Intel today unveiled its latest lineup of Intel Xeon W and X-series processors, which puts new classes of computing performance and AI acceleration into the hands of professional creators and PC enthusiasts. Custom-designed to address the diverse needs of these growing audiences, the new Xeon W-2200 and X-series processors are targeted to be available starting November, along with a new pricing structure that represents an easier step up for creators and enthusiasts from Intel Core S-series mainstream products.

Intel is the only company that delivers a full portfolio of products precision-tuned to handle the sustained compute-intensive workloads used by professional creators and enthusiasts every day. The new Xeon W-2200 and X-series processors take this to the next level, as the first high-end desktop PC and mainstream workstations to feature AI acceleration with the integration of Intel Deep Learning Boost. This offers an AI inference boost of 2.2 times more compared with the prior generation. Additionally, this new lineup features Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0, which has been further enhanced to help software, such as for simulation and modeling, run as fast as possible by identifying and prioritizing the fastest available cores.

Intel in addition to updating its 5G strategy, also announced availability of its 8th generation Core vPro "Whiskey Lake" mobile processor SoCs. Built as multi-chip modules with the CPU and PCH dies sitting on a single package, the new Core vPro i7-8665U has identical specifications to the original i7-8665U from Q3-2018, but with the addition of vPro, a set of additional features relevant to large organizations, such as AMT (active management technology), and TXT (trusted execution technology). OEM majors Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Panasonic are giving finishing touches to enterprise notebooks based on the new chip, which by itself could be priced around $500.

GIGABYTE today introduced the C246-WU4, a workstation-grade socket LGA1151 motherboard based on Intel C246 chipset, with support for the recently announced Xeon E-2100 series, in addition to 8th and 9th generation Core processors. With Xeon processors installed, it supports up to 128 GB ECC memory. 9th Generation Core processors let you use up to 128 GB non-ECC memory. 8th generation ones cap out at 64 GB non-ECC. The board also supports many of the vPro enterprise features that the Q370 Express chipset offers.

Built in the standard ATX form-factor, the board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, and optional 4-pin ATX, and uses an 8+2 phase VRM to condition power for the CPU. Expansion slots include four PCI-Express 3.0 x16, from which slots 1 and 3 are wired to the CPU, and share an x16 link (x16/NC or x8/x8), while slots 2 and 4 are gen 3.0 x4, and wired to the PCH. There's also a legacy PCI slot driven by a bridge chip. Storage connectivity includes two M.2 PCIe with gen 3.0 x4 wiring, each; and ten SATA 6 Gbps ports, from which eight are driven by the PCH, and two from an ASMedia ASM1061 chip. Network connectivity includes two 1 GbE interfaces, one driven by an Intel i219-V, and the other by i211-AT, with vPro support. USB connectivity includes USB 3.1 gen 2, including type-C rear-panel ports. The onboard audio features a Realtek ALC1220VB, which is EMI shielded, and wired to WIMA capacitors. Expect this board to be priced around $350.

Intel Corporation today reported second-quarter 2018 financial results. Record second quarter revenue of $17.0 billion was up 15 percent YoY driven by strength across the business and customer demand for performance-leading Intel platforms. Collectively, data-centric businesses grew 26 percent, approaching 50 percent of total revenue. PC-centric revenue was up 6 percent on strength in the commercial and enthusiast segments. Operating margin leverage and lower tax rate drove excellent EPS growth.

"After five decades in tech, Intel is poised to deliver our third record year in a row. We are uniquely positioned to capitalize on the need to process, store and move data, which has never been more pervasive or more valuable," said Bob Swan, Intel CFO and Interim CEO. "Intel is now competing for a $260 billion market opportunity, and our second quarter results show that we're winning. As a result of the continued strength we are seeing across the business, we are raising our full year revenue and earnings outlook."

Intel today announced the release of the new Intel Xeon E-2100 processor. The Intel Xeon E processor, successor to the Intel Xeon E3 processor, is designed for entry-level workstations that provide creators with powerful, single-threaded application performance with a platform optimized for reliability and affordability.

"With today's workloads, aging workstations impede productivity, collaboration and creativity. The release of the Intel Xeon E processor is intended to deliver the essential performance and visuals for entry workstations, as well as optimizing the innovative form factors, designs and diverse requirements of our customers," said Jennifer Huffstetler, vice president and general manager, data center product management, Intel Corporation.

Toshiba's Client Solutions Division (CSD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced its line of award-winning, business-class mobile computing solutions to feature the new 8th Generation Intel Core vPro processors. Toshiba will begin shipping the Portégé X20W, Portégé X30, Tecra X40, Tecra Z50, Tecra A50 and Tecra C50 with Intel's newest processing technology in the first quarter of 2018.

"We are excited about incorporating the 8th Generation Intel Core vPro processors to our portfolio of business-focused laptops," said Carl Pinto, vice president, marketing and product development, Client Solutions Division, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. "The performance enhancements available via this new processor combined with the advanced features and options found in our Portégé and Tecra business laptops positions Toshiba as a premium mobile computing provider."

ECS today rolled out the LIVA Z Plus ZE mini-PC featuring legacy connectivity, combined with otherwise modern hardware, which puts its applications halfway between retail/POS (point of sale) and educational/robotics. The mini-PC features four RS232 serial COM ports, so you can directly plug in POS peripherals such as barcode/RFID scanners, receipt printers, credit card POS machines, electronic weighing scales, etc. It comes with rather powerful 7th generation "Kaby Lake" SoC options, including Celeron 3965U, Core i3-7100U, Core i5-7200U, and i5-7500U, bolstered by Intel vPro.

Besides factory-fitted SoCs, the LIVA Z Plus ZE comes with two DDR4 SO-DIMM slots, supporting up to 32 GB of dual-channel memory, and one M.2-2242 slot with both PCI-Express 3.0 x4 and SATA 6 Gbps wiring. Besides the four RS232 ports, it features four USB 3.0 ports (three type-A, one type-C), two 1 GbE wired network interfaces, 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0 WLAN, stereo HD audio, and display outputs that include one each of HDMI 1.4 and miniDisplayPort. Measuring 117 mm x 128 mm x 51 mm (WxDxH), it supports VESA mounting, which lets you tuck it away behind your monitor. It draws power from an external 65W power brick.

A bug in Intel's AMT (Active Management Technology), ISM (Standard Manageability) and SBT (Small Business Technology) firmware versions 6 to 11.6 sits unpatched since 2008 - a bug which allows "an unprivileged attacker to gain control of the manageability features provided by these products." Potentially, this could have led systems to be exploited for remote control and spyware infection (and maybe it did lead to that, and we just don't know about it.) Through this flaw, hackers could log into a vulnerable computer's hardware - outside the security features of the OS and any anti-virus suites - and silently install malware and other thriving pieces of malevolent coding. AMT having direct access to the computer's network hardware ensures this could have been done outside of local tampering. The vulnerable AMT service is part of Intel's vPro suite of processor features, so it's catering more to businesses and server boxes than for the usual consumer-based products - though we all know some hardware enthusiast's usage of this kind of processors in their personal rigs. If you don't have vPro or AMT present at all, you are in the clear. However, some outlets report that Intel systems are vulnerable to direct hardware access even if their AMT, ISM, or SBT implementations aren't provisioned - it's just the network access that doesn't work.

These insecure management features have been available in various Intel chipsets for nearly a decade, starting with the Nehalem Core i7 in 2008, all the way up to this year's Kaby Lake Core parts. Luckily, this "feature", which is present in millions of Intel chips and potentially provides a "backdoor-esque" entry point to equal millions of systems, appears to be able to be addressed through a microcode update. However, this update will have to be pushed by your system manufacturer, and you can probably begin to imagine by now how such a process will linger on, and how hard it will be for this to happen to every affected system.

MSI proudly announces a new addition to the mini-PC line up: the MSI Cubi 2 Plus. The Cubi 2 Plus is built on a concept of nifty technology and a brilliant design to suit the needs of both consumers and businesses so that users can benefit from a powerful handheld-size PC. This new generation Cubi comes with the new mini STX (5x5) motherboard form factor. The mini STX motherboard is 29% smaller than a mini-ITX motherboard, making it the smallest motherboard with a socket design available. Therefore the CPU can easily be upgraded. The Skylake-S processor also makes the Cubi 2 Plus energy efficient and uses less power.

Need more work done? Connect two monitors with the multiple screen outputs ports. Cubi 2 Plus supports multiple storage devices to quickly have access to all your data. Or enjoy Ultra High-Definition and high quality media entertainment. Cubi 2 Plus is the essence of small, smart computing and can be used at home or for commercial applications. MSI Cubi 2 Plus will be globally available by the beginning of March 2016.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, is proud to launch exciting new high-end desktop motherboards and a new lineup of the award-winning GIGABYTE BRIX powered by the 6th Gen. Intel Core processors.

At CES 2016, GIGABYTE will be showing off these groundbreaking products, along with our latest developments in IPC and IoT solutions in the Pacific Ballroom of the Bally's Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. There will be product demonstrations designed by case modders such as Richard Surroz, Marc Molella, and Bob Stewart of BS Mods. Aside from all the product demonstrations there will also be live overclocking on site from GIGABYTE's world renowned overclocker, HiCookie, and demo systems from multiple system integrators such as; Cybertron PC, NCIX, ABS, CyberPowerPC, Network Allies and Digital Storm.

Lenovo, the world leader in convertible notebooks and traditional commercial desktops, today announced a broad redesign of its ThinkPad YOGA and ThinkCentre portfolios. A recent Lenovo survey of more than 6,000 businesses suggested that security, mobility and reliability were amongst the top pain points today and more than a quarter plan to introduce convertible devices. The latest generation of thinner and lighter ThinkPad YOGA 260 and 460 convertibles and faster than ever ThinkCentre desktops have been designed to provide customers with solutions to their critical needs.

Data from the Lenovo survey showed that 53% of employees work from home at least some of the time, 61% are required to travel for business and 46% are aged between 18 and 34 years. These progressive customers are the emerging workforce and decision makers of tomorrow and actively seek leading edge technology to maintain a competitive edge. They need truly reliable and mobile devices with no compromise on performance.

Rapoo, one of the world's leading manufacturers of peripherals in the wireless segment and the first manufacturer of products featuring 5 GHz wireless technology, holds an impressive 42 % market share in China and is continually expanding its product portfolio. This expansion continues with Rapoo's invitation to this year's IFA in Berlin where it will be showcasing its latest VPRO Gaming lineup in Hall 3.2, Booth 212. As part of its IFA announcement, Rapoo is releasing initial product information on the V800S RGB Backlit Mechanical Gaming Keyboard and the V910 MMO Laser Gaming Mouse.

VPRO Gaming is expanding its keyboard lineup with the mechanical V800S which boasts full RGB backlighting. Visitors and media representatives will have the very first chance at IFA to try out the new pre-release model of the V800S. With the V800S VPRO has opted for its own, newly developed switches which offer a lifespan of up to 60 million keystrokes. The backlighting has also been upgraded: The V800S has individual key backlighting with up to 16.8 million colors to choose from. The driver also offers six different lighting modes.

Intel Corporation today announced products and solutions that will deliver new user experiences and support the computing ecosystem's expansion into new areas. During the opening keynote address at Computex 2015, Kirk Skaugen, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Client Computing Group encouraged the Taiwan ecosystem to work together and capture the opportunity to shape the future of computing.

"The power of Moore's Law has enabled incredible computing innovation over the past 50 years and because of it, nearly everything in the future will have the ability to compute and connect," said Skaugen. "Our 30-year history of collaboration with Taiwan has delivered historic innovation to the world, from personal computing to the cloud and data centers. The next 30 years will see even greater innovation as we deliver new computing experiences and bring intelligence and connectivity to the Internet of Things together."

MSI proudly announces the latest and smallest mini-PC to date: the MSI Cubi. This tiny desktop is built on a concept of nifty technology and a brilliant design to suit the needs of both consumers and businesses.

Thanks to the implementation of a wide range of Intel processors, users can benefit from a powerful handheld-size PC, also capable of carrying multiple modular hard disks that provide a large base for data storage. MSI Cubi is mountable to a wall by VESA standards or can be combined with an HDTV, so the user can enjoy Ultra High-Definition and high quality media entertainment at home.

For commercial applications, Cubi also comes with Intel vPro technology, ensuring a safe and easily manageable working environment. With plenty of ports to connect to external devices, Cubi is the essence of small, smart computing. A black and a white version of the MSI Cubi are globally available by end of March 2015.

Intel Corporation today announced the availability of its 5th generation Intel Core vPro processor family that provides cutting-edge features to enable a new and rapidly shifting workplace. To meet the needs of a more mobile and dynamic workforce, the latest iteration of Intel Core vPro processors offer wireless innovations, built-in security, faster performance and improved manageability that will allow workers and companies to improve their productivity and stay competitive.

With the new 5th generation Intel Core vPro processors, Intel addresses three specific areas to enable a better way to work and provide a better experience for users and companies: PC design innovation, wireless display and wireless docking. Businesses can choose from a variety of never-before-seen PC designs across 2 in 1s, Ultrabooks, ultrathin clamshells and mini PCs that offer up to twice the battery life and more than twice the performance, enabling form factors that are up to three times thinner and 50 percent lighter than a laptop PC from just four years ago.

Lenovo today announced at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show its new lineup of YOGA convertibles and tablets with new technologies that take flexibility and interactivity to a new level. The family includes the thin and light YOGA 3 in 11-in and 14-in models (in a 13-in chassis) built especially for today's on-the-go and digitally-hungry consumers; the ThinkPad YOGA, optimized for businesses in a 12-in model, and a 14-in and 15-in model for pro-sumers with optional Intel RealSense 3D camera; and the 8-in YOGA Tablet 2 with Windows, featuring Lenovo AnyPen Technology, that turns nearly any pen into a tablet writing tool.

HP today introduced the HP EliteBook Folio 1020 family, the industry's thinnest and lightest business-class notebooks. The HP EliteBook 1020 and the HP EliteBook 1020 Special Edition (SE) are ultra-thin at 15. 7 mm, and the SE takes advantage of HP's exclusive blend of magnesium-lithium alloy and reusable carbon fiber to achieve a weight of only 1 kg (2.2 lbs.). Both share a tough, cutting-edge design that offers elite business-class performance.

"The HP EliteBook1020 represents game-changing innovation in both materials and mechanical engineering to create the world's thinnest and lightest business notebooks in a form factor that enables our customers to be more productive in more places," said Alex Cho, vice president & general manager, HP Commercial PCs. "Customers demand not only a stylish, thin and light notebook, but also a device that delivers advanced security and can withstand the rigorous demands that come with a highly mobile lifestyle -- and the HP EliteBook 1020 delivers this complete solution."

GIGABYTE Technology, a leading creator of high performance server hardware, is happy to introduce today its new lineup of motherboards based on the new Intel C612 chipset. Supporting the brand new Intel Xeon processor E5-2600/1600 V3 product families (former codename Haswell-EP) and the also brand new DDR4 server memory, this new lineup initially consists of one workstation motherboard and six server motherboards.

On Intel's previous server platforms, by design the maximum supported memory frequency has always been automatically downgraded the more DIMMs were being added on a server motherboard. As this trade-off between performance and capacity represents a dilemma to many memory-hungry server applications, GIGABYTE offers a unique solution. All our motherboards based on the LGA 2011-3 socket support by default a maximum frequency of 2133 MHz in any memory configuration.

At IFA, a global trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances, Intel launched the new Intel Core M processor, which will power new 2 in 1 devices from a variety of manufacturers including: Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Toshiba. Delivering the optimal blend of mobility and performance, Intel's new processor was purpose-built for amazing performance in the thinnest, fanless ultra-mobile devices. The Intel Core M processor can power razor-thin devices with Intel Core processor-level performance and deliver up to double the battery life when compared to a 4-year-old system.

"We've been on a multi-year mission to address end-user requirements and transform mobile computing," said Kirk Skaugen, senior vice president and general manager of personal computing at Intel Corporation. "The introduction of Core M marks a significant milestone in that journey. Core M is the first of a new product family designed to deliver the promise of one of the world's thinnest laptops and highest performance tablets in a single 2 in 1 device."

Rapoo, one of the world's leading manufacturers of peripherals in the wireless segment and the first manufacturer of products featuring 5 GHz wireless technology, holds an impressive 42% market share in China. Today, it proudly presents the V700 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard under its VPRO Gaming label. Three weeks ago Rapoo presented the new V900, which will also get its first public unveiling in Europe in pre-production form at this year's gamescom. Those who want to check out the new gaming hardware for themselves will get the chance at today's gamescom Press Day in Hall 10.1/A60 at VPRO Gaming and AMD's joint press conference.

Lenovo today announced the latest generation of its "Tiny" ThinkCentre desktop PC - the ThinkCentre M93p, which packs powerful performance into an impressively small form factor measuring just the width of a golf ball (34.5 mm). Lenovo also introduced the latest generation all-in-one (AIO), the ThinkCentre M93z AIO and the ThinkCentre M83 desktop. Designed with businesses in mind, all of the new ThinkCentre desktops optimize productivity and reduce costs with 4th generation Intel Core processors and top-notch energy efficiency.

"While the world believed that desktop PCs would become extinct, Lenovo believed in the desktop's evolution. This is how the original Tiny came into being," said Victor Rios, vice president and general manager of Think desktop, workstation, visuals. "The new Tiny takes this evolution to the next level. We are leading the industry trend of desktop miniaturization, offering new and innovative form factors, like Tiny and the new M93z all-in-one, that are still among the most powerful and energy efficient in the commercial space."

ASUS today announced the BM1 and BP1 commercial desktop PCs with the latest 4th generation Intel Core processors and integrated Intel HD Graphics 4600 graphics. Both PCs feature the ASUS Business Suite 2.0 one-stop system management tool, while the BM1AE and BP1AE variants offer Intel vPro technology for advanced remote management for larger businesses. Both the BM1 and BP1 also feature tool-less designs for easy upgrades and maintenance.

Both the ASUS BM1 and BP1 commercial desktop PCs feature the ASUS Business Suite 2.0 utility that makes it easy for IT administrators to manage and update PCs with the minimum of fuss. Based on ASUS-designed utilities and Intel Small Business Advantage (SBA) platform, ASUS Business Suite 2.0 is a combination of software designed for small businesses without a managed network. ASUS Easy Update II keeps BIOS and drivers up-to-date, USB Blocker provides unauthorized data acquisition and transfers, and Secure Delete for irrecoverable data deletion. ASUS Business Suite 2.0 also features the exclusive ASUS Energy Processing Unit (EPU) for optimized energy efficiency.

Lenovo today announced its new ThinkPad, with design enhancements inspired by the results of an extensive global research project. The ThinkPad T431s is the thinnest T series ever featuring a sleek, innovative trackpad, enhanced keyboard and refined aesthetics.

"We obsess over the pursuit of perfection - as evidenced by more than 20 years of Lenovo ThinkPad design and engineering accolades. However, perfection cannot be achieved without a key ingredient: customer insight," said Dilip Bhatia, vice president and general manager, ThinkPad Business Unit. "The ThinkPad T431s is the first device featuring Lenovo's new design, which represents a comprehensive examination of user experience and input."

Eurocom Corporation (www.eurocom.com), a leading developer of high performance Mobile Workstations and Fully Customizable Notebooks is now shipping a computer system with full server capability combined with full mobility. The EUROCOM Panther 5.0 Server Edition is the 4th generation of Eurocom Mobile Server powered by Intel Xeon processors, continuing the tradition of highly capable, stable, upgradeable and expandable server grade hardware from Eurocom.

The EUROCOM Panther 5.0 SE provides fast deployment right out of the box, combined with easy relocation. The ability to hand carry the system make the EUROCOM Panther 5.0 SE an extremely easy system to travel with while providing server capabilities.

Ahead of its December launch, Lenovo gave us a sneak peak of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch Ultrabook on its website. The 14-incher retains the essential design of its August 2012 launched predecessor, with the addition of Windows 8 Pro, a multi-touch screen, and a screen-resolution marked "HD+," which most probably is 1600 x 900 pixels. No other details were revealed. We don't expect the new X1 Carbon to deviate from its formidable system specs, which includes Core i5 "Ivy Bridge" with vPro processor, GeForce graphics, and SSD/HDD storage options.