[H]ardNews 7th Edition - Blair's Tech Edition

Fast Ram:

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Toshiba Corp. is putting the finishing touches on a 333-MHz fast-cycle random-access memory (FCRAM) that will usher in the second generation of its low latency memory line. This latest offering brings a 66 percent increase in bandwidth and up to a 20 percent boost in access time over the company's previous-generation device.

Less Power Scotty!

Intel is looking to make its processor designs more modular. This will prevent them from drawing too much power when running on batteries, without resorting to brute-force power-saving methods such as voltage or clock speed scaling.

Tubular, but Small:

YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, N.Y. — IBM Corp. has grown catalyst-free nanotube networks on silicon carbide substrates, the company said last week.

Google Likes Hammer:

Google.com, the world's leading web search engine, has dealt Intel Corporation, the world's leading microprocessor vendor, a rather serious blow by opting not to adopt Intel's 64-bit flagship processor, Itanium. Given that Google seems to be an otherwise tailor-made client for Intel's chip, this is a particularly galling loss that may reverberate to Hewlett-Packard, co-developers of the Itanium architecture.