Intel predicts quad-core win

Intel`s quad-core server and desktop processors will arrive this year, ahead of rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), says Intel CEO Paul Otellini.

News.Com reports that Intel notified customers that the first quad-core processors will be introduced to the market in the last quarter of this year, but AMD`s quad-core chips are scheduled for release only in mid-2007.

Intel`s quad-core Xeon server processor, code-named Clovertown, and its desktop processor Kentsfield, are described as packages consisting of two dual-core chips, with each package plugging into a single processor socket. AMD is said to be using a more refined design with all the cores on a single slice of silicon.

Digital music players and memory cards could soon see a substantial upgrade with the arrival of higher-capacity Flash chips, TG Daily reports.

Samsung says it will ship 8GB NAND Flash memory chips this quarter, which according to the article is fuelling speculation that an 8GB iPod Nano will be announced soon.

Samsung has also indicated it will try to push the devices quickly into the MP3 player market, increasing their storage capacity to 2 000 MP3 files or 225 minutes of DVD-quality video before the end of the year. The Samsung technology is also expected to help increase storage space for cellphones.

Google has introduced a site designed to help blind people find results that will work best with their text-to-speech software, reports News.Com.

The new Google Accessible Site ranks the list of search results based on how simple the Web page layouts are by examining Web pages and favouring those that have few visual distractions and that are likely to render well with images turned off.

The new experimental site from Google is built on the same technology underlying Google Co-op, which prioritises search results based on specialised interests.

Taiwanese firm Asustek Computer has begun manufacturing PlayStation 3 (PS3) consoles and will deliver the first shipment to Sony by the end of this month, Game Daily reports.

Citing unconfirmed reports, the online publication says Asustek is expected to begin monthly shipments at around 200 000 units, rising to two million by October. In addition to Asustek, another firm, Hon Hai Precision Industry, is expected to begin producing PS3 consoles for Sony soon.

Although still unofficial, Sony`s strategy is clearly geared to avoid the market shortages that followed the release of Microsoft`s Xbox 360 last year. Sony has said it plans to sell six million PS3 units worldwide by the end of its fiscal year in March 2007.