This week in Intel
Chipmaker looks to dual cores and China for new opportunities and touches off controversy with its unending interest in Moore's Law.
The company's search for a pristine copy of the 1965 magazine in which co-founder Gordon Moore first publicly outlined his now-famous theory on the future potential of chipmaking has inadvertently touched off a stir among librarians at several U.S. universities.
After the company posted a $10,000 bounty on eBay for someone who could find an unspoiled copy of the April 19, 1965, issue of Electronics Magazine, some individuals apparently were inspired to steal the document. A day after the reward was announced, a University of Illinois engineering library noticed that one of its two copies had disappeared. Librarians at Stanford University, the University of Washington and several other schools have also voiced their displeasure over the offer. Intel promised to keep an eye out for any stolen copies.
Meanwhile, on Monday the company took the wraps off its timetable for introducing dual-core desktop chips, saying the processors would arrive in computers later this month. Some observers say the move was aimed squarely at beating rival Advanced Micro Devices to market. Intel foreshadowed the release at its Developer Forum in Taipei, Taiwan, reporting that it is already shipping dual-core "Extreme Edition" chips and accompanying chipsets to PC makers. This coming Monday, Dell, Alienware and other PC makers will start selling machines containing the dual-core chips.
In another Far East announcement, Intel said that it would begin selling a new notebook platform designed specifically for Chinese university students. The design, dubbed Tanggula, will offer enhanced security, wireless capabilities and multimedia functions, along with some features designed specifically for students. Notebooks based on Tanggula are due out in the second half of this year and are expected to come in a range of entry-level and higher-performance designs.
Other news out of the chipmaker this week included a new partnership with Oracle regarding radio frequency ID technology, and Intel CEO Craig Barrett's theory that his company's future could revolve around health care.