Short takes from this week's technology
news
AMD moves closer to universal
virtualisation
AMD has introduced a specification for its virtualisation
technology that will enable PC manufacturers to build
virtualisation into future servers,
desktops and laptops. The technology, formerly codenamed
Pacifica, extends software virtualisation by supporting managing,
partitioning and securing I/O devices. AMD's I/O virtualisation
technology is expected to be supported by all AMD processors by
mid-2006, and implemented in chipsets and core logic designed for
AMD64-based platforms.
Primepower server sets new world speed
record
Fujitsu Siemens Computers' high-end server, Primepower 2500, has
achieved a world record in the Standard Performance Evaluation
Corporation Java Business Benchmark 2005, with performance of
1,157,619 business operations per second. The benchmark test was
run on a 128-way Primepower 2500 server using Sparc64 V processors
operating at 2.08 GHz.
Intel explores improved transistor
functions
Intel is working on technology to improve transistor power
efficiency and reduce motherboard power consumption. One approach
involves a dedicated voltage supply for the CPU and the cache
memory. The other approach integrates voltage regulators on to
transistors to improve efficiency. The introduction of Intel's
90-nanometer manufacturing technology in 2003, which massed
transistors together, encouraged Intel to look at controlling power
consumption.
IBM creates chips to speed up wireless
devices
IBM scientists have created a small, low-cost chipset that could
allow wireless devices to run 10-times faster than today's advanced
Wi-Fi networks. The technology is called silicon germanium, and can
send and receive information in a portion of the radio spectrum
that is both unlicensed and can carry a much higher volume of
data.