A significant fix has been submitted to the Linux kernel 6.13-rc1 that addresses prolonged boot times affecting older AMD processors, specifically targeting "Zen 1" and "Zen 2" architectures. The issue, which has been present for approximately 18 months, could cause boot delays ranging from several seconds to multiple minutes in extreme cases. The problem was discovered by a Nokia engineer who reported inconsistent boot delays across multiple AMD EPYC servers. The most severe instances showed the initial unpacking process taking several minutes longer than expected, though not all boots were affected. Investigation revealed that the root cause stemmed from a kernel modification implemented in June 2023, specifically related to CPU microcode update handling.

The technical issue was identified as a missing step in the boot process: Zen 1 and Zen 2 processors require the patch buffer mapping to be flushed from the Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB) after applying CPU microcode updates during startup. The fix, submitted as part of the "x86/urgent" material ahead of the Linux 6.13-rc1 release, implements the necessary TLB flush for affected AMD Ryzen and EPYC systems. This addition eliminates what developers described as "unnecessary and unnatural delays" in the boot process. While the solution will be included in the upcoming Linux 6.13 kernel release, plans are in place to back-port the fix to stable kernel versions to help cover most Linux users on older Zen architectures.

There are strong indications that Oppo is winding down its operations in France according to a report published by Frandroid last weekend, which goes against the company's denial that it was exiting several markets across the European Union, including France. Frandroid's investigative piece states that French retail workers had provided enough evidence, back in late March, for the publication to make the claim that Oppo was withdrawing from that region. The news outlet has gathered more insider information since then and now claims that a promotions company - Atmospheres - has not been contracted to help market Oppo's lastest smartphone models, including the Find N2 Flip. The agreement between the two firms was already set to end on June 30, but the promo team was expecting a renewal or extension - their boss finally admitted that it was all over and done with.

Frandroid has observed that Oppo is not updating its display material at big box stores, in particular Fnac Darty, and a salesperson confirmed that that they were only obligated to clear existing smartphone stock and related accessories. A former Oppo regional sales manager told the publication about a cessation of product training - under normal circumstances the team gets briefed about the latest products in advance, but the insider confides (under an alias): "We understood that they were leaving...We see the Find X coming out in China, oh no, it's not coming out in France. We see the new Reno phones arriving, will they be released in France? Neither. When the Find N2 Flip arrives, we are told of a store release, and then finally no, it is only available on the web store."

Nokia has today launched the Beacon 10, its first gateway supporting Wi-Fi 6E to provide seamless, high-capacity mesh networking. The Beacon 10 is a true tri-band device which can provide Wi-Fi throughput of 10 Gbps. It includes a 10G WAN interface to pair with 10 Gb/second fiber modems for multi-gigabit services to the home. The new gateway is shown for the first time at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona.

Widespread roll-out of 10G fiber powered by XGS-PON requires upgrades to home and business Wi-Fi to deliver super high speeds to enabled devices. The 'E' in Wi-Fi 6E means faster speeds and lower latencies, ideal for the latest office applications, home entertainment and home working experiences.

For more than a decade, Intel and its partners have been on a mission to virtualize the world's networks, from the core to the RAN (radio access network) and out to the edge, moving them from fixed-function hardware onto programmable, software-defined platforms, making networks more agile while driving down their complexity and cost.

Now operators are looking to cross the next chasm in delivering cloud-native functionality for automating, managing and responding to an increasingly diverse mix of data and services, providing organizations with the intelligence needed at the edge of their operations. Today, Intel announced a range of products and solutions driving this transition and broad industry support from leading operators, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and independent software vendors (ISVs).

OFF Global, the French startup that holds the international license to create Nokia branded laptops, today announces two new models, Nokia PureBook Fold and Nokia PureBook Lite ahead of IFA.

Bringing more choice and flexibility in a new sleek and stylish design, the Nokia PureBook Fold packs productivity and portability into a 2-in-1 experience. Whether in tablet or laptop mode, it offers a range of uses specifically designed for students or teens on the go, in the classroom or at home. The Nokia PureBook Lite is a sleek all-rounder with key features for the whole family to breeze through daily tasks or play; from streaming, surfing to homework, it's also available in a bold range of colors.

OFF Global today announces a licensing agreement with Nokia for the design and sale of laptops. The new French technology company holds an international exclusive licence to create Nokia-branded laptops.

OFF Global also unveils the Nokia PureBook Pro, the first laptop in the Nokia PureBook range, designed and developed under the Nokia brand. With a Full HD screen, a 12th generation Intel i3 processor and a sleek design, the Nokia PureBook Pro is a computer suited to both personal and professional users looking for an easy-to-use device, with no compromise on performance or price.

As a true hybrid device, the Nokia PureBook Pro is a versatile laptop that seamlessly blends work, life and entertainment needs, with a simple and fluid user experience, available from 699 €.

The return of Nokia to the phone market via HMD hasn't quite been what most Nokia fans were hoping for, although the company has carved out a strange mid-range to low-end niche for itself. Now the company has announced its first tablet, called the T20 which ends up in the same kind of market space as most of its phones, although the pricing is somewhat attractive though.

The T20 sports a 10.4-inch display with a 1,200x2,000 pixel resolution and a rather unusual 5:3 aspect ratio. The back is made from aluminium and the screen is covered with toughened glass, although without any kind of fancy marketing name involved. The choice of SoC is rather interesting, as Nokia went with a Unisoc T610, which is already a couple of years old by now. Even so, it sports two Arm Cortex-A75 cores and six Cortex-A55, all clocked at 1.8 GHz, so it's not a bottom shelf chip as such, although the Mali G52 MP2 GPU isn't going to be amazing for more demanding games, considering the resolution of the display.

The U.S. government announced advanced measures that make it harder for foreign companies, such as Taiwan's TSMC, to supply chips to Chinese telecom hardware giant Huawei. Foreign companies that use American chipmaking equipment, are required to obtain a license from the U.S. before supplying certain chips to Huawei. Sources comment that the new rule was tailor-made to curb TSMC fabricating smartphone SoCs for Huawei's HiSilicon subsidiary.

Mainland Chinese semiconductor companies are still behind Samsung and TSMC in 7 nm-class fab technologies, forcing HiSilicon to source from the latter. 7 nm fabrication is a key requirement for SoCs and modem chips capable of 5G. The high data transceiving rates of 5G requires a certain amount of compute power that can fit into smartphone-level power-envelopes only with the help of 7 nm, at least for premium smartphone form-factors. Same applies to 5G infrastructure equipment. This is hence perceived as a means for the U.S. to clamp brakes on Huawei's plans of playing a big role in 5G tech rollouts around the world, buying western 5G tech suppliers such as Nokia time to catch up. Huawei has been a flashpoint for a bitter political spat between the U.S. and China, with the Chinese press even threatening that the matter could hamper medical supplies to the U.S. to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Microsoft Corporation and Nokia Corporation today announced that the Boards of Directors for both companies have decided to enter into a transaction whereby Microsoft will purchase substantially all of Nokia's Devices & Services business, license Nokia's patents, and license and use Nokia's mapping services.

Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will pay EUR 3.79 billion to purchase substantially all of Nokia's Devices & Services business, and EUR 1.65 billion to license Nokia's patents, for a total transaction price of EUR 5.44 billion in cash. Microsoft will draw upon its overseas cash resources to fund the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, subject to approval by Nokia's shareholders, regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

At CES 2013, Monster, world leader in personal audio, is proud to showcase the third product created through its alliance with Nokia, the world-renowned innovator in advanced mobile technologies - the Nokia Purity Pro Wireless Stereo Headset by Monster, which is being honored with a prestigious CES 2013 Innovations Award. Now available in four bold colors (Red, Yellow, Black, and White) to match the new Lumia 920 smartphones, the Nokia Purity Pro Wireless Stereo Headset by Monster utilizes Monster's expertise in advanced sonic technologies to redefine how music can be heard and enjoyed through mobile phones and media players.

Featuring advanced Bluetooth capability and active noise cancelling, the Nokia Purity Pro Wireless Stereo Headset by Monster is an ultra-premium headphone designed to provide the very best possible experience from the most advanced Nokia Lumia 920 smartphones. With the Purity Pro, consumers enjoy seamless wireless access to all of Nokia's great music content and applications using a high-performance, stylish accessory that truly delivers the ultimate mobile audio experience.

JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, the global leader in standards development for the microelectronics industry, today announced that its JC-64 Committee for Embedded Memory Storage and Removable Memory Cards has formed a Subcommittee focused on the standardization of non-volatile wireless memory. To be chaired by Nokia and vice-chaired by Micron Technology and Samsung Semiconductor, the JC-64.9 Subcommittee for Wireless Memory welcomes interested companies worldwide to participate by joining JEDEC or calling 703-907-7560 for more information.

Wireless memory is rapidly emerging as the next generation in data transfer technology, and is intended to enable fast, wireless connectivity with read/write capability between mobile devices (Wireless Memory Hosts) and battery-free memory tags (Wireless Memory Tags).

To drive innovation and business opportunities in Finland's mobile ecosystem and beyond, Microsoft Corp. and Nokia will each invest up to 9 million Euros into a newly established mobile application development program at Aalto University during the next three years. The AppCampus program has been set up to foster the creation of innovative mobile applications for the Windows Phone ecosystem, and in addition Nokia platforms, including Symbian and Series 40, to create a new generation of self-sustaining mobile startups.

Kicking off in May 2012, the Finland-based program will be led and managed by Aalto University, which has a growing reputation as a hotbed of new startup companies. AppCampus is intended to attract thousands of application proposals from students and entrepreneurs from all over the world. Aalto University will make a significant contribution to the project by providing premises, coaching services, and access to both academic and business networks for budding app developers.

Earlier this week, we learned about Nokia working on a Windows 8-driven tablet. Concept art of this tablet (probably designed by well-informed fans), suggests that the tablet, Nokia "Lumia Coffee Tab", is essentially a stretched-out Lumia 800, which is its flagship Windows-driven smartphone that's extensively marketed with the monies it received from Microsoft to go Windows. The tablet features a 10.1-inch screen, and is designed to be competitive with Apple's iPad.

Interestingly, Nokia will have to use Windows 8 ARM, since the tablet reportedly uses a Qualcomm-made processor, and it is reported that Windows 8 ARM could arrive much later than Windows 8 x86. Could this mean Microsoft handing out Nokia exclusive early-access to Windows 8 ARM? Microsoft is evidently desperate to give its mobile versions of Windows a single potent launch-pad manufacturer, and as one of the most competent mobile phone makers, Nokia is the chosen one. Microsoft looks aware that the post-PC future of computing is very real, and approaching fast.

Finnish phone maker and Microsoft BFF Nokia is said to be planning the release of a tablet by the end of the year. Nokia's tablet would run Windows 8 and is supposed to have a 10-inch touchscreen and a Qualcomm dual-core processor (Snapdragon S4 most likely).

Rumored to arrive in Q4, the mobile device is claimed to be made Compal Electronics who'd deliver 200,000 units in the first production wave. Pricing info is not available at this point.

Seiko Epson Corporation ("Epson," TSE: 6724) today announced that it has agreed to settle for US$80 million civil lawsuits filed against it in the United States and United Kingdom by Nokia Corporation of Finland and its subsidiaries ("Nokia") seeking damages stemming from purchases of liquid crystal displays.

In November 2009, Nokia filed lawsuits in the United States and United Kingdom against Epson and its subsidiary companies including Epson Imaging Devices Corporation alleging violations of antitrust and competition laws. Epson has denied liability and vigorously defended the lawsuits. Because of the ongoing impacts of the lawsuits on its business and the expense of continuing litigation, however, the company has determined that settlement of the litigation is in Epson's best interests.

Mobile phone major Nokia introduced its big step into the world of conventional computing, with the Booklet 3G. The company seems to be a tad reluctant in calling it a netbook, and instead calls it a 'mini-laptop'. Perhaps this notion revolves around Nokia's devices to be more focussed on mobile internet (provided by cellular carriers, hence the "3G" in the name), rather than other forms of wireless internet connectivity (such as WiFi service providers, although it isn't missed out as a connectivity option).

In either case, the Nokia Booklet 3G is a 10.1 inch sub-notebook, powered by an Intel Atom processor (and hence x86 based). It sports an integrated GSM connection with support for 3G/HSDPA internet. The SIM card is hot-swappable. On the software front, it seems to be running Windows 7. Its biggest USP is its connectivity, that includes 3G/HSDPA, WiFi, built-in A-GPS, Bluetooth, USB 2.0, audio and importantly, HDMI for display output. The company rates the battery to last for 12 hours. With the 2 cm thick aluminum chassis, the unit tips the scales at 1.22 kg (2.7 lbs). Nokia may further detail the Booklet 3G at the upcoming Nokia World 09 event on September 2. A promotional video published on YouTube can be viewed here.

I once posted a news story on how well computer manufacturers are treating the environment according to the Greenpeace organization. Well I'm going to give you a little update on that story today. Last time Nintendo was the worst among worst when talking "green" and this year it is strengthening its position even more. From zero to eleven in being "green" (zero means worst) Nintendo scores the whooping 0. HP, Microsoft, Lenovo and Dell are next to have poor scores when it comes to preserving the world we live in. According to Greenpeace only Apple is "truly kicking the habit", maybe that's because they have an apple as their logo. Philips learned a lesson from last Greenpeace research and the company jumps from 15th to 4th place this year, well done Philips. The two best "green" manufacturers as of March 31st 2009 are Samsung and Nokia.

Nokia today announced plans to make Microsoft Silverlight available for S60 on Symbian OS, the world's leading smartphone software, as well as for Series 40 devices and Nokia Internet tablets. Adding support for Silverlight will extend opportunities for developers to create rich, interactive applications that run on multiple platforms in a consistent and reliable way.

Nokia promised a little while ago to "go green", and today it seems they are living up to their promise. Nokia recently announced plans to halve the power consumption of battery chargers to their various devices, including cell phones and PDAs. Since you obviously don't get something for nothing, the secret behind this decrease in power consumption lies in increasing the power efficiency of the original units. Nokia has already done quite a few things to help with the eco-friendly movement, including make several handsets out of recycled materials. They've also devised AC adapters that are 94% more efficient than EPA standards require.

Ever since the first flash cards came out, it seems as though you have to switch memory storage mediums every time you get a new camera/digital device. Flash memory card manufacturers decided that this was no way to do business. Hence, Nokia announced today that it will be working with several business competitors to create one common format. Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Micron Technology, Spansion, MTMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments are now officially working on a new flash standard, to be standardized by the JEDEC Solid State Technology Association. The new system, which at this point will be called Universal Flash Storage (UFS), "aims to remove some of the confusion and need for adapters to accommodate the market's current cluster of memory card sizes." There is no word as to when we can expect to see actual UFS cards or adapters.

Nokia is bringing games to their current and future N-series cell phones. The new service entitled "N-Gage" will provide gamers with download access to applications, games, challenges and contests. Games are priced from $8-$10 and are currently compatible with N73, N81, N95 series, N93 series and more coming.

A U.S. research institute has sued Nokia, Samsung Electronics and Matsushita-owned Panasonic for violating a patent for Bluetooth technology, potentially putting the free wireless standard at risk. The Washington Research Foundation, which markets technology from the University of Washington, is seeking damages from the three mobile-phone makers for using a radio frequency receiver technology without paying royalties, according to court papers obtained by Reuters on Wednesday. Nokia, Samsung and Panasonic declined to comment the story.