Google doesn't talk about its server operations very often; most of what we know boils down to one word: ''big.'' The company lifted the lid ever-so-slightly yesterday (no April Fool), and gave the world a peek inside a data center that's normally locked up tighter than Fort Knox. The results (and the company's focus) ...

One of the pleasures of reading the The Server Room is taking part in various threads on the theme of ''lessons learned.'' So when we hit upon the idea of distilling the collective wisdom of the Ars forums into an article on virtualization for a broader audience, the first thing we thought of was, ''let's ask everyone to ...

If you've got even a passing interest in the subject, you're undoubtedly aware that true progress in general-purpose x86 multicore programming has been slow and uncertain. Intel and AMD may have made the technology affordable—a quad-core system could easily have cost thousands of dollars just five years ago, ...

For a product whose success determines whether AMD lives or dies, there's been surprisingly little said about Shanghai of late. Granted, there has been no shortage of semiconductor news, economic blues, various lawsuits, and the company's self-division to occupy the digital press, but when all is said and done, AMD's ...

A pair of Argentinean researchers has demonstrated a BIOS-level exploit that allowed the duo to potentially run a great deal of invisible code—which could remain installed even if the hard drive was wiped. Much has been made of this last bit, but malware attacks against the Basic Input Output System are anything ...

They may be advertised as speeding deterrents to city councils and safety tools to worried parents, but according to another school of thought, red-light cameras are all about making money. It's not clear whether the systems are always pitched as profit generators from day one or if the city government, confronted with a ...

Ever since AMD announced its plan to split itself into two separate companies, there have been legal questions surrounding the move. AMD's x86 cross-licensing agreement with Intel has always required that Sunnyvale maintain a certain corporate structure in order to continue to manufacture x86-compatible microprocessors. ...

In a case that has stretched out for almost ten years, Hynix and Rambus have come to an agreement ''in principle'' on the royalty rates and infringement penalties that the DRAM manufacturer must pay. In late February, Hynix disclosed that, while the US District Court for the Northern District of California had denied ...

The cast of characters that make regular appearances in our coverage could be in for a shakeup this year, as a new list from credit rating agency Moody's indicates that a number of household names in the technology, media, retail, and automotive sectors could default on their debt. Palm, AMD, Freescale Semiconductor, Unisys, ...

Sun announced the availability of new flash storage systems equipped with Intel X25-E SLC (Single Level Cell) SSD drives on Wednesday. The new launch is part of a sustained effort on Sun's part to push flash storage and its Open Storage initiative across the market; the company has bet on SSDs as the future home of ...