AMD outlines its quad-core computing

AMD has been revealing details of its technology roadmap, specifically what lies ahead with quad-core computing. Scheduled to appear in the first half of 2007 - first for servers, but then rolled out across AMD desktop and laptop offerings - this will be the next step for AMD multi-core processing. AMD's Technical Director, Sales & Marketing EMEA, Giuseppe Amato, outlined details of the 65nm process-based quad-cores that we can expect. ...more

Tesco buys into American market

The UK's largest grocer, Tesco, is capitalising on the success of its UK Internet operation and has decided to invest in a US online shopping site and open up the world's largest home shopping market. The company has said that it will pay over ?16 million for a stake in GroceryWorks, the US online operation of Safeway (an American store that shares a name with the UK grocer), and for the money Tesco will get a stake of 35 per cent in GroceryWorks, as well getting access to technical resources and intellectual property from the group. Meanwhile, Safeway will still keep a 50 per cent share in the business, with the rest of the figure being met by other shareholders and private investors. ...more

BT wins ?620 million NHS contract to put medical records online

The familiar cabinets of buff coloured folders containing medical records will be no more by 2010, the Government has announced. Instead it has awarded a ?620 million contract to BT to store all 50 million NHS patients 'Care Records' in a secure central database and available to all 30,000 GPs and 270 NHS trusts. The care records will contain all relevant information and medical history of the patient and can be called up from anywhere instead of the current situation whereby if someone is admitted to hospital, the doctors have no immediate access to their local GP's records. ...more

Tablet PCs to hit their stride in 2005

Tablet PCs will have to wait until 2005 before they hit their stride, according to analysts. Industry analysts In-Stat/MDR reckon the cast of Microsoft and its hardware partners, such as Acer and HP, have achieved only partial success with the Tablet PC show, since its launch in October 2002. The firm reckons that as the prices of the pen-based computing devices breaks down through the $2,000 barrier, they will broaden their appeal to a much wider audience. ...more

Halo 2 Xbox game leaks over the Net

According to reports, copies of the eagerly awaited Halo 2 Xbox game made an impromptu debut last night on Usenet groups and pirate sites. The leaked game, purportedly the French version, precedes its official release in the second week of November, although Bungie, the studio developing the game, had earlier this week said work on the title was finished. Microsoft, which owns Bungie, said in a statement that it would take a dim view of anyone downloading a copy of the leaked game from the Internet. ...more