7/23/2000: 64 bits will be late in coming: Intel Itanium is late

    After multiple rumors, Intel has admitted this week that his first microprocessor of 64 bits for PC, the Itanium, will be ready for the first semester of 2001, and not for the second semester of this year as it was foreseen.
    It seems that the debts have a lot to do so much with problems hardware (difficulty of achieving with reliability the high speeds - the MHz - necessary to do the competitive chip), as with problems software, especially in the operating systems paragraph.
    According to other rumors, Microsoft would be delayed in the development of the first Windows of 64 bits (we insist: there are only rumors...), whose version beta seems difficult that it appears before next year. Really, if it was not for the existence of a version of Linux of 64 bits in the very advanced state, Intel might take the things with great calmness... because he has no sense to make a microprocessor of 64 bits to use it with an operating system of 32 bits (although 386 and 486 were 32 bits, and it is not that they were working very rapidly in Windows 95, the truth...).

7/21/2000: The RADEON of ATI is started

    After a long waiting, the versions have just appeared for PC and MAC of the graphic cards based on the new chip RADEON of ATI, the only one that seems to be capable of leaving him facing the nVIDIA GeForce2. In addition to the technology T&L, it is provided with the technology Hyper-Z patented by ATI, which allows to diminish the information flow diminishing the bottle necks, and 3 units of texture (the only characteristic on the market).
    Of course, it has support for DirectX 8 and for OpenGL, in addition to new special effects never seen until now in no graphic card. And since it has being habitual in ATI, his chip possesses support to decompress DVD, saving ourselves the cost of a card descompresora MPEG.
    We will have 3 versions of this card: 32 MB with memory SDRAM (that will cost less than 200$), 32 MB with memory DDR-DRAM and 64 MB with memory DDR-DRAM with entry and exit of video.
    For his part, also the version has appeared for MAC, only with 32 MB of DDR-SDRAM but in formats AGP and PCI. The version PC will go on sale in August and the MAC in September.

7/20/2000: Apple did it again: surprising new products with the last technologies

    Undoubtedly, the word that better defines Apple is revolutionary. It surprises the mythical company of Steve Jobs again us with his new throwings: the first one, the PowerMac G4 Cube, a computer of impressive design (almost completely cubic) with processor PowerPC G4 to 450 MHz and 1 MB of cache memory L2, disc Ultra ATA/66, DVD-ROM..., and optical mouse, monitor connection for the only cable (that integrates the electricity and the signs of information and USB), digital loudspeakers and 2 ports FireWire (similar to 2 USB that also it integrates, but of 400 Mbits/s instead of 12 Mbits/s of the USB).
    Not less surprising is the news about that Apple introduces on the market of dual processors, with the PowerMac G4 Dual of up to two mikes PowerPC G4 500 MHz. This movement perhaps should to the difficulty of making these mikes to more than 500-550 MHz, but independently of the motive it introduces Apple moreover on the professional market, especially in that of graphic design.
    The technical characteristics of this PowerMac G4 Dual are similar to those of the Cube, although the design is more "classic" (inside what it means this term for Apple); both can get together with diverse screens, between which he emphasizes the flat screen Apple Cinema Display of 22 real inches... the words remain.
    To end, we have the new iMac models, without too many changes in his basic architecture but so forward positions and good designed like his older brothers. And of course, neither the iMac nor the Cube have annoying fans that distract us; after all, gentlemen, this is Apple.

7/18/2000: Maxtor reaches the 80 GB on a hard disk IDE

    The North American manufacturer Maxtor, one of the giants on a global scale in hard disks manufacture, has just presented the new DiamondMax 80. This disc of 80 GB consists of 4 plates of 20 GB, expires with the standard IDE Ultra ATA/100 and turns 5.400 rpm (a relatively conservative number, probably to support his price in reasonable levels).
    The disc measures 1 inch of thickness, which is sufficiently little considering his enormous capacity. Other presented models of the same scale are DiamondMax Plus 45 (45 GB and 7.200 rpm) and the DiamondMax VL 40 (40 GB and 5.400 rpm), both Ultra ATA/100 and therefore capable of theoretical transferences of 100 MB/s (although this number turns out to be completely unattainable in the models of 5.400 rpm... and probably in of 7.200 rpm).