What happened to windows 9?  Just seen this in yahoo news this morning...

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/windows-10-undoes-the-disaster-of-windows-8-mostly...

Treading water with a broken arm.....

Now, MS claims that "this same software" is going to run on tablets and phones.

One suspects some "exaggeration for effect" here, or else Win 10 is going to have to go on a diet.

To pull this off for tablets and phones, Win 10 is going to have to make a lean and quick software -- finally.

http://liliputing.com/2014/10/wsj-hp-split-two-companies-pc-enterprise.html

HP to split into two companies (PC and enterprise)




MS's buddy HP has got some serious profit problems and does not think this year's end big sell off on all those Win 8.x laptops and tablets and stuff is going to help their bottom line at all.

As a matter of fact, to avoid a doom doom doom scenario HP is going to split itself into two parts ASAP, with all the good parts (printers, etc) going to the Enterprise Side and all the "suck us down into the dirt" and  "bound to make us fail" stuff going to the Consumer Side.

Then HP as Enterprise can still survive even if HP as consumer cannot.



So, Microsoft, don't be looking for those likely to fail StreamBooks to be coming out any time soon, Microsoft.



                                                     



Microsoft, guess what HP Enterprise thinks is your very best selling, very most successful MS software?  


     Yup, Windows 7  .....



http://liliputing.com/2014/10/hp-plans-split-2-companies-2-better-one.html


"It’s too early to say whether the split will result in better products for either consumer or enterprise markets. But HP is certainly hoping that two companies will be more profitable than one… or at least that if one fails, the other can still succeed. Profit margins for consumer devices have been shrinking in recent years thanks to falling prices of laptops, tablets, and other computers."

Lastly, Google has just now started pushing "Chromebooks for Christmas".    Google sells ads, yes, but when they have an unrented spot they are dropping in some filler ads for Chromebooks for Christmas.

When you click, you get some ChromeOS specific encouragements and a listing of everybody's chromebook products and a bunch of sources (Google customers) that sell them.



Microsoft couldn't buy that kind of ad campaign package, and Google can do it easily at no real cost to them.


One would hope that Google can fill all their ad spots with paid ads, but plugging their own stuff in any unpaid gaps sure beats that "empty billboard" look, now don't it?

http://www.cnx-software.com/2014/10/13/mele-pcg03-intel-quad-core-mini-pc-sel...

http://liliputing.com/2014/10/mele-pcg03-tiny-low-cost-intel-powered-mini-pc....





Mele PCG03 Specifications:

SoC – Intel Atom Z3735D “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz (Burst freq: 1.83 GHz) with Intel HD graphics
System Memory – Optional 1 or 2 GB DDR3
Storage – Optional 16, 32, or 64 GB eMMC + micro SD slot
Video Output – HDMI 1.4, VGA and Composite (RCA),
Audio I/F – HDMI, Stereo RCA, optical S/PDIF, and MIC and earphone jack.
Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
USB – 2x USB 2.0 host
Power Supply – N/A

Now THIS is a potentially real (but graphics weaker and slower running) chromebox competitor.  

Coming out of Mele from China at a $49 mfg cost (likely around $100 landed in the USA price point) this is a bare bones priced Mele box that takes advantage of the Intel chipset loss leader pricing, the intel Tech Support dollars AND the free BingOS from MS.

We have not seen all the details yet, but some earlier deluxe Mele boxes had SATA jacks as well (the drive sat vertical to the motherboard and had a slot in the case).  The next version of this basic box will have some added features if it is successful in China.

This box will likely sell well in China and in the 3rd World where things don't have to be bloody fast all the time, just so they do work.

This is the first really successful fruit out of MS and Intel's efforts as they didn't pay Mele to do this box (well, no direct bribe was needed, just the standard technical support $$$ and the standard loss leader pricing on the chipsets and the free Windows).   Mele came out with this themselves.

I suspect the Chinese will continue to use this Wintel stuff until the price supports end, but by then Intel will have accomplished getting into the Chinese supply chain and MS will have their Chinese market presence with their Windows OS.

SO, IF INTEL AND MS CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO REMAIN PROFITABLE (as whole corporations) AT THESE BELOW COST PRICE POINTS AND TO CONTINUE DOING THEM OUT INTO THE FUTURE THEY MIGHT WELL WIN IN THE CHROME WARS.

This last little desktop computer (because that is what it is) signals a reverse flow point in the Chrome Wars.  If Intel and MS can continue selling at such a strong loss leader position then the $79 dollar cheap Windows tablets and the $100 cheap Windows desktops can continue rolling out of China then they will continue their come back against Android and ChromeOS.

Intel is using their high profit big chipset's excess profits to fund this trick, and MS is using the large flow of support dollars from US business market to fund the free Windows.

And, yes they CAN continue doing this for years and years .....  but as their low end sales volume finally goes up and up will their stockholders continue to let them dump an ever increasing $$$ flow down that price support rat hole?

Remember, Chromeboxes and Chromebooks make a real profit living in this low end neighborhood.

http://liliputing.com/2014/10/rockchip-intel-launch-first-chip-together-low-c...

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/06/23/digging-further-into-intel-c...

Rockchip and Intel launch first TWO CHIPSET NON-INTEGRATED "chip" together for low-cost phones and tablets



"The XMM 6321 chipset features   (in a two chipset non-integrated system)   a XG632 dual-core ARM Cortex-A5 processor and AG620 wireless chip for 2G, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

Phones and tablets with the chip should support GSM networks and they should be cheap: Charbax from ARMDevices reports we could see phones priced around $30 and tablets priced at $40 — although Charbax has a habit of mixing up wholesale and retail prices. So don’t be surprised if actual products with XMM 6321 chips cost a bit more than that."

EEEW, You got SOPHIA on the bottom of your shoe AGAIN !!!      

And like all the previous two dozen little stinky sophias this one is NON-INTEGRATED, requires multiple chips, brown and icky and vapory and smells really really bad.

It is a TWO CHIPSET SYSTEM with a canned 28nm dual-core ARM Cortex-A5 chipset design except it uses the same super cheap dumb phone modem radio that Intel builds in bulk at TSMC.      

Wooooooo ......  such progress from the industry leader.   For this we have waited most of a year now?

Wow, this is what makes it an Intel Chipset ????  
The either 2g or 3g outdated dumb phone MODEM RADIO (not a very good radio either) that Intel builds in bulk at TSMC????

Hang down your head in SHAME, Intel.    It isn't even using your CPU or GPU cores at all ...... Nothing in that chipset came from you at all, really, except that antique modem radio -- you are just bribing Rockchip to put your name on their normal stock low end ARM product and run it with your antique modem radio so you can mislead your stockholders that you finally sold some "Intel" phone chips into China.

More and better information is going to come out on this later on --- we shall see.

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/191089-you-can-now-stream-photoshop-to-y...



You can now stream Photoshop to your Chromebook: A huge win for Google

If you remember, the original big protest against ChromeOS was that you couldn't do MS Office or Adobe Photoshop on a Chromebook.

Well, Microsoft put Office on-line a while ago and now so has Adobe with their on-line Photoshop and other Creative Group apps.

The sole hang out now is your mainstream CAD programs,  AutoCad and company .....    

       really?            

..... whups, I'm sorry about that, MS,   just guess who snuck on-line a while ago and didn't even make much of a fuss about doing it?


https://www.autocad360.com/


OK, how is full Windows better than a Chromebook again?  

OK, when you have no connectivity at all then Windows is better.
 
But really, when was the last time that happened to you?

Lithography news

20nm lithography will only be news for a few short months.  

Apple has shipped ALL OF THEIR 20nm A8 Chipsets now and admits already being in production on the A9 (quad core ??) 14nm chipset at Samsung/Global.  

Samsung and Global have 2 each (4 total) 14nm lines up and running between them right now and all of these are filled up with Apple A9 at the moment.   Remember, 14nm is still sorta slow running compared to 20nm or 28mn.

TSMC is moving their current focus from 20nm planar to 16nm FinFET and the production level crank up of their first production FinFET lithography processes.  

Right now only Samsung and Global (who have a production technology sharing deal with IBM) have a real functional 14nm production capability for ARM chipsets right now.

ARM is done with 20nm at this point, it is moving rapidly down into FinFET land instead.   Other than slight bragging rights, a 20nm is too too similar to 28nm to make it a worthwhile stop for most of the chip makers out there.   They will leap directly from 28nm down to 14/16nm when the time comes.

Resisting this move strongest are the Chinese chip makers,  who will cling to the low low cost 28nm production lines until they just plain have to leave them behind.

Top end ARM chipsets are VERY POWERFUL right now compared to real mobile computing needs.   Very few new state of the art chipsets are needed compared to the vast sea of 28nm dual core and quad core designs that are going into the 3rd World's very first smart phones.   Android itself is going on a diet, requiring EVEN LESS resources in the current predominate mass of the 32 bit OS driven products.  

Android L and the 64 bit systems will create a divide between big processor, big memory 64 bit Android Lollipop systems and the MUCH cheaper thinner sleeker 32 bit Android 1 system types.

Microsoft was intending to go compete against Firefox OS in the emerging 3rd world markets, thinking that Rockchip/Intel was going to give them a low enough cost yet powerful enough dual core A7 chipset to do that.  

So far this has not happened -- not even close.  

Right now Intel is terrified about the Apple designed 14nm quad core A9 as it can substitute freely into all of Apple's laptops at very short notice.  

Intel has told the world that 14nm Skylake for Apple laptops is going to be ready in early 2015 at a very low cost so Intel can keep on supplying chipsets to Apple for laptops.  

Apple has told the world that if Intel bobbles this Skylake Hail Mary pass of theirs that they will lose Apple's laptops to the Samsung/Global produced Apple A9 almost instantly.

And stay lost .... forever ....

Also note that Samsung is once again Apple's current chip maker du jour  ....    Ironic, ain't it?    

Intel wanted that job too, but Apple said no.   Four running lines vs 1 or mebbe 2 lines, not a hard decision for Apple to make for 2015.

The new Artemis and Maya ARM next generation big-LITTLE 64 bit system designs have now been given to Apple (and Apple has shared parts of them with Samsung) so the Apple A9 might have some brand new ARM next generation tech in it as well.    

Remember, as a 33% owner of ARM, Apple gets all the new ARM stuff at least a year ahead of anybody else .....