3/30/2001: Will have support of T&L the PowerVR KYRO III?

    It does only a few days of the throwing of the graphic chip PowerVR KYRO II of STMicroelectronics, when we already begin hearing rumors on his possible successor. The chip KYRO II, since it has demonstrated in diverse tests, is an excellent option at a really good price, being located in the "accessible" segment of 150 $. Nevertheless, it does not take support as a hardware of T&L, seemingly his Aquiles's only heel... that STMicroelectronics might be thinking already of solving.
    Apparently the rumor departs from a few drivers destined for the chip KYRO II. This chip is recognized internally how NP1. In these drivers a reference to the NP2 has appeared (possible KYRO III?), giving support for hardware to the engine of lighting and transformation (T&L). How is this possible, if the KYRO II does not support T&L for hardware? The most obvious answer is that it has been already proved in a model with this characteristic and "one" has "tippled" them, deliberately or not.
    If all this is true, the KYRO II would compete straight with the family NVIDIA GeForce2 and the KYRO III would dare even with the GeForce3; be as it is, let's hope not to have to wait for too much time to know the answer. And if also STMicroelectronics continues with his policy of really competitive prices, it will be the whole option to be born in mind. We will keep you informed.

More information in:
www.nvnews.net/
www.powervr.com/
KYRO II of STM, the last barrier opposite to NVIDIA and ATI
Already to the sale graphic cards with the chip KYRO

News written for: Ignacio Jiménez of the Ship

His publicity in CsH

3/29/2001: Nintendo Gamecube will take a graphic ATI chip

    After the official announcement of Sega of stopping making his console Dreamcast the same March, the PlayStation 2 of Sony has remained in a privileged position. Microsoft and Nintendo conscious of the important hollow left by Sega, they bet for there equip his respective consoles with chips graphs of two big ones of the world 3D.
    The XBOX of Microsoft will be provided in his interior with a graphic NVIDIA chip, so the decision of Nintendo to provide to his future console Gamecube with a graphic chip of the Canadian ATI does not catch for surprise. Few details there is on this new chip of ATI, especially made for the console of the Japanese company, but at least it seems that it will be made of 0,18 microns and with a speed of 200 MHz clock . The graphic ATI chip will have an enormous and vital importance in the yield of Nintendo Gamecube, according to Jim Merrick, the technical director of Nintendo in America.
    NVIDIA snatched from ATI the exclusivity of providing with videocards future Apple G4, undoubtedly a hard blow, but ATI has been able to recover and his plans of be doing by FireGL, the new contract with Nintendo and awaited ATI Radeon 2 demonstrates that in Canada they are not ready to be the eternal "segundones" in the three-dimensional kingdom...

More information in:
www.ati.com/na/ pages/corporate/press/2000/4313.html
www.xbox.com/hardware/console/
ATI tries to buy FireGL
The Xbox of Microsoft: pure NVIDIA heart
Sega will stop making the Dreamcast

News written for: Ignacio Jiménez of the Ship

3/28/2001: ROUTE relaunches the series of processors Cyrix with new ROUTE C3

    ROUTE surprises again, this time thank you not to a new chipset for basic badges but with a new microprocessor one baptized like ROUTE C3 (also known like Cyrix III with nucleus Samuel 2). This processor represents a bet for the price and the quality; his technology of 0,15 micron s manufacture (at present Intel and AMD make 0,18 microns mikes) turns him into the smallest processor, with an area of only 52 mm².
    Initially available at a 733 MHz speed , it takes 128 KB of cache memory L1 and 64 KB of cache memory L2 at the same speed of the mike. He supports buses from the almost obsolete 66 and 100 MHz up to the 133 MHz current one . It is completely compatible with most of badges Socket 370 modern (slightly much of being grateful) and it incorporates the multimedia instructions MMX and 3DNow!. According to ROUTE, it is a question of a mike of very low dissipation of heat (from 6 to 12 W), turning it into the whole option for portable devices since it can work without fan.
    The 733 MHz model is already available, at a really competitive price of 54 $ for unit in orders of 1.000. It will do not even much less the competence in the AMD Athlon not to Intel Pentium 4, but undoubtedly it is a question of an encouraging mike with a notable value for money (more that sufficient for tasks of office or navigation for Internet) and with basic badges much cheaper than those of the powerful Duron.

More information in:
www.via.com.tw/news/C3.htm
www.via.com.tw/products/C3.htm
New processors ROUTE Cyrix III

News written for: Ignacio Jiménez of the Ship

His publicity in CsH

3/27/2001: Microsoft is allied by Transmeta

    Calm, we do not refer to anything so serious like the end of the platform Wintel, but to which both companies have come to an agreement to incorporate the Crusoe (famous processor of low consumption of Transmeta) inside the new generation of Tablet PCs of Microsoft (that we might translate like "portable without keyboard").
    Both companies are centring his efforts in Windows XP optimizes the future operating system facing the portable devices, incorporating essential characteristics for the users of this type of devices as there can be the low weight, high yield, minimal dissipation of the heat and high autonomy.
    Microsoft hopes that soon this type of devices, controlled with a pencil and evolved from the electronic agendas and the PDAs, should flood the consumption market substituting the almost obsolete but still expensive and omnipresent "classic" portable computers, due to the biggest facility of use and versatility of this type of systems. Intel and ROUTE think something similar and prepare very similar projects, the WebTablet and WebPad.

More information in:
investor.transmeta.com/news/20010326-34884.cfm
www.microsoft.com/PressPass/ press/2000/Nov00/TabletPCPR.asp
Transmeta and Microsoft open new ways for the Crusoe
Interested Transmeta in...: servants multiprocessor??!
AMD: Duron 850 and collaboration with Transmeta for 64 bits
Transmeta triumphs in the bag despite his problems
Thrown portable Crusoe de Hitachi... in Japan
Microsoft throws Windows CE 3.0
New products Intel Inside (and they are not microprocessor)
www.via.com.tw/Value-Internet/Web_Pad.htm

News written for: Miquel Tarazona