Linus Torvalds Dumps Intel For 32-core AMD Ryzen On His Personal PC

Linus Torvalds released Linux 5.7 rc7 today, saying it "looks very normal... none of the fixes look like there's anything particularly scary going on."

But then he added something else:  The biggest excitement this week for me was just that I upgraded my main machine, and for the first time in about 15 years, my desktop isn't Intel-based. No, I didn't switch to ARM yet, but I'm now rocking an AMD Threadripper 3970x. My 'allmodconfig' test builds are now three times faster than they used to be, which doesn't matter so much right now during the calming down period, but I will most definitely notice the upgrade during the next merge window.
Torvalds didn't divulge any further details about his new rig, but the 3970x is quite the beast, boasting 32 cores and 64 threads at 3.7GHz with the ability to burst up to 4.5GHz, all built on TSMC's 7nm FinFET process... Torvalds has probably acquired a whole new PC, as the Threadripper range requires a sTRX4 socket and those debuted on motherboards from late 2019.

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Intel CEO Bob Swan: Bad Companies Are Destroyed by Crises

Intel CEO Bob Swan cited this quote from former CEO Andy Grove during a call with analysts. Intel has pledged $100 million in funding to support its 110,000 employees worldwide. It has also pledged $50 million in resources and cash to fight Covid-19. The company has paused a few construction projects at smaller sites, but Swan foresees no impact on process technology or upcoming product launches.

Swan said “I want to thank and commend all the Intel employees and supply chain partners who have helped keep our business operating during this unprecedented challenge,” Swan said. “I want to give special praise to those working in our factories and labs and other on-site personnel who have role-modeled the values of our company every day and every shift — I am so incredibly proud of your effort and commitment.” He also said Intel continues its strategy of widening its market opportunity by making more kinds of chips that go into electronic systems and computing products, such as graphics chips and Optane memory.

Intel said its gross profit margins would likely be lower in the second quarter which in part because the company is recording higher expenses as it prequalifies the manufacturing of its second generation of 10-nanometer products — which is considered a normal expense in a process technology transition. Intel is accelerating its “Tiger Lake” 10-nanometer processors at a faster rate than it was previously planned. Intel grew its datacenter business 34% in Q1, and data-centric revenues are now 51% of total revenues, while PC revenues grew at 14%. The company’s factories are operating at more than 90% when it comes to on-time deliveries. Only essential personnel are going into those factories, but Swan said the facilities — because of requirements for purity in manufacturing — are among the cleanest places in the world.

When it comes to fighting the current crisis and any future pandemics, “COVID-19 has only reinforced how important it is for Intel and our customers to accelerate the power of data,” Swan said. He also said that strong demand for laptops in Q1 — for working from home and learning from home — was offset by the pandemic’s impact on global gross domestic product (GDP). Swan added that government and enterprise spending is likely to be weaker in the second half of the year. At some point, Intel expects the pandemic to affect global demand for PCs during the remainder of the year.

“We recognize that our local and global communities need us to continue delivering technology to help overcome this COVID-19 challenge, and we’re fully focused on that task,” Swan said.

He closed by saying, “Our purpose is to create world-changing technology that enriches the lives of every person on Earth. That’s never been more important than now … We will emerge from this global crisis even stronger.”

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Apple will likely begin selling Macs with its own processors in 2021

This news report from Bloomberg cites sources close to Apple who say that Apple is on track to introduce Macs running in-house CPUs and GPUs in 2021. The chips the company is developing are codenamed Kalamata.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Apple’s partner for iPhone and iPad processors, will build the new Mac chips, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private product plans. The components will be based on a 5-nanometer production technique, the same size Apple will use in the next iPhones and iPad Pros, one of the people said. An Apple spokesman declined to comment, as did Intel and TSMC.

Apple developing multiple Mac chips may be a clue that Apple may not just be thinking about a single new Mac laptop based on in-house silicon but an entire line. It's not clear from this whether these will be additive to the current, Intel-based lineup or whether Apple will began replacing Macs in its current lineup with computers built with these chips in mind. The report does say that one of the chips Apple is developing will be "much faster" than those used in the iPhone or iPad, though they will not yet be sufficient to replace the fastest Intel chips in the MacBook Pro or Mac Pro. Like those iPhone and iPad chips, though, these Mac chips would be built using a 5-nanometer production technique, and they would be made by TSMC.

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Tablets vs PCs

Check Out Brian Madden in this IT Consumerization video 'Tablets vs. PCs' brought to you by Intel. To learn more, please visit the IT Consumerization Corner at Tech Target, brought to you by Intel: http://searchconsumerization.techtarget.com/IntelITConsumerizationCorner

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Acer Liquid C1: The Intel-powered Android 4.0 Phone

Intel and Acer have announced the Acer Liquid C1, an Android 4.0 smartphone at an event in Thailand.
Read more at: http://ibnlive.in.com/photogallery/12481.html?from=HP&utm_source=ref_article

Intel integrated LTE Modem + AP only in 2014

According to EETimes Intel is already shipping data only LTE modems to customers and data-and-voice multimode modem would ship during 2013.

Intel is significantly lagging in the integrated modem and processor space that puts Intel way behind Qualcomm Inc., which already offers integrated LTE capability in its Snapdragon line of application processors. Intel's wireless capabilities are largely credited to the acquisition of wireless business unit of Infineon Technologies AG (Munich, Germany). This very team is known for its solid engineering capabilities while being cost effective and cost competitive.

Quick Introduction to LTE-Advanced

3G and 4G Wireless Blog: Quick Introduction to LTE-Advanced is an article written by Zahid Ghadialy where he explains LTE-A without going in technical details. This also includes the state of market on who is doing what.

Credit Suisse rates Intel Corp. stocks "Outperform" with a $32 price target

Read the full summary of Intel's Q4 results here and analyst estimates here. on Google Finance!

Lava XOLO X900 - AnandTech Review

Reader's in India, did you have a chance to try out this phone? would you buy/recommend it?

Lava XOLO X900 - World's first Intel phone

Discover what makes XOLO X900 with Intel Inside® the benchmark on speed and performance. Please head to the site directly by hitting the title.

Intel Mobile Comm's is looking for a Senior Verif Engineer

This opening is in Bangalore, India and the company is looking forward to close it at the earliest Job Description: 1. About 5-7 years of experience in functional verification with at least 3-4 years in HVL's like E language/specman and System Verilog. 2. Good experience at both module and sub-system/SOC level verification 3. Good knowledge of Verilog/VHDL 4. Good knowledge of UVM/eRM methodology 5. Should have developed complete test bench architecture, designing and coding of test bench components like UVCs/eVCs including checkers, monitors, scoreboards, BFMs 6. Should have architected the test plan including functional coverage and driven functional verification closure of complex DUTs 7. Expertise in sequences and sequence libraries 8. Working knowledge of register package model, regressions tools like eManager and perl scripting. 9. Should have working knowledge of ARM based processors and AHB Desirable skill set: 1. Exposure to other object oriented verification methodologies like VMM/OVM/UVM and system Verilog. 2. Exposure to C++, TLM and Co-verification Role: 1. Ownership and leadership of verification activity . 2. Good coordination skills to work in a flexible manner with multi-skilled teams and schedule-critical projects Technical interaction with concept, system, program and design teams that are geographically distributed If you are interested please contact using this link

IBM, Intel Start $4.4 Billion Chip Venture in New York

Kudos to IBM, Intel and New York state for putting together a deal that will make upstate New York the center of R&D work for chip production on 450-mm and the development of 22- and 14-nm process technology for IBM's so-called "fab club," the Common Platform Alliance. According to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the deal, which involves $4.4 billion of investment, will create about 4,400 jobs and help the region retain another 2,500. Many of those jobs might just have easily have ended up in Taiwan, South Korea, Abu Dhabi or elsewhere. The deal is a coup for New York, which is presumably offering the companies tax breaks or other incentives to locate the projects there. (New York state itself is kicking in some $400 million over five years, but Gov. Cuomo made it clear in a statement announcing the projects that no private company will receive any state funds as part of the agreement.) Albany, already home to the semiconductor research consortium Sematech, the Albany Nanotech Complex and, soon, the Global 450 Consortium, increasingly appears to have surpassed the Silicon Valley as the place to be for semiconductor industry R&D. [More]

Intel Medfield Atom based Android Tablet in 2012

Intel is one of few companies that was given access to the Google Android Honeycomb source code–which Google has to this date not made public yet because the company is still optimizing Honeycomb for future phone releases–and it took Intel a few weeks to re-compile the code to make it compatible for its x86 architecture–the code was originally written for ARM chipsets. "It is HOT" [More here]

Intelligent 4G basestations to be powered by Intel

The Inquirer reports that Ubiquisys has announced that it will develop WiFi base stations using Intel's processors. The intelligent base stations that Ubiquisys is developing are small cells for use in public spaces and big businesses. The need for Intel's processor comes from the growing need to have content within the principality of the base station rather than pulling everything off the internet.

Intel's new 4G acquisition is Sysdsoft

Intel has made a purchase to bolster its 4G wireless platform, buying Egypt-based Sysdsoft, a maker of 4G software stacks. Sysdsoft has been more closely associated with MIPS than Intel architectures, having created an LTE protocol stack for the MIPS/Android platform, with which the processor core maker hopes to penetrate the mobile sector. It may have to look for a new ally now, with Intel taking over most of the assets of the privately held Egyptian company, and hiring about 100 of its engineers and computer scientists.

Intel announces first Multistandard GSM Baseband chip and the much awaited Medfield processor

Intel has started production of its Medfield Application processor for smartphones and is sending samples to phone manufacturers. Intel also announced a low power, multi-standard baseband processor, samples of which would start shipping in the second half of this year. The new baseband processor will support LTE, a fourth generation, high-speed network technology currently being deployed by carriers, as well as older 3G and 2G technologies. Intel expects to make this chip widely available in the second half of next year.

Medfield is Intel's second smartphone processor. The first, Moorestown, did not have much success in the market due to power consumption too high for smartphones. Medfield and Moorestown are based on Intel's Atom processor. Medfield, which is built on the company's latest 32-nanometer manufacturing process, is expected to be better equipped for smartphones. Smaller in size and consuming less power than the 45-nm Moorestown, the new chip is expected to enter mass production later in the year. Intel has said Medfield-powered smartphones will hit the market this year. The company has not named the manufacturers. Intel dominates the processor market for PCs, but is playing catch up in the smartphone market, which is ruled today by processors based on the designs of ARM Holdings in the U.K. ARM processors are used by all the major smartphone makers, including Apple, Samsung, LG, HTC, Research In Motion, and others.

Intel's biggest advantage over ARM is in manufacturing. Intel is expected to move to a 22-nm manufacturing process next year, which is when ARM is headed to where Intel is today -- 32 nm. Size matters because reducing the size of circuitry on a chip boosts performance and lowers active power consumption. Therefore, Intel in time could produce a higher performing chip that's less expensive than ARM's. ARM is expected to stay on top at least till end of next year.

The LTE chip stems from Intel's acquisition last month of Infineon Technologies' Wireless Solutions business. Intel's strengths in communications before the acquisition was in Wi-Fi and WiMax chips. The acquisition has added 2G, 3G and 4G LTE technologies.

Intel, Nvidia ends legal battle with $1.5 billion cross-licensing deal

Intel and Nvidia announced Monday they are dropping their respective lawsuits with the signing of a six-year agreement to exchange patent rights. Under the deal, Intel will pay Nvidia $1.5 billion for the right to use the latter’s graphics processing units technology. Intel will pay the amount in five annual installments starting on Jan. 18, according to Nvidia.

“This agreement ends the legal dispute between the companies, preserves patent peace and provides protections that allow for continued freedom in product design,” said Doug Melamed, Intel senior vice president and general counsel. “It also enables the companies to focus their efforts on innovation and the development of new, innovative products.”

"This agreement signals a new era for Nvidia," said Jen-Hsun Huang, Nvidia's president and CEO. "Our cross license with Intel reflects the substantial value of our visual and parallel computing technologies. It also underscores the importance of our inventions to the future of personal computing, as well as the expanding markets for mobile and cloud computing."

Both companies are based in Santa Clara, Calif. One of Intel's largest chip manufacturing plants is in Rio Rancho, N.M., just northwest of Albuquerque.

Intel looks At Creating A ‘Sub-Atom’ Chip Out Of India, renews focus on affordable PCs

Praveen Vishakantaiah, president of Intel India, said one innovation in the area of frugal engineering could soon be in the market. "With HCL, we have launched a nettop with a battery backup in the power adaptor. It's a three hour backup that helps in areas that do not have continuous power supply. The innovation was in the adaptor; if we had done it in the nettop, it would have raised the cost significantly," he said.

The past decade has seen several attempts to mass market PCs through innovations like the Simputer, Classmate PC and a $100 portable computer under the one-laptop-perchild initiative, some of which had Intel's involvement. Vishakantaiah said some of these initiatives did not fully appreciate the complexities of the Indian market. "Broadband connection is a problem, so is reaching rural areas. Classmate PC has been a success in Latin America, with success in one country influencing others in the region to take it up. But in India, success in one area is no guarantee that others will want to do it," he said.

So, apart from efforts to bring breakthroughs in chip architecture to make them both
low cost and multi-functional, Intel India will be looking at triggering innovations around low-cost chips, like the battery backup in the power adaptor. "Besides, in India, we can't just provide a box and expect people to know what to do with it, like in mature markets. We have to provide content, we have to work with the teachers using the PCs to explain what's possible.We will have applications
preloaded on the system which are activated only when the buyer starts using them;
and they pay only for the time they use the app.We will work with our partners and the entire supply chain to do all of this," Vishakantaiah said.

The company's chief technology officer, Justin Rattner, who was in Bangalore last week, told TOI he's starting what he calls a "frugal engineering" effort at its India facility. "It's intended to bring high technology to these huge populations, to those whom our products for the most part do not touch today. And India seemed to be the perfect place to do that kind of work," he said.

Rattner said he expects early results from the 'rethinking' initiative a year from now."We will do a number of projects in this area and quickly weed out the ones that aren't going anywhere, and focus on one or two that look promising," he said.

More at this link from Times of India!

Intel India labs will focus on parallel computing

Intel dominates the business of PC processors. But as consumers shift increasingly to tablets and smartphones, the company is trying to quickly move to serve those devices. On a visit to Bangalore last week, Justin Rattner, CTO of Intel, talked exclusively to TOI on a range of issues, from the nature of work its Bangalore labs are being asked to do, to some really futuristic, almost sci-fi, stuff.

More at this link from Times of India!

Intel opens China fab

Intel Corp. has begun operations within its first fab in China, according to Dow Jones. In 2007, Intel won approval to build a $2.5 billion, 300-mm wafer plant in northern China for chip sets. The plan called for the fab to be in the city of Dalian. The fab will produce 65-nm devices.

Intel is also expanding in the U.S. As reported, Intel recently confirmed speculation that it will build a new R&D wafer fab in Hillsboro, Ore., and upgrade other existing U.S. facilities for 22-nm production at a total investment of between $6 billion and $8 billion.

The investment will create 800 to 1,000 permanent high-tech jobs and 6,000 to 8,000 construction jobs, Intel (Santa Clara, Calif.) said. The new development fab in Oregon, to be known as D1X, is slated for R&D startup in 2013.

One analyst thinks the fab will be ''450-mm ready.'' [Via: EETimes]