By Jason Mick May 30, 2011

As if Intel Corp. needed any more bad news after all the grief ARM Holdings plc (ARMH) is giving it, it appears that Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) may be closing the gap in notebook and netbook sales. Late last month, Microsoft's Bill Koefoed, general manager of investor relations, reported "a 40 percent decline in Netbooks" in Q1 2011. In Q1 2010, netbooks sold about 10 million units, so this indicates that about 6 million netbooks sold in January, February, and April. If that pace were sustained, through May around 10 million netbooks would have sold. AMD's Raymond Dumbeck announced this week that AMD sold 5 million "Fusion" chips in the first five months of the year. AMD's Fusion chips went into a mix of 10-, 11-, and 12-inch notebooks. Given that the line between a "netbook" and "ultra-portable PC"/"small PC" lies somewhere in 11-12 inch range it seems like a fair guess that A.MD sold about 3 million "netbooks" — or about a third of the total market (~10 million units) That's incredible news for AMD which traditionally had little sales success in the mobile sector and virtually no sales in the netbook sector. The flip side of the AMD victory is that Intel's ultra-mobile Atom processor appears to have bled a great deal of market share in a very short time. Atom has suffered as AMD reportedly undercut it with Fusion and delivered a superior on-chip GPU compared to Intel's solution. 

Read more here –>dailytech.com

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By Mark Kurlyandchik May 30, 2011

For consumers who want a non-iPad tablet but can't decide between Android or Windows versions, ViewSonic has a solution. At Computex, the company has officially unveiled the first dual-OS tablet, the ViewPad 10Pro. The device runs Windows 7 Professional and is able to run Android Apps, thanks to Blue Stacks virtualization. It allows users to switch between the two operating systems instantly, without having to restart or shut down the device. The ViewPad 10Pro is also one of the first devices available to consumers to be powered by an Intel Oak Trail 1.5GHz Atom Z670 processor. It also boasts 3G compatibility, 1080p video playback, and a 3500mAh battery (with an expected battery life of about 4.5 hours). "We have continued to invest in our strategic partnerships with Microsoft and Google," Alan Chang, ViewSonic Managing Director of Europe and Asia-Pacific said in a press release. "At Computex, you will see that ViewSonic is not content with standing still." 

Read more here –>dailytech.com

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by Todd Bishop May 30, 2011

We’ve known for a while that Microsoft was getting a cut of HTC’s sales of Android devices, under a patent deal announced by the companies more than a year ago. But the extra detail that emerged this past week was still interesting: Microsoft is making $5 on every Android sold by HTC — and it’s asking for between $7.50 and $12.50 in negotiations with makers of other Android devices, according to a report from Citi analyst Walter Pritchard, quoted by Business Insider and others. Even more remarkable: That could add up to as much as five times as much licensing revenue as Microsoft has made on on its own Windows Phone since its release last fall, according to a back-of-the-napkin analysis by the Asymco research firm. But this isn’t simply about Microsoft making money from Android sales. The royalty payments add a fee to Android devices that wouldn’t otherwise exist for phone makers, since the open-source operating system is free for them to license. Microsoft, on the other hand, charges an undisclosed licensing fee for Windows Phone. So if Microsoft can effectively add a licensing cost to Android, it makes the playing field more level for its own mobile platform. 

Read more here –>geekwire.com

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All of the Mac users who thought their machines were superior and off-limits to hackers are now being attacked with malware. This marks the beginning of a long battle.
By John C. Dvorak May 25, 2011

The stories have started to emerge and now the battle has begun. After years of being off-limits to hackers, the Apple Macintosh is now subject to the same sort of abuse that the PC has endured and survived over the years: malware. Apple says it will send out some patches this week, but this just marks the beginning of a long battle. It will be ugly, as the platform is largely like the unprotected, the users are clueless, and there is zero resistance within the platform. The few Mac users who survive the barrage will probably be former PC users who are not so easily fooled by fake websites. That said, a bunch of websites are now injecting code into the Mac to infect it with new Trojans. Let me give you an overview of the instructions from the Apple Support document. Read it carefully and try to understand the implications: To avoid the malware, Apple advises users to either manually or force quit their browsers if an notification about any malware pops up. In the case that the browser automatically downloaded and launched the malware installer, Apple recommends that you go to the Downloads folder and delete the installer. Apple then provides detailed, multi-step instructions to remove the malware if it was already installed. Mac users cannot do follow these recommendations because they've been trained since birth not to deal with such issues by hand. It's beneath them. It's those of us who use PCs who go in, tweak, find, erase, and fiddle with things. The Mac is a perfect and easy-to-use "appliance," so giving these sorts of instructions is almost useless, unless Mac users have an IT guy living in the house. Also, what typical Mac user is going to even know or understand some tricky website that is sending pop-up warnings to the user? We'll see how this situation plays out, but one thing is for certain: the happy-go-lucky Mac owners will end up grumbling about it the same way PC users have done over the years. And this "What? Me worry?" attitude and smug smile will forever disappear. That's the good news, as far as I'm concerned. The bad news is the refuge is gone forever. You can be sure Linux isn't any safer either.

Read more here –>pcmag.com

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By Brian X. Chen May 25, 2011

Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer got ahead of himself on Monday when he publicly blurted out a general roadmap for the next version of Windows. Ballmer told an audience at a developer forum in Tokyo that Microsoft will have news to share about Windows 8 on tablets, slates and PCs over the next year. “As we look forward to the next generation of Windows systems, which will come out next year, there’s a whole lot more coming,” Ballmer was quoted in a transcript provided by Microsoft. “As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8. Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors.” However, later Monday afternoon a Microsoft spokesperson retracted Ballmer’s statement. “It appears there was a misstatement,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement the company issued. “We are eagerly awaiting the next generation of Windows 7 hardware that will be available in the coming fiscal year. To date, we have yet to formally announce any timing or naming for the next version of Windows.” Besides Ballmer’s hiccup, little is known about Microsoft’s next operating system. In June 2010, an Italian Windows blog published what it purported to be slides showing Microsoft’s plans for Windows 8. The slides hinted that Microsoft hopes to replicate Apple’s App Store model and instant-on capability for devices in order for Windows 8 to succeed. Microsoft did not confirm the authenticity of the slides, though observers agreed that they look credible. 

Read more here –>wired.com

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by James Delahunty 25 May 2011

According to reports, Nvidia's Project Denver CPU will feature x86 hardware emulation. Just like China's Loongson processors, the emulation will be achieved by use of an extra hardware layer, though it will come with a speed penalty of between 15% and 20% (still better than the Loongson's 30 percent penalty). Nvidia is expected to launch the CPU around 2013-2014. Adding the x86 emulation to the package will help the graphics chip maker to better compete with Intel Corporation and Advanced Micro Devices. Project Denver is expected to launch around the same time as Nvidia's Maxwell GPU architecture, both of which could be interlinked to provide a very high-performance computing platform to drive the next generation of computers. 

Read more here –>afterdawn.com

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May 24, 2011

Leander Games has secured the exclusive worldwide rights to develop MEGADETH-branded games for both the online and landbased industry. Ramiro Atucha, founder and CEO of Leander Games, said, "Providing licensed games for a phenomenal brand such as MEGADETH is a really exciting proposition for us. Drawing on the band's staggering worldwide popularity and in keeping with their image, we have developed a game that will truly engage players on a global scale. We have an in-house team that specialize in providing the most thrilling mathematics and advanced graphics with most of the creative team specializing in 2D, 3D and motion art, therefore the MEGADETH slot game player experience is unparalleled." Added MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine: "We have an amazing fan base that is incredibly loyal to our music and everything we stand for and we never dreamed that one day we would have a 'MEGADETH' slot game for fans to play. However, with the assistance of Leander Games' vision and creativity, we have produced a fantastic game that will appeal to anyone that already appreciates the band, while also giving us an opportunity to continue widening our appeal to a new casino playing audience." 

Read more here –>blabbermouth.net

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