John G. Spooner

Dual-core processor desktops are taking a dive. Price cuts on processors by Advanced Micro Devices and Intel, which lopped as much as 61 percent off the prices of its Pentium desktop chips on July 27, combined with lower costs on items such as LCD panels, are affording PC makers the ability to offer dual-core processor […]

Intel’s savior has arrived. The Santa Clara, Calif., chip maker officially introduced on July 27 its Core 2 Duo processor for desktops and notebooks. Speaking at an event at its Silicon Valley headquarters later the same day, Intel executives will proclaim the company as the new king of the PC processor hill on the strength […]

Dell has decided do away with rebates in an effort to get to the bottom line on its PC prices. As expected, the PC maker will begin phasing out rebates and other special offers in August in favor of presenting lower prices upfront to SMBs (small and midsize businesses) and consumers in the United States, […]

Server makers are lining up a host of new and enhanced systems armed with Intel’s new “Woodcrest” Xeon processor, a chip built on a new architecture that promises better performance coupled with greater energy efficiency. Intel initially said the Xeon 5100 family—based on Intel’s new Core microarchitecture—would be released in the third quarter. However, earlier […]

Dell is still hungry for more. Kevin Rollins, CEO of the world’s largest PC manufacturer, said Dell is going through a shake-up—something he said seems to happen every four or five years at the company—but that it will emerge stronger than ever. The Round Rock, Texas, PC maker has faced a series of problems of […]

A new wave of lightweight notebooks promises to be more livable for the road warrior, by offering more advanced features and built-in optical drives. Among them are new entries from Lenovo and Toshiba, each of which announced on May 31 a new business-oriented notebook line built around a 12.1-inch wide screen and an internal optical […]

Dell is opening a pair of storefronts this summer and fall, in Dallas and West Nyack, N.Y., as part of a pilot program to extend outreach to consumer and small-business buyers, the company confirmed May 23. But the outlets will carry no inventory and no service components, leaving the direct model king, the PC and […]

Dell will use Advanced Micro Devices’ Opteron chip. The Austin, Texas, PC maker has long been an Intel shop. But it intends to change that later in 2006, when it will begin offering a multi-processor AMD Opteron server. Dell, which announced its first-quarter earnings May 18, said in a statement that it would begin offering […]

Dell appears poised to spark another PC price war. But analysts say that offering lower prices alone isn’t likely to help the world’s largest PC maker end a run of lackluster financials. While Dell’s decision to use an AMD chip for multiprocessor enterprise systems dominated the headlines, the day after for the PC giant brought […]

Apple Computer’s MacBook is back in black. The Cupertino, Calif., computer maker launched the MacBook, a widely expected replacement for its iBook G4 portable computer and a lower-priced companion to its MacBook Pro, on May 16. The MacBook, which appears to take design cues from Apple’s iPod music player, is the latest Mac to adopt […]

Sun Microsystems is close to announcing an effort designed to preload its Java software on more PCs across the world. The Santa Clara, Calif., computer maker is expected to announce on May 16 at its JavaOne conference a streamlined process for licensing of its Java Platform, Standard Edition or Java SE to PC makers. The […]

Dell and the channel are secretly growing fond of each other. More and more VARs (value-added resellers), indifferent to shrinking hardware margins and prodded by price-sensitive customers, say they are buying Dell computers for their clients. The Round Rock, Texas, PC maker embraced resellers by granting them visits from account representatives, sales support and even […]