Microsoft and NEC, one of Japan's largest computer makers, said Tuesday they would join to develop high-end computer server systems and services for businesses. The alliance aims to take advantage of increasing corporate reliance on networks and the Internet to conduct business, they said. "Demand for reliable high-end servers is going to have the potential to be a high-growth market," Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates told a news conference in Tokyo. He said the deal would take advantage of "the unique capabilities that NEC has with servers and its existing customer base."
The core technology behind the Pentium II and Pentium III apparently will go on and on. Banias, a low-power chip for notebooks and Internet devices coming from Intel in the first half of 2003, will be based around the P6 architecture, the processor design that is being phased out in other Intel product lines, according to Kevin Krewell, an analyst at subscription newsletter "Microprocessor Report." The chip will contain significant new modifications for saving power but will effectively feature the same computing core as the Pentium Pro, which debuted in 1996. "The P6 architecture in this morphed version will live on," he said during a seminar at the Microprocessor Forum here on Monday. "Banias is a derivative of the Pentium III, we know that."
Intel's Pentium 4 for mobile computers will come out at speeds above 1.5GHz in the first half of next year, but it won't be matched with memory based on technology from Rambus. The Pentium 4, which currently is available only in desktops, comes to notebooks by virtue of a manufacturing shift that cuts the power consumed and heat dissipated by the chip, said Bob Jackson, principal engineer in Intel's mobile processing group. By cutting the power, Intel can squeeze the chip into portables. "You need to keep the average power down to about 10 percent of the overall power" consumed by the notebook, Jackson said at the Microprocessor Forum here.
Like the dial tone on a telephone, the underlying architecture of a computer operating system isn't generally paid much attention unless something goes wrong. And then, of course, it's the sole focus. "Stability and support are very important when an enterprise is run on one specific type of software," says Kevin King, Management Information Systems director for the Supreme Court of the state of Oklahoma. "One outage can shut down the entire operation." Support features that are anything less than stellar, he explains, represent a risk he's not willing to take. "When we're not running, people cannot avail themselves of the courts," he says.
Dell Computer said Monday that it is offering removable plates for its new Inspiron 4100 notebooks in 18 colors, patterns and textures. The QuickSnap Color Inserts range from Iridescent Jade, Burlwood and Antique to Denim, Fishskin and Snakeskin. Dell has offered customers the ability to choose custom colors for notebooks since 1999 and began selling four color plates for notebooks last fall. But the company has never offered so many colors or such unusual shades or, in some cases, textures (Black Leather, for example). Because a notebook often becomes an extension of its owner, Dell said, it decided to create a way to better reflect personal taste.
Roundup: New MSN 7
MS Press
Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft Corp., and Yusuf Mehdi, vice president of MSN, today announced MSN 7, the innovative new version of the MSN network of Internet services, which will deliver the most useful Internet experience for people who are excited about the Web. MSN is the most popular portal destination on the World Wide Web and the second most popular Internet service provider (ISP) in the United States, and MSN 7 offers new features and services for consumers visiting the MSN portal and MSN Internet Access subscribers.
U.S. computer services company Unisys Corp. on Monday said it will use voice recognition technology from Boston-based speech technology firm SpeechWorks International Inc. The technology allows users to navigate messages, address books and the Web using their voices instead of computer keypads, the companies said in a joint statement. Financial terms were not disclosed. Blue Bell, Pa.-based Unisys said that its multi-media value added services, which include voice and fax messaging, universal messaging, calling services and Internet call waiting, will incorporate SpeechWorks technology.
Transmeta Corp., which designs low-power-consuming processors for laptop computers, on Monday announced a new chip that it said uses one-third the space on a notebook's motherboard that its current Crusoe processors do. Santa Clara, California-based Transmeta said that because the Crusoe takes up less space than current versions of its chip, it is ideal for use in a growing number of smaller, thinner and lighter notebooks and handheld PCs.
Transmeta, which warned on Oct. 8 that third-quarter sales will be $5 million and has suffered from dismal notebook sales in Japan, its principal market, said the Crusoe TM6000 will be available in the second half of 2002 at speeds running at 1 Gigahertz, or one billion cycles per second.
Microsoft on Monday said it had signed deals to offer its MSN Internet access service over high-speed DSL connections provided by three major telephone companies, stepping up the software giant's battle with Internet rival AOL Time Warner. Microsoft will offer MSN over DSL, or digital subscriber lines, through partnerships with Verizon Communications, BellSouth and SBC Communications, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer told a conference call. The deals would offer high-speed access to MSN to 90 percent of DSL-capable U.S. homes by early next year, Microsoft said. MSN already offers high-speed access through a partnership with Qwest Communications International.
Microsoft on Monday said it has revamped its MSN Internet offerings to include features such as real-time traffic and travel alerts as the software giant goes head-to-head with rival AOL Time Warner. Apart from the new package, called MSN 7, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer and MSN chief Yusuf Mehdi are expected to make an announcement regarding MSN and high-speed Internet connections. "I think actually we have really, really nailed this version, compared to our competitors," MSN product manager Lisa Gurry said.