Tom Krazit

Microsoft Corp. has made a beta version of Windows XP available to the public that runs on desktops or workstations using Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s Athlon 64 or Opteron processors, Microsoft said Wednesday.

Intel Corp. released the first major revision to the Pentium 4 processor in two years with the introduction of four new processors based on its 90 nanometer Prescott core Sunday.

IBM Corp.'s server and semiconductor groups are joining forces in hopes that by working closer together the two will help each other improve their product lines, an IBM spokesperson said Thursday.

Intel Corp.'s president and chief operating officer Paul Otellini delivered one of the company's strongest endorsements for adding 64-bit extensions to the x86 instruction set Wednesday, but Intel still thinks a market for the technology has not arrived.

Hewlett-Packard Co. is considering a different route to 64-bit technology than it has previously discussed, opening the door for HP servers based on processors that use extensions to the x86 instruction set, it said Tuesday.

About 100 employees of PalmOne Inc. lost their jobs Wednesday, as the company shifts operations toward the smart phone market after acquiring Handspring Inc. earlier this year, PalmOne said in a release.

Notebook buyers will have to wait until the second quarter for Dothan, the 90 nanometer version of Intel Corp.'s Pentium M chip, Intel said during its fourth-quarter earnings conference call this week.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s Opteron and Athlon 64 processors can detect a commonly used attack against PCs connected to the Internet and render it harmless by blocking malicious code from executing, AMD said this week.