Via Lines Up Its Nano (Isaiah) Processors

Via made the headlines as it announced its line up of Nano processors. These were codenamed 'Isaiah' during its development. The web is awash with news from different sources, all chiming in their perspective of the future of the Nano processor. Infoworld, PC Pro, PC Perspective, PC Magazine, IT Pro and Trusted Reviews and CRN.com all did stories on it.

The Nano line will include two sets, the L-series on the high-power end and the U-series for low-power segment. The L-series will still have a lower power consumption than mainstream Intel and AMD chips, churning at 25 watts. The following variants are planned for the Nano:

• L2100 (Clock Speed: 1.8 GHz, TDP: 25 watts)
• L2200 (Clock Speed: 1.6 GHz, TDP: 17 watts)
• U2400 (Clock Speed: 1.3-plus" GHz, TDP: 8 watts)
• U2500 (Clock Speed: 1.2 GHz, TDP: 6.8 watts)
• U2300 (Clock Speed: 1.0 GHz, TDP: 5 watts)

As previously mentioned, Via is eyeing to market the chips to the UMPC and notebook crowd. Recent pronouncements that NVidia is working with Via for a chipset solution that will work natively with Via's Nano strengthens Via's claims that it will produce a platform that will be the cheapest Vista-capable solution in the market. A desktop version is not far off it seems. Via and NVidia are expected to announce the details of their venture by next week.

Jungle Disk Beta 4 Launches

Jungle Disk announced Beta 4 of version 2.0. This round of updates changes the way Jungle Disk supports WebDAV to remedy errors that Mac users get when trying to upload files. Other minor fixes are also included in this update. Dave Wright further wrote, "The software itself is getting very near to release quality, so any users who have been interested in checking it out but concerned about the beta status may want to give this version a try."

You can download the latest beta here: http://www.jungledisk.com/betadownload.shtml

Linux Journal Swag at 40% Off

Linux Journal announced a 40% sale on store items. The sale last until June 1, Sunday. The announcement was posted here: http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/40-sale-linux-journal-store. You can go directly to the store: http://www.linuxjournalshop.com/

Via Introduces OpenBook Mini-Note

Via introduced the latest iteration of it's OpenBook series of ultra-mobile PCs, the OpenBook Mini-note. The reference design has an uncanny resemblance to the form factor of the HP 2133 Mini-Note, with the exception of the faster processor. Both designs share the 8.9" LCD screen configuration, with the Mini-note upping the ante by having provisions for built-in broadband connectivity to WiMAX, EV-DO, W-CDMA, or HSDPA services in addition to the now standard WiFi through a factory-configurable device module.

The Mini-note will be powered by a 1.6 GHz VIA C7-M ULV processor and will accommodate up to 2GBs of RAM. This is an offshoot perhaps of the decision to make it capable of supporting Windows Vista. Though the VIA VX800 Digital Media IGP chipset it has for video isn't the most powerful in the mobile computing space, it will certainly be enough to support DirectX 9.0 3D graphics up to a resolution of 1024x600. That being said, I would opine that it would comfortably work with MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV9, VCI and DiVX for the multi-media entertainment needs of prospective owners.

It would be exciting to see what final product OEM's and ODM's could produce from the reference design.

Intel Atom on the Desktop

Word spread of the desktop implementation of the Atom platform when Engadget broke the news about the D945GCLF. It was followed by a post on Ars Technica and a blog post about the board being available in the UK. This will be the first desktop motherboard to support the Intel Atom. As I had posted a few months back, I knew that an Atom-based solution for desktops was very possible. Intel positioned itself well in the ultra-low power PC segment with it's introduction of the Intel D201GLY late last year and the Intel 201GLY2A earlier this year. It was only natural that it would tout its initial success with another low-power solution based off its newer technology.

The D945GCLF is already available for sale from TranquilPC for US$82. Complete systems based on the board can also be purchased from Tranquil PC and range from the US$358 T7 to the US$558 T2e.

Below are 3 videos that'll get you acquainted with the D945GCLF :









Update: The boards are starting to show up for sale online. Saw a listing on eBay for one. This one is being sold for $79.95