Introducing The Intel Xeon 5100

Intel Corp., Tom Kilroy, vice president of Intel Corp., Digital Enterprise Group, displays Intel's new Dual-Core Xeon Processor 5100 at an event in San Francisco.

The new chip, the Intel Xeon 5100, is the company's answer to AMD's Opteron processor, whose performance and power management have stolen share from Intel for more than three years. Intel says the new Xeon more than doubles the performance of its previous top-of-the-line server chip while drawing 40 percent less power.
Intel shares rose 28 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $18.28, in Monday trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. AMD shares fell 48 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $24.66 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Xeon 5100 is the first chip to come to market using a new blueprint, or microarchitecture, Santa Clara-based Intel designed from scratch to help lower the energy consumption of servers and PCs. As businesses' computing needs have grown over the past several years, power consumption has emerged as one of the chief costs of running large data centers.
Intel said the new chips, which feature two computing cores, or "brains" on a single chip, also outperformed AMD's top Opteron product on more than 25 benchmarks commonly used to compare competing computers.
Besides using a new microarchitecture, the Xeons are loaded with new features designed to boost power efficiency and add new functions, Kilroy said. One allows the chip to draw less current by shutting off parts when they're not needed. Another feature adds so-called virtualization capabilities to the chip so administrators have more control over how tasks are doled out to various parts of their networks.
Prices range from $209 to $851 each depending on their features when bought in volume.
The new Xeons are the first of three new products Intel is rolling out this summer in a bid to regain market share lost to AMD. Over the past few years, Sunnyvale-based AMD, once considered an imitator of Intel, has introduced a host of homegrown technologies that have caused many of its processors, mostly in the server and desktop arena, to outperform those of its larger rival.
In late July, Intel is expected to roll out a new desktop processor based on the new microarchitecture, dubbed "Core." Intel has claimed the Core 2 Duo, which will feature two computing cores, will close the performance gap between its current desktop offerings and AMD's Athlon 64 processor. Source

Marvell Will Pay Intel $600M for Intel unit

Marvell will be acquiring the business that makes processors based on Intel's XScale technology, which has produced the chips used in the popular BlackBerry and Treo handheld devices. The unit employs 1,400 people, and Marvell said it expects to retain the "vast majority" of them.

The sale comes after Intel lost 5.3 percentage points of share for PC and server microprocessors to competitor Advanced Micro Devices Inc. in 2005. In April, Santa Clara-based Intel reported a 38 percent decline in first-quarter profit as gross margins fell below forecasts.

Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini a few days later vowed to restructure the company in an attempt to create a "leaner, more agile and more efficient" company. The deal allows Intel to focus more on other kinds of processors, such as chips for notebook computers.

Marvell, also based in Santa Clara, is to pay cash, although Intel has an option to receive $100 million of the purchase price in Marvell stock. Marvell said it may take a charge for research and development costs when the deal closes. Source

Dell Laptop Explodes

An Inquirer Reader attending a conference in Japan was sat just feet away from a laptop computer that suddenly exploded into flames, in what could have been a deadly accident.
Gaston, our astonished reader reports: "The damn thing was on fire and produced several explosions for more than five minutes".

Should you witness such an event, his advice is, "Don't try anything courageous/stupid, stay away, away, away!"
"For the record, this is a Dell machine," notes Gaston. "It is only a matter of time until such an incident breaks out on a plane," he suggests.

Our witness managed to catch all the action in these amazing pictures.

"Fire extinguishers leave a mess on your suit and belongings; pack your stuff (if you can) and leave, leave, leave!" he advises.

We don't have any further details of the model of the computer in question. In light of the evidence, however, we'd suggest you avoid actually using a laptop on your lap. Ouch.
OMG OMG !!! That's so worst. I think this was a warning for all laptop user
Source

Maxtor Fusion 500GB Home Media Hub

Maxtor 500 GB Fusion media hub combines elements of network-attached storage and personal media servers to act as a vault for your photos, video, and music.

Although its consumption by drive-maker Seagate has just been completed, Maxtor is quietly rolling out its Maxtor Fusion personal media hub, which combines the concepts of network-attached storage (NAS) with personal media servers to act as a central media repository on your home network for your photos, music, and videos.

Based in part on technology developed by Fabrik (co-founded by former Maxtor honcho Mike Cordano), the Maxtor Fusion doesn't look a whoel lot different from the company's OneTouch backup drives—except, under the hood, its packing a few surprises, including a 500 GB 7200RPM hard drive. But the Fusion also sports built-in gigabit Ethernet, two USB 2.0 ports (which can be used to connect additional hard drive storage), and Fabrik's web-based media interface which acts as a mini-server, taking advantage of AJAX to enable drag-and-drop functionality and other interface pleasantries not normally seen in Web applications. Users can store their household's photos, music, video on the Fusion and organize it using a Web browser, adding buttons, tags, descriptors, and folders.

The Fusion also enables users to share their content: users just indicate they'd like to make content available, enter appropriate email address(es), and the Fusion will send email invitations to your guests (assuming, naturally, you've got a broadband Internet connection). Fusion owners can also create user accounts on the device with their own logins and passwords. Bloggers will be pleased to note content on the Fusion can be "micro-linked" to blogs and Web pages, and will match tags up with those already on your blog. And the Fusion does its best to protect your content from the big bad Internet, offering passwords protection and other security features.

The Fusion is usable from current Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems (Firefox is your best bet for a browser), and should be available by August 2006 in wide distribution for about $800.Source

Seagate surprised at how easily its $1.9bn swallowing of Maxtor

Seagate was pleasantly surprised at how easily its $1.9bn swallowing of Maxtor last year passed regulatory muster.

The deal got the final thumbs up from shareholders in May after US and EU scrutineers greenlighted the deal in double-quick time. Seagate now controls more than 60 per cent of the enterprise HDD market.
Bosses didn't think they would get the go ahead until at least September this year, and had predicted that the union would only be fully consummated "early calendar 2007". The dual-branded giant now expects to be fully integrated by December, months ahead of schedule.

Seagate EMEA sales and business development director Kevin O'Dwyer told The Register monopolies watchdogs had let it through "surprisingly smooth and quick".

The EU explained its decision in a statement dated April 27:

On the supply side, there are eight other HDD manufacturers who compete against Seagate and Maxtor in the overall HDD business, of which three are in the enterprise HDD market. Manufacturers who are active in the production of HDDs for other applications face relatively low barriers to entry into the neighbouring HDD markets. Moreover, existing capacities in the different HDD markets can be extended without major cost and delay.

Seagate said it would use its even bigger pie slice to stabilise supplies to its customers for better retention, rather than flood the market to squeeze weaker competitors. The Maxtor brand will be maintained for retail external HDDs, where Seagate recognises its pull with punters. Although it has laid off 6,000 Maxtor staff, manufacturing capacity will increase.
The comments came at its annual marketing blitz, where it showcased a raft of products it has been trailing for some time. Seagate's sales types will push consumer storage and notebook drives as their strongest prospect for revenue growth in light of relatively stagnant forecasts in desktop and enterprise sectors. By adding an 1.8 inch iPod-friendly 60GB, 5mm form factor HDD to its range, Seagate reckons it now has the magnetic platters for every occasion.

The most notable enterprise offering was the Barracuda ES SATA drive, which bucks the trend towards faster spindles by slowing things back down to 7,200rpm. Seagate's wheeze is to punt reliability and capacity – 750GB – over performance.® Source

Yamipod For Your Ipod

YamiPod is a freeware application to efficiently manage your iPod. It can be run directly from your iPod and needs no installation. It also has extra features such as rss news and podcast support, remove duplicates, easy notes editor (with multipage support), songs synchronization, playlists export and much more. It has been translated in 12 languages.

YamiPod http://www.yamipod.com/main/modules/home/

Intel sees standardized components as key to higher notebook sales

Intel will be aggressively promoting standardized and "Intel-approved" notebook components in an effort to make it easier for more system manufacturers to build and support notebook computers, TG Daily has learned.

The goal of the initiative is to bring the capabilities of smaller system builders - generally referred to as "the channel" - up to par with the dominating few notebook manufacturers worldwide. According to Intel sources, the channel currently accounts for 30% of the firm's processor sales and for about 40% of its desktop business. However, the channel stands at about 5% of the notebook market and so far has been unable to capitalize on the quickly growing notebook market, sources suggested.

Intel believes that especially the lack of standardized components has been a major catalyst to develop an environment in which the Taiwanese ODMs (original design manufacturers) Quanta, Asus and Compal build more than 60% of all notebooks sold worldwide. Standardized components, Intel believes, will increase the competitiveness of smaller system builders and open a new growth area for mobile processors.

Notebooks that emerge from this thought - which was given the name "mobile acceleration program - will be able to be identified through a "Verified by Intel" letter. The components standardized within the program include the battery pack, A/C adapter, optical disk drive, hard drive, LCD screen, keyboard as well as a customizable panel or "sticker" that can be glued on the laptop lid. TgDaily

Toshiba Will Join Ipod Market???

Starz Entertainment Group and Toshiba America Consumer Products plan to announce their partnership on Monday, a deal that will make SEG's Vongo the first movie download service available on a portable device.

Vongo will be a leading content provider for the newest models of Toshiba's Gigabeat Portable Media Center, which have technology based on the Microsoft Portable Media Center v2 platform.

SEG vp marketing, advanced services Joe Cantwell said these were the first portable media devices certified for the Vongo service but that others were probable.



"You could see us work on other platforms, but we do have technical performance and consumer experience requirements," he said. "The device needs to interact seamlessly with the host computer. It has to be plug-and-play. And deeper specs involve the management of the files and honoring our relationship with the studios."

Vongo offers subscriptions for $9.99 a month for unlimited access to a rotating selection of about 1,600 TV and movie titles. Consumers also may choose a pay-per-view option for individual titles at $3.99 each.

Subscribers may download content to their choice of three designated devices per account, allowing for viewing on a connected TV, PCs and products like the Toshiba Gigabeats, which Cantwell said added the flexibility today's consumers require.

"We don't want our subscribers to have to worry about synching, file location or file management," he said. "This is seamless."

The Gigabeat PMC is available in two models, 30GB for $300 and 60GB for $400. Each has a 2.4-inch QVGA color screen with 320x240 resolution, an FM tuner and the ability to transfer digital images for viewing directly from most digital cameras

Get ready for movies on your iPod.

Variety.com has reportedly obtained information from several sources that Apple is in serious negociations with movie studios to sell movies on iTunes.

But Steve Jobs and the studios have to agree on a price first.

According the Variety.com's report, Steve Jobs suggested selling all films for $9.99, but the studios have rejected the offer because they want newer films to sell for more than older releases.

The flat rate proposal is in line with Apple's iTunes pricing so far, as all songs are sold for the same price, as are TV shows and music videos.

Variety.com's sources say that iTunes will be offering movies by the end of the year.

One studio exec said, "Every studio want to have broad distribution in digital, and we all know that have Apple as part of that is very, very important".

Apple hasn't commented on the report.

Software

Others

Laptop

Storage

Processor

Network Connection

Main Board

Graphic Card

Memory