Dear Windows-Help.NET Subscriber,
Well, if you ever want to choose the "Non-Event" of the past century, the Y2K "hysteria" should have no competition!
As we started to watch country after country rolling past the bewitching hour, real problems failed to emerge.
Well... we all spent some $300-500 billion US dollars (estimates range as high as $1-2 trillion) to make sure that nothing would happen, so I guess this means we did it right, didn't we?
Even in Russia and other Eastern European countries, for example, many analysts predicted that there would almost certainly be problems because of limited Y2K testing. Well, nothing substantial happened there, either!
Did anything happen? Well, yes, minor glitches did happen, but not to key infrastructure systems. Some examples of the smaller glitches can be found on this C|Net page. Another interesting page is this C|Net special report of November 4 1999, titled Everyone pays a price for Y2K hype.
Intel unveils new Celeron™ 533MHz Processor.
Intel Corporation this week introduced the Intel® Celeron™ processor 533 MHz, its fastest processor ever for sub-$1,000 PCs. This processor enhances the overall performance of PCs offered in the value PC market segment, and it brings consumers good performance at a great value.
Intel will also unveil new low-powered mobile chips, containing Pentium III processors containing "SpeedStep" technology. SpeedStep, formerly known as Geyserville, will allow a processor to run faster when plugged into an AC power source than when running on battery power. The first SpeedStep Pentium IIIs, for instance, will run at 600 MHz when the notebook is plugged in an AC power source, and at 500 MHz when unplugged.
SpeedStep technology offers mobile users two performance modes: Maximum Performance mode and Battery Optimized mode. Maximum Performance mode takes advantage of the additional power provided by an AC power source to provide a new level of mobile PC performance, while Battery Optimized mode provides optimal performance while running on battery. Intel's SpeedStep technology enables this dual-mode capability by automatically changing the processor voltage and frequency when a user switches from AC or battery power. By reducing the voltage and frequency, power consumption will drop significantly with a relatively minor reduction in processor speed, allowing for robust performance without sacrificing battery life.
According to industry sources, this event is scheduled for Jan. 18 in San Francisco. As can be seen from the Geyserville press release linked above, this technology was first demonstrated nearly a year ago, and its release is a few months behind schedule.
While the new Pentium III SpeedStep processors will give Intel an upper hand in performance, its rival AMD won't be far behind. It is rumored that AMD will incorporate a similar technology, called Gemini, into its notebook chips in 2000.
08 Jan. 2000, Vol 3 No. 1
