Tag Archives: Atom

Intel’s Sean Maloney shows off, er, Via nanobook

A PRESENTATION FROM Intel’s recent analyst meeting had Mr Sean Maloney of this parish showing off the Atom, soon to be the centre of a marketing blitz.

The unfortunate thing is that after dilating on the “new” category of “Netbooks”, Sean proudly showed off a page from Computerwoche on slide 38 of this presentation which seems to be, a er Via Nanobook.

Shorely shome mishtake?♥

Intel Atom chip to cost $44

CHIP FIRM INTEL HAS priced up the  N270 Atom notebook chip, according to Digitimes.

It will cost $44, but the wire didn’t say when the chip will be released. Intel will also introduce two Merom 65 nanometre Montevina Centrino 2 chips at $107 and $86, 2.16GHz and 2GHz models.

Digitimes is here. ♣

Intel’s “Atom” is unlike Acorn’s “Atom”

SOMEWHERE in this murky brown study I have an Acorn Atom – really it was a prototype for the BBC Micro, which Acorn also made.
The Acorn Atom was an early personal computer and had some nightmare qualities – the microprocessor got so hot that I had to use a hacksaw to stop the plastic casing melting onto the chip.
Interesting chip design, the Intel Atom. Wouldn’t it be better, though, if Intel used an ARM chip rather than basically producing something which seems to be rather close to the Via C7 family?
But it’s got hyperthreading, and my Acorn Atom could barely run a single thread successfully, although must say the BBC Micro was a vast improvement and did some very nice RISCy things.
Still this whole semiconductor market isn’t anything to do with chip design these days, is it? The Alpha is the undead while the Itanium lingers on like the ghost of Christmas Past.