chips

Intel reveals design flaw in Sandy Bridge chipset

Intel has discovered a design flaw related to its new Sandy Bridge chip, the company said today.

The flaw has forced the chipmaker to stop shipments of a chipset, though Intel also announced that it has a design fix in place. Intel expects the cost of repair and replacement to be around $700 million, forcing it to cut its sales forecast for the first quarter by $300 million.

Prior to the announcement, trading of Intel's stock was halted on the New York Stock Exchange for about 25 minutes. Since trading resumed around 7:20 a.m. PT, investor reaction … Read more

Windows 8 to support x86, ARM 'system on a chip'

Microsoft announced today at the Consumer Electronics Show that the next version of Windows will support system-on-a-chip (SoC) architectures, including ARM-based systems from partners Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments.

Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft said that on the x86 architecture, Intel and AMD will "continue their work on low-power SoC designs that fully support Windows, including support for native x86 applications."

Microsoft made the announcement during the 2011 CES in Las Vegas. Here's more from Microsoft's statement.

Microsoft said it would demonstrate "the next version of Windows running on new SoC platforms from Intel running on … Read more

CES: Texas Instruments trots out tiny new DLP Pico HD chip

LAS VEGAS--The early class of "pocket" pico projectors hasn't taken off as quickly as some people expected, largely because the image quality hasn't been good. Texas Instruments hopes to kick-start the category with a new DLP Pico HD chipset that will make its way into products shipping later this year.

The company says the new chip delivers "stunning" HD (WXGA) video and images on "nearly any surface, with more brightness and greater energy efficiency than ever before," and that it will usher in "a new era for portable high-definition entertainment." … Read more

4,600-year-old game software?

The Royal Game of Ur, also known as the Game of 20 Squares, is based on board game equipment excavated at the site of the ancient Sumerian city of Ur in Mesopotamia. While no rules survived, the same basic game is still played in modern-day Iraq. Players roll dice to advance chits along a path, a classic layout that will be familiar to anyone old enough to master Uncle Wiggly, and one that some believe is an ancestor of backgammon. Ur from Tams11 is a free software game based on the ancient board game. You can play it against a … Read more

November chip sales jump year over year

Chip sales have been a lot healthier lately than they were amid the downturn of 2009.

Semiconductor sales around the world hit $26 billion in November, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). Though that's a slight decline of 0.9 percent from October, it's a hefty increase of 14.4 percent from November 2009 when sales were $22.7 billion.

For the entire year through November, sales jumped 34 percent to reach $271.8 billion, up from $202.8 billion for the same period in 2009.

"Despite continuing macroeconomic uncertainty, the semiconductor industry is slated to … Read more

Survey: People can't live without high-speed Internet

High-speed Internet is the technology that's had the greatest impact on society and the one that people say they can't live without, according to survey results from Zogby Interactive.

Released this week, Zogby's study found that 28 percent of those polled tagged broadband Internet as the one technology they can't live without; e-mail came in second at 18 percent. Facebook was lower on the overall list at only 3 percent, but among the younger crowd (18-24), 15 percent said they can't live without Facebook.

Looking at technologies that have had the greatest impact on society … Read more

Scientists beat pain with spinal chip

Australian researchers are getting ready to conduct human trials next year of a smart chip, which, when implanted in the spinal cord, can measure and stop pain signals from traveling to the brain.

The technology, targeting chronic pain, was developed in Sydney by National ICT Australia (NICTA) over the last two years by experts in biomedical, electrical, and mechanical engineering, as well as textile technology and software applications.

The smart chip is put into a biocompatible device, which is a little smaller than the head of a match. A couple of the devices are sewn into a 1.22mm-wide micro-lead … Read more

IBM chips: Let there be light signals

IBM has achieved a major milestone in making the dream of silicon photonics, in which computer chips send signals of light rather than electricity, into reality.

At the semiconductor industry conference Semicon in Tokyo today, IBM photonics leader Yurii Vlasov is detailing how IBM has created a chip that integrates many of the necessary elements of optical communication between a processor and other devices. Significantly, the design uses conventional rather than exotic chip manufacturing technology, involves very small components, and essentially permits a fiber-optic communication line to be attached directly to a processor.

And more significantly, it's headed for … Read more

At Cleantech Open, less is more

This year's Cleantech Open 2010 Business Competition winner, announced last week, is Puralytics, a company developing photochemical water purification products.

Since 2006, the Cleantech Open has offered a venue for competition among green tech start-up companies looking for funding. Winning alumni of the contest include Cool Earth Solar, Green Volts, and Micromidas.

This year's winner, Puralytics, is an Oregon-based start-up that uses natural sunlight or LED lighting as the catalysts to remove pathogens, petrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals from waste water. Its processes under development have applications for both industrial manufacturing facilities and small rural communities. Puralytics will receive $250,… Read more