| The
world survives Y2K! Well, almost... |
Wired
January 1, 2000 |
No major Y2K-related hiccups (though maybe a few
headaches) resulted from the world-wide passage into the 21st century.
It is still pretty much the same old world as it was
last year.
|
| RDRAM
reconsidered |
AnandTech
May 15, 2000 |
In the wake of Intel's latest RDRAM
replacement campaign, Anand
sits down with Rambus to discuss the
future of PC memory requirements and dispel various Rambus rumours in
the process.
For the other side of the argument, go see Tom.
|
| Chip
construction causes cancer, claim co-workers |
Independent
May 18, 2000 |
A National
Semiconductors factory in Scotland is hit with a group damages suit,
pointing an accusing finger at toxic CPU fab processes.
|
| Alpha
continues to run like WildFire |
ZDNet
May 26, 2000 |
Compaq's 64-bit server processor quietly crunches the
internet at 750MHz and plans to reach their 1GHz milestone before the
end of the year.
|
| Bigger
wafers to feed chip hunger |
CNet
July 10, 2000 |
 Trying
to move the semiconductor industry from 8-inch to 12-inch wafers, Applied
Materials says that chip production can be increased by 250% for
only a 40% increase in cost. This and other announcements at SEMICON
West this year (July 10-14) will be sure to help ease the current
chip supply crunch.
|
| Retro
CPU powers cheaper web-surfing |
CNet
July 17, 2000 |
 Just
what everyone needs: a web surfer running at the blistering speed of an Intel
'486. Start-up MyTurn just unveiled its Global PC
for the computer-phobic out there who are still curious about the
internet. Ah well, it's affordable ($299US). And it will be available at
Wal-Mart, K-Mart
& Sears.
What it has going for it is GeoWorks,
the once-was, short-lived desktop competitor to Windows.
But...a '486?
|
| Go
mobile--Have no life... |
TechWeb
August 8, 2000 |
A UK study finds that executives are resistant to
adopting more mobile technology for fear of losing more control over
their personal lives. Like, we didn't know that already?
|
| Microprocessor Forum 2000
Highlights |
Various
October 11, 2000 |
| G4
will hit 1GHz...eventually--maybe |
CNet
October 10, 2000 |
Motorola's has big plans that their upcoming
"Apollo" version of the G4 will reach 1GHz. When that
will happen, however, is anybody's guess. Our guess is by the end
of the decade. Apollo
did eventually reach the moon following a similar schedule, after
all. Whether Apple will adopt it is, for some reason, even less
certain.
|
| Thunderbird
duo demoed |
AMD
October 10, 2000 |
Expected to be available by the end of the year,
AMD showed off its almost-ready 760-MP chipset that supports dual Athlon
processors and DDR-memory.
|
| Intel
and Transmeta: How low can they go? |
ZDNet
October 11, 2000 |
Intel and Transmeta will be duelling it out in
the low end of computing power requirements for next year's
laptops and mini-notebook devices. With an average power
consumption of less than 1 Watt, SpeedStep-
and LongRun-capable
processors will extend notebook life to 10 hours and beyond,
according to both Intel and Transmeta.
|
|
| The
other high cost of speed: reliability |
InfoWorld
October 20, 2000 |
Many challenges
await chip makers as they continue to push the GigaHertz envelope,
not least being their tendency to
fail. Reliability will become increasingly difficult to ensure with
current testing tools.
Maybe Jobs
has it right: PC
multiprocessing will become the norm, rather than faster
and faster clock speeds.
|
| Processor wars:
the year
behind, the
year ahead |
CNet
December 21, 2000 |
 Recapping
the year that was and projecting into the next, CNet sees 1GHz
notebooks, 2GHz desktops, more Rambus and fewer recalls.
Some pretty safe predictions here. We will continue to
track how the race really progresses, as always. Meanwhile, we
hope you are enjoying the peace of
the season.
|
