Apr 19, 2010
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AMD’s Nile thin and light notebook platform is nearly here

Acer is getting ready with Aspire One 521

IT LOOKS AS if AMD is getting ready to out its new thin and light notebook – read netbook competitor – chipset very soon, although we’d hazard a guess that the Nile system will be officially unveiled at Computex, or at least it seems like that will be the right time to do so. An Acer centric blog has gotten details of one of the first notebooks based on the Niles platform and it comes from Acer in the shape of the Aspire One 521.
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Apr 19, 2010

Next generation iPhone leaked

Or is it an elaborate PR stunt?

PICTURES AND VIDEOS of Apple’s next generation iPhone have made their way online after an allegedly misplaced device was found in a bar in Redwood City. However, if you take in consideration how careful Apple is about leaks of this kind, one has to wonder if this is truly by accident or if Apple is trying to build some momentum here and the whole thing is just an elaborate PR stunt.
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Apr 16, 2010

Apple and AMD are rumoured to be in talks

AMD CPUs in future Apple products?

DEPITE THE FACT that Apple once again went with Nvidia graphics solutions for its updated MacBook Pros it looks like Apple and AMD are considering a much closer relationship than they’ve had so far. At least if we’re to believe a story from Apple Insider which is suggesting that Apple and AMD are in talks about Apple using AMD’s processors and chipsets in upcoming machines.
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Apr 13, 2010

Apple updates MacBook Pro notebooks

The 15 and 17-inch models get Core i5 and i7 processors

APPLE’S LONG AWAITED and somewhat overdue overhaul of its MacBook Pro line has finally turned up and although the choice of CPUs is anything but surprising, the fact that Apple stuck with Nvidia for the graphics after all the bumpgate related problems was quite a surprise. Apple even offers its own version of Optimus, sans the Nvidia branding as Apple simply refers to it as auto switching graphics.
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Apr 1, 2010

USB 3.0 xHCI spec 1.0 will require in-chipset support

Won’t come until Intel is ready

IT’S PRETTY INTERESTING what you can find out at the various events you attend as a tech journalist and today we found out about another reason why we’re not seeing USB 3.0 support built into chipsets. From our understanding it has nothing to do with cost or technology problems, as it all comes down to one thing – Intel isn’t ready to move away from the draft USB 3.0 xHCI specification.
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Apr 1, 2010

No performance testing is done on USB certified devices

It’s up to the manufacturers

YOU MIGHT HAVE noticed a little USB logo on most, if not all of your USB devices that tells you what kind it is, be it bog standard USB, Hi-Speed or now SuperSpeed USB. During today’s USB-IF developer’s conference we put forward the question to the USB-IF, which is the organization behind these logos that certify that your device is USB compliant, with regards to performance testing and what the requirements are.
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Apr 1, 2010

Notebook charging over USB is being researched

USB-IF looking for smart power distribution

IF THERE’S ONE inherent problem the USB interface suffers from, including the latest 3.0 iteration, it’s the lack of power. At 5V and 500mA or 900mA, you can barely run an external hard drive off a USB port. But from what we were told today, the USB Implementors Forum (USB-IF) is looking at changing this in the future and has just started a research group that will look at how to drive more power over the USB interface.
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Mar 23, 2010

VIA launches its first DDR3 mobile chipset

Single chip solution with 1080p video and more

IT’S BEEN JUST over three months since VIA announced a new chipset and today we’re looking at yet another new chipset from the company, although this time it’s for mobile devices rather than desktops. It’s a shame that the new VX900 chipset didn’t get the full feature set of the VN1000, but it’s not all bad news, as VIA finally has a mobile solution that should kick the Atom’s ass.
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