The Inevitable Sadness of AMD

It would seem that the arms race between AMD and Intel has ended, and the victor is Intel. The most recent news to come out of AMD’s headquarters is that they are going to stop researching and producing high-end CPU’s. AMD will instead change the focus of their company.

The first rumors out were speculating that AMD was out of the desktop processor game completely and moving towards mobile devices, but the day after these rumors appeared AMD made a statement saying that they will not be stopping their entire line of processors, but not moving forward with new high-end equipment. These statements are coming off the fresh “failure” of the bulldozer chipsets which had so much potential. AMD has also announced that they laid off nearly twelve percent of their workforce. In AMD’s statement they stated that they will be focusing on their x86 processor models and mobile technology moving forward.

Consumers are now left with major questions: Who will step in the ring and try to contend with Intel? How long until the first anti-trust lawsuit against Intel appears? Who will drive Intel to continue on its track record of excellence and force them to be competitive in their pricing? It does not seem like a feasible option for any processor company at this time to do so.

Sources:Softpedia.com - AMD Not Competing with Intel Anymore, Goes Mobile Softpedia.com - AMD Still Committed to x86, Whatever That Means Mercurynews.com - AMD struggling to reinvent itself

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Western Digital's Deal to Acquire Hitachi's HDD Business Approved

Western Digital has just secured conditional approval from the European Union's competition regulator to purchase Hitachi's hard disk drive business for a grand total of $4.3 billion. This was only made possible, however, after Western Digital agreed to sell several of its production operations.

Western Digital, which just so happens to be the world's second largest competitor in the hard disk drive (HDD) sector, and Hitachi, which just so happens to be the third largest, unveiled the deal back in March. The deal itself is aimed at giving the United States company a competitive edge in developing next-generation information storage technology.

This decision by the European Commission confirmed a story published last week by Reuters. According to European Union Commissioner Joaquin Almunia in a recent statement, "The proposed divestiture will ensure that competition in the industry is fully restored before the merger is implemented."

Western Digital did promise to sell essential production assets for the manufacturer of 3.5" disc drives, including a production plant, according to the Commission, which cited reduced competition in the sector after Seagate Technology bought Samsung Electronics' hard disk drive business recently. In addition to that the company agreed to transfer or license intellectual property rights to the business to be sold off. What's more is that Western Digital will also transfer staff and the supply of HDD components to the unit.

Western Digital is unable to complete the deal until it finds an appropriate buyer for the unit, which will then need to be approved by the regulator, according to the commission. If Western Digital is unable to find a suitable buyer, it stands to reason that this deal, although approved, will never actually come to fruition, which could be disappointing for both companies.

Source: Reuters - Western Digital cleared to buy Hitachi disk drive business

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HDD Shortages to Spill Over into Q1 2012

Considering operations are disrupted at over a dozen hard disk drive (HDD) factories thanks to flooding in Thailand, PC manufacturers should begin preparing for significant supply shortages according to market research firm IDC. Worldwide HDD shipments could suffer almost a 20% decline starting in the middle of this month that could extend far into the first quarter of 2012 according to the firm.

Thailand accounts for somewhere between 40% and 45% of HDD production in the entire world. As of early November, almost half of Thailand's production was directly affected by flooding. Even though production at some factories was halted as a result of flooding, the industry also faces work stoppages due to poor access and power outages. The full extent of the damage to the industry will not be known until all the floodwaters recede, even though it is already clear that there will be supply shortages into the first quarter of 2012 according to IDC.

Research Vice President at IDC John Rydning stated earlier in the month that hard drive manufacturers will favor their high-margin products used in enterprise servers and storage systems. "But the HDD vendors can't neglect their smaller customers, whose business will continue to be important once capacity is fully restored." Prices for HDDs have already started to increase rapidly in some cases, some by more than 30%.

IDC noted that the industry should be able to restore drive production quickly once the waters recede, though today's shortages will continue to constrain supply for an extended period. Hard drive prices should stabilize by next June, according to IDC, and the industry should be back to normal by the second half of 2012. IDC also says that the decline in total shipments for the fourth quarter is expected to be "less than 10%" due to the fact that a large chunk of PC shipments have already taken place for this quarter.

Worst-case scenarios put the total loss for the first quarter of 2012 at around 20% though IDC said that there are opportunities for larger PC vendors to capture enterprise accounts from smaller competitors and accelerate industry consolidation, more specifically in faster growth markets.

According to Program Vice President for IDC's Worldwide Consumer Device Trackers Loren Loverade, "The HDD shortage will affect smaller PC vendors and lower-priced products most, including mini-notebooks, emerging markets and entry-level consumer PCs. However, even the largest vendors are expected to face HDD shortages, particularly for portable PCs where the market is more consolidated. Nevertheless, the shortage will relieve some pressure on pricing and margins and present some opportunities for strategic share gains among the larger players."

Source: Computer World - PC makers should 'brace' for drive shortages

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School Computers to Be Replaced by School iPads in 2016

With the technological age in full force, computers have become a staple in schools. Every single grade it seems is using computers for learning and entertainment while teaching. But, could the age of classroom computers be over? Is there a new piece of technology that will undoubtedly dethrone the computer in the classroom? Maybe, as many think tablets will eventually replace desktop computers in classrooms.

A recent survey of district tech directors discovered that all of them were testing or deploying tablet devices. What's more is that the survey also discovered that these directors expect tablets to outnumber computers in the classroom by the year 2016.

Analyst for Piper Jaffray Gene Munster recently surveyed 25 educational IT directors at a conference about the integration of technology in classrooms. Munster's survey, which was titled "Tablets in the Classroom", revealed that all 25 directors were using Apple's iPad in their schools while none of the participants were testing or deploying Android-based tablets. Munster went on to explain that this trend in education may be due to a familiarity with Apple devices among students and school employees.

According to Munster, "Within the next five years, our respondents expect to have more tablets per student than they currently have computers." Considering iPads represent a majority of the tablets in schools, Munster believes that the word "tablet" is synonymous with "iPad". The school districts that were represented in the survey currently have about 10 students per every computer. However, in the next five years, IT directors expect that number to drop to about six students per iPad. Devices, like the iPad, are more desirable over computers in the classroom because they provide a more individualized learning experience than traditional computers.

Tim Cook, the new CEO of Apple, stated earlier this year that demand for the iPad is strong among education customers. Back in February Georgia Senate President pro tem Tommie Williams proposed a plan to replace conventional textbooks in middle schools with the iPad. Williams met with Apple to talk about a plan to make the iPad a central component in the state's education system.

The iPad is slowly creeping its way into schools. Many students can rent the devices from their campus library in college and some schools, like the ones surveyed by Munster, are actually using them in the classroom. If expectations are correct, students in 2016 are going to have some fun times in the classroom.

Source: School Library Journal - IPads to Outpace Computers in Schools by 2016, Poll Says

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