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AMD Pacifica details imminent

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Expertise Processors, semiconductors, web browsers, quantum computing, supercomputers, AI, 3D printing, drones, computer science, physics, programming, materials science, USB, UWB, Android, digital photography, science. Credentials
  • Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
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Stephen Shankland

It'll come down to the wire, but Advanced Micro Devices expects to meet its deadline to fully disclose details of its "Pacifica" technology to help processors run multiple operating systems simultaneously.

The chipmaker had said it planned to reveal details by the end of March. On Monday, a company representative said the announcement is expected Wednesday, March 30. Microsoft and EMC's VMware subsidiary, which each have software that dovetails with the processor "virtualization" technology, will lend their support to AMD's technology, AMD said. The chipmaker also is working with the competing open-source Xen software project.

AMD's Pacifica faces competition in Intel's Vanderpool, now officially named Intel Virtualization Technology and due to arrive in processors by the end of the year. Both technologies make it easier to get a server to juggle multiple jobs efficiently. Pacifica is due to arrive in 2006.