Spring IDF 2006: Boot times cut in half

Intel unveiled some new technologies at this spring's IDF that could dramatically cut PCs' boot and application load times in the future. First, it demonstrated a PC with 256MB of NAND flash memory. This persistent memory is used as an intelligent cache, so that parts of the operating system don't have to be loaded from disk. ...more

Intel rounds out its range with 64-bit Xeons

Intel has brought Xeon, its mid range server processor, into line with its other offerings with the launch of the 64-bit 'Truland' version of the chip. However, these are the first 64-bit offerings from Intel designed for multiprocessor machines using four or more CPUs. In keeping with its new 'platform' strategy of offering solutions rather than just silicon, Intel has launched a new E8500 chip set along with five versions of the 64-bit Xeon . ...more

SCO builds BSD case with GNU/Linux users

SCO has outlined its grievances with BSD code and says it plans to take this up with end users, rather than focus on determining who was responsible for allowing the code to slip into the Linux kernel. During a recent teleconference, CEO Darl McBride touched on other alleged infringement fronts on which SCO's legal firms would be deployed, forcing commercial users to stump up SCO's Unix IP licence. 'We have a situation with other settlement agreements with respect to the BSD case from a few years ago where we do have a legal settlement, we're in strong shape to go out and start enforcing these now and this is really what David [Boies] and his team are going to be expanding their focus around,' he said. ...more

Apple unveils Mac Pro

Apple has unveiled its first Intel-powered desktop workstation, the Mac Pro. Housed in the same aluminium enclosure as its predecessor, the Mac Pro is built around two 64-bit dual-core Intel Xeon 5100 'Woodcrest' processors, each running at up to 3GHz, and a new system architecture which Apple says makes it twice as fast as the Power Mac G5. That architecture includes 4MB of shared L2 cache for each processor, independent 1. ...more

Hollywood agrees on standards for digital cinemas

Hollywood movie studios have reached agreement on standards for digital movies, with the first widespread installations expected in 2006 and 2007. The standards cover '2K' and '4K' resolutions and include specifications for compression, packaging and, yes, copy protection. "This is an historic transition that is just beginning," said Bob Lambert, senior vice president of media technology and development at Walt Disney. ...more