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Latest Video: Unboxing Live 035: Drobo and DroboShare

We open up the Drobo Data Storage Robot in this edition of Unboxing Live!
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Unboxing Live 032: OLPC XO-1 - One Laptop Per Child

Andru Edwards

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Features, Laptop, PC, Videocasts


In this episode of Unboxing Live, we open up the OLPC XO-1. If that doesn’t sound familiar, this is the infamous One Laptop Per Child computer, aimed to help children in third-world countries with learning. The XO-1, previously known as the $100 Laptop or Children’s Machine, is an inexpensive laptop computer intended to be distributed to children in developing countries around the world, to provide them with access to knowledge, and opportunities to “explore, experiment and express themselves”. The laptop is developed by the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) social welfare organization, and manufactured by the Taiwanese computer company, Quanta Computer.


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AMD CTO Phil Hester resigns

Andru Edwards

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Corporate News

Phil HesterUh-oh, this one can’t be good for . After AMD’s latest chip release was met by disappointment by the benchmarking crowd, some were kind of bummed out about waiting for the new Phenoms. Then, just a few days ago, the company vowed to cut their workforce by 10% by September after lowering their Q1 sales expectations. Now, we have even worse news, as AMD CTO Phil Hester has voluntarily resigned from his position. MarketWatch says he is doing this to “persue other opportunities,” which is what we hear from just about any high-level exec who suddenly decides to leave a company. No word yet on who his replacement will be - in fact, AMD says he won’t be replaced. Um, what?

Read More | MarketWatch

AMD announces new Phenom line headed by X4 9850 Black Edition

Andru Edwards

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Corporate News, PC / Laptop

AMD Phenom x4 has just taken the wraps off their newest Phenom processors, and we think we are impressed. The entire lineup, which ranges from a triple-core low-end, to a quad-core beast, are all 65 nanometer chips. That means more efficiency - they retain the performance of AMD’s previous 90nm chips, but with reduced power consumption. Of course, that is likely not what you care about most when it comes to the new Phenoms - you want the details, right? Well, we have the Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition, Phenom X4 9750, Phenom X4 9100e Energy Efficient, and the Phenom X3 triple-core. The X4 9850 and X4 9750 feature true quad-core chips - if you don’t know what that means, here’s a video explanation of true quad core from AMD themselves.

The X4 9100e Energy Efficient chip is just that - it’s the world’s first 65-watt quad-core desktop processor. Lastly, the X3 triple-core Phenom chips are another first - these are the world’s first x86 triple-core processors. A nice bump up from dual core chips for those who can’t afford to go all out with a quad core. These will be available in 2.1 GHz and 2.3 GHz options. We have the specs on each after the jump.

Click to continue reading AMD announces new Phenom line headed by X4 9850 Black Edition


CES 2008 Video: AMD PUMA demonstrations

Andru Edwards

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Gizmatic, Short Bytes, CES, CES 2008, Features, PC / Laptop, Podcasts, Videocasts


In this segment, we look at two similarly equipped Dell notebooks to examine the benefits provided by ‘s integrated graphics option versus the competition’s, and take a first-hand look at a Half-Life 2 demo run on a Puma-based reference system, in hybrid mode, utilizing both the system’s discreet and integrated graphics chips over Crossfire.


CES 2008 Video: Tour the AMD Smart House

Andru Edwards

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, CES, CES 2008, Features, Handhelds, Home Entertainment, Household, PC / Laptop, Podcasts, Portable Audio / Video, Video Games, Videocasts


While at , we got the opportunity to check out the Smart House. The Smart House is a demonstration by AMD of all the different ways that their processors can help enhance day-to-day life of every day consumers. The Mother/Father/Daughter/Sun schtick is a bit thick at times, but the potential of the smart home of the future shines through nonetheless.


CES 2008 Video: A Hands-On look at the AMD Puma Notebook platform

Andru Edwards

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, CES, CES 2008, Corporate News, Features, PC / Laptop, Podcasts, Videocasts


We take a close look at ‘s recently announced “Puma” notebook platform. Puma is a tightly-knit system for notebook suppliers comprising of the chipset, CPU, GPU and wireless chipset. Similar in some ways to their Spider desktop platform, Puma takes it to the next level by allowing for a hybrid integrated and discreet graphics solution. While Intel has something similar, AMD is apparently the first to offer a dynamically switchable system, allowing your notebook to automatically switch to integrated graphics when it detects you’ve gone on battery, or to allow you to switch manually. I asked if they plan on making it automatic, based on load, which they seemed to think was a pretty great idea and relatively easy to achieve as well. What’s more, despite the fact that the integrated and discreet GPUs are chips of differing abilities and specs, they’re still able to operate in Crossfire/hybrid mode, providing an extra boost in power and achieving some very impressive framerates.

AMD shows us their reference bench system and two other identically-configured systems, the only difference between them an Intel versus AMD integrated graphics chipset. (And CPU, naturally.) With a price difference of around $25 to AMD’s favor, the AMD integrated chip actually performs considerably better in their demo, grain of salt included. The reference system shows off their hybrid processing and lets us see what framerates we might be able to hit on an entry- to mid-level hybrid Puma system.

Puma also brings about something that’s been announced with Intel as well—the ability to deactivate CPU cores and speeds, instead of just stepping down speed. This, coupled with an intelligent HD decoder will bring about several hours of additional battery life.


CES 2008 Video: AMD Spider platform, Dual-Chip Radeon R870

Andru Edwards

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, CES, CES 2008, Corporate News, Features, PC / Laptop, Peripherals, Podcasts, Video Games, Videocasts


We take a few moments with ‘s Rick Bergman, General Manager of the Graphics Processing Group, about their new Spider platform—a three-tiered computing system that helps tie together and ensure compatibility between the chipset, CPU and GPU. We talk about what sort of benefits this means to the enthusiast-class consumer. We also dive into the nitty-gritty with the new , currently codenamed the R870—a dual chip design that has two separate GPU units with an internal Crossfire link and Alternate-Frame Rendering to tie them together. I also ask about some of the design challenges realized in smashing two cards together and getting an efficient, workable result. The design is impressive and the ability to link two of these cards together will come to mean a great deal of graphics processing power in the near future.

The card will be available late January and can be powered in a typical system by a 500 watt power supply; has cut their power requirements for similarly powered cards in half, without sacrificing any performance.


CES 2008 Video: Pat Moorhead on AMD Smart House and CPU Roadmap

Andru Edwards

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Cell Phones, CES, CES 2008, Corporate News, Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, PC / Laptop, Podcasts, Videocasts


We talk to ‘s Marketing VP, Pat Moorhead about the Smart House “portal” they had set up at . In contrast to our last post, they were much more open this time and let me ask just about any questions I asked, including questions about their roadmap and some very cool details about their new “Black” edition, incredibly overclocker-friendly CPU. We also learn more about their mobile device chipset and hear that we’ll be able to output HD content from cell phones and other mobile devices running on ATI chips within the next year or so, straight to an . Cool stuff.


CES 2008 Video: A look at AMD’s Demographic Reach

Andru Edwards

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, CES, CES 2008, Corporate News, Features, PC / Laptop, Podcasts, Videocasts


We talk about the demographic reach of AMD and how AMD has its technology in hundreds of non-PC products.


CES 2008 Video: Pat Moorhead on AMD graphics roadmap and ATI Radeon

Andru Edwards

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, CES, CES 2008, Corporate News, Features, PC / Laptop, Podcasts, Videocasts


We chat with ‘s Pat Moorhead, this time talking from their Smart House about their involvement in gaming systems like the and , and their new quad-Crossfire capable Radeon offerings.


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