Agam Shah
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10 smartphone trends to watch in 2017
Smartphone buyers have a lot to look forward to in 2017. Devices will be thinner, faster, and perhaps a bit more intelligent than you'd like. Virtual reality will spread to budget smartphones, and they will also have better graphics, higher resolution screens, and more storage. More than ever, you'll be using your smartphone to pay for products and log into websites. Deep learning could help smartphones get a fix on user behavior and improve the mobile experience. We could see a renaissance in smartphone designs, and wireless audio could replace headphone jacks in more handsets. USB-C will replace older connector and charging cables. Here are 10 smartphone trends to watch out for in 2017:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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5 burning questions about AMD’s Zen chip
AMD's Zen chip is just around the corner; it'll first come to gaming systems any day now. There's a lot of excitement about Zen, which AMD believes is its most important chip this decade.The high-performance Zen could put AMD back on the map as a legitimate competitor to rival Intel. AMD's chips in recent years haven't been as sophisticated as Intel's offerings, but Zen could bring AMD up to par. The AMD faithful are salivating over Zen, and even some Intel chip enthusiasts can't wait to give it a try.AMD CEO Lisa Su has said Zen would be available in a few gaming systems by the end of the year, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. A more likely scenario is that systems will start coming early next year. Zen chips for servers will follow in the first half of next year, with Zen for laptops and other desktops coming later.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Open-source hardware makers unite to start certifying products
Four years ago, Alicia Gibb was trying to unite a fragmented open-source hardware community to join together to create innovative products.So was born the Open Source Hardware Association, which Gibb hoped would foster a community of hardware "hackers" sharing, tweaking, and updating hardware designs. It shared the ethics and ethos of open-source software and encouraged the release of hardware designs -- be it for it processors, machines, or devices -- for public reuse.Since then, OSHWA has gained strength, with Intel, Raspberry Pi, and Sparkfun endorsing the organization. Its growth has coincided with the skyrocketing popularity of Arduino and Raspberry Pi-like developer boards -- many of them open source -- to create gadgets and IoT devices.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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HP’s EliteBook 705 laptops pack AMD’s latest Pro chips
PC makers can't wait to test AMD's mysterious Zen chip in laptops. For now, HP and other manufacturers are making the best out of AMD's current chip offerings, the latest of which target professional users.HP has announced the EliteBook 705 family of laptops with AMD's Pro chips, which were released last month. Starting at $769, the laptops seem pricey for AMD-based systems.The EliteBook 705 family includes the 12.5-inch 725, the 14-inch 745 and the 15.6-inch 755 models. These systems can be configured with full-HD screens, up to 500GB of storage and 16GB of RAM.The laptops are targeted at business users, which may explain the price. Most high-priced laptops have Intel chips, but AMD wants a share of that market as it tries to squeak more profit out of chip sales.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Research chip modeled after the brain aims to bring smarts to computers
The dream of creating intelligent computers has inspired the development of exotic chips based on the structure of the brain, which operates in mysterious ways. Some researchers are making such chips from components found in today's computers.Using components pulled off store shelves, researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have made a chip for intelligent computers that can learn. The chips are structured to discover patterns through probabilities and association, helping with decision making.The researchers are using off-the-shelf, reprogrammable circuits called FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays) to simulate the way neurons and synapses in a brain operate. The chip was made as part of the university's DANNA neuromorphic software project.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Research chip modeled after the brain aims to bring smarts to computers
The dream of creating intelligent computers has inspired the development of exotic chips based on the structure of the brain, which operates in mysterious ways. Some researchers are making such chips from components found in today's computers.Using components pulled off store shelves, researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have made a chip for intelligent computers that can learn. The chips are structured to discover patterns through probabilities and association, helping with decision making.The researchers are using off-the-shelf, reprogrammable circuits called FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays) to simulate the way neurons and synapses in a brain operate. The chip was made as part of the university's DANNA neuromorphic software project.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Intel chases AI with new chips, but still lacks a potent GPU
Intel is taking a new direction in chip development as it looks to the future of artificial intelligence, with the company betting the technology will pervade applications and web services.The company on Thursday said it is developing new chips that will handle AI workloads, which will increasingly be a part of its chip future. For now, the AI chips will be released as specialized primary chips or co-processors in computers and separate from the major product lines.But over time, Intel could adapt and integrate the AI features into its mainstream server, IoT, and perhaps even PC chips. The AI features could be useful in servers, drones, robots, and autonomous cars. Intel is aggressively chasing these sectors as it tries to diversify outside the weakening PC market.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Intel packs more horsepower in its monster 22-core processor
CPU performance increases were ignored for years, but AMD put them back on the map with its upcoming Zen chip. This has rubbed off on Intel in a good way.Intel's taken its fastest server chip, the top-line 22-core Xeon E5-2699 v4 chip, and made some tweaks to squeeze out more CPU performance. It has created a new chip called the 22-core Xeon E5-2699A v4, which is about 5 percent faster.While 5 percent may sound like a small number, it's big for those installing thousands of servers running on the chips. Four-socket servers can have up to 88 CPU cores and run up a 20 percent gain in performance improvements.The new chip could also be used in workstations with the latest GPUs to create VR content or run engineering applications like SolidWorks.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Intel’s latest Xeon chips based on Skylake due next year
Intel has moved to a new architecture called Kaby Lake for its PC chips, but it isn't done with the previous generation Skylake yet. The company will release new Xeon server chips based on Skylake in mid-2017, and they will boast big performance increases, said Barry Davis, general manager for the accelerated workload group at Intel. The Skylake Xeon chips will go into mainstream servers and could spark a big round of hardware upgrades, Davis said. Xeon chips aren't as visible as Intel's PC chips but remain extremely popular. Companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon buy thousands of servers loaded with Xeon chips to power their search, social networking, and artificial intelligence tasks.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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HP’s power-packed Z2 Mini desktop takes on Apple’s aging Mac Mini
HP has been hoping that sleek, powerful hardware will lure Apple Mac aficionados to switch to its PCs, and now is aiming the new Z2 Mini mini-desktop at Mac Mini users.The Z2 Mini packs the computing power of a full-size desktop into a box that can be held in one hand. Starting at $699, it will be available worldwide starting in December.HP has been excelling in PC design, with innovative desktops like Pavilion Wave, a cylindrical desktop, and Elite Slice, a modular mini-desktop onto which components can be snapped.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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As Watson matures, IBM plans more AI hardware and software
Just over five years ago, IBM's Watson supercomputer crushed opponents in the televised quiz show Jeopardy. It was hard to foresee then, but artificial intelligence is now permeating our daily lives.Since then, IBM has expanded the Watson brand to a cognitive computing package with hardware and software used to diagnose diseases, explore for oil and gas, run scientific computing models, and allow cars to drive autonomously. The company has now announced new AI hardware and software packages.The original Watson used advanced algorithms and natural language interfaces to find and narrate answers. Then, Watson was one supercomputer, but now AI systems are deployed at a grander scale. Mega data centers run by Facebook, Google, Amazon, and other companies use AI on thousands of servers to recognize images and speech and analyze loads of data.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Nvidia’s Pascal GPUs reach the cloud via IBM and Nimbix
Google, Amazon, and Facebook can magically recognize images and voices, thanks to superfast servers equipped with GPUs in their mega data centers.But not all companies can afford that level of resources for deep learning, so they turn to cloud services, where servers in remote data centers do the heavy lifting.Microsoft has made such cloud services trendy with Azure and is one of the few companies offering remote servers with GPUs, which excel in machine-learning tasks. But Azure uses older Nvidia GPUs, and it now has competition from Nimbix, which offers a cloud service with faster GPUs based on the Nvidia's latest Pascal architecture.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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After protest, Lenovo brings Linux compatibility to Yoga 900 and 900S
Lenovo created a stir when it said the Yoga 900 and 900S hybrids would work only with Windows, not Linux. The company has now changed its stance, bringing Linux support to those PCs.The PC maker earlier this month issued a BIOS update so Linux can be loaded on Yoga 900, 900S and IdeaPad 710 models.The BIOS update adds an AHCI (Advance Host Controller Interface) SATA controller mode so users can load Linux on the laptops.This is a Linux-only BIOS, meaning it should be used only by those who want to load the OS. If you want to continue with Windows, do not load the firmware.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Diamonds could be building blocks for quantum computers
Diamonds are among the most expensive gems in the world, but they could also serve as a building block for quantum computers.Because diamonds are structurally sound, researchers believe they could eliminate some of the challenges involved in making stable quantum computers.The potential of quantum computers is enormous -- they could bring massive gains in computational power and ultimately replace today's PCs and servers.But universal quantum computers are still decades away, partly because of the complexity involved in building such systems. Quantum computers are considered notoriously unstable, but researchers working on ways to resolve existing material, programming, and hardware challenges.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Samsung Galaxy Note7 fiasco hits Qualcomm’s revenue
Samsung's cancellation of the Galaxy Note7 hurt Qualcomm's chip sales, but the company expects other smartphones to fill that void.The impact of the Note7 fiasco on the company's chip revenue is small, but will ride into the first financial quarter next year, Qualcomm executives said during an earnings call on Wednesday.Some models of Note7 used Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 chip. But sales of Note7 aren't as big as that of Samsung's Galaxy S7 or S7 edge, which have sold in large volumes.Other device makers could release high-end devices with Snapdragon chips to replace Note7, which could fill the void in chip sales, said Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm, during the earnings call.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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What can you get in a $99 laptop this holiday season?
If you're looking for dirt-cheap Windows 10 laptops, many will be available this holiday season, but don't expect superior hardware.Dell appears to be the first major PC maker making a move in the holiday price wars. In the U.S., the company will sell its Inspiron 11 3000 for $99.99, starting at 6:00 p.m. ET on Nov. 24. It'll be available in limited quantities, and the price will go back up to $199.99 after the sale period ends.The Inspiron 11 3000 has an Intel Celeron processor, Windows 10 Home, 2GB memory and 32GB storage. It also has an 11.6-inch 720p display, which is being phased out of laptops.The Dell laptop won't be able to store many large data or video files, so it could be used for basic computing and web-based tasks. It is configured much like a Chromebook, which is targeted for people who surf the internet, use online services and store files online.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Worried about China, the US pushes for homegrown chip development
The world's fastest computer runs a Chinese chip, and that fact hasn't escaped notice by the U.S. government.So how does the U.S. government bludgeon the Chinese chip threat? A new U.S. government working group aims to encourage domestic companies to use homegrown chip technology and resist the urge to buy inexpensive Chinese semiconductors.The White House this week established the Semiconductor Working Group, a private-public advisory group that will create policy and research guidelines for semiconductor development. The ultimate goal is to retain U.S. leadership in semiconductor technology.Nations are waging a battle to build the world's fastest computers, and homegrown chips are at the center of that race. Supercomputers help with economic projections, weapons development, scientific simulations, and scenarios critical to national security.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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System76 brings Ubuntu to $699 laptop with Kaby Lake chips
If Windows 10 isn't your cup of tea, System76 has a new Ubuntu laptop with Intel's Kaby Lake chip that won't burn your wallet.The 14-inch Lemur laptop starts at $699, a more affordable price for cost-sensitive users than Dell's Ubuntu-based XPS 13 Developer Edition, which starts at $949."We don't have any Mac tax or Windows tax that goes into [Lemur]," said Ryan Sipes, community manager at System76.Despite having a free OS, Dell's XPS 13 laptop has been criticized for being more expensive than the XPS 13 with Windows 10, which starts at $799.99. The Lemur is has many features in common with the XPS 13 DE, though it isn't as slick-looking.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Google, IBM, and others team up to hasten data transfers in computers
Computational workloads are growing, and processors, memory, and storage are getting faster at a blazing pace. Emerging technologies could leave computers choking for bandwidth.The potential chokepoint worries companies like Google, IBM, Samsung, and Dell, which are moving to remedy the problem. New specifications from two new consortia will bring data unprecedented boosts in data transfer speeds to computers as early as next year.OpenCAPI Consortium's connector specification will bring significant bandwidth improvements inside computers. OpenCAPI, announced Friday, will link storage, memory, GPUs, and CPUs, much like PCI-Express 3.0, but will be 10 times faster with data speeds of 150GBps (gigabytes per second).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Game on: Alienware’s 20-year affair with gaming helps drive the future of VR
Alienware co-founder Frank Azor has fond memories of the comany's early days. It was a wild time of building kick-ass PCs, gaming, lots of sci-fi shows and generally, having a good time. "It was four guys in a tiny little office, sending in a couple of review machines, magazines saying they were great, and the phone beginning to ring very, very slowly. We would sell about one computer every day, maybe," Azor said. October 15 marks 20 years of Alienware's existence. Now a part of Dell, Alienware has matured into a PC gaming powerhouse. It is also driving big changes for virtual and mixed reality, which Azor believes will drive PC growth in the coming decades.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here