Mobility

Oracle Corp. will edge closer to a licensing model for multicore processors that has been adopted by other software vendors, but doesn't plan to go all the way, according to information posted on the company's Web site. The company plans to announce that its software licenses will consider each individual processor core on multicore chips to be 0.75 of a processor.

Intel Corp. plans to improve the speed of the front-side bus on its high-end Itanium 2 processor next week, in preparation for the launch of its first dual-core Itanium processors, according to sources familiar with the company's plans.

National Semiconductor Corp. plans to close a chip assembly plant in Singapore to reduce costs, leaving 950 employees without a job.

Microprocessors from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) are once again taking a prominent place in PCs manufactured by Fujitsu Siemens Computers GmbH, the companies announced. The German PC maker is taking orders for Esprimo E and P models with AMD processors, and will ship them to customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Sony Corp. has succeeded in giving selected Aibo pet robots curiosity, researchers at Sony Computer Science Laboratory (SCSL) in Paris said last month. Their research won

A German company has devised a wristwatch computer the creators claim can help wearers win at the roulette table. The Winning Watch employs a 32-bit microprocessor running at speeds between 20 and 60MHz, according to a press statement. Its C-based program

Tablet PC maker Motion Computing has launched a small-size version of its slate tablet, the LS800, taking the format down to roughly an A5 notebook.. "It's a new class of ultra-portable," said Elizabeth Clark, head of product management. The 9 inches x 6.7 inches x 0.87 inches beast has a mass of 1 kilogram.

With spam blocking becoming a checklist item for network managers, antispam companies are developing complementary features and turning to new ways to deliver their technology with hopes of distinguishing themselves in this heavily crowded market.