Finally, next generation gaming consoles are around the corner. It will have an uplifting effect on the entire gaming industry as it will raise the bar for visual and technical detail in games. Many of today's games are designed keeping consoles in mind, and so their PC platform versions don't look much more than what has come to be known as "console-ports". There are a few exceptions to this, but it would be refreshing to see most game developers move on to creating games that take advantage of today's insanely powerful PC platform, because the console platform will have caught up technologically.

Rumors have it, that Microsoft will be developing not one, but two product lines that succeed the Xbox 360, and we're not talking about product variants here, but two distinct lines. The first of the two will be an entry-level console designed more like a set-top box, designed around the Kinect controller (perhaps something to compete against Nintendo Wii U). The second product line will be the one that will be supercharged with the latest technologies that will raise the bar in graphics. It will compete with whatever succeeds the Playstation 3. There is talk that it will pack a 6 core processor, an AMD-made GPU, and 2 GB of fast DDR3 memory. This console could be unveiled to the world (although not launched), at the CES event held in January. Meanwhile, Microsoft is allowing TSMC some time to refine its 28 nm bulk process.

According to both DigiTimes and the Chinese Commercial Times, Taiwan-based Wintek will supply touch panels for a new Apple portable device, which brings forward again the question if Apple is really going to introduce a netbook any time soon? Although company chief Steve Jobs commented that Apple couldn't successfully build a suitable netbook for under the $1,000 price range, reports say exactly the opposite.

Taiwan-based Wintek will supply touch panels for Apple's new netbook, and shipments will start in the third quarter this year, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report. Wintek revealed that it is currently working with Apple to develop some new products, but it said it does not know what applications the new products are for. Wintek added that no shipment schedule has been worked out yet, but shipments are likely to begin in the second half of the year. Quanta Computer will be the maker of Apple's new netbook, the Commerical Times report said.

, DigiTimes says. I personally can't see Apple selling a netbook somewhere near the $500 price tag, a price that's high but acceptable for a netbook now a days. Apple's badge has been a symbol for people with deep pockets for ages, all Apple PCs are overpriced we must admit and a single netbook (if true) will change nothing.

Rumor has it, that Microsoft will be ending the mass availability of the Xbox 360 Elite console in many parts of the world and plans on positioning it as a "limited edition" console instead of a regular one like it was until now. That's a result of the drop in the interest of the premium priced console. Consumers choose to buy the Arcade or Pro models and do not pay attention to the more expensive model. Microsoft will start winding down production of the black Xbox 360 Elite model in the spring and will eventually leave just the limited editions of the consoles on the market, like the recently introduced Resident Evil 5 Elite bundle for example. To compensate the small crowd of people that want to have the 120 GB hard drive found in the Elite models, Microsoft is said to prepare an upgrade standalone hard drive that's even bigger than 120 GB. Expect more information in the following weeks.

Year 2008 might be over, but the world economy crisis is still strong and demonstration for that is the latest rumor reported today by DailyTech. According to them Microsoft, the largest software maker and the most profitable company in the technology industry, may layoff 15,000 people from its 90,000 workforce, or nearly 17 percent of Microsoft's worldwide operations. The report continues to claim that Microsoft's MSN search unit and other struggling business units are the most threatened with extinction. Microsoft workers in the Xbox 360 and other profitable departments will be safe from these job cuts. CNET News quotes industry veteran Henry Blodget suggesting another reason that may hide behind this eventual workforce reduction:
"The only way we could see Microsoft laying off this many people is if the company decided to eliminate business units. And if Microsoft did decide to restructure its business, it would likely sell rather than shut down divisions, including MSN."
Continue reading the full story here.

Our friends at Fudzilla had a little news bit a few days ago, about the lay-off of 450 employees at Leadtek. The company has now reacted and I had the following statement with the title Statement to the Untrue Internet Rumor "Leadtek Fires 450 in Taiwan" in my mailbox this morning:

With its strong and healthy operation, Leadtek Research Inc. does not fire 450 employees as rumor said. The partnership of Leadtek and NVIDIA remains solid, as Leadtek is still the exclusive partner of NVIDIA Quadro series in APAC, except in Japan.

To clarify the false internet rumor, "…Leadtek, recently fired 450 people from its operation…Leadtek was not in NVIDIA's top six list and this might be the partial reason….", Leadtek states the facts here :

1. With 378 employees at the moment, Leadtek is in a good and strong condition, no future down-sizing plan ongoing.

2. Leadtek NVIDIA Quadro series is leading in Asia-Pacific, and NVIDIA has stated that Leadtek is still its direct account and the exclusive distributor of NVIDIA Quadro series in APAC region (except in Japan).

The rumor of firing 450 people and the loosing partnership with NVIDIA is apparently false and exaggerating.

G100, an upcoming graphics core from NVIDIA, supposedly supports CUDA 2. CUDA, an acronym for "compute unified device architecture", allows programmers to offload complex mathematical functions onto the GPU for processing. It takes advantage of Unified Shaders for these mathematical calculations. This is a new way to do demanding science computer calculations, as a graphics chip is much faster than a CPU.

The differences between CUDA and CUDA 2 are to be seen. The G100 core is scheduled Q1 2008 and it might be even smaller than 65 nanometre.