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Transmeta Corporation, the leader in efficient computing, designs, develops and sells highly efficient x86-compatible software-based microprocessors is suing Intel. AMD and Via has done it in the past and now Transmeta is suing Intel for violating 10 of its patents related to computer architecture and power efficiency, going all the way back to the Pentium III. Most notably, the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware asks that Intel stop selling affected equipment, and that monetary damages be awarded to address its woes.

I heard of Transmeta back in 2000 when they launched the Crusoe line of processors. Last year Transmeta pretty much abandoned the manufacturing of any technology, and instead set its sights on becoming a house of IP (intellectual property). It laid off 67 of its staff and focused on making designs, not implementing them.

AMD's new quad-core Opteron processor code-named Barcelona is slated to deal with the problems of virtualization performance issues when it comes out in mid 2007. That would spell bad news for Intel that has already had a VSS this year due to less than encouraging financial results.

Intel is not sitting still and it is also coming out with a quad-core processor called Intel's "Clovertown" version of Xeon that has two dual-core Xeon 5100 "Woodcrest" processors into a single package.

source

With Intel's competitor (AMD) having snapped up ATI, would it make sense to buy the other major graphics vendor (Nvidia) to stay competitive ? I guess that would make sense as Intel has already lost market share and is likely eager to make up on it. So the market is now flushed with tons of rumours of this impending takeover.

Buying Nvidia won't be cheap as Nvidia's market capitalisation is almost $11bn, and it would be double that of what AMD paid for ATI ($5.4bn). And then Intel just recently pumped $10m in K-based graphics technology developer Imagination Technologies for a continued partnership. So does Intel have a big piggy bank ?

Intel to take over Nvidia ?

This AMD people are really a busy bunch of people. They've already made Intel lose some market share in CPU market and run a VSS exercise to consolidate their financial position. And now they've got some new 65nm and 90nm Athlons, coming up to end the 2006 with a bang.

Here's the channelregister report :

November is a key month in the quarter. Then, AMD will introduce the Athlon 64 X2 5400+, 5600+ and 6000+, all all 90nm dual-core parts based on the company's 'Windsor' chip design, according to allegedly leaked information posted by German-language site Planet3DNow.

Intel has announced their Intel Core Processor Challenge that is opened to all PC designers and manufacturers worldwide who can create a working model of the smallest, most stylish personal computer as an entertainment center in the home. The designs need to be original, and the systems must be based on Intel’s Viiv technology.

Intel is encouraging the use of PCs with Viiv technology as home entertainment centers and they want a computer that is small in size, full of style and functionality that takes advantage of all the Viiv features. Up to $1 million in prizes is for grabs, with the first-place winner receiving up to $300,000 to help kick start the mass production of their system.

Intel Core Processor Challenge for Viiv source

As if mounting oil prices aren't enough to make you sweat, the news of layoffs at Intel is going to feel like snakes slithering down you spine. Intel plants to declared some bad news on job cuts next Tuesday and its in the 12 thousand ballpark figure, according to David Wu, an analyst at Global Crown Capital.

With increasing competition from Advanced Micro Devices, they want to stay trim and be able to wither out this stormy ride. Which makes you wonder, why on hell did they go on a hiring binge in the first place, where they grew from 79,700 employees at the end of 2003 to 102,500.

The Santa Clara chip giant is expected to announce layoffs Tuesday that could number in the thousands. Paul Otellini, chief executive of Intel, has scheduled a Webcast with employees for Tuesday afternoon to discuss the results of Intel's ongoing efficiency analysis. ``We hear that it is close to 10,000 layoffs,'' said Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Raymond James. Intel has already announced it would cut 1,000 managers and it agreed to sell off several communications related businesses, which will reduce payroll by another 2,000 by year's end. Kumar calculated that if Intel lays off 10,000 employees, that could save the company $1.5 billion in annual operating costs, or more than the amount targeted by Otellini.

EEplace (www.EEplace.com) and Intel is having an online seminar on challenges in developing Streaming video over wireless networks. Register and you could bring home an iPod too. Catch the live broadcast on 10 August 2006, Thursday.

Time and Place : 11:00am - 12:30pm Beijing/HK/Taipei/Singapore (GMT+08:00) online at your PC!
(ie. 8:30am - 10:00am at New Delhi, 12:00 noon - 1:30pm at Seoul, 1:00pm - 2:30pm at Sydney) 

The specific seminar topic will be "Key Considerations to Design DMA/AP to Comply with Intel Video over Wireless Technology" and its in  English.

Expert speakes include Gary A. Martz, the Intel Mobile Wireless Marketing Desktop Product Manager; David L Akerson, Product Marketing Engineer, Consumer PC Platform Group and Martha Su, MWG Product Marketing Manager, APAC Product & Platform Marketing Group .

Its been noted on the site that this seminar is especially beneficial for those wireless router developers and network media adapters' designers. Intel continues to provide leadership toward technology standards that improve the digital home experience and help accelerate development of digital home products. This web seminar will help you to understand what the challenge today with streaming over wireless media is and what the key consideration is while developing Video over Wireless technology provides the solution.

Registration URL : http://www.eeplace.com/exttp/inl060810/seminar-en.html 

 

Why on earth would someone install a buggy software (Windows XP) on a MAC ? It's simply ridiculous to install something like that on a stabil Apple Macintosh hardware with a Intel CPU. So the best reason is probably to play some computer games since MACs don't have good support for them. Goes to show you that simplicity and greed outweighs common sense when its comes to IT stuff. In the end, technology should help make our life simpler, not more more complicated. Please send me your Windows blue screens on Macs and I'll give you 48 hours of fame over here.

 

By YC from the Technocrat Soapbox,
Guest Blogger

One would think that this would be the logical partnership for Apple. After all, AMD has consistently produced the highest-performing CPU (the Athlon 64 FX-60 was released yesterday) in the market for over 3 years now, and with a 'nonconformist' mentality to go with Apple's "Think Different" philosophy, who would be a better suitor?


Apple and AMD.
Just perfect, like milk and Oreo cookies.
But alas, this is not to be.

Sadly, it all boils down to Economics.

Apple dominated the PC Market in the first decade of the last 30 years, differentiating itself from its competitors by delivering creative and even fashionable products like the Apple ][, the Lisa, the Macintosh, and the Newton MessagePad.

But Apple's arrogance and political infighting culminated to the exodus of its spiritual leaders (Jobs was ousted in a boardroom coup and Wozniak resigned in frustration). The once proud and mighty operated in the red for almost another decade, withering down to a single-digit market share today (despite Jobs' eventual return in the mid-90's).