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To: Pigboy who wrote (50394)	3/10/1998 4:54:00 AM
From: Paul Engel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 186894

Pigboy - Re: "Is this an oxymoron or am I not seeing clearly?" This statement is consistent with Sun's posture on CPU architecture. They will port Solaris to the IA64 Merced architecture - to run on Merced servers manufactured by x86 server manufacturers - Compaq, Dell, etc. Sun will continue to design, build and sell UltraSparc based servers and workstations, which will run, as usual, on Solaris. Sun claims to have no interest - EVER - in making Merced-based hardware. That's what they currently say. In the future, I would assume they will be pragmatic enough to make what their customers demand - Sparc, Merced or whatever. Paul

To: Pigboy who wrote (50394)	3/10/1998 5:05:00 AM
From: Paul Engel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Intel Investors - Katmai Notebooks already? Intel still hasn't rolled out the 233 Mhz and 266 MHz Deschutes (Pentium II) notebooks [April 2 ??] and already they are discussing 350 MHz and 450 MHz Katmai notebooks! Dual mode, no less: A. 350 MHz - battery power B. 450 MHz - when plugged in to the AC outlet Now that's an innovation than even Fuchi will love! Intel is treating us to two roller coaster rides - one with their stock price, the other with their technology! Paul {=========================} infoworld.com Katmai goes dual mode By Ephraim Schwartz and Andy Santoni InfoWorld Electric Posted at 7:34 AM PT, Mar 9, 1998 In a technical advance that promises to give users the best of both desktop and notebook computing, Intel is developing a mobile version of its next-generation Pentium II processor, code-name Katmai, that runs at almost desktop speeds when plugged in and at a slower speed when running off the battery. Due out late this year or early in 1999, the Katmai design will allow notebooks to run at 450 MHz when used as a replacement for a desktop running an operating system such as Windows NT when plugged into an electrical outlet, and it will throttle down to 350 MHz when used as a portable system, numerous industry sources said. Industry analysts and system OEMs see major benefits for both IS managers and manufacturers. "IS managers can have their cake and eat it too: It will bridge the gap between desktops and notebooks," one OEM source said. "Assuming the $1,000 PC accelerates desktop volume, you have to do something or the ratio of desktop-to-notebook sales will increase." However, most notebook systems will undergo a major redesign this year to accommodate the increased performance of the chip, as well as the likelihood that the system bus will increase to 100 MHz. "The CPU is only part of the problem," said Linley Gwennap, editor in chief of the Microprocessor Report, in Sunnyvale, Calif. "Anything that hooks up to that bus has to run faster." The chip will consume as much as 14 watts to 15 watts when running in high-performance mode. Intel's packaging will move heat away from the chip, but the system designer will be responsible for passing heat from the CPU assembly out of the notebook. "We may have to rearchitect the chassis to accept a deeper heat sink," one OEM said. "Coming up with ways to get the heat out of the system will separate the men from the boys," another OEM said. "Some manufacturers who don't have the [research and development] may have to ship an external fan with the system to use when it is running at 450 MHz." "It means a redesign of the motherboard, as well as coming up with a secondary method of cooling," yet another manufacturer said. "Maybe we'll need a second fan that comes on when the system is plugged in." Other sources say a 100-MHz system bus could also be problem. "Essentially, notebook manufacturers with the best [research and development] will overcome the problems first," one source said. Larger heat sinks, heat pipes, and increased shielding for electromagnetic interference emissions also means bigger and heavier notebooks just when IS managers are warming up to smaller mobile devices, such as Windows CE devices. "If we had handhelds that had a real e-mail client on them, half of the people [at Colgate-Palmolive] would be traveling with them instead of notebooks," said Forrest Jerome, director of technology IS and services at Colgate-Palmolive, in Piscataway, N.J., and a member of the InfoWorld Corporate Advisory Board. Intel Corp., in Santa Clara, Calif., is at intel.com. Go to the Week's Top News Stories Please direct your comments to InfoWorld Electric Deputy News Editor Carolyn April Copyright c 1998 InfoWorld Media Group Inc. InfoWorld Electric is a member of IDG.net