A former Intel Corp. engineer has been charged with stealing trade secrets worth $1 billion from the chip maker while he worked for its main rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts alleged this week in a five-count indictment that Biswamohan Pani, 33, illegally downloaded more than a dozen confidential documents from Intel’s computer [...]

Today, expect more reviews on the new Intel Core i7 processors according to CNet.com.
Core i7 processors expected to launch later this month include 2.66GHz (Core i7-920) and 3.20GHz (Core i7-965) versions. Prices will range roughly between $285 and just under $1,000.
The Nehalem/Core i7 architecture will scale from two to eight processor cores, have faster chip-to-chip [...]

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will announce Tuesday it is spinning off its manufacturing operations as part of its cost saving strategy, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Sunnyvale-based AMD said it will make a “significant corporate announcement” and hold a conference call with industry analyst Tuesday hosted by Chief Executive Dirk Meyer. It did not give details [...]

Intel implemented a new process by building the chips without fire-retardant halogen which can pollute the environment. The new Xeon 5400 processors use transistors made from a Hafnium-based, high-k metal gate formula. The older silicon dioxide gates, running between chip substrates and just a few atoms thick, leaked current causing heat gain and additional power [...]