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ZDNet Author Biography: John Spooner is a Senior Analyst for Technology Business Research. He contributes to the TBR Computer Business Quarterly group's coverage of semiconductors and personal computers. AMD, Intel, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo Group are among those companies he covers. Prior to joining TBR, John worked for nearly a decade as a...; more about John Spooner »

ZDNet Resources

Intel: Penryn at the ready?: Some signs are pointing to an effort by Intel attempting to bring out its 45-nanometer Penryn processors during the fourth quarter. (And no, I'm not just messing around with the office's Magic 8 Ball.)Normally, when Intel is planning to introduce a processor early in the coming year, it Intel begins...; Tags: Uncategorized, semiconductors, quad-core processors, multicore processors, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Desktops, Dell, AMD; Blog posts 2007-07-19
AMD and Intel: It takes a platform: There's a story behind the story of AMD's Puma notebook PC platform, unveiled today. It's about behind-the-scenes collaboration. After hearing about Puma's development first hand, I believe that on both engineering and marketing levels, AMD has begun reshaping its approach to the PC market by taking advantage of the ability...; Tags: AMD, Intel, multicore processors, notebooks, Nvidia, Power conservation, semiconductors, Uncategorized; Blog posts 2007-05-18
AMD's new chip a Phenom: Why is AMD changing the name of its high-end desktop processor line from Athlon to Phenom? It’s a metaphor for the companys expectations for the chips, due out later this year. AMD is aiming for its Phenom to be just that; a marvel of performance and unit sales, representing a...; Tags: dual-core processors, Desktops, AMD, multicore processors, semiconductors, Uncategorized; Blog posts 2007-05-14
AMD's Barcelona summer: If I was to make a top ten list for the most anticipated processors of 2007, I think that AMD’s Barcelona quad-core Opteron chip would top it. An AMD marketing person might say the chip is the most anticipated processor of 2007. Whether it’s the processor wars, AMD executives...; Tags: Uncategorized, Servers, semiconductors, quad-core processors, multicore processors, Intel, Data centers, AMD; Blog posts 2007-05-08
What's the plan, Hector?: Intel and AMD have unveiled their latest plans for the future. AMD’s aim is to return to profitability, the company’s top executives told its shareholders at a meeting held yesterday. The company is looking to its quad-core Barcelona Opteron chip, due this summer, to help it become more competitive...; Tags: Uncategorized, semiconductors, notebooks, multicore processors, Intel, Desktops, AMD; Blog posts 2007-05-04

AMD's hired guns: Here’s another thing to consider when evaluating AMD’s current position in the market: Outsourcing. AMD’s top executive, Hector Ruiz, hinted about a potential new directing for the chipmaker during its earnings call on April 19. (You can view the transcript courtesy of SeekingAlpha, here.) Ruiz indicated AMD was exploring...; Tags: Uncategorized, Servers, semiconductors, notebooks, multicore processors, Desktops, AMD; Blog posts 2007-05-02
Another take on AMD's debts: I have been looking at AMD’s cash flow situation, recently. While it’s true that the company will have a relatively high amount of debt after it issues its $2 billion in senior notes—that’s $2 billion, as you can see here (link: here) , plus extra $200 million set aside to...; Tags: AMD, Desktops, dual-core processors, notebooks, semiconductors, Servers, Uncategorized; Blog posts 2007-05-01
Who is worth more, you or AMD?: Im not sure how affluent ChipLand readers are. But I assume you are well off, since you can afford a computer and some form of Internet access. But, according to News.coms Michael Kanellos, its possible that youve made more money in your career than AMD has in its lifetime. Mr....; Tags: Uncategorized, Servers, semiconductors, quad-core processors, multicore processors, Intel, dual-core processors, Desktops, AMD; Blog posts 2007-04-23
Not your father's Intel Architecture: Intel is using this weeks Intel Developer Forum in Beijing to show the new direction in which it is taking its processors. The chipmaker has begun to shift away from designing and manufacturing monolithic or single function chips. Instead, it has begun to create silicon that pairs its Intel Architecture...; Tags: Uncategorized, Servers, semiconductors, Semiconductor architecture, Power conservation, multicore processors, Intel, Data centers, AMD; Blog posts 2007-04-17
HP desktop takes VIA's C7 processor to China: Hewlett-Packard may be the only brand-name PC maker to offer all three of the world’s major x86 processors in its desktops. That’s right. All three. HP, in China, has launched a dx2020 desktop that incorporates VIA Technologies’ C7-D processor, News.com’s Michael Kanellos has written. VIA, which established itself...; Tags: VIA Technologies, Uncategorized, semiconductors, Hewlett-Packard, Desktops; Blog posts 2007-04-16
Intel (and Microsoft) in your hip pocket: Intel could have UMPC Ultramobile PC news up its sleeve, or possibly in its hip pocket for next week. A number of news sources are reporting that the chipmaker is preparing to announce its latest UMPC ultramobile PC platform at its spring Intel Developer Forum, which will takes place in...; Tags: semiconductors, Uncategorized, UMPC, notebooks, Intel, consumer electronics; Blog posts 2007-04-13
Servers bathed in oil: A Porsche-o-phile friend of mine sort of jokes that air-cooled Porsche 911 sports car engines aren’t so much air-cooled as they are cooled by circulating their oil, some 12 or 15 quarts of it. (For a more technical explanation, Google “air-cooled Porsche.”) Porsche enthusiasts still argue about the merits of...; Tags: Servers, Power conservation, Uncategorized, semiconductors, Intel, Data centers, AMD; Blog posts 2007-04-11
AMD's perfect storm: Advanced Micro Devices appears to have sailed straight into a perfect storm. The chipmaker today updated its outlook for the first quarter. It’s an outlook that’s not good. AMD expects to post revenue of about $1.2 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. Thats a year-to-year decline of more than...; Tags: Uncategorized, semiconductors, processor price cuts, Nvidia, notebooks, multicore processors, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Desktops, Dell, AMD; Blog posts 2007-04-09
Intel heads out on the highway: How much horsepower does it take to propel embedded chips into the market? We’ll soon see. Intel has commissioned a custom motorcycle from Orange County Choppers of American Chopper reality TV fame to commemorate the 30th anniversary of its entry into the embedded market, according to Internetnews (Link: here). Embedded,...; Tags: multicore processors, semiconductors, Uncategorized, Intel; Blog posts 2007-04-04
Adventures in wireless: This is a blog about hardware. But sometimes it’s the software that really gets in the way. I spent time last night setting up a wireless router for a friend who recently purchased two shiny new computers. One, his machine, is a MacBook Pro. The other—which we’ll call “hers”—is a...; Tags: Uncategorized, semiconductors, notebooks, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, dual-core processors, Apple, AMD; Blog posts 2007-04-02
Intel's good enough graphics: Intel has been working to convince computer buyers that the graphics capabilities present inside its latest PC chipset, the 965G, are good enough. That is good enough for all the tasks that most people would possibly throw at them, even including some level of gaming. The chipmaker has said much...; Tags: Chipsets, Games, Semiconductors, graphics, game, chipset, Intel Corp.; Blog posts 2007-03-09
AMD in your shirt pocket: Advanced Micro Devices probably didn’t buy ATI Technologies to get a hold of RenderMonkey. But the application, part of AMD’s software development suite, could help the chipmaker just the same. AMD said today said it has begun acclimating application developers to handheld graphics technologies it intends to introduce in 2008....; Tags: AMD, cellular phones, consumer electronics, Intel, semiconductors, Uncategorized; Blog posts 2007-03-07
Warning signals tough going for AMD: Advanced Micro Devices is learning that growing up is sometimes hard. The company said today that it has had difficulty reacting to a slowdown in purchases from its PC maker customers during the early part of the first quarter. Thus it has lowered its revenue expectation for the period. AMD...; Tags: dual-core processors, processor price cuts, quad-core processors, consumer electronics, Hewlett-Packard, semiconductors, multicore processors, notebooks, Dell, Semiconductor architecture, Desktops, AMD, Servers, Uncategorized, Intel; Blog posts 2007-03-05
More information for quad-core shoppers: Quad-core processor shopping? Theres a saying among automotive enthusiasts that goes something like, “How fast do you want to go? Well, how much do you want to spend?” I dont think anyone would argue that it applies to high-end computers as well. When it comes to configuring a multi-thousand-dollar, high-end...; Tags: Processors, quad-core, processor; Blog posts 2007-03-05
Intel doesn't see much need to cut prices: Digitimes is reporting that Intel is preparing to drop the prices on its Pentium 4 and Pentium D processors by 5-10% in April. (Link here.) There’s no real surprise in this, given that Intel has begun phasing out these processors.What’s more interesting is the relative lack of information, recently, about...; Tags: AMD, Desktops, Intel, multicore processors, notebooks, processor price cuts, semiconductors, Servers, Uncategorized; Blog posts 2007-02-28