Intel: Penryn 45 nm Processors On Track for November
Based on the initial word we're receiving from the Fall Intel Developers' Forum in San Francisco this afternoon, there are no major surprises other than the lack of surprises. There is no delay in the company's plans to roll out the first commercial 45 nm processors, code-named Penryn, this November as scheduled.
During his keynote speech at IDF, CEO Paul Otellini turned up the volume in his efforts to psych out his competitor, using a verbal image we've already seen get under AMD's skin. Intel is now actually calling its roadmap, by name, "tick-tock."
Murdoch: We're Considering Free WSJ.com
Following the New York Times' announcement Tuesday that it would be doing away with its premium online content, Rupert Murdoch hinted that the Wall Street Journal may be considering a similar move in the future at a conference for media held by Goldman Sachs in New York. Many have said giving away WSJ content online for free may hurt the paper's overall revenues, however Murdoch says he isn't buying that argument.
The media mogul seems to be following the same reasoning that the Times did: that by opening it up, and with good content, the revenues from selling advertising on its pages could far surpass any revenues it may have made off a subscription-only format. The current format has constrained any considerable online advertising, as it has caused the sites customer base to be more US-centric, and consumers generally frown upon ads in premium services.
AOL Looks To Host Your Digital Media
AOL debuted a beta of BlueString on Tuesday, a new service which would allow consumers to upload and share digital media at no cost.
Each user would receive 5GB of online storage. They would eventually have the capability in the fall to link directly to video clips and photos from third-party services without the need to upload or move them to BlueString, AOL said. During the test, the company said it would allow users to connect to their Flickr accounts.
New York Times Cancels TimesSelect
Just two years after it introduced its premium online subscription service, the New York Times on Tuesday said it will be doing away with TimesSelect on Wednesday and allowing free access to the majority of its content.
The paper made a modest income off of the service, which had about 227,000 paying subscribers and was generating around $10 million in annual revenue. However, it felt ad sales from opening up most of its content and archives would be much more lucrative.
The UK iPhone: O2's Costly Investment
The impending launch of the iPhone in Great Britain has had many paying rapt attention to see which mobile network would support the device. With the launch date set for tomorrow, it appears no one was paying closer attention than the carriers themselves.
A full two months ago, the BBC cited early reports that Apple's choice of carrier for its iPhone was O2. Owned by Spain's Telefonica, the company reportedly edged out its competitors by agreeing to hand over the largest proportion of customer-derived revenue - as much as 40%. The remainder is to be divided between O2 and its exclusive retailer Carphone Warehouse, which not only gets a commission but also its own revenue share.
Google Introduces Presentation Application
Google took the wraps off its online presentation software on Monday night, rounding out its online office suite which now matches Microsoft Office in functionality.
The company said the application is very much still in its early stages, thus much of the functionality is quite basic. However, it did say it plans to add new features in the coming months. "Presently" is available immediately in 25 languages.
ITC Investigating Nokia Claim Against Qualcomm
Nokia said Tuesday that the US International Trade Commission would begin investigating its claims of unfair business practices and patent infringement against Qualcomm. The cellular phone maker said there is significant evidence that Qualcomm has used its technology in both GSM and CDMA chips, and filed a complaint with the ITC on August 16. It is seeking to have the offending chips banned from importation.
The two sides have been locked in a legal tit-for-tat since April of this year, when a patent licensing agreement between the two expired. In this case, the patents have to do with technologies that improve the performance and efficacy of wireless communications. This enhancements result in lower manufacturing costs, better battery life, and make it possible to develop smaller phones.
Sony Reportedly Selling Cell BE Chip Fab to Toshiba
Just days after two Sony spokespersons flatly told Bloomberg News that no such deal had been reached, Asian press sources are saying today the company has agreed to sell its Kyushu Semiconductor facility - which produces the Cell BE CPU for Sony's PlayStation 3 - to its STI partner Toshiba for about 100 billion yen (about $863.5 million).
The deal would help scale down Sony's ongoing investment in semiconductor technology, while at the same time keeping the Cell chip in the family. Sony, Toshiba, and IBM have been partnering in the Cell's development since its inception.
Microsoft, Sprint Debut GPS-Aware Search
Microsoft and Sprint expanded their partnership on Tuesday, with the carrier debuting integrated GPS and search functionality using Live Search, as well as voice search through Tellme.
Sprint's local search as well as full Internet search through the carrier's mobile portal would now be powered by Microsoft. The local search would also be GPS-aware, allowing consumers to search around their location as detected by the Sprint's network.
Interview: AMD's Simon Solotko and the Third Core
It actually didn't seem mathematically possible. Three is not a multiple of two, and the computer industry rarely does anything that can't be bundled as a power of two. But AMD's Triple-Core Phenom processor, which will hit desktops at the beginning of next year, may be the oddball that the CPU market never expected.
Even folks inside of AMD will admit Intel has stepped up to the plate in the last 16 months, and that AMD has ground to make up in several departments. When Intel was planning its comeback two years ago, it introduced a controversial technique called hyperthreading that enabled a single-core processor to run two threads concurrently. But after tests revealed minimal performance gains - and in some categories, performance losses - many perceived Intel's move as a kind of stopgap, to buy it some time before it could launch its first dual-core series with Core Microarchitecture.
AMD Makes Wildcard Play with Triple-Core Phenom
In a move that was successfully kept secret, for the most part, until late last week when the first rumor whispers were widely repeated, AMD is making an unprecedented, near-term adjustment to its technology roadmap. As soon as the first half of next year, the company now plans to introduce into the desktop CPU market a new line of Phenom triple-core processors, whose architecture was christened with the code-name Toliman just hours ago.
The existence of Triple-Core Phenom was revealed to members of the press this evening at a special West Coast press briefing late today. "Normally we do not make a press announcement or do analyst's briefings on a roadmap update," AMD's Desktop Division brand manager Simon Solotko told BetaNews, "but this roadmap update includes a change which we have withheld from the market primarily due to competitive reasons. AMD had an opportunity which we've known about for some time to provide an exciting product in the market, and we have decided at this point to come forward with our plan to release that product."
$100 Laptop Is Getting Pricier
Although its aim was to bring the price down, the organization behind the so-called "$100 laptop" is moving further away from its goal. The One Laptop Per Child Foundation said the device, now known as the XO Laptop, will now cost about $188. This is up $12 from the price tag the group gave in May of this year. Behind the price increase are rising costs of certain components and currency fluctuations, says OLPC, however they are committed to keeping it from rising any further.
Reports say the OLPC has commitments for about three million devices, but the group will not confirm where the devices are going until production begins in October. While the device currently uses AMD chips to power it, Intel recently dropped its efforts to deride the project and said it was working with the group to put its chips in the second version of the XO Laptop, though no release date for that has been set.
SpiralFrog Finally Emerges from Death Spiral, Launches Today
After a ten-month delay which saw the company's own high-profile organizers ousted in a management coup that to this day remains mysterious, the ad-supported music service SpiralFrog finally emerged from beta today. It's being billed as the first free music download service to provide fully licensed, DRM-enabled music for MP3 players (though not iPods). Its catch is that it compels you to first sit through a word or two from their sponsors.
Like commercial radio, SpiralFrog is supported through advertising, though it compels users to pay attention to ads during the download process. For advertisers, the value proposition is to enable the site to target ads directly to specific listener segments; for users, it's the option to keep the songs or the videos.
Yahoo Joins Online Office Suite Race with Zimbra Buy
Yahoo confirmed late today its pending $350 million cash acquisition of Zimbra, an online/offline open source office applications suite. While exact details of the deal are not yet available, Yahoo's move will put it in direct competition with Google, which is also offering online office applications to both consumers and business.
Zimbra is based in San Mateo, Calif. and has secured about $30 million in funding from its investors. In August, it announced it had grown its customer base by 55 percent over the previous quarter, and boasts a community of about 10,000 contributing to the project.
Leap Wireless to MetroPCS: No Thanks
Leap Wireless, the wireless company behind the Cricket and Jump Mobile brands, said Sunday that it will reject an unsolicited acquisition offer from competitor MetroPCS.
MetroPCS is a regional carrier which has operations in the metropolitan areas of central and northern California, central and South Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and Texas. It plans to launch service in Los Angeles this week, and in New York, Philadelphia and Boston in 2008 and 2009.
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