Intel's Woodcrest the First To Use Socket 771

After reviewing the latest Intel roadmaps, it would appear that Socket 771 finally has a purpose: high density and embedded CPU replacements.

Woodcrest will not show up exclusively on Socket 771. Embedded systems using PGA CPUs will be the only platforms affected -- and they are hardly consumer level components. Manufacturers had told us that Socket 771 was originally for Sossaman (server grade Yonah Core CPUs), but it appears those forecasts were a little premature.

Merom, the upcoming Intel mobile CPU set to replace Yonah, was also added to the Intel roadmaps for Low Voltage applications. However, Merom will stick to the traditional BGA and PGA packages.



Dual Socket 771

Marvell and Samsung Announce Shipment of New PDA Phone in Korea

December 21, 2007— Marvell, (NASDAQ: MRVL), a leader in storage, communications, and consumer silicon solutions, and Samsung, announced the availability of the Samsung SPH-M4650 PDA phone with the Marvell® PXA 300 application processor running on Korea’s LG Telecom network.The Marvell PXA 300 application processor enables high-end graphics, gaming, and multimedia capabilities for the Samsung SPH-M4650 as well as delivering optimal business applications while consuming ultra-low levels of power.The Samsung SPH-M4650 runs on the Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional operating system.

“The new Samsung SPH-M4650 is designed to offer outstanding multimedia capabilities as well as the advanced functions of a PDA phone.The attractive slim design and full LCD screen makes it an attractive device for work or play,” said Hun Bae Kim, senior vice president, Samsung Mobile CDMA Team. “Marvell’s PXA 300 application processor is designed to allow gaming and multimedia functions, while enabling business functionality and PC synchronization.”

The Samsung SPH-M4650 features terrestrial digital multimedia broadcasting (T-DMB) for mobile television, a 2.0 megapixel camera, and Bluetooth technology housed in a thin form factor with an LCD touch screen.

“The Samsung SPH-M4650 is an exciting new device that will provide a robust mobile experience for business functionality as well as gaming and multimedia for consumers,” said David Young, vice president and general manager of Marvell’s Mobile Cellular Business Group. “We are pleased that Samsung has chosen our PXA 300 application processor to enhance the consumer experience by providing optimal performance and power savings, enhancing the overall multimedia capabilities.”

The Marvell PXA 300 application processor family is designed for a balance of high performance and low-power efficiency and offers a broad roadmap that is architecturally consistent for maximum software reuse. All PXA 300 products feature frequency scalability to enable intelligent power management and performance. For further information about Marvell products please visit www.marvell.com.

Intel's Valley View Atom SoC leaks, said to have Ivy Bridge level graphics

Quite often Intel is the best source when it comes to its own product leaks and this time around its upcoming Valley View Atom SoC has leaked thanks to in part to the fact that Intel has had to submit graphics driver information in time for the upcoming Linux 3.4 kernel being set in stone. However, at the same time, details have also appeared on roadmaps from Advantech, a Taiwanese IPC maker that gives additional details as to what to expect.

The first details were spotted by Phoronix as they found details with regards to patches for the upcoming Linux 3.4 kernel that stated "ValleyView is a CedarView-like chip but with an Ivybridge graphics core." This in itself is very interesting, as it shows that at least on the desktop side, Intel is planning on moving away from the PowerVR graphics cores that the company has been relying on for its past couple of generations of Atom processors.

Other details unearthed by Phoronix include support for two DisplayPort interfaces (most likely eDP and a regular DisplayPort) and HDMI output, a new interrupt architecture and Turbo Boost support, albeit somehow done differently than on Ivy Bridge.

Shortly after Phoronix discoveries, The Verge managed to dig up some roadmaps from Advantech that gives us a few additional details as to what to expect. According to a few upcoming products from Advantech the Valley View Atom SoC will feature the Balboa Pier chipset – a bit of trivia here, Intels 440LX chipset was codenamed Balboa – although as Valley View is said to be a 22nm SoC, its very likely that the chipset will be integrated into the CPU package or the CPU itself.

The Advantech roadmap further details one to four cores, four times the graphics performance, although it doesnt really state compared to what, but wed presume the current Cedar Trail Atom processors, support for between 4 and 8GB of DDR3 memory and interestingly enough ECC support making Valley View a much more interesting solution for the IPC and entry level server market and finally what appears to be native USB 3.0 support.

Valley View isnt expected to launch until very late this year or early next year, but it could potentially be the most interesting Atom processor to date, especially as it seems like Intel has given up on pushing its Atom processors as a castrated, low-budget alternative. Judging by the rumoured specifications, we have a feeling that Valley View wont be as cheap as the current Atom processors, but itll likely depend a lot on whats available from the competition.

Source: Phoronix, The Verge

M1 customers stand to win tickets to Faye Wong concert

SingTel may have their Lady Gaga showcase (which happened last week), but rival telco operator M1 also has something in their sleeves. Well, if you are a fan of popular Chinese singer Faye Wong, and also an existing M1 customer, youre in for a treat. M1 customers stand a chance to win a pair of tickets to Faye Wongs concert which is happening at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 29 October. All you need to do is simply redeem 50 SunPerks Points for a chance to win in the lucky draw. The ticket is priced at S$446 and there are altogether 400 pairs of tickets available for grabs.

From the official news release, the M1 presents Faye Wong 2011 Concert Tour SunPerks points redemption promotion will commence from 9am on 11 July and conclude at midnight of 10 August 2011. Results will be announced on 25 August 2011. For more details,visit www.m1.com.sg/faye

On top of that, according to SISTIC website, the official Faye Wong concert tee-shirt will also be given to the first 80 M1 customers, though whetherthat applies to the winners for the pair of tickets, it wasnt stated on the website.

Internet Explorer 7 Will Not Be Integrated into Windows

BusinessWeek is reporting that Microsoft's next release of Internet Explorer, version 7, will not be integrated into Windows. Breaking nearly ten years of tradition, Internet Explorer was always very tightly integrated into Windows, allowing users to do such things as launch a website directly from any Windows Explorer window, or save a live web page as the desktop wallpaper.

Security analysts have been telling Microsoft for a while now though, that doing so would cause significant security problems for Windows. Indeed this has been the case. Windows itself has been under much scrutiny over recent years by the security industry as well as the hacking and virus communities. Exploits that were found to exist in current versions of Internet Explorer, were used to attack the core operating system because of the tight integration.

Microsoft itself had claimed that Windows XP is its most secure OS, and while it may be true in some respects, the claim sparked an onslaught of attacks from all sorts of malicious software. Despite ongoing security updates by Microsoft, analysts believe that removing Internet Explorer from the core of Windows will improve the overall security of the OS more so than many of its small patches combined. Despite the move to improve OS security by Microsoft, Internet Explorer will still ship with Windows Vista.

iPhone snatchers beware pepper-spray case now available

It’s called the ‘Pepper Spray Phone Case,’ and although the name may not conjure up fear like facing el Diablo himself, it’ll get the job done—just like a normal point-n-shoot pepper-spray canister.

The deadly iPhone 4/4S add-on was developed by Scott McPherson of Arizona for the purpose of protecting his daughter who is in college.

“Most co-eds don’t go anywhere without their smartphone,” he said, “So the optimal solution was to combine her phone and a safety device.”

Talk about killing two birds with one stone.

Operating the pepper-spray is as easy as unlocking the canister and turning the phone sideway then aim-and-shoot. According to McPherson, the spray is formulated using habanero pepper: “[It’s] one of the hottest peppers available.”

“We use what the police force does, TSA, FBI. We actually buy it at the same place they get it,” McPherson added.

The pepper-spray case is currently only available for the iPhone 4/4S, and can be bought for $39.95 via Spraytect. It comes in four colors: Black, pink, white, and turquoise. The maker is even kind enough to include a dummy canister so that you can practice operating the pepper-spray case.

LG Singapore Launches LG Mini (LG GD880)

Arthur Huang, Chief Operating Officer of LG Electronics Singapore, was at the event to introduce the new LG Mini phone.

"We are targeting (the LG Mini) for the age group between 18 to 34, which is quite a wide range; we want to go to the mass market. People are spending a lot of time on the Internet and searching for information. This is also in line with our fashion strategy in LG, for this category."

"The LG Mini is not just a small phone. Few years ago, people arejust lookingforsmall and slim phone, but the LG Miniis not only small but it also has great looks. Thereare no buttons like many regular phones in the market today.It alsohas a very narrow LCD bezel, so that consumer can utilize fully the 3.2-inch screen" says Huang.

The LG Mini (LG GD880) is indeed very sleek with a brushed metallic body and 3.2-inch full touchscreen display (480x854).

Going into the phone's main menu shows a neatly laid outicons whereby you can easily access the various apps and phone settings. However, we find the navigation isn't exactly very seamlesswhenwe flicked our fingers to move to the next home screen.

At the rear is the 5-megapixel camera and we also spotted a micro SD card slot on the right of the LG Mini for expansion.

Intel Nocona CPU Pic amp; Info

Nocona : 90nm, 800MHz FSB, 604 pins, 1MB L2 Cache, Prescott NewInstructions (PNI), SSE3, EM64T technology, DDR-II, PCI Express, PowerManagement Technology - Demand Based Switching (DBS), Vanderpool Technology

Intel Xeon Roadmap

Kingston Improves CompactFlash Cards Performance

Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memoryproducts, today announced it is increasing the overall performance of itspopular CompactFlash® Elite Pro™ Flash memory cards to help amateur andprofessional photographers maximize the performance from their high-end imagingdevices and digital workflow applications. With transfer rates of 25MB/second(read) and 20MB/second (write), along with capacities up to 16GB*, photographerscan capture life as it happens for as long as it happens.

“Imaging pros have high expectations of their equipment and simply cannot affordto have memory cards limit productivity,” said Dave Lee, Flash Memory ProductManager, Asia Region, Kingston. “Kingston’s new CF Elite Pro card provides highcapacity and increased read and write speeds to help photographers work quicklyduring the capture and download processes.”

Kingston Flash memory consistently ranks among the highest in the industry forquality, performance and reliability, which is why many of the world’s mostrenowned and successful photographers rely on Kingston to perform when itmatters most. Available in 2-, 4-, 8- and 16GB capacities, Kingston’sCompactFlash Elite Pro card provides plenty of room for capturing and storinghigh volumes of images in RAW, JPEG, TIFF and other large file formats. As withall Kingston Flash memory cards, CompactFlash Elite Pro cards are backed by alifetime warranty† and free live technical support.

Part Number Capacity and Features
CF/2GB-S2FE 2GB CompactFlash Elite Pro card
CF/4GB-S2FE 4GB CompactFlash Elite Pro card
CF/8GB-S2FE 8GB CompactFlash Elite Pro card
CF/16GB-S2FE 16GB CompactFlash Elite Pro card

Kingston CompactFlash Elite Pro Features and Specifications:
• Capacities*††: 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB
• Dimensions: 1.43 x 1.68 x 0.13 (36.4mm x 42.8mm x 3.3mm) - CF Type 1
• Speed Rating**: 25MB/sec. read rate and 20MB/sec. write rate
• Operating Temperature: 32º to 140º F (0º to 60º C)
• Storage Temperature: -4º to 185º F (-20º to 85º C)
• Standardized: complies with CompactFlash Association specification standards
• Easy: plug and play
• Guaranteed†: lifetime warranty
• Economical: autosleep mode preserves system battery life

*Some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and other functions and thusis not available for data storage.
**Speed may vary due to host and device configuration.
†10-year warranty in France, Germany and Austria.
†† CompactFlash Elite Pro 4-, 8- and 16GB cards work in newer cameras and otherdevices that are capable of utilizing a FAT32 file system.