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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim McMannis who wrote (50995)	2/26/1999 3:33:00 AM
From: Paul Engel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1583547

Jimbo - This Development ought to Burn Your Toast ! Intel has been "shepherding" a new version of Linux, written by Cygnus, that utilizes the MMX and SSE/KNI instructions for IMPROVED operating system performance. An updated C Compiler - which also makes use of the MMX and SSE/KNI instructions - will further improve software performance written and compiled with the Cygnus C Compiler. "Intel said the new compiler will deliver a double-whammy performance boost. Not only will software compiled with the new technology run faster on Intel hardware, the operating system itself will too, Pope said." Intel is pushing Linux as hard as it can - in Intel's direction. Maybe Komrade Billski Jackson will get the FTC to force Intel to fund a 3DNOW version of their Linux & C Compiler !!!! Paul {=============================} Intel funds move to boost Linux on Pentium By Stephen Shankland Staff Writer, CNET News.com February 25, 1999, 4 a.m. PT URL: news.com Linux got a serious shot in the arm with news that it will benefit from an Intel-funded effort to add support for Pentium MMX and Pentium III instructions. Cygnus and Intel announced that core Linux programming tools will gain support for the Pentium MMX instructions and optimization for Intel's chip architecture. In addition, Cygnus has begun work on bringing the Pentium III's new SSE instructions to Linux, and early versions of those improvements will begin emerging in the summer, said Scott Petry, vice president of marketing at Cygnus. According to Cygnus, the company that performed the work, Linux programs running on Intel hardware will run 30 to 40 percent faster as a result. The improved software is in beta testing now and should reach full distribution by the end of June, Petry said. Intel's continuing support for Linux is in line with the Santa Clara chipmaker's efforts to make its chips the basis for lots of different operating systems: It's not just Windows anymore. Intel wants its chips to be the "unifying architecture of choice where you can have your operating system of choice," said Mike Pope, manager of enterprise software programs at Intel. "We want to make sure that operating systems that are relevant and demanded by users are optimized to take advantage of the latest features." "Clearly, Intel wants to expand its market share beyond the Microsoft-oriented desktops and servers," said Tom Henkel, an analyst at Gartner Group. "They seem to be willing to invest in anything that might foster that cause." Intel is investing very heavily in several Unix vendors' efforts to move their operating system to Intel's upcoming 64-bit chips, Henkel said. "You can pretty much get a million dollars out of Intel if you can get them to stay awake through the whole presentation," he quipped. Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics, Santa Cruz Operation, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard are making their versions of the Unix operating system work on Intel's forthcoming 64-bit chips. Under contract from Intel, Cygnus has been updating the software that's used to make chips like the Pentium understand the software that people write. This technology, called the compiler, translates programs written in high-level languages like C or C++ into machine language for the chip. But not all compilers are created equal, and the default Linux compiler, GNU's GCC, has some catching up to do. Linux software still speaks the language of the 386 chip, which Intel introduced in 1985. It doesn't include support for the MMX multimedia instructions added in 1997 or for the new SSE instructions that arrived with the Pentium III. Cygnus personnel, who write compilers for the Pentium and other chips for a living and who wrote about 80 percent of the code for the GNU compiler, have been updating the compiler to support the newer chips. Intel said the new compiler will deliver a double-whammy performance boost. Not only will software compiled with the new technology run faster on Intel hardware, the operating system itself will too, Pope said. Because the MMX and SSE instructions improve a Pentium's number-crunching abilities as well as its two-dimensional and three-dimensional drawing features, the compiler enhancements will improve Linux' workstation performance, Pope said. The GNU compiler is released as open source software, meaning that anyone can see and modify it. Some programmers have been improving the compiler to improve Linux performance, said Cygnus' Kim Knuttila, and Cygnus has incorporated some of those patches into its work. Last year, Intel invested in Linux distributor Red Hat, though Pope is careful to mention it's not an exclusive relationship that precludes work with other Linux distributors. "Our objective was to use them to make sure the right Linux operating system features are being incorporated to match our product releases," Pope said.

To: Jim McMannis who wrote (50995)	2/26/1999 3:43:00 AM
From: Paul Engel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1583547

Jimbo - Here's something for the K63 to shoot for: "Geyserville will be introduced in the mobile version of Intel's Pentium III processor, which is due by the end of the year. The mobile Pentium III will run at 600 MHz or faster in high-performance mode, and around 500 MHz when the user is mobile, Jecman said. " The K63 ought to do quite a bit better than this, eh Jimmy ? Paul {==================================} infoworld.com Intel touts technology to bring mobile-desktop parity By James Niccolai InfoWorld Electric Posted at 6:21 AM PT, Feb 25, 1999 PALM SPRINGS, Calif -- As expected, Intel demonstrated a new mobile processor technology here Wednesday that it said will allow notebook performance to almost match that of desktop PCs before the end of the year. The new technology, code-named Geyserville, allows a chip to operate in two modes -- a high-performance mode and a battery-optimized mode. When a notebook is plugged into a main power outlet, the processor runs at its maximum clock speed. When the notebook is unplugged, Geyserville allows the chip to automatically drop to a lower frequency mode, preserving battery life. Power consumption has been one of the chief inhibitors of faster clock speeds in notebook computers. "This is a revolutionary technology that will allow us to offer unprecedented levels of mobile computing power without compromising battery life at all," said Robert Jecmen, vice president and general manager of Intel's mobile and handheld products group, in a presentation Wednesday at the Intel Developer Forum here. Geyserville will be introduced in the mobile version of Intel's Pentium III processor, which is due by the end of the year. The mobile Pentium III will run at 600 MHz or faster in high-performance mode, and around 500 MHz when the user is mobile, Jecman said. As well as allowing the processor to run at a lower clock speed, Geyserville also switches the voltage operation of the processor, further conserving battery life. One analyst here said Intel will probably give users the option to switch to full-power mode even when they are mobile. This would drain the battery quickly but provide users on the road with a short burst of performance if they need it, said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64 in Saratoga, Calif. Besides the faster clock speed, the mobile Pentium III will also benefit from a 30 percent increase in the front-side bus speed over today's mobile Pentium II, as well as a large on-chip Level 2 cache and a set of processor instructions designed to boost multimedia performance. The bus speed affects how fast the processor can exchange data with other parts of the system. Intel's fastest mobile Pentium II today runs at 366 MHz. Before the mobile Pentium III is introduced, Intel plans to switch to an advanced manufacturing process midyear, known as 0.18 micron, that will allow it to crank the speed of the Pentium II up to 433 MHz, Jecmen said. Geyserville was demonstrated here Wednesday with a Pentium II processor which ran at 500 MHz on mains power and 400 MHz on batteries. Intel Corp., based in Santa Clara, Calif., can be reached at www.intel.com. James Niccolai is a San Francisco correspondent for the IDG News Service, an InfoWorld affiliate. Related articles: "Intel to reveal high-speed mobile technology" Go to the Week's Top News Stories Please direct your comments to InfoWorld Deputy News Editor, Carolyn April Copyright © 1999 InfoWorld Media Group Inc. InfoWorld Electric is a member of IDG.net

To: Jim McMannis who wrote (50995)	2/26/1999 3:54:00 AM
From: Paul Engel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1583547

Jimbo - If you live anywhere near one of these stores, you can drop in TODAY and compare the new Pentium III PCs to the AMD K63 PCs. Oh....better bring your own AMD K63 PC - I doubt these stores will have one for you to "compare". Paul {==============================} On February 26, the newest PCs based on the Intel® Pentium® III processor can be found at these and other retail stores in the U.S. Check back soon for links to retail store Web sites. Best Buy Brandsmart Circuit City CompUSA.COM Datavision Fry's Electronics Future Shop Gateway Country Stores The Good Guys Home Shopping Network J&R Computer World MicroCenter Office Depot Onsale.com Sam's Club Sears Staples