10/29/2000: Another record on hard disks: SCSI of 73,9 GB in only 1 inch

    Hitachi announces a new thickness record in the unstoppable world of the hard disks: a disc of 73,9 GB for the interfaces SCSI or FCAL (optical fibre) in the 3,5 inche s limited format  and thickness of 1 inch.
    The device is named DK32DJ-72 and undoubtedly it is faced to the professional market (servants for networks, chains RAID, etc.), where it will substitute the 1,6 inches heavy devices . It turns 10.000 rpm and his cache memory or buffer can come up to the 16 MB big number , probably the biggest capacity of the market.
    Fortunately, the disc manages to reach these numbers without compromising other parameters, since it consumes environment to 11 watts, it produces less than 40 decibels of sound (for nothing I "silence", but yes reasonably) and the whole insurance has a resistance to the shock of up to 250 G..., because to lose 73,9 information GB does not turn out to be agreeable.

10/26/2000: Thrown portable Crusoe de Hitachi... in Japan

    Hitachi will throw on October 31 his new portable computers based on the chip of low consumption Crusoe, as they inform several places webs about news; we will have to believe them, since the original press release is in Japanese, and only the specifications are understood well...
    The names of the new portable ones will be Hitachi Flora and will come in two variants: one with the Crusoe TM5400 to 533 MHz, 64 MB of RAM, disc of 10 GB and screen of 10,4 " and other with the Crusoe TM5600 to 600 MHz, 128 MB of RAM and screen of 12,1 ". Both will be light, slightly less than 1,5 and 2 kg, respectively, of limited consumption (from 4 until 8 hours, according to the installed battery) and both are available only for the Japanese market...
    On the other hand, the first tests of yield realized to the chip for the specializing companies are turning out to be extremely polemic, due to the special design of the Crusoe, which realizes for software some tasks that the rest of mikes realizes for hardware.
    This does to the chip easily optimizable for different architectures and operating systems, in addition to reducing his consumption... but also it does that the first time that faces to a tests program his yield is very lower than the one that there will have the second or third time that executes it; let's say that the Crusoe "learns", he adapts himself to the program and his notes improve up to 30 % on having repeated the examination. Anyway, almost like the human beings...

10/23/2000: Intel presents the integrated chipset 815EM for portable

    Despite the strong harassment to which she turns out to be submitted in the last times by AMD, till not long ago almighty Intel keeps on supporting a clear predominance in some segments of the market, and that of the portable computers is undoubtedly one of them.
    In this occasion Intel it presents his new chipset to us 815EM, based on the acquaintance i815E for dessert computers; as this one, an integrated graphic checker includes, what allows to reduce the costs, the consumption and the size of the portable one. It is of hoping that his graphic potency should not be comparable to that of the powerful chip ATI Rage Mobility, but yes more than sufficient for the habitual applications that are used in these computers; just in case, AGP can be used chips 2X/4X external.
    The chipset includes all the characteristics of actuality, like native support of the technology of energy saving Intel SpeedStep (used in his mikes portable Pentium III), ATA/100, integrated network, more ports USB, and a multimedia orientation: exit of digital video, you improve for DVD and up to sound Dolby Digital Surround (in a portable one??).
    His price will be 47,50 $ and his use on big part of the manufacturers seems sure. It is a good moment so that Intel consolidates his leadership on this market, before AMD presents his Athlon and/or portable Duron and of that there spreads the use of the thifty person Crusoe...