corp. thought it had plenty of time to design a microprocessor that would rival closely held Transmeta Corp.'s own revolutionary offering, it might want to think again. The first computer--or device, for that matter -- to use Transmeta's Crusoe chip will be on storeshelves far sooner than most thought. Sony Corp., maker of the sexiest laptop PC now on the market, the Vaio, is expected to announce Friday its ultra-light and compact PictureBook laptop will appear on store shelves in October.
Hitachi's Transmeta-based notebooks to debut By Bloomberg News September 7, 2000 C/Net	Hitachi, Japan's No. 1 electronics maker, said it will start selling notebook computers powered by Transmeta's new Crusoe processor in November. The move follows Sony's announcement last month that the company will start using Crusoe for its Vaio laptop computers. Quanta, the world's No. 2 maker of notebook computers, said this week the Taiwanese company will ship Crusoe-powered notebooks to IBM by the end of this year.
Hitachi's Transmeta PC won't reach Europe By Jo Ticehurst September 7, 2000 VNU Net	Hitachi will launch a notebook PC based on Transmeta's Crusoe microprocessor in November, but the device will not be on sale in Europe. A spokeswoman for Hitachi confirmed that a Transmeta-based notebook would be launched in Japan and the US, "but we have no plans to sell the product in Europe", she said. Hitachi, IBM, Gateway and Sony are the only companies to commit to launching products based on Transmeta's low power consumption Crusoe chip, which it claims prolongs the battery life in ultra lightweight computers.
Intel's portable Timna to debut at 700MHz By John Spooner September 7, 2000 ZDNet News	Intel's upcoming chip for cheap PCs and portables will offer improvements for low-cost PC makers -- and possibly consumers. Intel Corp.'s first Timna chip for mobile computers will be a 700MHz version released toward the end of the first half of next year, according to sources. The news suggests that Intel's delayed plans for delivering Timna to reduce the cost of low-end PCs are back on track.
The Register Files
Intel shoots self in foot. Twice By Andrew Thomas September 7, 2000 The Register	We're obviously going to have to stop writing nice things about Intel, because no sooner do we praise Chipzilla for doing something well, than it all goes horribly pear-shaped. We praised the Great Stan of Chipsets for producing a nice mobo in the shape of the Sheena Easton Intel makes nice mobo shock! and then we found that they've somehow omitted to ship the best available audio drivers for it.
Hitachi plans Transmeta Crusoe notebook for November By John Lettice September 7, 2000 The Register	Hitachi today confirmed that it would be using Transmeta's Crusoe in notebooks from November, and added that it will roll out Crusoe Linux Internet appliances at the same time. The company was one of a clutch of Japanese supporters announced by Transmeta CEO Dave Ditzel earlier this year, and one by one these now seem to be falling into line. It's still early days, but it's beginning to seem possible that Transmeta has some real momentum behind it, and the ability to win customers from Intel on technical merit, rather than on price. Transmeta now has firm public commitments from Sony, Fujitsu and Hitachi, and unless IBM decides to warehouse the bunch of ThinkPad 240s it's sourcing from Quanta, it'll be live with Transmeta machines before year end too.
September 7, 2000
Intel hits a speed bump By Steven Musil September 2, 2000 C/Net	A glitch in Intel's fastest chip forced Dell Computer and IBM to stop shipping PCs that use the chip, opening the door for rival chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices to possibly profit from the gaffe. The chipmaker recalled its fastest chip--the 1.13-GHz Pentium III--saying the chip could cause system errors when running certain programs and at a particular temperature. The problem is with circuits of the chip that have been shown to malfunction in laboratory tests under certain conditions.
Intel Shares Slide On Analyst's Downgrade By Ken Schachter September 5, 2000 TechWeb Finance	Shares of Intel slid more than 5 percent Tuesday morning in the wake of an analyst's downgrade. U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray analyst Ashok Kumar trimmed his rating on Intel Corp. (stock: INTC), the No. 1 semiconductor company, to "buy" from "strong buy," citing "imminent oversupply," which could lead to a hostile pricing environment. Kumar said he expected the stock to retreat to its base in the 60s.
Intel downgrade pegged to PC sales slowdown By Joe Wilcox September 5, 2000 C/Net	Shares of chipmaker Intel dropped more than 6 percent today after an influential Wall Street analyst cut his outlook for the company. The reasons for the downgrade from U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray analyst Ashok Kumar could mean slower-than-expected sales for virtually every PC manufacturer in the second half. His bleak forecast could mean trouble not just for Intel but also for rival chipmaker AMD and major PC makers such as Compaq Computer, Dell Computer and Gateway.
Transmeta alters plans, buys back technology licenses By Ian Cameron September 5, 2000 Electronics Times	Microprocessor startup Transmeta Inc. (Santa Clara, Calif.) has quietly changed its business plan. The company has bought back its two main technology-licensing agreements from IBM Corp. and Toshiba Corp., and now plans to market products on its own as a fabless chip supplier. The changed stance is catalogued in Transmeta's registration statement for an initial public offering filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Transmeta has bought back from IBM and Toshiba marketing and manufacturing rights to its line of Crusoe X86-compatible processors, which are intended to compete with offerings from Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. IBM will remain as sole foundry for Transmeta, which must now establish a presence in the market without partners against well-heeled rivals, and with debt incurred by the buyout of its earlier deals.
Will IBM beat Sony with Transmeta-based laptops? By Bloomberg News September 5, 2000 C/Net	IBM contractor Quanta Computer may beat Sony to the punch and become the first company to mass-produce notebook computers with a Transmeta processor. Quanta, one of the world's top notebook makers, said today it expects to begin shipping notebooks with Transmeta processors by year's end to IBM. The schedule coincides with Sony's plan to introduce its own Transmeta-powered notebook.
Broadcom fires back after Intel sues By Ian Fried September 5, 2000 C/Net	Broadcom chief executive Henry Nicholas today blasted Intel, saying the chip rival is using a patent-infringement lawsuit against his company to try to slow competition. Intel sued Broadcom last week, claiming that the maker of communications chips infringed on five Intel patents. An Intel representative confirmed that Intel did not try to negotiate with Broadcom over the patent issues before filing the suit. The two have an ongoing trade secrets lawsuit relating to four former Intel workers, three of whom were hired by Broadcom.
The Register Files
Pentium 4 positioning a puzzle By Mike Magee September 4, 2000 The Register	Ignoring the rash of benchmarks we've seen on the Web over the last month or so, including our own contribution to the party, it's still hard to see how PC companies are supposed to sell systems using the 1.4GHz Pentium 4 when it launches come October. Is it the type of machine you want to buy yourself for Yuletide? Although senior Intel executives were at pains to tell delegates at its Autumn Developer Forum that the chip was aimed at performance systems costing $2,000 plus, and although it dropped prices of its Pentium III 1GHz chip last Monday, it's still hard to see where the Pentium 4 finds its niche.
Intel's Foster caught in de flagrante? By Mike Magee September 4, 2000 The Register	An Intel spin doctor at IDF took us aside at the beer-to-beer fest on Wednesday and asked us if we had any idea how the Japanese journos could score so many scoops on NDA'd stuff? We admitted we hadn't an earthly, but one thing's for sure, those boys at Pricewatch in Japan are quick to get shots up on the Web. If you take a look at this page, you'll see some pics of Willamette and a possible first bit of chip porn on its elder server brother, Foster.
Politics of Rambus Affair inspire By Mike Magee September 4, 2000 The Register	Bitter and open war between intellectual property firm Rambus and memory companies Hyundai, Micron and Infineon conceal desperate negotiations and other intriguing shenanigans which reveal just how high the stakes are in the PC industry, and perhaps more importantly, in the money markets. But the big question occupying many investors as they watch the Rambus carousel turn, is whether an 87 year old potato tycoon caused the Micron worm to turn and bite the Mountain View company last week, or whether Steve Appleton, CEO of the firm, called in m'learned friends.
Fresh Pentium 4 benchmarks hit Web By Mike Magee September 1, 2000 The Register	Intel may have browbeaten 2CPU into submission (see Intel Pentium 4 benchmarks stalinised), but as we said earlier today, genies that come out of bottles have a habit of going walkabout. And a fresh set of Pentium 4 benchmarks, sure enough, has appeared on the Web, this time on a Japanese site. The figures compare the Pentium 4 against Athlon Thunderbirds, the 1GHz Pentium III, and a number of other processor platforms.
More Pentium 4 benchmarks tip up By Mike Magee September 2, 2000 The Register	A PC manufacturer close to Intel's plans has supplied The Register with benchmarks of the up-and-coming Pentium 4. At the same time, it appears that Intel has now scheduled a launch event for the week of October 30th, by which time the Pentium 4 will have gone through a couple of more steps. Currently the chipset stepping is B0, and our source cautions us that these tests are on a beta platform, using non-final steppings of both CPU and chipset.
Intel Pentium 4 benchmarks stalinised By Mike Magee September 1, 2000 The Register	Hardware site 2CPU, which a few days ago published a set of Pentium 4 benchmarks, is reporting that pressure from Intel has forced it to pull them from its site. A brief statement, which can be found on the page where the benchmarks formerly known as Pentium 4 benchmarks resided, now says "the benchmarks have been removed at the request of Intel".
Confirmed: IBM to roll with Crusoe TM5400 ThinkPads this year By John Lettice September 5, 2000 The Register	IBM has demoed a Transmeta-based notebook, but officially the company isn't committed to shipping it as a product. Naturally nobody actually believes this, and a blab today from Taiwanese notebook manufacturer Quanta Computer confirms that Big Blue will be rolling out quantities of the beasts, under the ThinkPad 240 X-series banner, by the end of the year. According to a Bloomberg report earlier today Quanta will be shipping smallish quantities of Transmeta 240s, probably using the Crusoe TM5400, to IBM before the end of the year.
PC Rambus RIMM future hangs on mobos By Mike Magee September 5, 2000 The Register	While the price of Rambus RIMMs remains dependent on where you buy and in what quantity you buy it, a major manufacturer of modules for both the SDRAM and Rambus market told The Register today that availability of parts is good and the price continues to drop. John Trolle, CEO of MCT in Denmark, a firm which makes and sells modules in Europe, Asia and the US, said: "Price on Rambus memory is coming down and SDRAM is stabilising and even going up a little bit."
AMD DDR boards to arrive October By Mike Magee September 5, 2000 The Register	Hardware site Ace's Hardware is reporting that AMD, Via and Ali are readying a series of double data rate (DDR) memory announcements for October. The site, quoting a Taiwanese publication, says that DDR chipsets for AMD will start to ship in September, and volume production will hit the beginning of October. While AMD's own solution appears to be ahead of the rest, Ali will release limited volumes in October.
Ghost of memory standard clanks through corridors By Mike Magee September 6, 2000 The Register	In our relentless search to cover the twists and turns of the memory business, wheresoever it may lead us, a reader asked us whatever happened to SLDRAM. Sixteen memory firms, including the mighty Micron, teamed up in 1998 to form a corporation which would revolutionise the memory market, with the Boise firm even managing to produce samples of high speed memory.

Microprocessor Headline News

Week of September 3, 2000

The Register Files

The Register Files

Microprocessor
Headline News