devices

Intel has completed the development phase of its next-generation manufacturing process that shrinks chip circuitry to 32 nanometers, the chipmaker said Tuesday night.

Intel processors are currently made on a 45nm process. Generally, smaller geometries result in faster and more power-efficient processors.

"The company is on track for production readiness of this future generation (of transistors)...in the fourth quarter of 2009," the chipmaker said in a statement.

Intel said it will provide technical details about the 32nm process technology at the International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) next week in San Francisco.

Finishing the development phase for 32nm … Read more

Adobe's latest version of the Flash Player browser plug-in is just as trouble-free as previous versions, existing unobtrusively in your system until Web-based animations, games, or ubiquitous Flash ads require its services.

The latest version downloads and installs quickly, and will probably always require a browser restart. Our tests turned up nothing to make us scratch our heads, and upgrading from version 9 to the current one has fixed for many people a bug that caused embedded video to freeze.

You need a Flash Player to experience the Web at its fullest, so users at any level of expertise … Read more

940 versus 940. That may be the confusing Intel-AMD processor model-number juxtaposing that consumers can look forward to next year.

A Chinese Web site has posted details of Advanced Micro Devices' upcoming Phenom II desktop processors, of which at least two are due to be launched at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

The post on HKEPC lists more than a dozen new models due to be launched during the next eight months. AMD is now moving its chips to 45-nanometer process technology from an older 65-nanometer process. Generally, smaller geometries result in faster and more power-efficient processors.

Processors listed … Read more

Last month, IBM released a report (PDF) identifying the security challenges facing enterprises in the next two to five years. The survey is based on data collected internally by IBM.

One theme is that as the pace of globalization picks up, traditional boundaries continue to disappear. In this new global reality, "open for business" can mean pooling resources or sharing sensitive information among organizations.

The IBM report notes that "the line between participation and isolation can also mark the line of opportunity and risk. (Enterprises) rely on business systems and automated policies to guard that line--to root … Read more

Transmeta, a company that once hoped to rival Intel and Advanced Micro Devices to power portable computers, announced Monday that it would sell itself to Novafora for $255.6 million in cash.

Novafora said it hopes to use Transmeta's people and technology in its video processing chips.

"Transmeta's innovative technology and the expertise of its employees are valuable additions to Novafora," Novafora CEO Zaki Rakib said in a statement.

For their part, shareholders are expected to receive between $18.70 and $19 for each Transmeta share they own. The deal was unanimously approved by Transmeta's … Read more

Updated to add reference to analyst downgrade.

Intel issued a fourth-quarter warning on Wednesday, noting its financial performance will be less than previously forecast and comes a day after downgrades by analysts.

The chip giant is scaling back its forecast as its revenues come in "significantly weaker" than expected across all its market segments and the countries that it operates in. Gross margins, as a result, also received a revised outlook.

Intel, which released its quarterly warning after the markets close, saw its shares drop 7.47 percent in after hours trading. During the regular trading session Wednesday, … Read more

VMware has announced a major push into the mobile market, with a new virtualization platform tailored for handheld devices.

VMware Mobile Virtualization Platform, or MVP, announced Monday, builds on technology VMware bought from Trango Virtual Processors last month. According to VMware, the platform will "help handset vendors reduce development time and get mobile phones with value-added services to market faster" through the use of virtual machines.

Business users were also a focus in VMware's announcement, which suggested that MVP would let IT departments roll out a "corporate phone personality" across employees' personal handsets, leading to … Read more

Intel has begun pilot programs to test a home health laptop, application, and database system that puts patients remotely in sync with their health care providers.

The Intel Health Guide, which includes a laptop for patients and an online interface for health care administrators, received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July. Now Aetna, Scan Health Plan, Erickson Retirement Communities, and the Providence Medical Group in Oregon have each begun pilot programs to test how well the system works, or doesn't work, with their patients.

"Health care is an area where getting and gathering the right information, and getting decisions made in a timely matter can make an enormous difference in patient care. We hope this technology helps with that," Mariah Scott, head of sales and marketing for Intel's Digital Health Group, said in an interview.

While many see health care moving into the home through technology, it seems like Intel knows government approval alone will not convince people to trust a tech company to dispense medical advice.

The company also announced that it has partnered with two major names in medicine, the Mayo Clinic and the American Heart Association, to provide the application's medical assessments, evidence-based treatment guidelines, and educational multimedia content.

That's probably a good idea because Intel plans to sell its Intel Health Care Management Suite as a comprehensive online data-collection system for health care organizations; the Intel Health Guide PHS6000 device is intended for patients themselves to operate, not experienced clinicians visiting the homebound as previously speculated.… Read more

It's been a little while since we've seen anything from Magellan, but on Thursday, the GPS manufacturer revealed its latest in-car GPS, the Magellan Maestro 4350 series. Consisting of the Maestro 4350 and the Maestro 4370, both portable navigation devices feature a new user interface called OneTouch that gives you quick one-click access to your favorite destinations.

Basically, you preselect your favorite businesses (restaurants, banks, gas stations, and so forth) and addresses and then the GPS will provide a single page where you can just tap on the appropriate icon to navigate to the destination from your current … Read more