Monday, August 6, 2001		Newsscape

Chipmaker Intel Corp last week introduced five microprocessors that it said would boost performance and lengthen battery life of laptops, raising the stakes for upstart chip designer, Transmeta Corp and rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc., according to The Economic Times. Intel’s executive vice-president said the launch of the Pentium III processor-M products represented a ‘milestone in mobile computing’ because of the energy savings produced by the new chip line. The mobile Pentium III processor- M will provide almost a 5 per cent gain in performance on data-intensive applications over the previous mobile Intel Premium III, the company said.

Microsoft Corp is determined to prevent AOL Time Warner acquiring or buying a stake in AT & T cable business according to the Financial Times. It quoted people close to Microsoft as saying the company was prepared to use it’s financial muscle to encourage alternative bids for the AT & T broadband division, rather than see AOL become the dominant player in the US cable market. Microsoft increasingly viewed AOL as its primary rival in the consumer Internet sector and following the apparent failure of Comcast$ 52 billion bid for the AT &T Broadband division, it was keen to stop AT & T’s talks with AOL succeeding, the daily said.

Sun’s not one to take cover in any Hailstorm. Scrambling for leadership in the Web Services arena where Microsoft India is pushing hard with it’s Web initiative, Hailstorm, Sun Microsystems India is all set to launch its latest Web initiative, ‘One Net Environment—Sun ONE’ in India, Express Computers reported. With India home to a large base of developers, the traditional rivalry between Microsoft and Sun is expected to intensify as both of them move into top gear with new strategies to woo developers and rope in solution partners. Around the end of this month, Sun is going to roll out road shows and seminars to showcase Sun ONE. Ed Zander, President and Chief Operating Officer, Sun Microsystems, announced sometime back that the company has made a $3 billion investment in software and deployed over 10,000 employees for developing and supporting the Sun ONE architecture. Sun is talking to leading Indian IT companies for roping them in as end-to-end solution partners for Sun ONE. Microsoft has already announced NIIT, Wipro, TCS, Infosys and Satyam as the solution partners for HailStorm.

THE National University of Singapore is setting up a college in Silicon Valley to breed the next Sim Wong Hoo for Singapore, The Straits Times reported. This is one of two initiatives the institution is undertaking to grow entrepreneurs for Singapore. Another plan in the pipeline — to get business leaders to teach technopreneurship courses in the university. In January next year, 10 NUS students who show entrepreneurial drive will leave for a year in the Californian home for high-tech industries. There, they will work as interns in technology start-ups and take up entrepreneurship courses at Stanford University. In a few years, up to 50 students will head for the Valley every year. The university has already established an office in the valley to arrange the courses and internship placements for the students.