David Needle

Sun made a big splash in December with the release of its first Sun Fire T2000 servers based on Sun’s Niagara eight-core UltraSparc processor. At the time, Sun said it would be expanding the product family in the first quarter of 2006 and it delivered on that promise today. The new Sun Fire T1000 is […]

For over a year, AMD has repeatedly hammered home the message that two cores are better than one. In fact, its wildly successful dual-core Opterons have boosted AMD and sales of systems by HP, IBM, Sun and others. But there are many older applications that benefit more from faster single core performance than multicore systems […]

IBM said it’s developed technology that promises to bring mainframe-inspired levels of security to PCs, cell phones, PDAs and other digital devices. Details are sketchy. But IBM said its SecureBlue technology is a hardware-based security architecture that can be built into microprocessors. No release date was made available. IBM Research said it planned to collaborate […]

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft unveiled its plans to release a free, mobile version of its SQL Server database at a customer event here today. SQL Server Everywhere Edition is scheduled for release in the second half of this year. The stripped down mobile version of Microsoft’s enterprise class SQL Server database software will be free […]

Research in Motion (RIM) announced a pocketful of new information services today, courtesy of Yahoo. The agreement includes content and service offerings from Yahoo Go For Mobile, Yahoo Search, Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger available in over 60 countries. Some of the new services are available now, while others are planned for this year. RIM […]

The European Commission is taking AMD’s side in its push to greatly reduce, if not eliminate, brand-name procurement policies by government agencies. The EC sent a “letter of formal notice” to the government of Spain regarding its use of technical specifications in the procurement of computers it says refer to Intel-trademarked or equivalent microprocessors, or […]

Intel is making serious moves in the storage market these days. The chip giant is teaming with enterprise storage leader EMC to offer systems aimed at the small- to medium-sized business (SMB) market. Last month at its Intel Developer’s Forum, Intel unveiled an entry level storage system aimed at the home office and low end […]

Broadband and other high speed connection services promise to greatly enhance the quality of video on mobile devices, but transmission speed is not the only factor. Today, IBM and Rapport, a Silicon Valley startup, previewed what they’re hailing as a “breakthrough energy-efficient processor design” that will be able to stream live and high-definition video on […]

With a nod to the increasing popularity of Linux, Microsoft announced expanded support for the Linux OS at the LinuxWorld trade show in Boston today. Microsoft said it now offers virtual machine (VM) add-ins for Linux and 24 x 7 technical support. Also, Microsoft announced its Virtual Server 2005 R2 as a free download. The […]

AMD’s gains at the expense of its much larger rival Intel have received wide coverage, but it’s not all about server sales by big names like HP and Sun, or AMD’s stunning surge in desktop sales at the retail level. Smaller vendors and significant direct sales are also contributing to AMD’s bottom line and market […]

SAN JOSE, Calif. — U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez gave a big high five to the enforcement of intellectual property (IP) laws during a visit to the Windmill Springs Middle School here. He may well have been giving high fives over the government’s efforts to defend the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), which has resulted […]

AMD never misses an opportunity to slam Intel’s high-end Itanium processor, but apparently that doesn’t mean they don’t respect the considerable engineering resources devoted to its design. AMD confirmed the latter point with its surprise hiring of Sam Naffziger, one of Intel’s top Itanium designers and Intel Fellow. Naffziger, the now ex-director of Itanium circuits […]