Processors

Intel confirms it's building an Internet TV service and box

A lot has been written about Intel's TV push, but the company has largely remained silent -- until today.

Erik Huggers, the head of Intel Media, joined Walt Mossberg onstage at AllThingsD's media conference to confirm that Intel will be introducing an Internet-based TV service and box this year.

Intel will be providing the hardware and services directly to consumers, and the box will come with a camera that can detect who is in front of the TV. Huggers declined to provide many details -- including the service's name and programming partners -- but he said the … Read more

Microsoft Surface Pro set for sales on Saturday

With the Surface Pro set to go on sale Saturday, consumers will have a pretty stark choice between two Microsoft tablets that look remarkably similar.

When I walked into my local Los Angeles Microsoft Store earlier this week -- where the Pro was already on display next to the RT model -- it was hard to tell right off the bat which Surface was which.

Not surprising, since both tablets display the same Metro screen and there's a mere 4.2mm difference in thickness.

So, let's recap what sets the Pro apart from the RT version. … Read more

Intel-based phablet on the way from Asus

Asus, the maker of Google's Nexus 7, will debut a 7-inch Fonepad at Mobile World Congress later this month, according to sources familiar with the product.

Reports say the Fonepad may be priced in the same ballpark as -- or slightly higher than -- the Nexus 7 but below the MeMO Pad, which Asus launched Friday in Asia.

Leaked photos show it with an aluminum body and an Intel badge on the back.

An independent source familiar with the product has confirmed the Fonepad with CNET.

Widely-reported specifications include Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), an Intel Atom processor with … Read more

Microsoft Surface Pro shows off its inner ultrabook

Is the Surface Pro a tablet or a laptop? Well, let's put it this way: benchmarks put it squarely in the laptop category, leaving Apple and Android tablets in the dust.

Chip review site Anandtech ran benchmarks on the solid-state drive in Microsoft's new Surface Pro tablet, underscoring the performance gap with the flash drive in Apple's iPad 4.

It's a "full blown" SSD, wrote Anand Shimpi of Anandtech, referring to Micron Technology's C400 solid-state drive in the Surface that Anandtech tested.

The Micron SSD posted speeds of 400 megabytes-per-second when reading data … Read more

Amateur effort finds new largest prime number

The Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS) project has scored its 14th consecutive victory, discovering the largest prime number so far.

The number, 2 to the power of 57,885,161 minus 1, is a digit that's 17,425,170 digits long. That's big enough that if you want to see the full text, you'll have to brace yourself for a 22.5MB download.

GIMPS, a cooperative project splitting the search across thousands of independent computers, announced the find yesterday after it had been confirmed by other checks. At present, there are 98,980 people and 574 … Read more

Surface Pro lands at Microsoft Store

Update: This post was updated on February 4 and February 5 with additional commentary and videos.

LOS ANGELES -- The Surface Pro has arrived early at Microsoft stores.

Locations, such as the store near Beverly Hills, Calif., now have the Pro -- slated for sale this Saturday -- on display and available for anyone to use.

So, I spent about an hour with Pro and came away impressed. More impressed than I was initially with Surface RT.

In a word, smooth. In the very limited time I used it, I experienced no lag or stuttering on graphics-intensive sites and videos. … Read more

Smartphone growth slowing? Not according to Qualcomm

What smartphone market weakness?

Many questions have emerged about slowing growth in the global phone market, but chipmaker Qualcomm doesn't appear to be having any problems.

The San Diego company, which helped popularize the CDMA technology used in cell phones, today reported record results for its fiscal first quarter. It also boosted its expectations for fiscal 2013 revenue and earnings and provided a better-than-anticipated forecast for the current period.

Qualcomm Chief Executive Paul Jacobs noted that revenue, adjusted earnings, and chipset shipments all set records in the quarter ended Dec. 30. He attributed the results to "growing global … Read more

Samsung to be fined $900 over fatal gas leak -- report

Samsung will be fined for belatedly reporting a fatal hydrofluoric gas leak at one of its Korean facilities to authorities, according to a new report.

The gas leak reportedly occurred sometime on Sunday (the exact timeline isn't clear, due to conflicting reports out of Korea) at a Samsung semiconductor facility south of Seoul. Several hours later, Samsung contacted crew members from a maintenance company to clean up the leak. Five crew members arrived on the scene and started to clean up the spill. However, one of the individuals, who was reportedly not wearing a full hazmat suit, died due … Read more

Death at plant throws Samsung under investigative lens -- report

A worker at a Samsung facility in Korea has died after an incident at one of its semiconductor facilities.

According to Korean news service Yonhap, the incident began around 11 p.m. local time last night when a 132-gallon tank of hydrofluoric acid started leaking at the company's facility. At 5 a.m. this morning, 2.6 gallons leaked in gas form. Samsung contacted STI Service, a maintenance company, to fix the leak. One person died from exposure to the acid, while four others were hospitalized.

Yonhap today claims to have spoken to a Samsung spokesperson, who said that … Read more