Texas Instruments has introduced WiLink 7.0, first quad-radio single chip solution that offers 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, GPS, FM transmit/receive and Bluetooth 3.0. Products with this chip are expected to hit the market by late 2010.
Demonstrating its leadership in the wireless connectivity market, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) today unveiled its WiLink™ 7.0 single-chip solution, the industry’s first offering to integrate WLAN 802.11n, GPS, FM transmit/receive and Bluetooth® technologies. Integrating these capabilities on a true single chip, the 65-nanometer WiLink 7.0 solution reduces costs by 30 percent, reduces size by 50 percent and delivers superior coexistence performance as compared to today’s existing solutions. Built on seven generations of proven technologies and legacy software, this single-chip solution further extends TI’s heritage of bringing technologies previously seen in high-end devices to the broad mobile market. The WiLink 7.0 solution will be showcased during Mobile World Congress 2010 in the TI booth (8A84, Hall 8). For more information, visit www.ti.com/wilink7pr.
“TI's announcement that its Bluetooth/FM/GPS/WLAN combination IC is sampling to major OEMs marks the first of its kind, demonstrating the strong future for combination ICs that enable device manufacturers to offer multiple radios without sacrificing performance, space requirements or profit margins,” said Lisa Arrowsmith, analyst, IMS Research. “IMS Research forecasts that by 2013, more than 4.5 billion combination ICs featuring a variety of radios will have been shipped.”
EA chief operating officer John Schappert revealed all of EA's new release sin fiscal 2011 will have an online component, both downloadable content and online play.
Electronic Arts chief operating officer John Schappert announced during the company's fiscal third quarter investor call this afternoon that every title released during its fiscal 2011 year (April 2010 through March 2011) will have additional online components.
"In fiscal 2011, every one of EA's releases will have an online component, both downloadable content and online play."
FUD Zilla heard Intel is working on another new ultra-low voltage Arrandale processor named Core i7 660UM, this chip is expected to be released in Q3 2010. It has a 18W TDP and a 1.3GHz clockspeed with 2.4GHz Turbo mode.
Intel plans yet another reinforcement to its Ultra low voltage generation of Arrandale CPUs. We still have to see Core i5 520UM, Core i5 540UM as well as Core i7 620UM and Core i7 640UM, all supposed to stay under 18W TDP, and Intel plans to introduce one, a bit faster version simply called Core i7 660UM.
This new CPU is based on the 32nm Arrandale dual-core that is capable of supporting four threads and it is clocked at a quite modest 1.33GHz. This is not bad for a CPU that has graphics and most of the chipset on the same socket. The best part, however, is that it will be able to overclock all the way to 2.4GHz.
We've already seen Street View bicycles from Google, but now they've also equipped a snowmobile with one of their Street View cameras to capture shots of the slopes at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. You can check it out at Google.
Over the last couple of weeks many users complained about a supposed battery status report bug in Windows 7, but after investigating the issue Microsoft claims Windows 7 is not at fault and that it's really the battery that is in need of replacement. The reason why so many people get this message after upgrading to Windows 7 is because this operating system has a new battery health status feature that isn't part of Windows XP or Vista.
Windows 7 makes use of built-in features of batteries that allow the battery health status to be read. "This is reported in absolute terms as Watt-hours (W-hr) power capacity," Sinofsky explains, "Windows 7 then does a simple calculation to determine a percentage of degradation from the original design capacity. In Windows 7 we set a threshold of 60% degradation and in reading this Windows 7 reports the status to you."
The key point here is this: this functionality was not part of Windows XP or Windows Vista. As such, people who think Windows 7 is causing the batteries to fail have it backwards; the battery was already in need of replacement, but XP nor Vista had the ability to report that to you.
Mozilla announced it plans to drop support for the Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" operating system in future versions of the Firefox browser. The developers argue that supporting the nearly five years old operating system is a hindrance and that dropping support will enable them to significantly improve the user experience on Mac OS X 10.5 and especially 10.6.
Supporting Mac OS X 10.4 also comes with a penalty for those who are using 10.5 and 10.6, added Mozilla programmer Boris Zbarsky. "We can significantly improve the user experience on 10.5 and especially 10.6 if we drop support for 10.4 (we're talking something like 30 percent performance improvement on 10.6, for example if I recall the numbers correctly, between the newer compiler and doing 64-bit builds," he noted.
Mike Shaver, Mozilla's vice president of engineering, added that the decision wouldn't immediately cut off those with Tiger.
AMD revealed its Fusion processor plans at a presentation at this year's International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC). One of the things the company announced is that the Llano APU will be available from OEMs in 2011, this processor will be made on a 32nm SOI process, it will have four cores and on-die integrated graphics with DirectX 11 support. AMD expects Llano to run at clockspeeds of over 3GHz, and is working on new power management technologies to improve efficiency.
Today we learn a bit more about the CPU side of Llano. The first chip will be a quad-core processor plus on-die graphics. Each core is Phenom II derived, but there’s no shared L3 cache. So Llano cores look a lot like Athlon II cores. I’m hearing that they may have some architectural tweaks, so performance could be better than present-day Athlon IIs.
At 32nm each core (minus L2 cache) is only 9.69 mm^2 and is made up of over 35M transistors. Each core is paired with its own 1MB L2 cache, meaning the quad-core processor will have a total of 4MB of L2 on-die. AMD expects Llano to run at above 3GHz, which should be more than possible at 32nm given that we’re already at close to 3GHz with the 45nm Athlon II X4.
Full details about Llano can be found at AnandTech.
NVIDIA has officially introduced Optimus, a new notebook technology that automatically switches between the system's integrated graphics and discrete graphics card to deliver higher battery life and improved performance. This was tried in the past with the company's Hybrid SLI technology, but according to early reviews this is the first time it's done right. Contrary to previous switchable graphics technologies, Optimus will deliver a seamless and instantaneous experience.
NVIDIA Corp. today announced NVIDIA(R) Optimus(TM) technology, a breakthrough for notebook PCs that chooses the best graphics processor for running a given application and automatically routes the workload to either an NVIDIA discrete GPU or Intel integrated graphics -- delivering great performance while also providing great battery life.
"Consumers no longer have to choose whether they want great graphics performance or sustained battery life," said Rene Haas, general manager of notebook products at NVIDIA. "NVIDIA Optimus gives them both -- great performance, great battery life and it simply works."
Just as a Hybrid car chooses between the gas-powered and electric car engine on-the-fly and uses the most appropriate engine, NVIDIA Optimus technology does the same thing for graphics processors. NVIDIA Optimus Technology instantly directs the workload through the most efficient processor for the job, extending battery life by up to 2 times(1) compared to similarly configured systems equipped with discrete graphics processors (GPUs). When playing 3D games, running videos, or using GPU compute applications the high-performance NVIDIA discrete GPU is used. When using basic applications, like web surfing or email, the integrated graphics processor is used. The result is long lasting battery life without sacrificing great graphics performance.
"The genius of NVIDIA Optimus is in its simplicity," said Dr. Jon Peddie, President of Jon Peddie Research, a pioneer of the graphics industry and a leading analyst. "One can surf the web and get great battery life and when one needs the extra horsepower for applications like Adobe Flash 10.1, Optimus automatically switches to the more powerful NVIDIA GPU."
Notebooks with NVIDIA Optimus technology will be available shortly, starting with the Asus UL50Vf, N61Jv, N71Jv, N82Jv, and U30Jc notebooks. For more information on NVIDIA Optimus technology visit the NVIDIA Website at http://www.nvidia.com/object/optimus_technology.html.
Cooler Master send out a press release with details about the products it will showcase at next month's CeBIT. This include the HAF X case, new power supplies with an efficiency of over 90 percent, the V6 GT CPU cooler, and new notebook coolers and laptop stands.
The X Factor
Featuring unsurpassed airflow and DIY-friendly features, Cooler Master’s HAF chassis Series has been a runaway hit with both gamers and enthusiasts alike. At CeBIT 2010, Cooler Master will be unveiling its all-new HAF X PC chassis. This new HAF Series flagship chassis offers the latest advancements in chassis design, including support for up to four 200mm fans, nine slots for quadruple VGA cards, and removable hotswap HDD. With the HAF X, Cooler Master is poised to once again wow the PC enthusiast community. Cooler Master will also be showing off the latest additions to the best-selling Elite Chassis Series.
The PSU Gold Standard
Cooler Master will be demonstrating live, Silent Pro Gold Series – a brand new lineup of power supplies that meet the 80Plus Gold Standard with over 90% power efficiency. The Silent Pro Gold will make its first ever appearance at CeBIT 2010 for all to see. Using patented technologies such as Heat Transfer Technology™ (HTT), Hyper PathTM and Hybrid Transformers, the Silent Pro Gold sets a new standard in PSU excellence. Also at the show will be the USNA 95 Notebook Power Adapter – the world’s smallest notebook power adapter with a USB port.
V6 Cooling
True to its name, Cooler Master is the master of PC cooling solutions. At CeBIT 2010, Cooler Master will show off its latest cooling innovation – the V6 GT. Featuring highly dense aluminum fins and a Double-V heatpipe design, the V6 GT offers wicked cooling performance. Its tool-free design makes it easy to install the accelerating twin high-speed fans, which deliver awesome cooling for even the most high-end desktop systems.
A Storm is Rising
Gamers have long turned to CM Storm gaming products for a competitive edge, and at CeBIT 2010, Cooler Master will introduce its latest tools to add to the gamer’s arsenal. First off is the SF19 Gaming Notebook Cooler – a notebook cooler specifically designed for high-end gaming laptops. Featuring a flexible fan solution that accommodates fans 80-200mm in size, manual fan speed control, four USB ports and even an easy carry handle for maximum portability, mobile gamers can keep cool under the heat of battle. Also coming to the Hannover show will be the unveiling of the follow-up to the award-winning CM Storm Sentinel Mouse – the CM Storm Inferno.
Mobile Computing with Style and Substance
Mobile users need peripherals that not only look good, but feel good as well. The NotePal ErgoStand offers optimal cooling performance for laptops with its metal mesh surface and built-in 14cm silent fan, while 5 adjustable viewing angles offer superior ergonomics. Also at the show will be the all-new Choiix Comforter, a laptop stand that enables users to compute in complete comfort, whether they place it on their legs, on a table, or even when lounging around. Visitors can also check out the Choiix Crusier – a travel mouse that features adjustable height, a 2.4G sensor with 1600dpi and even a plug-and-forget nano receiver.
AMD announced it will focus on integrating GPUs into mainstream servers starting 2012:
Mainstream servers in the future could have a combination of graphics processors and CPUs in servers as applications take advantage of thousands of GPU cores, said Gina Longoria, director of the product management and workstation division at AMD. The company may provide CPUs and GPUs together in a server to run highly parallel applications, she said.
Graphics cards are considered more advanced in tackling scientific and math applications than CPUs, which are designed to handle generic computing tasks. Some servers already combine the performance of GPUs with CPUs in high-performance computing environments.
