TechEye |  |
- Xbox One will not inherit AMD Mantle
- AMD chips give MacBook Pros a stinking headache
- Warrior charges into chip war
- Zettaset sues Intel
- Apple's phones are cannibals
- Facebook buys data squeezer
| Xbox One will not inherit AMD Mantle Posted: 15 Oct 2013 02:58 AM PDT AMD has been proudly showing off its new API designed to unlock its graphics potential of its Graphics Core Next (GCN). Dubbed Mantle, many people assumed that Mantle would allow game developers an easy way to co-develop for PC and next-gen consoles. This was a logical thing given that both Microsoft and Sony had signed up for AMD chips in their next console refreshes. But according to the Microsoft App developer bog this ain't necessarily so. Mantle does not work with the Xbox One, despite the similar graphics architecture found in its custom-built AMD Jaguar APU. The console solely relies on Direct3D 11.x with specific enhancements designed for "close to metal" performance on the system. We are guessing, but it would appear hat Mantle is not compatible with the PlayStation 4 either, particularly after AMD hinted that the technology was designed only on the PC. It is unlikely that a lack of Mantle in the Xbox One or PS4 will change much. Game developers who want to implement it will do so, but it might slow the development of the API, as it won't be familiar to console developers. |
| AMD chips give MacBook Pros a stinking headache Posted: 15 Oct 2013 02:57 AM PDT Users of 2011 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pros are finding that their AMD graphics processors are letting them down and that they need a $500 logic board replacement. Several threads on Apple's Support Communities forum suggest that the problem presents itself as a graphical glitch or complete system lockup. The problem appears to be caused when the MacBook Pro switches from the integrated Intel graphics chip to the discrete AMD GPU. According to Apple Insider, the first problems cropped up in February, but are increasing. What appears to have happened is that Apple introduced the automatic graphics switching system, which shifts the processing load between the integrated chip and the discrete GPU based on what the user is doing. First users get display discoloration, banding, and image distortion, but others say that their computers suddenly freeze without any warning. Rebooting rarely fixes the problem. The majority of affected users are using early-2011 MacBook Pros with the AMD Radeon 6750M GPU. However failures are not limited to that chip as those using the Radeon 6490M, 6750M, and 6970M GPUs are also experiencing the problem. Of course Apple has been slow to respond and have been telling users without AppleCare that they will have to buy a new logic board which will set them back $500 or more. They are also treated to a stare from the Apple Genius as to why they owned such an old laptop when the true Apple religion demands a yearly upgrade. Apple 2011 laptop range appears to be mourning the death of Steve Jobs, with problems on the models now stretches over more than 140 pages with over 2,000 replies on one site alone. |
| Posted: 15 Oct 2013 02:55 AM PDT Imagination's first MIPS based Warrior CPU core will be delivered to device makers by the end of the year. It will mean the first shots in a war to make the MIPS architecture a more potent rival to ARM and x86. Imagination is better known for its graphics chips, which are, are already under the bonnet of the pricier smartphones and tablets. Last year it bought MIPS Technologies to try to build a CPU business as well. MIPS chips are more common in network gear such as routers and gateways, and in home media products including TVs and set-top boxes. Imagination MIPS would work in low-power servers and Android smartphones and tablets. Warrior chips, also dubbed MIPS Series 5, are part of that cunning plan. According to PC World, the first chip will be the MIPS P5600. This is a 32-bit design that will be offered with as many as six cores and a clock speed of 2GHz. This is twice the performance of the current proAptiv MIPS chips at the same clock speed and manufacturing process. Imagination said the P5600 will be available for licensing in the current quarter, which means it should appear in products in about 18 months. Mark Throndson, Imagination's director of processor technology marketing said that the Warrior chips can handle 128-bit SIMD, which allows more instructions to be run in parallel, improving performance in areas such as video and audio playback. There are also hardware virtualisation capabilities which will improve security, because multiple operating systems will be able to run on a single core without those data sets being able to interact. This will be handy for set-top boxes that have to handle security schemes for Hulu, Amazon and Netflix or banking apps. The P5600 provides a wider data address space of 40 bits, that will allow it to address more memory than normal 32-bit MIPS processors. The company has said it will release further Warrior designs next year, including the first 64-bit Warrior CPU. |
| Posted: 15 Oct 2013 02:54 AM PDT Startup, Zettaset has sued the fashion bag maker Intel over its Intel Manager for Apache Hadoop product, claiming Chipzilla nicked its trade secrets. In a press release, Zettaset claims that Intel illegally extracted trade secrets from Zettaset's product and technology. This meant that Intel Manager for Apache Hadoop Software now mirrors the features and functionality of Zettaset's Orchestrator software. Zettaset's Orchestrator product simplifies the deployment and management of Hadoop clusters and sells itself based on the product's security features. The company changed its name to Zettaset in 2011, before that it was known by the handle GOTO Metrics. It has raised $13 million in venture capital. Intel made its foray into the Hadoop market in early 2013 with the Intel Distribution and Intel Manager for Apache Hadoop software although it had a Hadoop distribution in China for a while before that. What appears to have happened was that since early 2012, Zettaset and Intel were best of friends and worked on Zettaset's Hadoop management layer, which was the outfit's enterprise software platform, Orchestrator. Word on the street was that Intel was planning to invest in the company and Intel was going to build a Hadoop appliance powered by Zettaset. Then at the beginning of the year Intel announced its own product. Intel had access to Zettaset's product and technology, including proprietary and confidential information, but the relationship worked right up until the point where Intel announced a Hadoop management framework directly competitive to Zettaset's Orchestrator product. Zettaset President and CEO Jim Vogt said in an official statement that Zettaset does not like courts, or lawyers, or litigation, but it had an obligation to our shareholders and investors to protect its intellectual property, which was a key value to its business. |
| Posted: 15 Oct 2013 02:52 AM PDT It appears that Apple's cunning plan to save its floundering bottom line by releasing two phones in the market at the same time has failed. Earlier Apple released a cheap and cheerful iPhone 5C and more expensive iPhone 5S. The idea was that the 5C would encourage people lead to harder drugs, such as the more expensive phones, and people would be forever hooked into Apple's Walled Garden of Delights. At the time, we did not think the 5C would sell well and when it did, it was bought by a 5S user looking for something cheaper. Now according to a Chinese website Ctechcn, Apple has slashed production on its 5C. This is partly because of sluggish sales, but mostly because those sales which are made are cannibalising the more expensive 5S. Ctechcn reported that Apple has limited production of the 5C from 300,000 per day to 150,000 per day. This would fall in line with reports that the iPhone 5S was outselling the iPhone 5C by more than two to one. It is looking like the iPhone 5 had a slightly more successful launch than the iPhone 5S with 68 percent of new sales compared to 64 percent accounted by the 5S. CIRP cofounder Josh Lowitz warned AllThingsD that the lower-priced phones have tended to gain share versus the flagship phone, after the initial rush of dedicated upgraders to the newest device. He thinks that the 5C will account for a higher percent of total US iPhone sales in the coming months. It is fairly clear that Apple does not want that and will attempt to limit the 5Cs distribution to cash strapped regions which will not buy a 5S because it was too pricey. |
| Posted: 14 Oct 2013 07:20 AM PDT Social notworking company Facebook has bought a 40 strong company in Israel. |
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