In the hopes of accelerating the pace of chipmaking technology development Intel commits €3.3 billion for a 15% share into Dutch chipmaking equipment vendor ASML.
The funding will go in the further development of 450mm wafer and Extreme Ultra-Violet (EUV) litography-- technologies that could not only slash production costs but even help maintain the Intel mantra, Moore's Law (the prediction saying the average number of transistors per chip doubles every 18 months).
ASML is the biggest supplier of chipmaking equipment in the world. It recently asked its 3 biggest customers-- Intel, TSMC and Samsung-- for R&D investments in order to help the company cement its market position, save money and beat the competition.
ASML predicts EUV technology will be used for mass production from early 2013, first for chips below 20nm before breaking the 10nm barrier within the next 10 years.
The housing is rather compact, measuring 19 x 13.5 x 3.8cm. The AT-5250 carries an Cedar View D2500 (1.86GHz) processor and integrated Intel graphics, while the AT-5600 comes with an AMD Brazos E450 (1.65GHz) and a Radeon HD 6320 graphics chip.
Now a test store close to Best Buy HQ has a Genius Bar... sorry, a "Solution Central" help desk manned by the black-tied Geek Squad. Customer can also pay for purchases in several locations (rather than checkout lines), while the store itself sports a stripped-down look housing less gadgets within a smaller footprint.
The company had earlier forecast 3% Q-o-Q growth for the quarter. It also expects Q2 gross margin to be "approximately in line" with earlier forecasts.
