More Intel Processor HW Security Flaws. Meet Microarchitectural Data Sampling (MDS)

Intel MDS Zombieload, RIDL, Fallout

2018 did not start so well for processor vendors, especially Intel, but also AMD, Arm and others as some of their processors leveraging speculative execution were impacted by Spectre and/or Meltdown hardware security bugs. The workarounds to improve security had a downside as they affected performance in some specific use case. Panic ensued as the bug was revealed to the public a bit too early, so companies were not fully ready with their mitigations / workarounds. Then in summer of 2018, another hardware security flaw known as Foreshadow or L1 Terminal Fault came to light. The new flaw potentially enabled the attacker to access data stored in L1 cache.  Provided you have updated your operating systems to the latest version, your computers and devices should be protected against those vulnerabilities, and you can even check with a script working in Linux or FreeBSD. But this now looks like a never […]

Intel adds Three 7W Amber Lake-Y Processors

Intel Amber Lake Q1 2019

Intel announced their Amber Lake family of low power high performance processors, officially known as Intel Core Y-Series processor last year with three SKUs: Core m3-8100Y, Core i5-8200Y, Core i7-8500Y which are all dual core/quad thread processor offering different base and boost CPU frequencies, and sporting the same UHD 615 graphics. As I browsed Intel’s Ark “previously Amber Lake Y”  page this morning, I found out the company added three more processors to the family in Q1 2019. The new processors also come with two cores and four thread, but at higher frequency, and TDP is fixed to 7W, while the first three model at a 5W TDP configurable up to 7 or 8 Watts or down to 3.5 or 4.5 Watts. They are also equipped with Intel UHD Graphics 617 graphics that appears to only offer a higher boost frequency to 1.05 GHz instead of 900/950 MHz for UHD […]

ASRock IMB-1216 Industrial mini-ITX Motherboard is Powered by Intel Whiskey Lake-U Processor

ASRock IMB-1216 mini ITX Whiskey Lake

ASRock has introduced what may be the first mini-ITX motherboard based on Intel Whiskey Lake-U processor. ASRock IMB-1216 motherboard comes with a choice of low power Intel’s 8th Gen Whiskey Lake-U SoCs, supports for up to 32GB DDR4 memory through two SO-DIMM sockets, 2.5″ SATA storage and M.2 SATA or PCIe storage, cam drive up to three independent, and is equipped with plenty of other I/Os. ASRock IMB-1216 specifications: SoC- Intel’s 8th Gen Core “Whiskey Lake-U” SoC  (Core i7-8565U / Core i5-8265U / Core i3-8145U) with Intel UHD Graphics 620; 15W TDP System Memory – 2x SO-DIMM DDR4-2400 slots up to 32 GB RAM Storage 1x M.2-2280 Key M SSD with SATA or PCIe 3.0 x4 interface 2x SATA interfaces for 2.5″ HDDs or SSDs Video Output / Display Interface 1x DisplayPort 1.2 up to 4096×2160 @ 60 Hz 1x HDMI 2.0 up to 4096×2160 @ 60 Hz LVDS connector […]

One Mix 2S Yoga Platinum Mini Laptop Gets a 5W Core i7-8500Y Processor for $1,200

One Mix 2S Yoga Core i7-8500Y

One Mix 2 Yoga mini laptop with a 7″ display and an Intel Core M3-7Y30 Kaby Lake processor launched almost at the same time as the One Mix 2S Yoga mini laptop with the same features except it got upgraded to a more recent Intel Core M3-8100Y Amber Lake Y-Series processor. The company has now introduced a limited edition of the device with One Mix 2S Yoga  Platinum featuring the most powerful Amber Lake processor so far: the Intel Core i7-8500Y dual core / four thread processor also with a 5W power budget. One Mix 2S Yoga Platinum Edition specifications: SoC – Intel Core i7-8500Y dual core / quad thread Amber Lake-Y processor @ 1.5 GHz (base) / 4.2 GHz (Turbo) with 4MB cache, 24EU Intel HD graphics 615 @ 300 MHz / 900 MHz (Turbo); 5W TDP System Memory – 8GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 512GB PCIe SSD, micro SD […]

UP Xtreme Board to Feature Intel Whiskey Lake Processor

UP Extreme SBC

AAEON launched their UP board family back in 2015 with the original board featuring an Atom X5 Cherry Trail processor. Since then they’ve launched other models all based on processors with 10W or lower TDP (Thermal Design Power) such as UP Squared Apollo Lake development board. But the company has now upped the ante by going with Intel Core-U series Whiskey Lake processors (15W TDP) in their upcoming UP Xtreme single board computer (SBC) that will feature some of those Core i3/i5/i7 processors. UP Xtreme specifications: SoC- Intel Dual/Quad Core “Whiskey Lake” Core i3/i5/i7 processor @ 1.8 GHz (Boost frequnecy up to 3.9GHz for i3/i5, up to 4.6 GHz for i7) with Intel UHD graphics 620; 15W TDP System Memory – Up to 16GB dual-channel DDR4 memory (soldered on-board) Storage – 16GB to 128GB eMMC 5.1 flash, 1x SATA connector with power connector Video Output 1x eDP with backlight control […]

Autoware is an “All-in-One” Open-source Software for Autonomous Driving

Autoware.AI Software Architecture

All major automotive companies, and some technology companies are all working on autonomous driving with the ultimate goal of achieving level 5 autonomous driving meaning no human intervention is needed at any stage. Development will take some more time, and companies are now competing with closed source software and hardware. But as I browsed through Linaro Connect Bangkok 2019 schedule, I found out there’s an open source autonomous driving software called Autoware.AI. Several “Autoware” projects are managed by the newly founded Autoware Foundation, a non-profit organization created to develop a synergy between corporate development and academic research in order to provide access to autonomous driving technology for everyone: Autoware.AI is the first version built on ROS 1, and Linux, and has been developed as a research and development platform Autoware.auto is the second version built on ROS 2, and Linux, with a complete redesign. Autoware.IO is an interface project for Autoware […]

Zotac Pico PI470 Amber Lake Mini PC is Powered by Intel Core i7-8500Y Processor

Zotac Pico PI470

Intel announced Core-Y series “Amber Lake” processors last August. The new 5W SoC are designed for laptops and 2-in-1 hybrids with built-in Gigabit WiFi, and optional LTE cellular connectivity. But that does not mean they cannot be used in other form factors, and Zotac is showcasing their tiny ZBOX Pico PI470 mini PC powered by Intel Core i7-8500Y dual core / quad thread processor at CES 2019. Zotac Pico PI470 specifications: SoC – Intel Core i7-8500Y dual core quad thread Amber Lake-Y processor  clocked at 1.5 GHz (base) / 4.2 GHz (turbo) with 4MB cache, Intel HD Graphics 615; 5W TDP System Memory – 4GB LPDDR3 memory Storage – 32GB eMMC storage, micro SD/SDHC/SDXC card reader Video Output – HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2 Audio – HDMI audio output, 3.5mm headphone jack Networking & Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5 USB – 3x USB 3.0 ports including 1x […]

Intel Project Athena Defines Guidelines for Always-On 5G Laptops

Intel Project Athena

Arm, Qualcomm and their partners first introduced always-on always-connected mobile PCs running Windows 10 in 2017 with over 20 hours of battery life and LTE connectivity. The first models delivered on their battery life promise, but they were expensive while delivering underwhelming performance, but the upcoming Snapdragon 8cx processor should address performance concerns. Those type of laptops are still a niche market, and so far Intel and their partners have not delivered similar type of laptops with long battery life, cellular connectivity, and always-on capabilities. That’s where Intel’s Project Athena innovation program comes in. The program that defines a new class of advanced laptops running either Windows or Chrome OS operating systems, offering long battery life, 5G connectivity, artificial intelligence, and consistently powered on. They may not target the 20 hours of battery life like on Arm platform, but the part of the infographic above reads “worry-free day of battery […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC