Earlier this week, Intel conducted the Intel Developer Forum (IDF): Spring 2009 event at Beijing, China. Among several presentations on the the architectural advancements of the company's products, that include Nehalem and its scalable platforms, perhaps the most interesting was a brief talk by Pat Gelsinger, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group, on Larrabee. The term is Intel's first "many cores" architecture used to work as a graphics processor. The architecture will be thoroughly backed by low-level and high-level programming languages and tools by Intel.

French website Hardware.fr took a timely snap off a webcast of the event, showing Gelsinger holding a 300 mm wafer of Larrabee dice. The theory that Intel has working prototypes of the GPU deep inside its labs gains weight. Making use of current-generation manufacturing technologies, Intel is scaling the performance of x86 processing elements, all 32+ of them. As you can faintly see from the wafer, Larrabee has a large die. It is reported that first generation of Larrabee will be built on the 45 nm manufacturing process. Products based on the architecture may arrive by late 2009, or early 2010. With the company kicking off its 32 nm production later this year, Larrabee may be built on the newer process a little later.

ASUS today announced its plans to equip its notebooks with Intel Anti-Theft Technology, in an effort to help customers address the growing theft of notebooks. In the commercial world where businesses operate with the strictest level of confidentiality, and where notebooks belonging to highly mobile business professionals are likely to contain confidential company or personal information, the theft of vital information may be costly. ASUS addresses this concern with its new P Series notebooks, which are equipped with Intel Anti-theft PC Protection Technology. This new technology provides users with the ability to send a "poison pill" remotely, rendering the notebook inoperable by comprehensively shutting it down. As such, the risk resulting from a stolen or lost notebook is eliminated. Once the notebook has been recovered, a local passphrase or recovery token can be used to reactivate the notebook.

Micron Technology, today announced that its suite of DDR3 server memory modules are validated with Intel's next-generation Intel Xeon processor chips. Micron's validated 1, 2, 4 and 8-gigabyte (GB) DDR3 modules are performance-driven, delivering speeds of 1066 megabits per second (Mb/s) and 1333 Mb/s, greatly increasing server throughput. Additionally, Lexar Media, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Micron, has validated its corresponding Crucial-branded modules, leveraging Micron's award-winning DDR3 memory.

Celebrating the 1-year anniversary of Intel Corporation's introduction of its wildly popular Intel Atom processor family, Anand Chandrasekher, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the Ultra Mobility Group, introduced two new processors for Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) and several other milestones during his keynote today at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing.
Chandrasekher was joined by two other Intel executives, Craig Barrett and Pat Gelsinger, whose keynotes focused on the company's directions for the next year and beyond. The event, held at the Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel, was geared toward the Chinese market in support of local innovation and Intel's industry leadership in the region.

Intel made a new rating system for its client processors (desktop and notebook) official. The company also made new company logos for the various brands of processors official, which first surfaced in February. The new system involves segregating processors based on the performance indices they offer, measured by "stars", five stars being the top-tier of processors offering the ultimate technologies and performance, down to one stars with value and reliability. The grading system is best described by the company:

Each processor is assigned between one and five stars depending on a combination of features, including cores, GHz, cache, and other technologies. More stars indicate greater features and increased capabilities compared to other Intel processors.

The list of processors segregated by the new rating system can be found here.

A-Data Memory introduced its first line of solid-state drives (SSDs). The company co-branded the X25-M series SSD originally manufactured by Intel. Information of the partnership between the two companies surfaced in February, early this year. A similar deal was also reportedly struck between Intel and Power Quotient International (PQI).

The A-Data X25-M SSD comes in capacities of 80 GB and 160 GB. Featuring the SATA II interface, the drive supports advanced SATA features such as Native Command Queuing (NCQ) with 32 concurrent operations. The drive uses multi-level cell NAND flash chips built on the 50 nm manufacturing process. The read/write speeds on this drive are commonly known to be 250/70 MBps.

A quick and brief report on Innovation@Intel claims that the company's engineers have discovered a way to make transistors using new silicon substrate and thus reduce the heat and voltage output of future processors. The new transistors run far cooler - at about ½ the voltage, consuming only 1/10th the power of today's transistors.

Intel recently disclosed advancement details on a P-channel transistor, built on a silicon substrate, that makes use of compound semiconductors, also known as III-V materials because they are made of elements that straddle silicon in the periodic table, silicon being in column IV. This research resulted in the highest performing P-channel transistors reported to date. A year earlier, Intel described III-V N-channel transistors, also built on a silicon substrate. When combined, these two results could form the building blocks for CMOS logic circuits, which use both N-channel and P-channel transistors. Potentially suitable for future microprocessors, they run far cooler - at about ½ the voltage, consuming only 1/10th the power of today's transistors.

GE and Intel Corporation announced today an alliance to market and develop home-based health technologies that will help seniors live independently and patients with chronic conditions manage their care from the comfort of their home or wherever they choose.
GE Healthcare will sell and market the Intel Health Guide, a care management tool designed for healthcare professionals who manage patients with chronic conditions. With the dramatic increase of people with chronic conditions and an aging population there is a need to extend care from the hospital to the home. GE Healthcare and Intel are helping to address these pressing issues. The market for telehealth and home health monitoring is predicted to grow from $3 billion in 2009 to an estimated $7.7 billion by 2012.

Thermaltake Technology is pleased to announce its high performance line of power supply, Toughpower series, has been added an 80PLUS Silver power supply - Toughpower 700W (W0295). With Thermaltake's commitment to offer users quality products, the 800W / 1200W (all 80PLUS Silver ready) will also be ready in Q2.

80 PLUS is a cutting-edge, electric utility-funded program whose mission is to integrate energy-efficient power supplies into desktop computers and servers. The 80PLUS Silver standard certifies PSU that has 85%, 88%, and 85% or higher energy efficiency rate at 20%, 50%, and 100% of loading, respectively. This requirement makes an 80 PLUS Silver certified power supply considerably more efficient than any other traditional 80 PLUS power supplies.

Spire is officially introducing the release of the all new Spire VertiCool II Pro. This universal turn-n-lock mounting, high-performance cooler has everything that you could need. Featuring 45 stamped aluminum micro-fins thermally supported by 2 U-shaped 8mm thermally improved heat-pipes and all copper base for rapid heat transfer. Patented Turn-n-Lock EZ Installation is simple and tool-free, Spire 420 Thermal compound and multi language installation manual is included in the retail package. Supporting the latest Intel 775 & AMD AM2 and AM3 micro-processors, this towering cooler is a great pick for those upgrading their system with a modest budget.

OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, components, and systems, is proud to be the recipient of the "Intel Mobile Innovation of the Year" award, in recognition of its groundbreaking DIY laptop program introduced in 2008. This Intel Innovation awards recognize technology leaders within strategic partner programs, and OCZ's configurable bareones laptops proved to be the ultimate contender out of this year's nominees.

IBM today unveiled a new generation of Intel Xeon processor 5500 series-based System x servers and software that enable customers to more easily roll out virtualized computing and significantly reduce growing operating costs with higher performance, simplified management and increased utilization.
With the new systems, IBM engineers addressed key challenges in today's data center, where hefty costs for power usage and IT management pile-up, while processors sit idle or under-utilized. To help enable a more dynamic infrastructure, IBM's four new x86 rack servers and blades feature unique designs -- such as lower wattage requirements -- that can slash energy costs up to 93 percent. At the same time, the new System x servers boast double the compute performance in some models, and support more memory, storage and I/O to help customers of all sizes ease the transition to highly efficient virtualized computing resources. System x blades and racks lead the industry with 96 GB to 1 TB memory options.

Following the big release of Intel Xeon 5500 series processors, Intel today also launched a few new mobile chips that will replace older processors in their segments. Have a look at their specs and prices:

• Core 2 Duo SP9600 2.53 GHz 6 MB L2 cache 1066 MHz FSB - $316
• Core 2 Duo LV SL9600 2.13 GHz 6 MB L2 cache 1066 MHz FSB - $316
• Core 2 Duo ULV SU9600 1.60 GHz 3 MB L2 cache 800 MHz FSB - $289
• Core 2 Solo ULV SU3500 1.40 GHz 3 MB L2 cache 800 MHz FSB - $262
• Celeron Mobile 900 2.20 GHz 1 MB L2 cache 800 MHz FSB - $70

Intel Corporation introduced 17 enterprise-class processors today, led by the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series. They are Intel's most revolutionary server processors since addressing the market with the Intel Pentium Pro processor almost 15 years ago.
The new enterprise-class chips can automatically adjust to specified energy usage levels, and speed data center transactions and customer database queries. They also will play a key role in scientific discoveries by researchers who use supercomputers as their foundation for research, all whilst delivering great energy efficiency for reduced electricity costs.

Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced it is shipping both 1333- and 1066MHz DDR3 server memory modules validated by Intel for use on its Xeon processor-based motherboards. Kingston's registered ECC server DIMMs and unbuffered ECC DIMMs are optimized to take advantage of the triple-channel architecture for Intel's newest server platforms using the new Nehalem-based Xeon processors.

The 1333- and 1066MHz DDR3 server modules are available immediately. Kingston server memory is backed by a lifetime warranty and free, 24/7 technical support. For more detailed information visit www.kingston.com. For Intel validation information visit this page.

NVIDIA Corporation today announced that it has filed a countersuit in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware against Intel Corporation for breach of contract. The action also seeks to terminate Intel's license to NVIDIA's valuable patent portfolio.
NVIDIA's countersuit was brought in response to a filing by Intel last month in the Delaware court, alleging that the four-year-old chipset license agreement does not extend to Intel's future generation CPUs with "integrated" memory controllers, such as its Nehalem processor.
"NVIDIA did not initiate this legal dispute," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of NVIDIA. "But we must defend ourselves and the rights we negotiated for when we provided Intel access to our valuable patents. Intel's actions are intended to block us from making use of the very license rights that they agreed to provide."

Intel Corporation today announced the release of Intel Graphics Performance Analyzers (GPA), a suite of software tools created in support of the Visual Adrenaline developer program.
Offered worldwide, GPA enables PC game developers to analyze and optimize game performance on Intel Integrated Graphics. The Visual Adrenaline program, launched at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco in August 2008, provides tools, resources and information for game developers, artists and animators.

Intel's Atom series of processors gets credit for reinvigorating the ULPC and SFF PC segments that had been niche markets run by smaller players such as VIA, Freescale, and ARM. The Atom Z500 series single-core chips operate at speeds ranging from 1.1 to 1.86 GHz, with phenomenally low energy footprints - under 2.2 Watts.

One of the company's newest additions to the range, the Z550, could hit the 2.00 GHz mark, while consuming less than 2.4 Watts. Another chip in the making, Z515, will have dynamic clock-speed between 800 MHz and 1.33 GHz depending on the processing load. The Z515 could end up being an MID maker's favourite, not that Z550 won't be used in devices that small. Sony just might pack the 2.00 GHz chip on an upcoming variant of the VAIO P.

Taiwanese industry observer Digitimes compiled a comprehensive list of price-cuts sourced from motherboard manufacturers. The list presents some interesting data apart from a few revelations. New CPU models will be added, existing models might be displaced from their price-points, resulting in price-cuts amounting to as high at 20 percent the existing price.

• New CPUs will be added to Intel's lineup, notably the Core i7 975 (3.33 GHz, $999), Core i7 950 (3.06 GHz, $562), Core 2 Quad models Q8400 (2.66 GHz, $183), Q8400S (2.66 GHz, $245), Core 2 Duo E7600 (2.93 GHz, $133), Pentium E6300 ($84) and Celeron E1600 ($53)
• Several existing models will face price-cuts ranging between 10 and 20 percent. The biggest price-cut is that of Core 2 Quad Q9300 (19.92%)
• From the absence of price changes for Core i7 models 940 and 965 XE, and their existing price-points getting new models, we can infer that they will be replaced by models 950 and 975 XE

The changes will be implemented between April to July, 2009. All prices are in USD, prices per unit in 1000-unit quantities.

Shuttle Inc. - the leading designer and manufacturer of small form factor (SFF) computers and accessories today introduced X50, an all-in-one PC, as part of its all-new product line - Shuttle X Vision. X Vision represents a core value of Shuttle - an uncompromising insistence on quality and innovation, and Shuttle will continue to lead the way with its "VISION for neXt generation PCs" line.

The new X50 integrates state-of-the-art touch and small form technology, offering an intuitive interface that empowers both novices and professionals. The 15.6-inch all-in-one PC combines all the essential applications into a single device that starts up quickly, with a simple touch of the screen by finger or included stylus pen. Even the stand itself brings a unique touch - it is convertible, and can be flipped upward to reveal an easy carrying handle, or be completely removed for VESA ready mounting. That makes the X50 very versatile and suitable for a wide variety of applications and settings, including digital signage or kiosks.

Intel Corporation today disclosed that the company has notified Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) that it believes AMD has breached a 2001 patent cross-license agreement with Intel. Intel believes that Global Foundries is not a subsidiary under terms of the agreement and is therefore not licensed under the 2001 patent cross-license agreement. Intel also said the structure of the deal between AMD and ATIC breaches a confidential portion of that agreement. Intel has asked AMD to make the relevant portion of the agreement public, but so far AMD has declined to do so. AMD's breach could result in the loss of licenses and rights granted to AMD by Intel under the agreement.

Intel recently added two processors to its list of parts that are soon to be dicontinued forever.The models planned for retirement are the desktop 90nm 2.53 GHz Intel Celeron D 326 (256 KB L2 cache) and the tray version of the mobile 65nm 2.60 GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme X7800 (4 MB L2 cache). The Celeron 326 will be available for orders up until March 12, 2010 and ship till September 10, 2010. The mobile X7800 will be listed till June 19, 2009 and ship until February 19, 2010.

During CeBIT, MSI showcased two AMD 790GX motherboards that combine support for both DDR2 and DDR3 on the same board. Although both the MSI 790GX-8D and the MSI P45-8D are designed for different platforms, the enormous RAM capacity support - both offer four DDR2 slots and four DDR3 memory slots - makes them really unique. The AM3 board 790GX-8D featuring the 790GX chipset, supports DDR2-1066 or DDR3-1333 RAM. It is also capable of supporting socket AM2+ processors with DDR2 RAM. Moreover, the 790GX-8D allows overclockers to increase the RAM frequencies at any time using an onboard control dial. Users can even erase the CMOS RAM with the touch of a Reset button or switch into power saving mode by pressing the "Green Power" button. The board offers two PCIe x16 slots, two PCIe x1 slots, and a vanilla PCI slot.
As for the P45-8D, this motherboard makes use of Intel's P45 +ICH10/ICH10R chipset and supports Intel's 45nm and 65nm Core 2 (Extreme) processors. The board has one PCIe x16 slot, one PCIe Gen2 (1x16) slot, one PCIe x1 slot, and three vanilla PCI slots. The P45-8D should be widely available already, while the MSI 790GX-8D AM3 child is still unavailable.
MSI nicknamed the boards - "Memory Lover".

Yet to be released worldwide, the Kabuto CPU cooler by Scythe made an appearance on the company's Japanese website. It is designed to be a high performance stock-cooler replacement for Intel sockets x478, LGA-775, and LGA-1366. All AMD desktop sockets since s754 are supported.

Measuring 124 mm (l) x 133 mm (w) x 132 mm (h), the cooler seems like a complex work of metal: A CPU contact block doubles up as a small heatsink. From it, arise six copper heatpipes. The heatpipes, in groups of two, convey heat to three independent aluminum fin stacks. A 120 mm PWM-controlled fan, operating at speeds of around 1300 rpm blows air onto the three fin stacks. At those speeds, its noise levels remain around 26.5dBA. The cooler tips the scales at 730 g (around 1.6 lbs). It remains to be seen when Scythe announces this cooler worldwide.

Intel Corporation Chairman Craig Barrett announced that his company is investing in a new academic research facility dedicated to high-performance computing (HPC) in France.
The HPC lab initiative marks the start of a 5-year collaboration and is Intel's first major investment in academic research in France. The four-party agreement signed today is a model of public-private partnership, linking Intel with government agencies and academia.