ARM processor becomes more and more popular during year 2012. Power and Integration—ARM Making More Inroads into More Designs. It’s about power—low power; almost no power. A huge and burgeoning market is opening for devices that are handheld and mobile, have rich graphics, deliver 32-bit multicore compute power, include Wi-Fi, web and often 4G connectivity, and that can last up to ten hours on a battery charge.The most obvious among these are smartphones and tablets, but there is also an increasing number of industrial and military devices that fall into this category.
The rivalry between ARM and Intel in this arena is predictably intense because try as it will, Intel has not been able to bring the power consumption of its Atom CPUs down to the level of ARM-based designs (Atom typically in 1-4 watt range and a single ARM Cortex-A9 core in the 250 mW range). ARM’s East unimpressed with Medfield, design wins article tells that Warren East, CEO of processor technology licensor ARM Holdings plc (Cambridge, England), is unimpressed by the announcements made by chip giant Intel about the low-power Medfield system-chip and its design wins. On the other hand Android will run better on our chips, says Intel. Look out what happens in this competition.
Windows-on-ARM Spells End of Wintel article tells that Brokerage house Nomura Equity Research forecasts that the emerging partnership between Microsoft and ARM will likely end the Windows-Intel duopoly. The long-term consequences for the world’s largest chip maker will likely be an exit from the tablet market as ARM makes inroads in notebook computers. As ARM is surely going to keep pointing out to everyone, they don’t have to beat Intel’s raw performance to make a big splash in this market, because for these kinds of devices, speed isn’t everything, and their promised power consumption advantage will surely be a major selling point.
Windows 8 Release Expected in 2012 article says that Windows 8 will be with us in 2012, according to Microsoft roadmaps. Microsoft still hinting at October Windows 8 release date. It will be seen what are the ramifications of Windows 8, which is supposed to run on either the x86 or ARM architectures. Windows on ARM will not be terribly successful says analyst but it is left to be seen is he right. ARM-based chip vendors that Microsoft is working with (TI, Nvidia, Qualcomm) are now focused on mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.) because this is where the biggest perceived advantages of ARM-based chips lie, and do not seem to be actively working on PC designs.
Engineering Windows 8 for mobile networks is going on. Windows 8 Mobile Broadband Enhancements Detailed article tells that using mobile broadband in Windows 8 will no longer require specific drivers and third-party software. This is thanks to the new Mobile Broadband Interface Model (MBIM) standard, which hardware makers are reportedly already beginning to adopt, and a generic driver in Windows 8 that can interface with any chip supporting that standard. Windows will automatically detect which carrier it’s associated with and download any available mobile broadband app from the Windows store. MBIM 1.0 is a USB-based protocol for host and device connectivity for desktops, laptops, tablets and mobile devices. The specification supports multiple generations of GSM and CDMA-based 3G and 4G packet data services including the recent LTE technology.
Consumerization of IT is a hot trend that continues at year 2012. Uh-oh, PC: Half of computing device sales are mobile. Mobile App Usage Further Dominates Web, Spurred by Facebook article tells that the era of mobile computing, catalyzed by Apple and Google, is driving among the largest shifts in consumer behavior over the last forty years. Impressively, its rate of adoption is outpacing both the PC revolution of the 1980s and the Internet Boom of the 1990s. By the end of 2012, Flurry estimates that the cumulative number of iOS and Android devices activated will surge past 1 billion, making the rate of iOS and Android smart device adoption more than four times faster than that of personal computers (over 800 million PCs were sold between 1981 and 2000). Smartphones and tablets come with broadband connectivity out-of-the-box. Bring-your-own-device becoming accepted business practice.
Mobile UIs: It’s developers vs. users article tells that increased emphasis on distinctive smartphone UIs means even more headaches for cross-platform mobile developers. Whose UI will be a winner? Native apps trump the mobile Web.The increased emphasis on specialized mobile user interface guidelines casts new light on the debate over Web apps versus native development, too.
The Cloud is Not Just for Techies Anymore tells that cloud computing achieves mainstream status. So we demand more from it. That’s because our needs and expectations for a mainstream technology and an experimental technology differ. Once we depend on a technology to run our businesses, we demand minute-by-minute reliability and performance.
Cloud security is no oxymoron article is estimated that in 2013 over $148 billion will be spent on cloud computing. Companies large and small are using the cloud to conduct business and store critical information. The cloud is now mainstream. The paradigm of cloud computing requires cloud consumers to extend their trust boundaries outside their current network and infrastructure to encompass a cloud provider. There are three primary areas of cloud security that relate to almost any cloud implementation: authentication, encryption, and network access control. If you are dealing with those issues and software design, read Rugged Software Manifesto and Rugged Software Development presentation.
Enterprise IT’s power shift threatens server-huggers article tells that as more developers take on the task of building, deploying, and running applications on infrastructure outsourced to Amazon and others, traditional roles of system administration and IT operations will morph considerably or evaporate.
Explosion in “Big Data” Causing Data Center Crunch article tells that global business has been caught off-guard by the recent explosion in data volumes and is trying to cope with short-term fixes such as buying in data centre capacity. Oracle also found that the number of businesses looking to build new data centres within the next two years has risen. Data centre capacity and data volumes should be expected to go up – this drives data centre capacity building. Data centre capacity and data volumes should be expected to go up – this drives data centre capacity building. Most players active on “Big Data” field seems to plan to use Apache Hadoop framework for the distributed processing of large data sets across clusters of computers. At least EMC, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Informatica, HP, Dell and Cloudera are using Hadoop.
Cloud storage has been very popular topic lately to handle large amount of data storage. The benefits have been told very much, but now we can also see risks of that to realize. Did the Feds Just Kill the Cloud Storage Model? article claims that Megaupload Type Shutdowns and Patriot Act are killing interest to Cloud Storage. Many innocent Megaupload users have had their data taken away from them. The MegaUpload seizure shows how personal files hosted on remote servers operated by a third party can easily be caught up in a government raid targeted at digital pirates. In the wake of Megaupload crackdown, fear forces similar sites to shutter sharing services?. If you use any of these cloud storage sites to store or distribute your own non-infringing files, you are wise to have backups elsewhere, because they may be next on the DOJ’s copyright hit list.
Did the Feds Just Kill the Cloud Storage Model? article tells that worries have been steadily growing among European IT leaders that the USA Patriot Act would give the U.S. government unfettered access to their data if stored on the cloud servers of American providers. Escaping the grasp of the Patriot Act may be more difficult than the marketing suggests. “You have to fence yourself off and make sure that neither you or your cloud service provider has any operations in the United States”, “otherwise you’re vulnerable to U.S. jurisdiction.” And the cloud computing model is built on the argument data can and should reside anywhere around the world, freely passing between borders.
Data centers to cut LAN cord? article mentions that 60GHz wireless links are tested in data centers to ease east-west traffic jams. According to a recent article in The New York Times, data center and networking techies are playing around with 60GHz wireless networking for short-haul links to give rack-to-rack communications some extra bandwidth for when the east-west traffic goes a bit wild. The University of Washington and Microsoft Research published a paper at the Association of Computing Machinery’s SIGCOMM 2011 conference late last year about their tests of 60GHz wireless links in the data center. Their research used prototype links that bear some resemblance to the point-to-point, high bandwidth technology known as WiGig (Wireless Gigabit), which among other things is being proposed as a means to support wireless links between Blu-ray DVD players and TVs, replacing HDMI cables (Wilocity Demonstrates 60 GHz WiGig (Draft 802.11ad) Chipset at CES). 60 GHz band is suitable for indoor, high-bandwidth use in information technology.. There are still many places for physical wires. The wired connections used in a data center are highly reliable, so “why introduce variability in a mission-critical situation?”
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Tomi Engdahl says:
New Nexus 1000V Free-mium Pricing Model
http://blogs.cisco.com/datacenter/new-nexus-1000V-free-mium-pricing-model
Tomi Engdahl says:
SSDs: mind-blowing Moore’s law case studies
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/brians-brain/4397499/SSDs–mind-blowing-Moore-s-law-case-studies?cid=EDNToday
Tomi Engdahl says:
Market-research firm IHS iSuppli has forecast that the global tablet sales will surge 85% this year to 126.6 million units. Last year, the iPad held a dominant share of roughly 60% of the global tablet market.
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10000872396390443635404578033684191275730-lMyQjAxMTAyMDAwMzAwODM3Wj.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
New FPGA Designs Take Advantage of the Latest COTS Platforms
http://rtcmagazine.com/articles/view/102751
As ever more powerful FPGAs are used in system designs, finding the right environment to accommodate their functionality with optimal space, system power and cost can be a challenge. The new MicroTCA.4 standard can offer a sweet spot.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ex-Facebook chief warns of disappearing role of IT
http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/careers/3382309/ex-facebook-chief-warns-of-disappearing-role-of-it/
Mike Leach claims that IT will adopt a system integrator’s role and that the title may change to ‘product managers’
“It is contentious to predict that IT will be obsolete in twenty years’ time. However, you have to at least acknowledge that the trend is a reality,” said Leach.
“The role of IT will remerge, but it is going to be more of a systems integrator (SI) role. SI is going to be the core function that organisations have to maintain and I think the [CIO] job title will change to something along the line of product manager.”
“IT in the future needs to understand where these success trends are occurring and be a [guiding influence] of where the business will go.”
However, he warned other companies that if they choose to buy in applications, rather than develop bespoke ones, they should not assume protection from vendor support.
“if they are shitty (can we say this?) at support then you are really in trouble because you don’t know how it works,” said Mandelbaum
“We have purchased systems in the past where the vendor wasn’t good at support, or wasn’t very responsive, and my hands have been tied. I wasn’t actually able to do anything.”
“This meant that I was in a worse situation than if I had actually built it myself.”
Tomi says:
THE DIGITAL 100: The World’s Most Valuable Private Tech Companies
http://www.businessinsider.com/2012-digital-100?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=linkedin
A lot has changed since we published last year’s list. Since then, three of the top private tech companies—Facebook, Zynga, and Groupon—have gone public. And all of their stocks have crashed.
t’s been a crazy year for technology companies. Many of the top companies from last year’s list have gone public. Some (most) of their stocks have gotten clobbered. A lot of young companies are receiving wild valuations that are starting to get corrected by the down market, and there’s a new mentality shift in startups: users aren’t everything; making money matters.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linux 3.7 Kernel to Support Multiple ARM Platforms
http://paritynews.com/software/item/394-linux-37-kernel-to-support-multiple-arm-platforms
The yet to be released Linux 3.7 kernel is getting exciting by the day prior to its release as it has been announced that the kernel will be supporting multiple-ARM System on Chips (SoCs) / platforms.
Up until now there is a separate Linux kernel build for each of the ARM platform or SoCs, which is one of the several problems when it comes to ARM based Linux. The merging of ARM multi-platform support into Linux 3.7 will now put an end to this problem thus enabling the new kernel to not only target multiple platforms but, also be more in line with its x86 counterpart.
“This is a pretty significant branch. It’s the introduction of the first multiplatform support on ARM,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel pushes Atom-powered storage for homes, SMB
Hot-swappable RAID for home, sweet home
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/04/intel_atom_storage/
Intel is pushing its Cedar Trail Atom D2550 and D2500 processors as the power behind a range of network-attached storage (NAS) systems aimed at small business and power home users.
“The amount of data being created in the home and by small businesses is bloating,” said David Tuhy, GM of Intel’s storage division at a Thursday event in San Francisco to launch three of the systems. “Backing up that data is vital and it needs to be done safely and securely.”
The idea is that you’d have one of these boxes in your house or office where they would be configured to take automatic backups of connected devices. The NAS could then either be accessed online via a password-protected IP address, or files could be simply downloaded directly.
They can run in either Windows or Linux environments, with security from McAfee’s AV SDK for the former and VirusScan Enterprise for open source users. Disks are hot-swappable in the event of failure.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Recently, the IT services outsourcing trend has shown signs of change. Has acted as a pioneer of Detroit pride, the world’s largest car manufacturer within General Motors.
A recent stock exchange releases of the GM will create 10 000 new IT jobs, the outsourcing of services to the next 3-5 years within the company.
GM was once one of the earliest company to widely outsource IT.
The company’s former CIO Ralph Szygenda enthused that his duties at the time it initiated the final phase of the transmission service providers was the “it-the third wave of outsourcing.”
His successor, Randy Motti the trend set it is time to call it a “first in-sourcing wave”, writes CIO.com.
Up to 10 000 IT professional’s salary is not cheap to do. Motti decision caused a turnover of 150 billion high-performing company in the giant bill.
“GM appears to be moving the pendulum from one extreme to another.”
Consulting firm Pace Harmon partner David Rutchik describes the movements of the pendulum. He says that GM is, above all, ensure that the right decisions are the company’s core business of manufacturing of the car.
According to experts, many other large companies are considering getting rid of IT outsourcing, but only a few CIO’s have the courage to take risks as large as GM does. Particularly in the manufacturing industry companies consider a variety of mixed or hybrid models of IT outsourcing.
“The manufacturing industry is an interesting area to follow in the coming years. Several major manufacturers consider it’s the internalization of” consulting firm KPMG’s outsourcing expert Cliff Justice says.
“Clients are now IT partnerships with technology breakthroughs will be more competitive advantages. Yet, the change is significant when compared to the past, mainly for cost reasons made easy IT services outsourcing,”
IT outsourcing waiver, if successful, could bring business benefits to GM.
“Working in the same time zone and a uniform corporate culture will also work satisfaction in a way that should not be underestimated,”
“The costs are easy to calculate, and we expect them to grow. Question is about the ability of GM improved productivity and innovation to build better cars and change them into dollars,” Rutchik underscores.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/cio/itn+sisaistaminen+kay+gmlle+kalliiksi/a845014?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-05102012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
802.11ad Will Knock Your Socks Off, Says Interop Panel
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/12/10/05/2354206/80211ad-will-knock-your-socks-off-says-interop-panel
“802.11ad adds 60GHz connectivity to the previously used 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies, potentially providing multi-gigabit connection speeds and dramatically broadening the number of applications for which wireless can be used.”
Interop: Don’t sweat 802.11ac Wi-Fi – because 802.11ad will knock your socks off
Industry experts at Interop NY look beyond the coming advent of 802.11ac.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/100312-interop-80211ad-263036.html
While the Wi-Fi world is rightly abuzz over the rapidly approaching large-scale deployment of the new 802.11ac standard, experts at an Interop NY panel said today that the 802.11ad standard is likely to be even more transformative.
802.11ac is a development of the current 802.11n standard, producing improved performance on the same 5GHz frequency bands. Some routers using the 802.11ac have already been deployed, and the experts on the panel agreed that it will become commonplace by early 2013.
By contrast, 802.11ad adds 60GHz connectivity to the previously used 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies, potentially providing multi-gigabit connection speeds and dramatically broadening the number of applications for which wireless can be used.
“There are some unique characteristics about the 60GHz band that really help in bringing a whole bunch of new use cases,” said Mark Grodzinsky, vice president of marketing for 60GHz pioneer Wilocity. Some of those uses include wireless docking and uncompressed HD video streaming.
“60 GHz is also highly directional,” he added. “So whereas in 2.4 and 5 [GHz] it’s pretty much an omnidirectional transmission, meaning the antennas just blow energy in all directions, with 60GHz, it’s very focused.”
“When you add in [802.11ad], I would see this as an island of super-high data rate present in a sea of gigabit Wi-Fi. What it does is allow you to do a massive amount of Wi-Fi offloading.” The idea is that the localized but high-bandwidth 60GHz network can be used for specific, highly demanding tasks, keeping the standard 5GHz frequency free for normal use, he explained.
Devices using the 60GHz standard could begin to appear in 2014 and become more prominent in 2015
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Computer Science Behind Facebook’s 1 Billion Users
http://developers.slashdot.org/story/12/10/05/233254/the-computer-science-behind-facebooks-1-billion-users
“Much has been made about Facebook hitting 1 billion users. But Businessweek has the inside story detailing how the site actually copes with this many people and the software Facebook has invented that pushes the limits of computer science.”
Facebook: The Making of 1 Billion Users
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-10-04/facebook-the-making-of-1-billion-users
Ricky Hughes says:
I’d always want to be update on new blog posts on this web site, saved to favorites!
802.11ad at 60GHz Will Knock Your Socks Off? « Tomi Engdahl’s ePanorama blog says:
[...] mentioned 60GHz communications as promising technology in the beginning of 2012 at Computer technologies for 2012 blog posting as having potential for data centers and WiGig. 60 GHz WiGig (Draft 802.11ad) Chipset [...]
Tomi Engdahl says:
Parallella: an Open Multi-Core CPU Architecture
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/12/10/07/1936215/parallella-an-open-multi-core-cpu-architecture
“The architecture has advantages over GPUs in terms of future scaling and ease of use. Adapteva is planning to make the products open source. Ars Technica has a nice overview of the project.”
$99 Raspberry Pi-sized “supercomputer” touted in Kickstarter project
Parallel computing for everyone promised with 16- and 64-core boards.
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/09/99-raspberry-pi-sized-supercomputer-touted-in-kickstarter-project/
Raspberry Pi-sized board called Parallella puts supercomputing power into a $99 package.
Chipmaker Adapteva wants to make parallel computing available to everyone, but there’s a good chance you’ve never even heard the company’s name. Founded in 2008, Adapteva focuses on building low-power RISC chips, which it sells to board manufacturers, and is trying to license its intellectual property to mobile processor vendors for use in smartphones.
Adapteva calls it “Parallella: A Supercomputer For Everyone,” a 16-core board hitting 13GHz and 26 gigaflops performance, costing $99 each. If the $3 million goal is hit, Adapteva will make a $199 64-core board hitting 45GHz and 90 gigaflops. (Adapteva seems to be counting GHz on a cumulative basis, adding up all the cores.) Both include a dual-core ARM A9-based system-on-chip, with the 16- and 64-core RISC chips acting as coprocessors to speed up tasks. The Adapteva architecture hits performance of 70 gigaflops per watt, and 25GHz per watt, the company says.
The Kickstarter page went live today. A pledge of $99 guarantees supporters a 16-core board by May 2013,
The current hardware is in the prototype phase.
Parallella devices would be fully functioning computers, shipping with an Ubuntu 11.10 port to ARM, with 1GB RAM, two USB 2.0 ports, 16GB of MicroSD storage, HDMI, and Gigabit Ethernet. An open source SDK would allow development of applications for Adapteva’s Epiphany architecture using C, C++, and OpenCL. Sizewise, Parallella would be 3.4” x 2.1’’, very similar to the Raspberry Pi.
There are obvious similarities between Parallella and hobbyist projects like Raspberry Pi, the $35 Linux computer, and the $30 Arduino, but Olofsson said Parallella will offer anywhere from 10 to 50 times the performance of Raspberry Pi, with the latter figure coming from the potential 64-core version. While it’s three times pricier than the Raspberry Pi, $99 is dramatically cheaper than most parallel computing platforms, he notes. Boards containing Adapteva chips that are already sold by partner company Bittware cost thousands of dollars.
Tomi Engdahl says:
For many years, has been monitored how the PC machines will be transferred to Western countries where labor is cheaper in China. Now the Chinese Lenovo has announced the decision to turn the trend on its head.
Lenovo has done very well in the computer market in recent years. The company has become the world’s second-largest PC manufacturer. According to forecasts, Lenovo might even rise towards the end of the world’s largest PC manufacturers over HP.
Lenovo announced this week that the increased demand is met by the new plant, which will be suddenly in the United States. The plant will be Lenovo’s existing distribution center in Whitsett, North Carolina State.
The plant will employ 115 employees. They manufacture such as Think-branded laptops and desktops. The plant is also used to build servers.
Source: http://www.tietokone.fi/uutiset/mita_ihmetta_kiinalainen_pc_valmistaja_ulkoistaa_usa_an
Tomi Engdahl says:
In A Keyboard-Free Future, What Happens To All The Writers?
http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/07/in-a-keyboard-free-future-what-happens-to-all-the-writers/
I wrote this post with my voice. I made no changes, save for a few typo corrections, and used no keyboard. That’s probably why it’s so bad.
It’s an experiment of mine. The hypothesis is whether or not a keyboardless world will change writing. And make no mistake, at some point we will live in a keyboardless world.
Right now, it’s the small things. It’s voice controls, motion controls, and eye-tracking software.
But small queries to Siri and voice to text transcription will take over for longform writing as well. This is only the beginning. When the technology gets good enough, contextual enough, writers will speak their thoughts.
Sure, it’s faster and more efficient to speak. This is the same argument that was made for the keyboard against pens and paper.
In short, good ideas don’t come from saying them, they come from writing them.
The question isn’t whether or not beautiful writing, and good ideas, will survive. The real question is how we, as writers, will adapt.
Will we be the only citizens of the world tied to ancient keyboards?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Overfocus on tech skills could exclude the best candidates for jobs
Is the unemployment problem about a lack of qualified applicants in the workforce?
http://radar.oreilly.com/2012/07/overfocus-on-tech-skills-could-exclude-the-best-candidates-for-jobs.html
Is the problem that there are no qualified people? Or is the problem with the qualifications themselves?
There certainly have been structural changes in the economy, for better or for worse: many jobs have been shipped offshore, or eliminated through automation. And employers are trying to move some jobs back onshore for which the skills no longer exist in the US workforce. But I don’t believe that’s the whole story. A number of articles recently have suggested that the problem with jobs isn’t the workforce, it’s the employers: companies that are only willing to hire people who will drop in perfectly to the position that’s open. Hence, a startup requiring that applicants have developed code using their API.
It goes further: many employers are apparently using automated rejection services which (among other things) don’t give applicants the opportunity to make their case: there’s no human involved. There’s just a resume or an application form matched against a list of requirements that may be grossly out of touch with reality, generated by an HR department that probably doesn’t understand what they’re looking for, and that will never talk to the candidates they reject.
Even for a senior position, if a startup is only willing to hire people who have already used its API, it is needlessly narrowing its applicant pool to a very small group. The candidates who survive may know the API already, but what else do they know? Are the best candidates in that group?
A senior position is likely to require a broad range of knowledge and experience, including software architecture, development methodologies, programming languages and frameworks. You don’t want to exclude most of the candidates by imposing extraneous requirements, even if those requirements make superficial sense.
Tomi Engdahl says:
AMD launches its response to Intel’s tablet processor
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57528404-75/amd-launches-its-response-to-intels-tablet-processor/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title
AMD enters the Windows 8 tablet market with the Z-60 processor.
AMD’s Z-60 chip is being marketed as a chip for the “performance tablet” segment.
Translation: it’s packing high-performance graphics silicon, which boasts 80 Radeon graphics cores, with the graphics processing unit (GPU) rated at a speed of 275MHz
The first tablets based on the AMD Z-60 are expected to launch globally this year “in conjunction with availability of Windows 8,” AMD said in a statement.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Software development outsourcing pricing is most commonly used, either time-based or fixed pricing. Of these, both with their own infirmity.
Time-based pricing is not enough to motivate productivity and to impose upon the shoulders of the risk of the customer as a whole.
Fixed pricing, creating resistance to change, and will often be weaker quality. It is also difficult to reconcile the currently widely used in agile development methods.
Source: http://www.vincit.fi/fi/asiakkaille/100-tyytyv%C3%A4isyystakuu
Tomi Engdahl says:
The embedded market is in a significant evolutionary phase towards a brand new “Intelligent Systems” era. According to IDC research, the number of systems and devices worldwide will reach as many as 25 billion units by 2020.
Intelligent systems are already being broadly deployed across many vertical markets such as transportation, video, machine automation and digital signage. This all contributes to the rising volumes of data traffic, where media-rich applications and data center consolidation are now driving the need for increased bandwidth scalability and high-speed connectivity.
Advantech advertisment “Join us at the High Performance Platforms OnLine Forum”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel’s Haswell Architecture Analyzed: Building a New PC and a New Intel
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6355/intels-haswell-architecture
a key change in Intel’s strategy for dominance: leverage consumer microprocessor sales to help support your fabs while making huge margins on lower volume, enterprise parts.
In other words, get your volume from the mainstream but make your money in the enterprise. Intel managed to double dip and make money on both ends, it just made substantially more in servers.
Today Intel’s magic formula is being threatened. Within 8 years many expect all mainstream computing to move to smartphones, or whatever other ultra portable form factor computing device we’re carrying around at that point.
The problem from Intel’s perspective is that it has no foothold in the smartphone market. Although Medfield is finally shipping, the vast majority of smartphones sold feature ARM based SoCs.
If all mainstream client computing moves to smartphones, and Intel doesn’t take a dominant portion of the smartphone market, it will be left in the difficult position of having to support fabs that no longer run at the same capacity levels they once did. Without the volume it would become difficult to continue to support the fab business.
Intel has an ARM problem and Apple plays a major role in that ARM problem. Atom was originally developed not to deal with ARM but to usher in a new type of ultra mobile device. That obviously didn’t happen. UMPCs failed, netbooks were a temporary distraction (albeit profitable for Intel) and a new generation of smartphones and tablets became the new face of mobile computing.
While Atom will continue to play in the ultra mobile space, Haswell marks the beginning of something new. Rather than send its second string player into battle, Intel is starting to prep its star for ultra mobile work.
Haswell is the first step of a long term solution to the ARM problem. While Atom was the first “fast-enough” x86 micro-architecture from Intel, Haswell takes a different approach to the problem. Rather than working from the bottom up, Haswell is Intel’s attempt to take its best micro-architecture and drive power as low as possible.
It’s the Haswell U/ULT parts that brings about the dramatic change. These will be a single chip solution, with part of the voltage regulation typically found on motherboards moved onto the chip’s package instead.
These six sleeping states have served the PC well over the years.
The ultra mobile revolution however gave us a new requirement: the ability to transact data while in an otherwise deep sleep state.
Your smartphone and tablet both fetch emails, grab Twitter updates, receive messages and calls while in their sleep state. The prevalence of always-on wireless connectivity in these devices makes all of this easy, but the PC/smartphone/tablet convergence guarantees that if the PC doesn’t adopt similar functionality it won’t survive in the new world.
The solution is connected standby or active idle, a feature supported both by Haswell and Clovertrail as well as all of the currently shipping ARM based smartphones and tablets.
Haswell’s power savings come from three sources, all of which are equally important.
Intel’s focus on reducing total platform power consumption by paying attention to everything else on the motherboard
At the micro-architecture level Intel added more power gating and low power modes to Haswell.
Intel has also done a lot of work at the process level to bring Haswell’s power consumption down. As a tock, Haswell is the second micro-architecture to use Intel’s new 22nm tri-gate transistors.
Intel said Haswell can scale below 10W, but it didn’t provide a lower bound. It’s too much to assume Haswell would go into a phone, but once you get to the 8W point and look south you open yourself up to fitting into things the size of a third generation iPad. Move to 14nm, 10nm and beyond then it becomes more feasible that you could fit this class of architecture into something even more portable.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Study: Containerized data center shipments rising rapidly
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2012/09/study–containerized.html
Shipments of containerized data centers are forecasted to grow 40 percent in 2013 compared to 2012, following a near doubling of the market in 2012, according to an upcoming report on the industry from IMS Research.
Containerized solutions have been around since 2005, but only in the last two years has the market begun to establish itself, contends the new report. IMS Research has defined a containerized data center as a pre-fabricated, fully enclosed, mobile, structure that houses data center infrastructure.
Regionally, the greatest number of containerized data centers will ship to North America in 2012. Some of the earliest adopters of containerized solutions are headquartered in the US: Google, Microsoft, eBay and Amazon. While growth will continue to be strong for shipments to North America, shipments to China are forecasted to grow at nearly double the rate over the next five years due to the rapid growth in data centers in the region and the need for faster deployment times.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ballmer to Microsoft shareholders: ‘a fundamental shift [is] underway in our business’
http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/9/3480696/steve-ballmer-shareholder-letter-2012-devices-services
In his annual letter, CEO Steve Ballmer says Microsoft’s future is a tight combination of hardware and software
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has hinted at Microsoft’s shift towards a devices and services company previously, but this year’s letter to shareholders spells it out very clearly. Microsoft is only days away from releasing a major hardware product, the Surface RT tablet, to consumers — alongside a new touch-centric Windows 8 operating system. “This is a significant shift,” says Ballmer. “It impacts how we run the company, how we develop new experiences, and how we take products to market for both consumers and businesses.”
Although Ballmer says Microsoft will continue to work with its loyal partners on Windows PCs, tablets, and phones, the software maker is clearly positioning itself as one that can also deliver premium hardware experiences of its own. “There will be times when we build specific devices for specific purposes,” explains Ballmer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Farming hard drives: how Backblaze
weathered the Thailand drive crisis
http://blog.backblaze.com/2012/10/09/backblaze_drive_farming/
The rain started in August and by mid-October 2011, violent floods in Thailand had crippled the factories that helped produce nearly half of the world’s hard drives. As an online backup company, Backblaze fills more than 50 TB of new drives every day. To survive this crisis without raising prices or compromising service, Backblaze deployed every last employee, as well as friends and family, to acquire drives in what became known internally as “drive farming”. What follows is how we did it.
Tomi says:
FSF Certifies First Device in “Respects Your Freedom” Program
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/12/10/10/1410250/fsf-certifies-first-device-in-respects-your-freedom-program
Earlier this year, the Free Software Foundation announced a hardware endorsement campaign for hardware that respects the rights of its owner (no DRM, runs Free Software, support for open formats, no or freely licensed patents, etc.). Now, they’ve announced that the Lulzbot AO-100 3D Printer is the first device to pass certification
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lenovo became the PC market wither king – perhaps
China’s Lenovo PC manufacturers seized the number one status from HP, says research firm Gartner report.
Lenovo delivered a total of 13.77 million machines, which increased its market share of 15.7 per cent.
HP’s deliveries fell to 13.55 million units, which is why it has to settle for second place and 15.5 percent market share. The third is a Dell 10.5 percent market share.
In all, PC-to-the number of deliveries fell in Q3 of about 8.3 per cent compared to the previous year. The reasons may be due to the unfavorable economic conditions or changes in equipment usage patterns.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/lenovosta+tuli+kuihtuvien+pcmarkkinoiden+kuningas++ehka/a846405?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-11102012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
PC shipments to decline in 2012 for the first time since dot-com bust, can Windows 8 save the day?
http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/10/10/pc-shipments-to-decline-in-2012-for-the-first-time-since-dot-com-bust-can-windows-8-save-the-day/
The global PC market will see worldwide shipments decline this year, which will mean a drop for the first time in 11 years, according to IHS’ iSuppli. More specifically, the technology research specialist expects a contraction of 1.2 percent: from 352.8 million units in 2011 to just 348.7 million in 2012.
The last such drop was more than a decade ago in the dot-com bust year of 2001.
Nevertheless, the year is far from over, and iSuppli hints there is still a chance for the PC industry. The firm asked three questions for the PC market and the rest of 2012, suggesting Windows 8 and ultrabooks may turn the tide, but also noting that mobile devices will likely crush all such chances
Given how well tablets have been selling this year, it’s too bad they aren’t considered PCs like Microsoft would like them to be. Apple’s iPad sales alone would mean shipments of personal computers this year would be doing just fine.
Tomi Engdahl says:
HP says Gartner’s wrong, IDC’s right, on PC sales data
Workstation sales matter, says HP, as Gartner awards Lenovo PC sales crown
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/11/horror_idc_pc_sales_data/
HP has taken the very unusual step of issuing commentary on IDC’s latest PC sales data, which says the PC market is now nearly a tie between HP and Lenovo.
HP’s response to Gartner ranking it Number 2 came swiftly, in the form of a press release that stated:
“While there are a variety of PC share reports in the market, some don’t measure the market in its entirety. The IDC analysis includes the very important workstation segment and therefore is more comprehensive. In that IDC report, HP occupies the No. 1 position in PCs.”
“The industry had already weathered a rough second quarter, and now the third quarter was even worse,” Chou said
Tomi Engdahl says:
Eric Schmidt: Apple vs. Android is the defining fight in tech
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57530193-93/eric-schmidt-apple-vs-android-is-the-defining-fight-in-tech/
In an interview in New York, Google’s executive chairman says Android could be on 1 billion devices in a year.
The world has never seen a platform fight like the one now under way between iOS and Android, Google’s executive chairman said Wednesday evening in New York.
“The Android-Apple platform fight is the defining fight in the industry today,” Eric Schmidt said in an interview with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher.
“The growth rate of mobile adoption exceeds everyone’s expectations every quarter,” he said. “The devices are becoming so useful that unless you’re a significant knowledge worker, you could probably live most of your life with your mobile device.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
PC Shipments Set to Decline in 2012 for First Time in 11 Years
http://www.isuppli.com/Home-and-Consumer-Electronics/News/Pages/PC-Shipments-Set-to-Decline-in-2012-for-First-Time-in-11-Years.aspx
After entering the year with high hopes, the global PC market has seen its prospects dim, with worldwide shipments set to decline in 2012 for the first time in 11 years, according to the IHS iSuppli Compute Platforms Service at information and analytics provider IHS.
The total PC market in 2012 is expected to contract by 1.2 percent to 348.7 million units, down from 352.8 million in 2011
“There was great hope through the first half that 2012 would prove to be a rebound year for the PC market,” said Craig Stice, senior principal analyst for computer systems at IHS. “Now three quarters through the year, the usual boost from the back-to-school season appears to be a bust, and both AMD and Intel’s third-quarter outlooks appear to be flat to down. Optimism has vanished and turned to doubt, and the industry is now training its sights on 2013 to deliver the hoped-for rebound. All this is setting the PC market up for its first annual decline since the dot-com bust year of 2001.”
There are signs that a strong rebound could still occur in 2013.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Number of Data Center is declining, but they are growing in size
Research firm IDC reports a decline data centers because of virtualization and cloud applications popularity. At the same time the existing data centers have grown ever larger.
The number of data centers in the United States will fall gradually by 2016 from the current 2.89 million to 2.94 million (number here here includes also small server rooms and cabinets). Virtualization and cloud services to help reduce the need for small data centers.
The floor space used for data centers is expected to grow from current 56.8 million square meters to 65 million square meters over the next four years.
Source: http://m.tietoviikko.fi/Uutiset/Datakeskuksien+m%C3%A4%C3%A4r%C3%A4+supistuu+mutta+koko+kasvaa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft reportedly spending over $1 billion on Windows 8 marketing blitz
http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/12/3492648/windows-8-marketing-campaign-ads-rumor
It’s no secret that Microsoft is planning a big marketing campaign around Windows 8, but one estimate suggests that the company could be willing to spend between $1.5 and $1.8 billion. The huge sum, reported by Forbes, would be around triple the amount that the company allegedly spent on its Windows Phone 7 launch two years ago.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why You Should Stay Away from HP
http://www.investmentcontrarians.com/stock-market/why-you-should-stay-away-from-hp/765/?subid=NRelate
Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE/HPQ) sank on Thursday after warning the market to expect less in 2013, as the former technology kingpin struggles to revamp its business.
The company has seen over half of its market-cap dissipate over the past year
CEO Margaret Whitman has a titanic job ahead of her, as she tries to turn the sinking ship around; but with crippling declines in the demand for PCs and intense competition in printers and other products, my stock analysis tells me that the path will be difficult and there is no guarantee of success.
According to Whitman, it will take years to turn HP around, as the company looks to streamline its product line and become a leaner, more efficient technology company.
Yet, according to my stock analysis, the company’s lack of exposure in the surging mobile business is problematic.
The PC market is dead, and HP will need to re-invent itself under Whitman’s five-year plan that predicts growth will return by 2015, but, based on my stock analysis, it will not be easy. PC growth is estimated at below one percent this year, according to International Data Corporation (IDC). And exacerbating the situation, the company’s management is expecting the worst. The PC market may not grow until 2016, according to HP’s Todd Bradley, head of the company’s PC unit.
Tomi Engdahl says:
AMD is preparing to lay off thousands
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2217049/amd-is-preparing-to-lay-off-thousands?WT.rss_f=Home
CHIP DESIGNER AMD is preparing a big round of layoffs according to multiple sources as it tries to get back into the black.
Last week AMD revised its revenue forecasts down considerably due to weak demand
AMD’s financial situation is not looking particularly good with the firm already announcing more than $500m of losses this year, and its third quarter is not looking much better.
The INQUIRER heard from a source last month that AMD was preparing for mass layoffs
Tomi Engdahl says:
Consumers Aggressively Migrate Data to Cloud Storage in First Half of 2012
http://www.isuppli.com/Mobile-and-Wireless-Communications/News/Pages/Consumers-Aggressively-Migrate-Data-to-Cloud-Storage-in-First-Half-of-2012.aspx
The consumer cloud performed strongly in the first half of 2012, with the number of personal subscriptions to online storage services at the end of June already at 75 percent of the market’s projected sum for the year, according to insights from the IHS iSuppli Mobile & Wireless Communications Service from information and analytics provider IHS
The number of global consumers using cloud services after the first six months hit more than 375 million, or about three-quarters of the estimated total of 500 million by year-end.
“The cloud is a game changer in an age of near-ubiquitous mobile broadband, offering benefits to consumers and cloud service providers alike,” said Jagdish Rebello, Ph.D., director for consumer and communications at IHS. For consumers, cloud services are intended to manage and store user-generated data or purchased content, such as music, ebooks, pictures or videos. The content can then be seamlessly accessed and synced across devices like smartphones, media tablets and PCs. Meanwhile, technology companies are looking at the cloud as a way to generate revenue.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
CIOs undervalued and under-utilised: Ernst & Young
http://www.zdnet.com/au/cios-undervalued-and-under-utilised-ernst-and-young-7000005748/
Summary: Only 17 percent of CIOs are considered part of top-level management, with many other executives perceiving them as lacking in business skills or experience, according to Ernst & Young.
In the professional service firm’s report, The DNA of the CIO, only 17 percent of CIOs are counted among the top management group, and just 43 percent of people in that role are involved in executive decision making.
While 60 percent of CIOs think that they add strong value to their companies, only 35 percent of their executive peers agree. According to the report, many still don’t view IT as a business enabler, with a number of executives interacting with CIOs purely to discuss IT budgets, instead of how technology can drive business outcomes.
“Business executives felt the role of the CIO was not driving the types of enterprise value they may expect,” McLean told ZDNet.
While CIOs are recognised for their technological expertise, many executives still don’t think that they have the right level of business skills or experience, he said.
“I don’t think there’s blame to be put on any stakeholder group, but it was an interesting perception of business executives around that role,” McLean said.
“The further education agenda and engaging with broader executives is a crucial role for CIOs,” McLean said. “The ability to be ‘multilingual,’ in a sense, being able to understand technology and business environments, is crucial for that role to be successful and sustainable.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Research: The devalued future of IT in a marketing world
http://www.zdnet.com/research-the-devalued-future-of-it-in-a-marketing-world-7000003989/
Summary: New research demonstrates the changing role of IT. Here is advice to ensure your IT organization is not marginalized as a consequence of these changes.
You can see that IT growth rates have declined dramatically and are rising slowly.
We can conclude that most organizations view IT as a means to increase productivity and efficiency, rather than a source of innovation and business transformation.
The world of CIOs and IT is likely to split into infrastructure providers and innovation partners. To become a genuine partner to the business, start taking steps today. If you don’t make a change soon, your IT organization end up a commodity shop in a transforming world.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Will EU Regulations Effectively Ban High-End Video Cards?
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/10/16/012254/will-eu-regulations-effectively-ban-high-end-video-cards
“An update to an energy law, which will apply in the European Union, has the power to limit sale of discrete components deemed ‘energy inefficient.’ GPU maker AMD is worried this will affect future technology as it becomes available, as well as some current offerings. From TFA: ‘According to data NordicHardware has seen from a high level employee at AMD, current graphics cards are unable to meet with these requirements. ”
The report in question. Each performance category of hardware has a power draw ceiling;
http://www.eup-network.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Computers-Draft-Regulation-subject-to-ISC.PDF
EU cripples future graphics cards [Exclusive]
http://www.nordichardware.com/news/71-graphics/46718-eu-cripples-future-graphics-cards-exclusive-.html
NordicHardware has seen exclusive information about a new energy law that will apply within the EU. The law requires that both discrete and integrated graphics cards live up to certain energy standards. AMD is worried that this will affect next generation graphics cards and have them barred from sales in the EU.
There are standardizations that make sure pre-built computers, but also discrete components, achieve a certain level of energy efficiency. Exactly how much depends on a row of criteria. These standards also include simple things, such as that after a certain amount of time the computer will enter sleep mode. The idea behind this is to have as energy efficient computers as possible to reduce the overall consumption of energy. The specification for the so called Eco design Lot 3 with the EC
There are currently seven specifications for graphics cards – G1, G2, G3, G4, G5, G6 and G7. Graphics cards of the G7 classification have a bandwidth of 128 GB/s (GigaByte per Second) and more, without an upper limit today.
If a graphics card doesn’t live up to the standard set by the EC it can be removed from all markets within the EU. The rules will now be constricted, which threatens next generation graphics cards.
The commission wants to stop dedicated graphics cards of group G7 from going above 320 GB/s – that is in theory a memory bus at 384-bit connected to memory operating at 6667 MHz or 512-bit with 5001 MHz. This is definitely within reach for the next generation graphics cards. Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition currently has a bandwidth of 288 GB/s with a 384-bit memory bus and 6000 MHz memory. For notebooks the limit will be only 225 GB/s.
Performance delivered in games or general calculations are irrelevant.
According to data NordicHardware has seen from a high level employee at AMD, current graphics cards are unable to meet with these requirements. This includes “GPUs like Cape Verde and Tahiti”, that is used in the HD 7700 and HD 7900 series, and can’t meet with the new guidelines, the same goes for the older “Caicos” that is used in the HD 6500/6600 and HD 7500/7600 series
Earlier today there were talk about the new restrictions going into effect in early 2013, but now it looks like it will be 2014. This will put nearly unrealistic demands on both AMD and Nvidia. Besides the fact the standardization is not very logical since memory bandwidth does not translate into performance that easily we see it as a great obstacle for future graphics cards, but the revision of “Lot 3″ is done and the wheels are set in motion.
Graphics card energy consumption has been rising steadily over the last couple of years. Last generation the limit for the PCI Express standard was broken when graphics cards sporting two GPUs consumed well over 300 watt, both from AMD and Nvidia. Both us and our well informed readers think that the way the EC is applying its restrictions is wrong, especially how it has decided to estimate performance.
Lot 3
Personal Computers (desktops and
laptops) and Computer Monitors
Final Report (Task 1-8)
http://extra.ivf.se/ecocomputer/downloads/Eup%20Lot%203%20Final%20Report%20070913%20published.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is a Wireless Data Center Possible?
http://slashdot.org/topic/datacenter/is-a-wireless-data-center-possible/
A team from Cornell University and Microsoft concludes that a wireless data center could replace one with “traditional” links.
A team of researchers from Microsoft and Cornell University has concluded that, in some cases, a totally wireless data center makes logistical sense.
In a new paper, a team of researchers from Cornell and Microsoft concluded that a data-center operator could replace hundreds of feet of cable with 60-GHz wireless connections—assuming that the servers themselves are redesigned in cylindrical racks, shaped like prisms, with blade servers addressing both intra- and inter-rack connections.
The so-called “Cayley” data centers, so named because of the network connectivity subgraphs are modeled using Cayley graphs, could be cheaper than traditional wired data centers if the cost of a 60-GHz transceiver drops under $90 apiece, and would likely consume about one-tenth to one-twelfth the power of a wired data center.
There’s just one problem, however: Cayley datacenters are expected to show significantly better latency on average than conventional data centers and so-called “fat tree” networks, except under peak load.
“Conventional datacenters, based on wired networks, entail high wiring costs, suffer from performance bottlenecks, and have low resilience to network failures,” the paper’s authors, Ji-Yong Shin, Emin Gün Sirer, and Hakim Weatherspoon of Cornell, wrote. The co-author was Darko Kirovski, of Microsoft Research.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Analyst: ‘Windows 8 Expectations Plummet’
http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-windows-8-sales-expectations-low-says-topeka-2012-10#ixzz29RsHdgZ2
Topeka Capital analyst Brian White was traveling in Asia, meeting with supply chain sources, and he has bad news for Microsoft investors:
Windows 8 Expectations Plummet and PC Trends to Remain Difficult. The sentiment around Windows 8 was overwhelmingly negative during our trip as the supply chain is experiencing little life ahead of the October 26 launch.
One of our contacts does not expect Windows 8 to be material until the second-half of 2013. Similarly, the enthusiasm around the Ultrabook ramp has also deteriorated as the cost structure remains too high under Intel’s (INTC-$21.48: NR) specifications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Big Blue bigwig: Tiny processor knobs can’t shrink forever
You cannae break the laws of physics – and 7nm is the limit
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/10/hpc_blog_ibm/
While at IBM’s Smarter Computing Summit last week, I had the great pleasure of hearing Big Blue’s Bernie Meyerson talk about limits to today’s tech, and the associated implications.
Back in 2003 he predicted that Intel would never deliver on its promises of 4 to 5GHz CPUs and would, in fact, be forced to shift to multi-core processors.
Meyerson backed up his brash prediction (it was plenty brash back then) by sharing electron microscope images of individual atoms that showed they’re kind of lumpy. The problem with lumpy atoms is that when you use only a handful of them to build gates, they leak current like a sieve. When asked about this, Intel denied over and over that there was a problem – right up to the point when it announced it was scrapping its entire product strategy in favour of a multi-core approach.
So when Meyerson talks, I pay attention. And Meyerson is talking again.
In fact, when it comes to chips, we have only a generation or two left before we reach the end of the line.
So where’s the end of the line? According to Bernie: 7 to 9 nanometers. When the features on a chip get to this minute size, you start to see quantum mechanics effects that are “very nasty” that impairs the performance of the processor’s decision-making gates.
The problems at 7nm are profound to the point where there isn’t really any way around them – it’s just too damned small – and there isn’t a way to scale down an atom. It’s a fundamental limit, and it’s finally in sight. Chips in mass production these days have a 32nm or 22nm feature size, and 14nm is not far down the line.
Meyerson also talked about the limitations facing us on the storage side.
From what Meyerson said, it sounds like we have a bit more room before we start to run up against the limit on storage density. If my notes are correct, we won’t approach the 12-atom limit until we get around 100 times more dense. Right now, a 1TB per platter is the highest density available. Theoretically, we may be able to get to 100TB per platter and 300TB per drive at maximum density.
Historically, we’ve seen density grow anywhere between 20 per cent and 100 per cent per year. Lately (last decade or so), growth has ranged between 20 per cent and 40 per cent annually, meaning that we might hit the twelve atom limit in as few as 13 years or as long as 25 years.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The average size of the display panels on the increase – only one exception
Market research firm NPD DisplaySearch says that the larger displays in the electronics is industry megatrend.
The average size of the monitor next year is 20.9 inches for desktop.
The average panel size for smart phone is 3.3 inches next year.
On portable computers, the average panel size has dropped 10 per cent to 12.2 inches.
Source: http://www.tietokone.fi/uutiset/nayttopaneelien_keskimaarainen_koko_kasvussa_vain_yksi_poikkeus
Tomi Engdahl says:
It seems that an ever-increasing number of companies are using Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Gartner predicts that by 2012, penetration on the enterprise PC sector will be 60 per cent. The vendors which provide accompanying software and gear are likewise fighting for your investment, as evidenced by the flurry of activity on El Reg storage desk yesterday.
Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/18/tintri_customer/
Tomi Engdahl says:
AMD Reports Third Quarter Results and Announces Restructuring
Fourth quarter actions to target cost savings of more than $200 million through 2013
http://www.amd.com/us/press-releases/Pages/press-release-2012oct18.aspx
AMD (NYSE:AMD) today announced revenue for the third quarter of 2012 of $1.27 billion, a net loss of $157 million, or $0.21 per share, and an operating loss of $131 million.
“The PC industry is going through a period of very significant change that is impacting both the ecosystem and AMD,” said Rory Read, AMD president and CEO. “It is clear that the trends we knew would re-shape the industry are happening at a much faster pace than we anticipated. As a result, we must accelerate our strategic initiatives to position AMD to take advantage of these shifts and put in place a lower cost business model. Our restructuring efforts are designed to simplify our product development cycles, reduce our breakeven point and enable us to fund differentiated product roadmaps and strategic breakaway opportunities.”
AMD’s restructuring plan, a significant portion of which will be implemented in the fourth quarter of 2012, will include a workforce reduction and site consolidations.
The savings will be largely driven through a reduction of AMD’s global workforce by approximately 15 percent, which is expected to be largely completed in the fourth quarter of 2012.
For the fourth quarter of 2012, AMD expects revenue to decrease 9 percent, plus or minus 4 percent, sequentially.
Tietoviikko article at http://www.itviikko.fi/uutiset/2012/10/19/tappiollinen-amd-havittaa-1800-tyopaikkaa/201240257/7?rss=8 says that AMD workforce reduction would be around 1800 employers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft Surface tablet’s one year warranty flouts EU laws
Highlights growing problem of product vendors ignoring two-year EU warranty law in UK
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2218358/microsoft-surface-tablets-one-year-warranty-flouts-eu-laws
MICROSOFT is offering only a one-year warranty on its Surface tablet that is set to ship in the UK next week, despite an EU law that says hardware must come with at least a two-year warranty.
The Sale of Consumer Goods and Associated Guarantees directive states, “The seller is liable to the consumer for any lack of conformity which exists when the goods are delivered to the consumer and which becomes apparent within a period of two years”.
As a result, it seems vendors are tricking customers into believing they have just one year to return their product for replacement or repair after purchase. Those that are aware of the two-year EU law have to go to court to resolve any issues outside the one-year warranty period, and who can be afford or even be bothered with that?
Tomi Engdahl says:
General Motors CIO Randy Mott fresh wants outsourced IT functions taken care by Hewlett-Packard Company back to GM.
IT giant HP has agreed to transfer 3 000 work force to GM’s payroll, the companies announced Thursday. Mott hopes to transfer to take place in the coming months.
“We focus on IT services, discoveries and innovations. Operations would be financed itself by the savings resulting from the data center integration and automation of basic services,” he described the situation in an analyst conference.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/cio/gm+kosii+hplle+ulkoistettuja+itosaajia+takaisin+taloon/a848846?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-19102012&
Tomi says:
According to Gartner, all of the business, which in some way balanced brokering ties in cloud services, it is one of the industry’s fastest growing areas. The broker market value of a global research firm, predicts $ 100 billion or more than five per cent of the world’s entire IT cake in 2014.
Broker’s business means that there is a broker layer between the end customer and the cloud service provider. This intermediate layer combines cloud services, and in this way generate new services.
“Gartner’s growth forecast is specific to this intermediary layer”,
Cloud services provider gets new sales channels.
The end customer gets convenience and comfort.
“It is a new way of thinking about IT services”
Current market situation is interesting because the traditional IT integrators operating in the intermediary market such as the market for traditional applications.
Many traditional IT integrators also aims to act as a mediator of cloud services, but the problem is the business model: cloud service brokering often cannibalized their existing business.
Telecom operators DNA and Elisa work in Finland as broker for cloud services. Operators are in relationship with customers, and they act as a reliable contact point for customers. Operators offer a new sales channel and the ability to get down to customers to big players like Microsoft and Google.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/cio/pilvipalvelut+saavat+broukkereita/a840563?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-20102012&
Tomi says:
Windows 8 wait prompts PC sales droop in EMEA
Lenovo only firm to boost channel sales-in during Q3
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2012/10/19/q3_pc_market_emea/
IDC has confirmed sales of PCs to distributors in Europe, the Middle East and Africa tumbled in Q3 as all the major players bought stock conservatively ahead of the launch of Windows 8.
The beancounter noted “weak sell-in levels” in July and August forced a 7.7 per cent slide in shipments across EMEA and a 12.8 per cent decline in Western Europe for the quarter.
Tomi says:
Salesforce CEO Benioff: Win 8 is ‘the end of Windows’
Shocks world with cloudy future prediction
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/19/benioff_on_windows8/
The official launch of Windows 8 is only a week away, but Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff won’t be making the upgrade, and he doesn’t think most enterprise CIOs will, either.
“Windows is irrelevant,” Benioff said, speaking at a press Q&A session at Salesforce’s Cloudforce event in New York on Friday.
Benioff explained that the rise of cloud computing and the bring your own device (BYOD) model means CIOs have more choices today than they did even 36 months ago, and that as a result, Windows 8 won’t be considered a mandatory upgrade the way previous versions of Windows were.
“The common phrase was, ‘the Windows 7 upgrade cycle,’” Benioff said. “You’re not going to hear about ‘the Windows 8 upgrade cycle.’ I think it’s the end of Windows.”
Benioff said that as customers switch to mobile devices for their personal use, they will put increasing pressure on CIOs to allow them to use the same devices in the workplace. As a result, CIOs will have to choose whether to invest in another Windows upgrade or to explore other models, he said, adding, “They did not have that choice with Windows 7.”
Tomi says:
“If you outsource things as they are made in-house, will go wrong. This model has to change.”
“My interest in is that people try to work as much as possible with their own Apple and other equipment. I want to support these activities, as it allows employees to develop new things. It creates a company needed to readiness for change. ”
At the top level of enterprise IT creates competitive advantage, while the bottom up to a competitive disadvantage:
“I have not figured out how to laptops or Exchange can make a competitive advantage.”
Critical data and critical systems are different things.
Extreme disaster must not prevent the possibility of the projects to drive forward. Risk ratios and costs are taken into account argumentation
Technology World a hierarchy have been eroded.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/cio/quotjos+ulkoistetaan+asiat+sellaisina+kuin+ne+on+tehty+talon+sisalla+pieleen+meneequot/a835824?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-21102012&