Intel is shaking up the business model for computer chips, debuting Intel On Demand, a software-defined silicon (SDSi) service designed to get customers to pay to enable features built into future Xeon server processors. The move signals a major change in how computer chips are marketed and could increase flexibility in how organizations configure their infrastructure. While Intel hasn’t indicated whether SDSi will be mandatory for users buying next-gen Xeons, the concept has created some concern among IT professionals, many of whom view it as charging extra for features that are already hardwired into the silicon. Continue reading New Chip Licensing Model Introduced with ‘Intel On Demand’

Nvidia becomes the first stateside chipmaker to launch a product in China that manages to clear strict U.S. export hurdles aimed at keeping high-end processors out of the territory. Computers with the new Nvidia chip, the A800, are already selling in China. Publicly traded Nvidia had been concerned the export limits could divert hundreds of millions of dollars from its bottom line. In October, U.S. regulators effectively banned shipments of advanced microchips and the equipment required to make them in order to bolster national security and thwart Chinese weaponization. Continue reading Nvidia Offers Advanced Chip to Clear U.S. Export Control List