Intel Sues Over "Intel" Trademark Infringement

 Intel has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Salt lake City-based Intelspec, LLC.

In its filing, Intel claims that Intelspec uses a "name and mark that wholly incorporates and emphasizes the world-famous Intel trademark." According to Intel, the result is confusion and assumptions that Intel may be the source or sponsor of the goods and services provided by Intelspec - or "that there is an association" between the two companies. Intel also claims that Intelspec dilutes the Intel trademark.
The chip maker is asking for a judgment that would, at Intel's discretion, cancel or transfer all rights to the intelspec.com domain name to Intel. Intel also wants a judgment that forces Intelspec to "cancel or modify" its corporate name, as well as a reward for damages and profits Intelspec has taken because it was using "Intel" in its name.
The suit is somewhat strange as Intelspec is not even remotely active in a segment that would affect Intel's core business. Intelspec is a construction and engineering firm that is, for example, taking contracts for waste management facilities, mining, oilfield infrastructure, as well as military and government construction. Only lawyers may be able to understand how Intelspec could have capitalized in its business by using "Intel" as part of its name.
This one just doesn't look right and it may be common sense to see that it would take quite a bit to confuse a construction firm with a chipmaker, as long as we aren't considering fab construction. In that case, Intel could argue that there may be confusion, but it would be tough to prove that Intel's interests have been damaged as a result of that circumstance. Intelspec does not have a trademark on its name.
However, the trademark suit follows a series of previous trademark complaints. In June of this year, Intel filed a complaint with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center that asked for the cancellation or transfer of 15 different domain names that included the "Pentium" trademark.

Source: Tom's Hardware

Sandy Bridge Owners Can Rent CinemaNow HD Movies

Intel is once again trying to leverage Hollywood fame to promote its processors. 


The company said that owners of PCs with Sandy Bridge processors can now buy or rent movies from CinemaNow in 1080p resolution via its "Intel Insider" program. Previously, CinemaNow only offered standard definition movies, Intel said. Intel also offers movies from the Warner Bros., however, that content is not limited to Intel-based PCs only.
Intel has some history using movie content as a promotional tool for its chips. Some readers may remember Viiv, a brand and software that Intel used back in 2006 to market certain Intel PCs as home entertainment systems. Back then, Intel invested into a Clickstar, a venture co-founded with Academy award-winning actor Morgan Freeman. Clickstar was supposed to produce movies that were solely distributed over the Internet and made available on Intel Viiv PCs. Clickstar became the first company to actually offer a movie for download, 10 Items or less, in 2006, but was eventually shut down in 2008.
Intel has become much more careful since then and the investment into the exclusive partnership with CinemaNow (trademark owned by BestBuy) is probably not quite as expensive as ClickStar.

Source: Tom's Hardware

Sandy Bridge-E VT-d Broken In C1 Stepping, Fixed In C2 Stepping, Shortly After Launch

PC enthusiast customers and companies running corporate datacentres looking to buy into the new Sandy Bridge-E platform may want to wait a little while before handing over their hard-earned money to Intel. The initial batch of C1 revision Sandy Bridge-E processors have a bug – “errata” in Intel terminology – in them with VT-d, which means that hardware accelerated virtualization doesn’t work properly with them (software only mode is unaffected). The feature when working properly, allows all hardware acceleration to work on the hosted operating system (virtual machine). This would allow things such as hard drive controllers to work, plus applications such as high-powered 3D games, typically First Person Shooters, to run at nearly full speed and the full Windows Aero desktop to be displayed on the hosted OS, as the hardware features of the graphics card can be used. Therefore, working VT-d is a critical feature for these kinds of applications.

Production of the C1 stepping should have already started, or is about to start. However, the C2 stepping isn’t expected until next year, as the qualification process isn’t expected to be complete until the end of this year.

Intel will only certify the Waimea Bay platform for PCI Express 2.0 at launch, since there aren’t enough third party cards to test with. Some PCI Express 3.0 devices are still likely to work, but Intel doesn’t guarantee compatibility. This doesn’t bode well for the current 6-series motherboard with gen 3 switches actually working properly once cards and especially, Ivy Bridge processors arrive. Waiting for full qualification before purchasing is therefore advised, or an expensive motherboard replacement may be required in the not too distant future.

There is some good news however. For those wanting to continue using Windows XP, the Waimea Bay platform will be compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the operating system. However, Intel won’t be providing Rapid Storage drivers for 32-bit XP, which means that the basic Windows drivers will be handling drive access, which may not be optimal. Unsurprisingly, the upcoming Waimea Bay platform will also be supporting the upcoming Windows 8, when released.

It’s not so good on the chipset front, either. Intel has increased the price of the X79 chipset by 20% compared to the X58 chipset, putting the X79 chipset somewhere in the region of $70. This is the list price, so the discounted or “street” price should be a lot lower. However, we are looking at a chipset that offers no new features over X58 and it’s the same size as the 6-series chipsets – it should be cheaper to manufacture than the X58 chipset which only consists of the I/O Hub and the ICH10R. We wish AMD well with their new processors and chipsets, as competition can only be a good thing here and is clearly needed.

It's one thing for "errata" to be discovered some time after a product has been released and then to manufacture a revised processor, but it doesn’t seem right for Intel to release processors with a known major feature fault like this, especially as most buyers are unlikely to know about it and Intel is even less likely to shout about it. Therefore, buyers would be wise to wait for the bug-fixed C2 version before upgrading, unless they are absolutely sure they won’t need this virtualization feature. After all, are Intel going to offer a free replacement to the fixed version for customers of the initial C1 versions? Only this gesture can make releasing such an obviously flawed product right. Intel have offered such a free replacement recently with the faulty SATA controller, so there's hope yet they'll do the right thing. And just as importantly, it's worth keeping a close watch on what significant errata C2 might harbour, before upgrading.

Source: Tech PowerUp

Intel: We're Not Ditching The Atom Brand

Recent reports indicate that Intel plans to re-brand its Cedar Trail processors slated for 2012 because demand for Atom-based netbooks, nettops, handheld devices, consumer electronics products and embedded devices have dropped significantly. The reason behind the decline, according to industry sources, is due to the "poor brand image" of Atom CPUs.

According to Intel's roadmap, Cedar Trail CPUs will be launched in November 2011, and will include the Atom N2800 and N2700 for netbooks, and the Atom D2700 and D2500 for nettops. Industry sources claim that the re-branding will cover Intel's N/D/Z/E lineups.
But Friday a spokesperson from Intel squashed the reports. "There are no plans to change the Atom brand. We are on track to launch new Atom processors during the fourth quarter, with more new Atom processors during the first half of 2012."
In addition to the Cedar Trail CPUs, Intel also plans to launch its Medfield CPUs for Android tablets and smartphones in the first half of 2012.

Source: Tom's Hardware

Desktop Processor Buyer's Guide

Knowing a CPUs Performance When Buying a Desktop PC


The first specification listed for all computer systems on the market tends to be the processor that is the heart of the computer. Usually it will say the brand, model & speed of the processor in the spec sheet, but the promotion knowledge may only list its speed rating. This can make it hard to select how lovely a machine is. After all, processor walking at a specific speed may not run & a different model from the same manufacturer. That is why I have pieced together this list of categories to let you know how functional each processor is.

Outdated Processors

Processors that fall in to this section are usually no longer in production by the manufacturers & are usually sold in either budget systems or older refurbished systems. Machines with these processors will usually take longer to run application & possibly might not even run numerous applications on the market today. It is best to try & avoid systems with these processors unless you require making use of a computer for the basic functions such as word processing & general web browsing.

• · AMD Athlon 64 (Non-Dual Core/X2 Models)
• · AMD Athlon 64 X2 (Older Socket A Models/DDR Memory RAM Models)
• · AMD Athlon XP
• · AMD Athlon X2
• · AMD Phenom X3 and X4 Series
• · AMD Sempron LE
• · Intel Core 2 Duo
• · Intel Core 2 Quad
• · Intel Celeron
• · Intel Celeron Dual-Core
• · Intel Pentium 4
• · Intel Pentium D
• · Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2000 and E3000 Series

Budget Processors

These are processors that may or may not be in production anymore by the manufacturers but are cheap & functional. There are usually types of processors that will fall in to this section: older high-end processors no longer manufactured & new low finish budget processors. Discontinued high-end processors usually provide a better bang for your buck functionally. While they may have a slightly lower clock speed, their architecture of the processor tends to let them actually perform better at most computing tasks than newer budget processors.

•  AMD Athlon II X2 240 and Higher
•  AMD Athlon II X3 440 and Higher
•  AMD Athlon II X4 620 and Higher
•  AMD Phenom II X2 545 and Higher
•  AMD Phenom II X3 705 and Higher
•  AMD Phenom II X4 810
•  Intel Core i3-2100 and Higher
•  Intel Core i3-530 and Higher
•  Intel Pentium E5400 and Higher
•  Intel Pentium G6950
•  Intel Pentium G620 and Higher

Middle Processors

This is the segment of the market that is probably the best overall value for your computing dollar. While they are not the quickest processors on the market, they still perform well in all aspects of computing. They may not have the total functional lifespan of the highest finish processors, but the cost to performance ratio tends to outweigh their longevity.

• AMD Phenom II X4 945 and Higher 
• AMD Phenom II X6 1045T and Higher 
• Intel Core i5-2300 and Higher 
• Intel Core i5-650 and Higher 
• Intel Core i5-750 and Higher 
• Intel Core i7-2600 and Higher 
• Intel Core i7-860 and Higher 
• Intel Core i7-920 and Higher

Top of the Line Processors

This is the cream of the crop when it comes to processing power. In the event you absolutely must have the best thing out there for your new computer than this is what you require to look at. It will cost you though. Usually the latest processors from the manufacturer's come at a cost premium of about double that of the middle processors. While the cost is over double that of the middle processors, the performance tends to be only about 25-50% more at the best of times from their counterparts in the middle section.

• AMD Phenom II X6 1090T and 1100T Black Edition
• Intel Core i7-2600k
• Intel Core i7-975 Extreme
• Intel Core i7-980X Extreme

The All New LGA 2011 and Sandy Bridge-E for Enthusiasts

Frankly speaking, Intel wasn't raring to go to reveal lots of details about the new Sandy Bridge-E & LGA 2011. & there are several reasons behind it. Obviously, they already know everything they desired to know about these new products. They will come out soon, so at this point you may even find some benchmark results of the engineering samples available online. The second reason why Intel was so restrained is the fact that there is not that much to tell about these CPUs, because they cannot boast any unique technological innovations. Sandy Bridge-E is the same exact Sandy Bridge, & for the most part the differences are actually in the number of processor cores & the connection between them.

In fact, the next slide shows clearly that there won't be anything new about the Sandy Bridge-E processors & LGA 2011 platforms, which Intel codenamed Waimea Bay.

Desktop Sandy Bridge-E processors will be manufactured using well-familiar 32 nm production process & will have or 6 computational cores depending on the CPU model. Note that they will lose the graphics core, but instead they will receive a bigger L3 cache & an enhanced four-channel memory controller supporting DDR3-1333. The L3 cache in this case will be 15 MB giant. In other words, the main advantage of the upcoming LGA 2011 platform will be high performance, which must be delivered at any cost:

 Increased number of computational cores;

 Hyper-Threading know-how support;

 Turbo Boost know-how support;

 Larger L3 cache;

 Four-channel memory controller;

 High clock frequencies.

Unlike LGA 1155, the new LGA 2011 platform is aimed at experienced fans & betting fans that is why Intel pays special attention to the ability to make use of high-performance graphics sub-systems made of several graphics accelerators. LGA 2011 systems have as lots of as 36 PCI Express 2.0 lanes. And incidentally, Intel said that they will also support PCI Express 3.0, although at this point they haven't even passed their certification yet. Later on, however, when actual AMD & Nvidia graphics cards featuring this interface come out, they will all work at full speed, without losing any of the graphics bus speed.