Month: June 2021

Intel delays new server chips

So, today’s news gave me a chuckle. Many years ago I was fortunate enough to be present for a keynote speech by an upper echelon individual with Intel who confessed (or boasted) that there was no competition for Intel in the CPU business, that they had several years of future tech waiting to be introduced but that it would not be introduced until the appearance of competition was met. She went on to explain how Intel always managed to have processors that were always 6 months or a year ahead of anything the competition could produce.

Now, step ahead a decade or two, and a new CEO takes charge at Intel and proclaims that he will get the chipmaker back on track and begin releasing new technologies as they are developed and production techniques and resources made available. In today’s news, I see a production spokesperson for Intel saying they won’t meet the new deadlines proposed by the CEO, and advances that he had promised for this year may be released next year, sometime.

One scenario I see is that the new CEO learned a lot more about how Intel profits after he gave that speech and is dialing releases out a bit later to allow current products to sell enough to cover development costs and targeted profit for the company. Another possibility is that the competition really has caught up and Intel has lost its supremacy in this facet of the tech industry. In neither case do I see any potential that supposed chip shortages from other manufacturers are having any impact on Intel being able to deliver the next generation of CPUs for servers (today’s announcement) or general-purpose computing devices. Intel has long held firm control over the supply lines required to bring its products to market.

Regardless of what is happening behind the curtain at Intel (and AMD and ARM), new CPUs, support chips, controller chips, memories, and storage devices are being released on a regular basis to provide a continuation of ever bigger, faster, physically smaller devices as demanded by this society. Recent moves by Microsoft and Google have guaranteed that non-Intel chips will enjoy equal support in the operating systems and apps made available to the public. This is a huge win for the consuming public, enjoy!

Windows 11 update & Announcement by Microsoft

Well, actually this is just my initial take on the upcoming product now that Microsoft has replaced the rumors with a statement of what to expect from their CEO.

Ye-ha! Windows 11 is coming. When asked, in an interview, the CEO of Microsoft said the big change coming in Windows 11 is that they have moved the start button to the middle of the taskbar. Yep, that is the exciting thing to look for; but, he was quick to reassure folks that you can put it right back in the corner if that is where you want or need it.

Actually, there are some interesting “things” planned for Windows 11 when it is released. The overall “feel” we are supposed to get is that of inclusion. Windows 11 is expected to be able to run Android apps and the Store (Microsoft Store) will include titles from the google store and others. Overnight this will take the Microsoft Store from being the biggest (most diverse, most titles) to much bigger yet. The CEO of Microsoft also hinted at improved linkage and interoperability with your Android Cellphone.

Windows 11 will also install and run on a larger variety of processors and architectures including ARM (Apple? old? and new?) and an undisclosed list of others. Stated targets were hardware from Apple and Google. So, more inclusion. The CEO of Microsoft emphasized that they were hoping Windows would become the center of your business and entertainment efforts without restricting what you did from there; but, starting from Windows.

What will happen to existing owners of Windows 10? Here, the CEO of Microsoft was less than clear; however, he hinted that the Summer (maybe fall) update for Windows 10 users would be to Windows 11 simply as part of the normal update process and new systems would start to come with the Windows 11 version after rollout, whenever that occurs. How will you know? Presumably, your start button will move to the center of the taskbar after the update. Little to no other changes are expected to be noticeable for existing Windows 10 users.

Unintended tasks for your device?

I have been thinking lately about how to describe (in English) why modern computers don’t feel a thousand times faster than the computers from a decade ago or more (at heart they are more like 10,000 times faster). So, why aren’t these new machines just instantaneous in responding to all of our requests?

To start with, many of us are hooked on these lovely graphic user interfaces which eat oodles of system resources and performance. Add to that all of the really nice little accessories (alarms, calendar features, spell checking, grammar checking, etc.) that we all love and load without a second thought. What? you didn’t load any of that stuff? Well, if you are running an Apple IOS or Microsoft Windows, then they are already there (part of the package).

Does it seem like your computer is real busy at times but not responding to you? You are probably correct, your computer is busy doing “background” tasks. It could be updating, synching a drive, or the cloud, or to another device or two. It could be running a security scan, indexing files, fixing file errors, or searching the web for advertising items to match your interests (inferred from your web activity, searches, etc.).

Much of this is “stuff” that users have little control over, some of it is stuff you can remove from your computer’s to-do lists, and still other stuff can be removed by a good anti-malware program (which may also eat up some performance and resources). Carefully choosing which tools to use and which ones to avoid can make a big difference. In the long run, modern computers are usable by a much wider range of users because of these conveniences (called bloat and other negative terms); but, the price we pay might be well worth noting the next time you wonder why your 6-year-old computer seems incredibly slow.

Another cause for poor performance can be an aging storage device. Yes, hard drives and even SSD’s suffer some performance reduction as they age. A 3-year-old hard drive is likely to show a 30-50% decline in performance compared to a new one of the same type while a 5-year-old SSD may show a 20% reduction in performance when compared to its self when it was new. At some point, you may wish to consider replacing your primary storage device simply to regain that performance level from when the device was new. This will also improve the odds of avoiding catastrophic storage failure or simple data loss.

Predatory Obsolescence?

Thinking about the new OS releases and product releases from Apple, If this sounds a bit worse than planned obsolescence, I could agree with you; but, it is well within keeping with the history of most of our high-tech device providers.  They are in business to make money and one way their success is measured is in the number of new products sold.  How better to drive sales than to actively make older products less functional?  This is not the first example we have seen of this and it won’t be the last.  As consumers, we have some control over the success and failure of these kinds of acts on the part of providers.  Please consider carefully, your actual needs and “wants / wishes” before reinforcing this kind of behavior on the part of these tech providers.

Here in my northern office I continue to work from a seven year-old computer (new SSD hard drive 2-years ago) without missing a thing that is offered in the new hardware. Upstairs, I run my entertainment system with $100 Raspberry Pi 400. When I need a computer for some application, I take care to analyze what I actually need and then I build a wish-list of other features and abilities that would make that product or me more efficient in the appointed tasks. From that (and some experience, not all good) I decide on a product to fill the demands for that application.

I titled this post as Predatory Obsolescence because, more and more, I see consumers choosing products because they are new or flashy, or shiny instead of because they fit their needs and wishes best. The manufacturers are using this behavior to their advantage and have helped us build a culture of “throw away and replace” instead of adapting perfectly capable products to our needs. Yes, they are being predatory; but, we are acting as their willing prey.

Updated OS’s from Apple

It may not be news to most; but, Apple has released an updated OS for many of its product lines that may contain a “gotcha” for the owners of older Apple products. Apple has taken a step forward in optimizing their OS’s for the new M1 family of products. Unfortunately, this has been done at the expense of the stability and performance of products using earlier chipsets (like the Intel-based Macs). If you have one of the non-M1 based products, please discuss the pros and cons of upgrading (before you take the leap) with a Mac professional.

This act on the part of Apple highlights the importance of having good backups, keeping installation materials, and remaining vigilant in the face of “newer is better” cultural bias. Apple is doing what they promised to do, providing new and potentially better computing experiences for their customers with their new products. It is our responsibility as consumers to carefully choose what we purchase and how we maintain those products.