John G. Spooner

Advanced Micro Devices wants to help computers based on its processors to get new jobs. The chip maker announced on Sept. 21 an expansion of its “Torrenza” initiative to spur the deployment of co-processors for systems using its chips. Torrenzas second step will make it possible for co-processors to plug directly into the socket—the physical […]

Lenovo Group is upping the performance of its Lenovo 3000-brand computers. The Raleigh, N.C., company on Sept. 19 updated its Lenovo 3000 N100 notebook PC line with Intels dual-core Core 2 Duo processor. The company is also expected to soon add dual-core processors to its Lenovo 3000 desktop line. The new processors, along with other […]

Researchers at Intel and the University of California Santa Barbara say they have made another step toward integrating silicon chips and lasers, which could someday speed up computers with high-bandwidth chip-to-chip interconnects. The researchers are collaborating in a field Intel has dubbed silicon photonics; the creation of on-chip components that can use light to transmit […]

Dell says it has hit the reset button on its business. The Round Rock, Texas, PC maker, which has been battered by sagging financials—in part, the result of customer satisfaction problems—a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission and questions about the leadership of CEO Kevin Rollins, has embarked on a companywide effort, called Dell […]

Call it chip week in San Francisco. Multicore processors and the work that goes into building them will be the talk of the town the week of Sept. 25 as Intel kicks off its fall Developer Forum. The chip maker, which holds developer forums twice annually, will again occupy San Franciscos Moscone West convention center […]

The worldwide PC market continues to chug along, but PC makers will have to make do with less revenue to keep growing, analysts said. Gartner of Stamford, Conn., on Sept 15 said that worldwide PC unit shipments are expected to reach 233.7 million in 2006, an increase of 10.5 percent from 2005. IDC, based in […]

NEW YORK—Dell thinks some of its customers want notebooks that are a little tougher. While speaking at the companys Technology Day here on Sept. 12, Alex Gruzen, general manager of Dells Product Group, famous for standing on one of Dells new Latitude machines to demonstrate its chassis strength, said that the Round Rock, Texas, PC […]

NEW YORK—Dell has added a new dimension to its desktop PCs by taking the wraps off of its first AMD-processor-based machines. The PC maker began taking orders for its new Dimension E521 and C521 desktops, which will offer Advanced Micro Devices Sempron, Athlon 64 and dual-core Athlon 64 X2 chips, on Sept. 13. The Dell-AMD […]

Hewlett-Packard hopes to reduce the hassle of managing fleets of desktops with a new lineup of business PCs. The Palo Alto, Calif., computer maker Sept. 6 added three desktop models to its HP Compaq Business PC line. Two of the machines offer Intels Core 2 Duo chip, while the third includes Advanced Micro Devices latest […]

Cheap PCs just arent doing it for Dell anymore, some of its customers say. Several Dell customers of varying sizes, informally polled by eWEEK, said that the PC makers low prices are no longer enough to effectively separate the Round Rock, Texas, PC maker from its PC rivals, such as Hewlett-Packard. Dell has been going […]