February 3, 2011
Need for speed: AMD touts carbon-shrinking potential of new chip
ZD Net
Heather Clancy writes that according to AMD research, the company’s new chip, AMD E-350 offers 40 per cent reduction in carbon emissions.
“Advanced Micro Devices is touting the ability of its new AMD E-350 Accelerated Processsing Unit (APU) technology to generate a serious reduction in carbon footprint impact compared with previous generations of its technology. According to the research that AMD has done, an AMD Fusion APU reference system offers a 40 percent reduction in carbon emissions, compared with a system using the AMD Athlon Neo II Dual Core processor with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5430 graphics processor. The study looks at the entire lifecycle – from silicon fabrication into the use phases of the technology within an integrated system. Most of the green IT benefits come from the much lower amount of energy that the technology uses, compared to previous generations of AMD technology.”
Can HP make WebOS relevant?
ZD Net
Larry Dignan writes that according to analysts, HP’s webOS has a rocky road ahead.
“According to analysts, HP’s webOS has a tough climb ahead. Among the challenges: Carriers already support four major mobile OS platforms-Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android, Microsoft’s Window Phone 7 and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry platform. Are carriers really going to rally around the webOS?, WebOS lacks the developer support of iOS and Android, Consumers are likely to be iffy on the webOS due to lack of exposure (except for people that bought the Palm Pre) and It’s unlikely that HP will be able to undercut Apple on tablet pricing. Indeed, there are a bevy of challenges for the webOS. Look for HP to exert its scale to offer competitive pricing”
More IT managers involved in strategic planning, survey says
ZD Net
Joe McKendrick recaps how the role of the IT manager has changed.
“In the latest CIO salary survey from SearchCIO.com, 51 per cent of IT managers and executives report they are spending more time on strategic IT planning than a year ago, versus 16 per cent spending less time. Another third say things are about the same. This trend is especially pronounced among senior and midlevel IT managers. Reporting on the survey results, Ed Scannell cites cloud computing, virtualization and social media as the reasons why IT executives are increasingly stepping outside of the IT box to get more involved with the business.”