12/2/2000: New processors ROUTE Cyrix III

    More speed for the ROUTE processors; in this occasion the new models of his microprocessor of consumption will work to 650 and 667 MHz. With these incorporations, the scale of speeds included by Cyrix III will be 500, 533, 550, 600, 650 and 667 MHz.
    ROUTE acquired it does some time to Cyrix, as well as to Centaur, manufacturer of slightly known WinChip, and new Cyrix III base on the design of this company (well-known design like C5A), and not on that of the ancient Cyrix, as in the beginning it would be necessary to wait.
    These processors will be made by 0,18 microns technology, 128 KB of cache memory of the first level and buses both of 100 and of 133 MHz. Also, it is a question of processors compatible with the format Socket 370, that of the Celeron, but they are provided with the instructions 3DNow! of AMD, a curious combination.
    His poor yield (although quite acceptable in everything what there are no games 3D) turns out to be compensated with a few prices more than interesting (the new models only cost 55 and 60 $, in quantities of 1000 units), what joined to his low consumption (with a size of really small nucleus) they make it especially interesting in finished solutions along with chipsets integrated like i815.

11/30/2000: Philips and LG join to make monitors and flat screens

    The biggest company of manufacture of monitors CRT (with pipe of cathode beams) and there has just been born flat screens LCD, thanks to the union of the corresponding divisions of two giants, the Dutch Philips and the Korean LG. Both companies were already collaborating in the paragraph of screens LCD, with the joint enterprise "LG.Philips LCD".
    The agreement will be completed at the beginning of 2001; the joint enterprise will have approximately 36.000 personnel, every signature will inform 50 %, and the number will be one of the world, with approximately 6.000 million dollars in sales and a market share of 23 %. Enough behind will be Samsung, with 14 %.
    Of course, the agreement is dependent on approval for the corresponding regulatory authorities, to avoid possible monopolies. In the future nearby LG and Philips they will evaluate if also they will join efforts for the manufacture of flat screens of plasma, a technology every time with major demand.

11/28/2000: S3 it moves back (temporarily?) of the battle for the reign 3D

    NVIDIA took very seriously to go bust to 3dfx of the reign of the accelerating ones 3D, obtaining it immediately after the appearance of his family of chips GeForce. ATI, very far of leaving this battle, has made be respected thanks to the appearance of his chip RADEON. Now, with the future throwings of the RAMPAGE (of 3dfx) and the NV20 (of NVIDIA), the battle will be even harder and competitive...
    With this panorama, and after the relative defeat of the S3 Savage 2000, S3 a "sabbatical" year takes and it is restructured. On the one hand S3 it happens to be called SONICblue and the division of graphs of S3 will concentrate on the development of chips graphs integrated to the basic badges, especially in collaboration with ROUTE; such is the case of the future chipset with integrated video ROUTE KM133 for mikes AMD.
    S3, therefore, it leaves momentarily the battle "sand"... but it can that only momentarily, as there affirms Paul Ayscough, vice-president of marketing of S3: "we hope to return in 12 ó 18 months with something fresh and surprising".
    Nevertheless, S3 (from now on SONICblue) will not have it easy graphs integrated to the badges do a hollow to themselves in the manufacture of chips, after the recent announcements regarding NVIDIA and ATI. What is clear is that he will need the unconditional ROUTE support, and just in case it will diversify towards other products like breeding animals of MP3, PDAs, devices of communications...