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| Top Stories for January 19, 2001 (details below) | |
| C/Net | Intel delaying office construction amid downturn |
| EE Times | Intel, AMD plan rebounds from slow MPU sales |
| Bloomberg.com | Intel, Gigabyte Speed Chipset Research, Ctech Says |
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The Register Files |
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| The Register | Intel preps slimline chip for slimline notebooks |
| Microprocessor
Headline News Collected By Robert R. Collins |
Week of January 14, 2001 |
Older News |
| January 19, 2001 | |
Intel delaying office construction amid downturnBy Bloomberg News January 18, 2001 |
Intel is putting on hold nearly all of its office building projects as the company copes with a drop in sales.
"It's safe to say that virtually all office building projects that we have (planned) around the world are being put on hold," said Tom Beermann, a spokesman for the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company. It wasn't immediately clear how many office buildings Intel was planning. As of the start of 2000, the company said it had 1.7 million square feet under construction, the equivalent of the Chrysler Building in New York. One of the projects being delayed is a four-story, 320,000 square-foot office building in Chandler, Arizona. |
Intel, AMD plan rebounds from slow MPU salesBy Will Wade January 18, 2001 |
As the PC market and the global economy cool off, Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. are seeing a slowdown in microprocessor sales. The two companies are responding differently to the new economic situation, however, with separate strategies — and results — revealed in their two product lines.
While both companies are coming off a lackluster fourth quarter, Intel expects the current quarter to be even worse and is investing heavily in capacity in anticipation of a robust second half of the year. In contrast, AMD does not see the current quarter as any worse than the last and expects to gain share from arch-rival Intel in the first half of the year. |
Intel, Gigabyte Speed Chipset Research, Ctech SaysBy Alan Patterson January 18, 2001 |
Intel Corp., the world's largest chipmaker, is working with Taiwan computer manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co. to speed development of new chipsets supporting Intel's newest processor, the Pentium 4, the Ctech Web site reported, citing unidentified Intel Taiwan executives.
Intel provided Gigabyte samples of its unreleased Brookdale chipset, said Ctech, which is run by Taiwan's largest newspaper and is considered an authoritative source of technology news. |
The Register Files |
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Intel preps slimline chip for slimline notebooksBy Tony Smith January 18, 2001 |
Intel is designing from the ground-up a new mobile CPU aimed directly at the ultra-thin notebook market.
The new, unnamed processor was apparently hinted at during last October's Microprocessor Forum, but Intel's Mobile Platforms spinmeister-in-chief, Don MacDonald, was recently kind enough to tell CNET all about it. |
| January 17, 2001 | |
Intel expects 15% sequential drop in Q1 sales
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Intel Corp. today warned investors that it expects a 15% decline in first quarter revenue from $8.7 billion in sales
recorded in the fourth quarter of 2000. The world's largest chip supplier blamed seasonal factors and the impact of slowing worldwide economies on the sequential drop in revenues in the current quarter.
Intel also today reported a net income of $2.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2000 on revenues of $8.7 billion. Including acquisition-related costs, Intel's fourth-quarter net income was $2.6 billion. |
Intel closes PCB plant, freezes hiring, but accelerates Pentium 4 into marketBy Mark LaPedus January 16, 2001 |
During a conference call with analysts today, Intel Corp. here announced some measures to cut costs, including a hiring freeze and a move to phase out a printed-circuit board plant in Puerto Rico.
Intel also said it would use the slowdown in the worldwide semiconductor market to accelerate its transition from the Pentium III microprocessor line to its new Pentium 4 chip in 2001--in an apparent effort to fend off competition from its main rival: Advanced Micro Devices Inc. |
Intel accelerates Pentium 4 productionBy John G. Spooner January 16, 2001 |
Some 20 million Pentium 4 chips could ship this year--many more than Intel watchers were expecting.
As it prepares to announce fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday, Intel is putting the pedal to the metal with its Pentium 4 chip. Analysts said the Santa Clara, Calif., chip maker will be shipping the Pentium 4 much more quickly than expected. |
Intel plans Pentium 4 push around Brookdale chipsetBy Jack Robertson January 16, 2001 |
Intel Corp. Tuesday confirmed that its expected big Pentium 4 rampup will come in the second half when its new supporting SDRAM Brookdale chipset is introduced to cut desktop PC price points.
Paul Otellini, senior vice presdent and general manager of Intel Architecture Group, told financial analysts, "Brookdale will allow us to hit a lower system price" below the present 850 chipset supporting Direct Rambus DRAM Pentium 4 version. |
AMD offers developer tools for 64-bit chipsBy Will Knight January 16, 2001 |
Advanced Micro Devices and software firm Virtutech announced Tuesday that they have created a software
tool--"VirtuHammer"--that will enable developers to produce applications for AMD's next generation of processors, code-named Sledgehammer.
Intel rival AMD said the tool would enable software developers to test programs written for the 64-bit Hammer architecture in time for the planned introduction of the processors in the first half of 2002. |
AMD To Use Virtutech To Simulate Hammer ChipBy Mark Hachman January 16, 2001 |
Advanced Micro Devices has apparently adjusted its relationship with Transmeta Corp. with regard to prototyping the upcoming Hammer microprocessor.
AMD announced Tuesday an agreement with Virtutech, a Swedish developer of simulation systems to collaborate on a "VirtuHammer" prototype tool to write and test software for the X86-64 instruction set used by Hammer systems. |
AMD's Duron chip leaps to laptopsBy John G. Spooner January 16, 2001 |
Advanced Micro Devices is offering its first mobile processor based on its Athlon technology, but with a twist.
The new mobile Duron chip, targeted at notebooks priced at $1,800 and less, will arrive this week at speeds of 600MHz and 700MHz. It comes earlier and in a somewhat different form than had been expected. The new chip is based on the current Duron processor core, known as Spitfire. The company had indicated its first mobile Duron would be based on the forthcoming Morgan processor core, due next quarter. |
AMD plays catch-up in mobile PC marketBy Mark Hachman January 16, 2001 |
Advanced Micro Devices on Monday reminded OEMs that it is still in the PC notebook market with the release of mobile versions of its low-end Duron processor.
Analysts were less receptive, noting that a faster Morgan chip for value-class notebooks is expected within six months and the new Durons also lacks the power-saving features of the last-generation K6-2. However, at 600 and 700 MHz, they match the highest speeds of Celeron chips from rival Intel Corp. Also, they are being offered at $123 and $75 -- significantly less than the $181 it costs for the 700-MHz mobile Celeron. |
The Register Files |
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AMD signs Swedes to build better SledgeHammer simBy Tony Smith January 16, 2001 |
AMD today announced a new simulator that will allow coders to test their software for AMD's upcoming 64-bit Hammer family of CPUs long before the chips ship. AMD describes the new sim as "high performance", clearly a reference to the sludginess of its previous effort.
And here's the thing: AMD's helper on the new sim is Swedish software developer Virtutech and not, as expected, Transmeta. |
Zen Buddhism could swing Rambus caseBy Mike Magee January 16, 2001 |
Intel's push into the Pentium 4 depends on it, Micron's lucrative deal for DDR memory hinges on it, the Xbox depends on it, and the future of memory technology in the PC hangs on it too.
And exactly what is it, in this case? The answer is the legal struggle between Rambus, Infineon, Hyundai and Micron over whether the first party owns the patents to two types of memory. If it does, the three other parties will have to pay Rambus to license synchronous DRAM and double data rate (DDR) technology. |
Can Intel pump up Tualatin volume?By Mike Magee January 16, 2001 |
Intel Australia's representatives are obviously a little less tight lipped than their European counterparts, judging from the fact that one of them let Insane Hardware take a snap of a sample of one of the .13 micron chips the other day.
Our representatives here in Europe won't even comment about Intel codenames, never mind opening their kimonos to reveal their chip knickers. |
| January 15, 2001 | |
Crusoe gets a boost from PhilipsBy Paul Kallender January 8, 2001 |
Stalled on the notebook front, Transmeta Corp. continues to drive into the fog of the nascent Internet appliance market, with the company arguing that Philips Components' use of the TM 3400 Crusoe microprocessor represents a key design win in Transmeta's challenge to Intel Corp. in future mobile computing.
Philips Components will use the 533-MHz TM3400, a pepped-up version of the TM3200 chip with 256 kbytes of L2 cache, for one of two Net Display Modules, an 80 percent complete platform design for Internet appliances that Philips Components unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show here. |
Via to build chip assembly and testing plantBy Bloomberg News January 12, 2001 |
Via Technology, which last year entered
the computer-processor business in
competition with Intel, said it is
planning to build a chip assembly and test
plant to strengthen its competitiveness.
Via's entry into computer processors makes it necessary for the company to develop specific technology to package and test these chips, analysts said. "Via is getting into processors, especially in China, so they need a testing capability," said Richard Ko, an analyst with Deutsche Bank. Via's existing assembly and test suppliers in Taiwan "don't have experience packaging processors." |
Rambus facing heavy legal expenses, says CEOBy Jack Robertson January 12, 2001 |
Spiraling legal fees, which could reach $5 million in the current fiscal quarter, are eating heavily into Rambus Inc.'s earnings, company officials told financial analysts after reporting $13.2 million in net income for the three months ended Dec. 31.
Geoffrey Tate, chief executive officer, said three court trials are slated in February and March, which will run up legal costs. He also told analysts that additional lawsuits might be filed against Rambus. "It something that happens with large companies going against a small company," he said. |
Rambus Needs Royalties To Grow RevenuesBy Reuters January 12, 2001 |
Rambus, the developer of technology to speed the performance of memory chips, Thursday reported first-quarter operating results that were slightly below expectations because of higher tax payments.
The company also cautioned that price pressure on memory chips will make it hard to grow revenues in the current quarter unless it can sign on other companies to pay royalties for its designs. Shares in Rambus (stock: RMBS) fell 9 percent in after-hours trading to $43 7/8. The stock had climbed 6 percent to $48 57/64 on regular Nasdaq trading Thursday before the announcement. |
Rambus Shares Sag After Earnings ReportJanuary 12, 2001 |
Despite posting revenues that were up almost 200 percent year over year, shares of Rambus slid more than 8 percent Friday after the chip designer issued cautious comments on the current quarter.
Rambus Inc. (stock: RMBS) stock fell 4 9/64 to 44 3/4 in early Nasdaq trading. Revenue for the first fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31 was a record $34.7 million, up 191 percent over the same period last year and up 29 percent from the previous quarter. |
The Register Files |
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Intel's Itanic epic to run and runBy Mike Magee January 13, 2001 |
There have been pilot systems of the Merced-Itanium processor available for ages, and they're revenue generators too, according to Intel.
But while the silicon may be available, there still seems to be precious little operating system support for the 64-bit corporate Intel platform, with developers in both the Windows 64 and Linux camps still beavering away to produce gold software. |
The Intel history of its Shopping MysteryBy Mike Magee January 12, 2001 |
Staff at outlets such as PC World, Tiny and Gateway can stop trembling in their shoes because it appears Intel may well pull the plug on its Mystery Shopping
programme.
But an insider at Intel has spilled the beans about how the programme, which has run for quite a while, actually works. In the UK, for example, the chip giant has a team of between ten and 15 people who pop into shops selling PCs, "train" the sales team, and promote whatever microprocessor is flavour of the month. |
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