Lynnfield, Clarksfield, Arrandale, Clarkdale – all codenames for upcoming Intel chips based on the latest architecture and all very confusing.
Today we know that the “Core” family for the performance segment goes mainly from Core 2 Duo to Core 2 Quad all the way to the top with Core i7. But with Core 2 on the way out to be replaced by new CPUs later this year, Intel needs to sort out its naming and branding conventions to that consumers will be able to figure out what they’re buying.
Intel corporate communications manager Bill Calder wrote in a blog post, “Today the Intel Core brand has a mind boggling array of derivatives (such as Core2 Duo and Core 2 Quad, etc). Over time those will go away and in its place will be a simplified family of Core processors spanning multiple levels: Intel Core i3 processor, Intel Core i5 processor, and Intel Core i7 processors.”
“Core i3 and Core i5 are new modifiers and join the previously announced Intel Core i7 to round out the family structure. It is important to note that these are not brands but modifiers to the Intel Core brand that signal different features and benefits,” Calder added.
The new Core line will be naturally be position from bottom to top Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7. The odd-numbers convention makes sense with the possibility that some consumers may confused Core 2 Duo and Quad with 2 and 4.
The desktop processors codenamed Lynnfield, which are due this fall, will marketed as both Core i5 or Core i7, depending upon the feature set and capability. Interestingly, all Clarksfield mobile chips will have the Core i7 name.
The lower-cost line will remain mostly unchanged with the Celeron being the entry point, the Pentium for basic computing and the Atom doing what it’s been doing to the netbook and MID segment.
“For PC purchasing, think in terms of good-better-best with Celeron being good, Pentium better, and the Intel Core family representing the best we have to offer,” said Calder. “This will be an evolutionary process taking place over time, and we acknowledge that multiple brands will be in the market next year including older ones, as we make the transition. But overall this is a good thing, designed to make it easier and more rational over the long run.”
Source : Tom's Hardware US
Intel Reveals Core i3, i5, i7 CPU Naming System
Windows 7 Build 7232 Leaks, Has New Wallpaper
The latest Windows 7 leak shows wallpaper freshness.
Windows 7 build 7232 has leaked onto the Internet. Some believe that this is one of the last builds before Microsoft stamps its upcoming operating system with the RTM status, but the company has estimated that the release to manufacturing won’t happen until late July.
Nevertheless, there’s still progress since the first release candidate build 7100 – mostly in the area of drivers and application compatibility. There is one immediately noticeable change in the latest build, and that’s a new wallpaper that replaces the betta fish that we’ve seen ever since the first public beta build 7000 from January.
What you see below could be the final wallpaper that users will see loading up Windows 7 for the first time. It also provides a detailed look at the revised Windows logo, which features cues from nature, for this generation of operating system.
The same logo was first seen on the mockup shots of the Windows 7 retail box. Of course, with the bevy of new wallpaper choices included in Windows 7, the default logo wallpaper probably won’t remain on the desktop for long.
Source : Tom's Hardware US
Nvidia Considering AMD's Globalfoundries
Recently Expreview sat down with Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO and co-founder of Nvidia, and discussed a round of hot topics that included the company's relationship with Intel and AMD, its stance on VIA, and even its take on Larrabee, Intel's upcoming GPU with general purpose computing. But the surprising little tidbit of news stemming from the interview was the revelation that Nvidia is currently in talks with Globalfoundries, a spinoff manufacturer from Nvidia's rival, AMD/ATI.
According to Expreview, Huang previously said that Nvidia was working on three models based on 40nm. Despite this, there were reports that TSMC had problems with 40nm yields. During Computex, TSMC supposedly fixed the issue, and reported that it expects to ship GPUs based on the revised 40nm process soon. However, Expreview asked if Nvidia planned to seek another OEM similar to Globalfoundries.
"Globalfoundries is a leading silicon foundry with advanced and outstanding processing technology," Huang said in the interview. "We’re seriously evaluating and discussing about the possibilities of working with them. As to TSMC, we do regard it as a world-class silicon OEM with flexible strategies. We’re working very closely together."
Along with a possible partnership with Globalfoundries, Huang reiterated that Nvidia doesn't have plans to enter into the CPU market, nor does it have plans to acquire VIA. As for the company's loss in Q1, Huang blames the weak demand on the global economic recession. He also said that Nvidia did extremely well in Q3 2008, but when the market condition changed in Q4, Nvidia found itself over-stocked. He said that this massive amount of product--along with the recession--actually influenced Q1 2009 sales figures.
"But now, we've reduced the inventory greatly to lower the risk," he added.
Source : Tom's Hardware US
More Americans Go To Facebook Than MySpace
Facebook bypassed MySpace in terms of total U.S. visitors for the first time in May, as Facebook's popularity in terms its user base continued to rise.
Facebook pulled in 70.278 million unique visitors in the states, compared to MySpace's 70.237 million, according to data released by ComScore. That made Facebook the most popular site in the U.S., in terms of visitors. Just a month earlier, Facebook had a little over 67 million U.S. visitors behind MySpace's 70.9 million.
A year ago, in May 2008, Facebook was at 36 million unique visitors compared to 73.7 million for MySpace.
Worldwide, Facebook continued its wide lead over the News Corp.-owned MySpace. In May, Facebook had more than 307 million users, compared to MySpace's 123 million.
Facebook first surpassed MySpace in global visitors in April 2008. The social networking sites were neck-in-neck with Facebook at 116 million and MySpace at 115 million. That gap widened the following month, as Facebook logged almost 124 million visitors and MySpace dropped to 114.5 million.
MySpace Cuts Staff by 30 Percent
MySpace is not having a good week.
On the same day that news broke about Facebook overtaking MySpace in number of U.S. visitors, the social networking site confirmed Tuesday that it will reduce it workforce by 30 percent.
The layoffs cut across all U.S. divisions of the News Corp.-owned MySpace, and bring the total number of domestic staff at the company to 1,000 workers.
"Simply put, our staffing levels were bloated and hindered our ability to be an efficient and nimble team-oriented company," MySpace chief executive Owen Van Natta said in a statement.
"I understand that these changes are painful for many," Van Natta continued. "They are also necessary for the long-term health and culture of MySpace. Our intent is to return to an environment of innovation that is centered on our user and our product."
Van Natta, who previously served as chief revenue officer and vice president of operations at Facebook, was named MySpace CEO in April.
"MySpace grew too big considering the realities of today's marketplace," said Jonathan Miller, News Corp's chief digital officer. "I believe this restructuring will help MySpace operate much more effectively both structurally and financially moving forward."
