AMD to Resell Transmeta Chip for Pay-as-You-Go PC 28
InfoWorldMike writes "InfoWorld.com reports that AMD will resell Transmeta's chip for Microsoft's pay-as-you-go PCs. Transmeta said that they had struck an exclusive arrangement for AMD to brand the specialized Efficeon chip under their own name and resell it worldwide. AMD plans to use Microsoft FlexGo and its Efficeon deal with Transmeta as part of its 50X15 initiative, which aims to build a global network of partners and business models to help connect 50 percent of the world's population to the Internet by 2015." From the article "For the first time, Transmeta and the Efficeon technology will have the brand and power and reach of AMD," said Art Swift, president and chief executive officer of Transmeta. "[Our goal is] to reach as many consumers in the world as possible in emerging markets."
DRM love you chip (Score:2, Funny)
It gets you mixed feelings to see... (Score:1)
$100 laptop (Score:2)
IIRC the AMD chip which is going into this laptop may not have been completely decided. Would the Transmeta CPU be a good match for that application? Perhaps Microsoft could sell pay as you go software for Linux :)
Re:$100 laptop (Score:1)
The Efficion has an integrated nothbridge, but the extra chips needed for a southbridge/graphics package would be bound to up the costs. (Not to mention the Efficions are more like a 1Ghz Pentium-M with AMD64 added on for good luck, and t
Why? (Score:1)
Well, I guess a possible answer is that their processors are faster than the transmeta and they want to keep the market split ("cheap computers are ok, but if you want performance go for the K8"). Maybe it is also a means of diminishing the competition (previously, transmeta was one of the companies working towards this, now they are partneri
Re:Why? (Score:5, Insightful)
Even desktop PCs are starting to hit a heat wall now.
More power = more heat = more fans = noisy heap o' crap. Noone wants a noisy heap o' crap.
Re:Why? (Score:1)
I'm all for high-performance low-power chips. For most uses, we don't need the super-multi-ghz light-flickering beasts anyway. Frig, my main PC needs a 600 watt power supply just to breathe. Give me an 8-cpu low-voltage rig and I'll be happy, not to mention saving a chunk on my hydro bill. Hell, I'd build servers around massively-parallel mobile CPUs if I could.. just
Re:Why? (Score:1)
I didn't ask "why is less power consumption good"; I asked "why would AMD bother to use a transmeta chip intead of one of their own"? The only advantage offered by the transmeta being less power consumption, this is not relevant to the application (this "pre-paid computer"). Why wouldn't they just use one of their more power-hungry cpus *or*, if anything, use the turion, which (I guess) is a little lighter on power?
Re:Why? (Score:1)
Efficeon (Score:2)
It is power savvy while being powerful enough and x86 compatible.
It would be great if AMD could really revitalise it to avoid flops like Amiga [wikipedia.org]: good ideas with no luck! at all
Re:Efficeon (Score:1)
dammy
http://www.teamaros.org/ [teamaros.org]
Re:Efficeon (Score:2)
Torvalds.... (Score:2)
Re:Torvalds.... (Score:1)
Re:Torvalds.... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Torvalds.... (Score:2)
Have you confirmed this with NetCraft?
This doesn't make a lot of sense... (Score:4, Insightful)
Sure, if you're selling PCs in sub-saharan Africa where there isn't a good power net, something like this might make sense- But this story says these PCs are being sold in places like Mexico/Brazil/Russia- Last I checked, a power outlet isn't too hard to come by in these places...
The other possiblity is that they are embedding the cost metering of the PC directly into the Transmeta "Code Morphing" software that allows Transmeta chips to emulate other PCs... maybe this would allow the metering to be done at a low enough level inside the chip that it would be hard to hack the "metering" out of the final PC... If this was the case, however, they would have trumpeted this in the press release.
Here's what I suspect is really happening: AMD and Transmeta have probably struck an unannounced deal licensing some of the valuable Transmeta patents. However, since Transmeta has been hurting lately and probably is seeking extra funding to survive, AMD threw Transmeta a little PR nugget that allows them to forecast increasing chip sales in the near future to help secure additional capital- just my guess.
Re: (Score:2)
Huh? (Score:2)
Pay as you live (Score:1)
"Like that body you're living in? Since it was grown in our lab we own it and you are only renting it. You are now 3 months late on your rent, violating the terms of service you implicitly agreed to by being born. Have a nice afterlife."
Re:Pay as you live (Score:2)
Maybe the first step towards a merger/buyout? (Score:1)
viruses and spam (Score:1)
Sweet, just imagine the viruses and spam we'll get when 50 percent of the world is connected. And all the new crappy myspace pages that will be created.
It's for the security (Score:1)
irony? (Score:1)
CEO of Intel?