AMD: Tough first quarter; Ready for Intel encroachment for thin, light notebooks

Advanced Micro Devices reported a first quarter net loss of $416 million, or 66 cents a share, on revenue of $1.17 billion, down 21 percent from a year ago. However, CEO Dirk Meyer said Tuesday that AMD is “more nimble” following the spin-off of its manufacturing assets, but the company projects revenue to slide in the seasonally slow second quarter.

Even though AMD’s quarter was tough it still managed to beat Wall Street’s low expectations. The company’s net loss (statement) included a charge of 4 cents a share. Excluding that charge, AMD topped estimates by 4 cents. The first quarter for AMD was about burning off inventory that was built for demand that never arrived.

The company has consolidated GlobalFoundries, the manufacturing joint venture, in its results but referred to AMD “the product company” as the chip design outfit. AMD’s chip design and product business had a net loss of $189 million.

Like its much larger rival Intel, AMD forecasted some balance in supply and demand. “The severe inventory corrections of the last quarter have stabilized,” said Meyer on a conference call with analysts. Meyer stopped short of calling the bottom like Intel has, adding that “I don’t know how anyone can do that.”

Meyer said customers are only buying the processing power they need. Notice AMD’s plan: It is pitching itself as a value chip maker and hinting that Intel gives you more processor than you need. He touted AMD’s Yukon and Congo platforms, which target light notebooks.

CFO Bob Rivet added that AMD saw some demand in the first quarter from value buyers. Nevertheless, Rivet said that second quarter revenue will decline from the first quarter for AMD. AMD hopes to be cash flow positive in the second half of the year.

However, AMD is still going to have a tough time. Meyer was asked about Intel’s launch of chips for the light, thin notebook market. Meyer said AMD wasn’t planning to cede market share, but noted the second quarter was “murky at best.” Meyer said that Intel’s CLUV move was in response to AMD’s move.

Kobian unveils PIG41M and PIG43M Intel Motherboards with HDMI Support, in India

Kobian, the Singapore based manufacturer of Mercury products, launches two new Intel-based motherboards, namely the PIG41M and PIG43M, for the Indian consumers.

Featuring HDMI support, these Intel platform motherboards require no add-in cards or decoders and ensure easy playback of high-definition audio video content on the conventional desktop PCs.

Starting with the PIG43M motherboard, it works effectively with Intel G43 Express and ICH10 chipsets. Moreover, it is compatible with FSB1333, the 4 DIMM DDR2 800 memory and Core 2 Duo processor. Users can even extend the memory to around 8GB. Other highlights of the PIG43M are a built-in GMA X4500 graphic engine that offers smooth HD playback and Vista Premium Eligible with DX10. Users will appreciate the ultimate graphics performance, thanks to the incorporation of the PCI-E Gen2.0 x16 interface that has the ability to enhance the visual and gaming experience.

Speaking about the latest Intel-enabled PIG43M motherboard, Sushmita Das - Country Manager (India), Kobian, stated, “The highlight of this Motherboard is the HDMI support. The HDMI interface supports existing high definition video formats (720p, 1080i & even 1080p), plus multi-channel digital audio on a single cable. Combination with HDCP provides a secure audio/video interface that meets security requirements of content providers and system operators. The board is power packed with the 8Channel High Definition Audio Codec & Gigabit Lan, which enhances every computing & gaming experience.”

Coming to the next Mercury motherboard, the PIG41M supports Intel G41 Express chipset, Intel 45nm processors and Core 2 Quad processors. It features two DIMM DDR2 800 memory support (up to 4GB), assuring superior scalability and total efficiency. Additional attributes of the motherboard are an integrated GMA X4500 graphics and Clear Video technology to deliver an alluring output with 6.1 channel audio codec. It is said to be a perfect motherboard for personal and commercial purposes.

Apart from that, the company guarantees two years walk-in warranty through all Kaizen Infoserve service centres. The PIG41M and PIG43M Intel motherboards are available for purchase from Kobian’s authorized distributor. The price of each motherboard is not announced though.

New Intel chips prompt rise in demand for DDR3 memory

A new series of Intel microprocessors aimed at the computer server market has caused a spike in demand for DDR3 (double data rate, third generation) DRAM chips, according to Samsung Electronics.

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The world's largest memory chip maker said Tuesday it has ramped up production of DDR3 memory chips over the past month to meet heavier demand related to the launch of Intel's Xeon processor 5500 series.

The production increase is important for DDR3 technology because new DRAM technologies normally find their way into the computer server market before finally making it into desktop and then laptop computers. As production of DDR3 increases, the price-per-chip declines, making them more affordable for less expensive devices such as PCs.

Server makers are generally willing to pay a premium for the increased performance of new memory chip technologies, while a sluggish PC market this year means vendors are less willing to trade up from DDR2 (DDR, second generation) chips because they're much cheaper.

DDR3 memory chips boast several improvements over DDR2, including twice the system performance, speeds up to 1,333Mbps (Megabits per second) and using at least 60 percent less power, Samsung said.

Intel plans to launch two more DDR3-only chip series in the second half of this year, according to a joint statement.

Samsung currently sells 1Gb and 2Gb DDR3 DRAM chips and several memory modules that have already been validated by Intel to work with its microprocessors.

IBM aims to secure clouds and virtual networks

IBM on Tuesday introduced cloud security services and said it is initiating a company-wide project to develop a security architecture for hosted computing.

The company, which made the announcements at the RSA security conference, also unveiled an appliance designed to protect virtual network segments. Proventia Virtualized Network Security Platform, an appliance that includes intrusion prevention, Web application protection, and network policy enforcement.

IBM also announced:
Proventia Web application firewall, which is embedded into the IBM ISS Proventia portfolio of products and which acts as a virtual application patching mechanism.
Malware scanning for IBM Rational AppScan, which allows users to automatically scan Web sites for embedded malware.
IBM Tivoli Identity and Access Assurance, which offers centralized identity, access and audit services for corporations.
IBM Tivoli Data and Application Security, designed to mitigate privacy and compliance risks by encrypting data stored on tapes and disks.
IBM Tivoli Security Management for z/OS, which features centralized management for mainframes.

MSI Offers Cheapest All-in-one TouchScreen Desktop

Last month MSI, a Taiwanese manufacturer better known for its netbooks, announced a new 18.5-inch touchscreen desktop PC. Now the company has disclosed a recession-friendly price tag of $530 for the machine.

All-in-one desktop computers also called 'kitchen PCs' have become important to PC makers who are betting consumers want a sleek, touchscreen desktop in their home for web surfing, leaving notes and checking internet videos.

Four major PC makers including Dell, HP, Asus and MSI now offer all-in-one systems with touchscreens instead of keyboards.

The new MSI Wind desktop is available with an Atom processor, 2GB of RAM, a 160 GB hard drive, 1.3 megapixel webcam and WiFi capability.

At $530, the machine is the cheapest in the market. The Asus Eee Top costs $600, while Dell's all-in-one machine, yet to launch in the U.S., has been priced at $800 for a touchscreen model.