History of AMD



Over the course of AMD's three decades in business, silicon and software have become the steel and plastic of the worldwide digital economy. Technology companies have become global pacesetters, making technical advances at a prodigious rate — always driving the industry to deliver more and more, faster and faster.

However, “technology for technology's sake” is not the way we do business at AMD. Our history is marked by a commitment to innovation that's truly useful for customers — putting the real needs of people ahead of technical one-upmanship. AMD founder Jerry Sanders has always maintained that “customers should come first, at every stage of a company's activities.”

We believe our company history bears that out.


View by Decade: 2000 1990 1980 1970 1960

2000














































2007
AMD demonstrates Accelerated Computing platform that breaks teraflop performance barrier
AMD introduces ATI Radeon™ HD 2000 series graphics processors to deliver The Ultimate Visual Experience™ graphics for desktop and mobile platforms

2006
AMD acquires ATI to create a new, innovative processing powerhouse CrossFire™ multi-GPU gaming platform debuts
AMD LIVE!™ media center PCs debut
Dell Inc. announces it will offer AMD processor-based systems
AMD begins revenue shipments of processors from Fab 36
AMD's Shanghai Research and Development Center (SRDC) launches to focus on the development of AMD's next-generation mobile platforms
AMD demonstrates the industry's first native quad-core x86 server processor
AMD is a founding member of The Green Grid, an open, global organization designed to decrease IT facility energy usage patterns

2005
AMD introduces AMD Turion™ 64 mobile technology for notebook PCs and AMD Athlon™ 64 X 2 dual-core processor for desktop
AMD introduces the world's highest performing processors for 1-8P x86 servers and workstations
AMD files landmark antitrust litigation against Intel for illegally abusing its monopoly to exclude and limit competition
Spansion™ goes public
AMD announces grand opening of Fab 36 in Dresden, Germany
ATI GPU is featured in Microsoft Xbox 360, revolutionizing high-definition gaming

2004
AMD demonstrates world's first x86 dual-core processor
AMD announces the 50x15 Initiative with the goal of accelerating affordable Internet access and basic computing to 50 percent of the world's population by 2015
Advanced Micro Devices (China) Co., Ltd. is established, headquartered in Beijing
ATI is listed in the NASDAQ 100
ATI introduces first 110nm GPUs (ATI Radeon™ X800 XL)

2003
AMD and IBM sign joint manufacturing technology development agreement to develop future generation manufacturing technologies
AMD Opteron™ processor and AMD Athlon™ 64 processor debut
With Fujitsu, AMD forms FASL, LLC, and a new company: Spansion™
AMD forms strategic alliance with Sun Microsystems and acquires National Semiconductor's x86 business
ATI introduces ATI Radeon™ 9600 XT: world's first high volume 0.13um low-k chips

2002
AMD acquires Alchemy Semiconductor for low-power, embedded processor technology
AMD Cool'n'Quiet™ technology debuts with Athlon™ XP family: helps lower power consumption, enables quieter-running system, and delivers performance on-demand to maximize users' computing experience
ATI launches ATI Radeon™ 9700 Pro: world's first DirectX 9 graphics processor

2001
AMD Athlon™ MP processor debuts: the company's first multiprocessing platform
AMD HyperTransport™ technology is adopted by Agilent, Apple Computer, Broadcom, Cisco Systems, IBM, nVidia, Sun, and Texas Instruments

2000
AMD is first to break the historic 1GHz (one billion clock cycles per second) with the AMD Athlon™ processor
AMD introduces AMD PowerNow!™ technology with Mobile AMD-K6®-2+ processors
ATI Radeon™ graphics technology debuts: leading product for high-end gaming and 3D workstations
ATI acquires ArtX, Inc., a graphics chipset company

1990



































1999
AMD Athlon™ processor becomes first seventh-generation processor for Microsoft® Windows® computing
Vantis, AMD's programmable logic business, sold to Lattice Semiconductor

1998
ATI is first company to introduce a complete set-top box design
ATI ships its ten millionth AGP chip

1997
AMD introduces the AMD-K6® microprocessor: helps drive PC prices below $1,000 for the first time, making PCs affordable to average consumers
ATI is first graphics company to provide hardware support for DVD acceleration and display
ATI is first graphics company to release products supporting Accelerated Graphics Port, the new industry standard

1996
AMD acquires NexGen, a microprocessor company
ATI releases industry's first 3D graphics chip, first combination graphics and TV tuner card, and first chip to display computer graphics on a television
ATI enters the notebook market with the industry's first notebook 3D graphics accelerator
ATI establishes ATI Ireland

1995
AMD introduces AMD-K5® microprocessor: first independently-designed, socket-compatible x86 microprocessor
ATI is first graphics company to ship Mac-compatible graphics boards

1994
AMD and Compaq Computer Corp. form long-term alliance to power Compaq computers with Am486 microprocessors
ATI introduces Mach64™: first ATI graphics boards to accelerate motion video

1993
AMD Am486® microprocessor family debuts
AMD establishes joint venture with Fujitsu to produce Flash memory products
ATI goes public; stocks are listed on NASDAQ and Toronto Stock Exchange

1992
ATI introduces Mach32™: first ATI integrated graphics controller and accelerator in one chip
ATI releases VESA Local Bus (VLB) products, followed by peripheral component interconnect (PCI_) products
ATI establishes ATI GmbH in Munich, Germany

1991
AMD's Am386® microprocessor family debuts
ATI introduces Mach8™ chip and board products: first ATI products to process graphics independently of the CPU

1980



















1989
ATI assists in establishment of VESA standard for graphics industry

1988
Work begins on AMD Submicron Development Center

1987
AMD acquires Monolithic Memories, Inc. and enters programmable logic business
ATI debuts EGA Wonder™ and VGA Wonder™

1986
ATI secures major contract with Commodore Business Machines to supply 7000 chips per week

1985
AMD is listed in Fortune 500 for the first time
ATI incorporates
ATI develops its first graphics controller and first graphics board product

1984
AMD is listed in "The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America

1982
At IBM's request, AMD signs an agreement to serve as a second source to Intel for IBM PC microprocessors


1970













1979
AMD debuts on the New York Stock Exchange

1979
Production begins in new AMD Austin manufacturing facility

1972
AMD goes public

1970
AMD introduces its first proprietary device: the Am2501 logic counter
1960








1969
AMD incorporates with $100,000; establishes headquarters in Sunnyvale, California

The 5 Best Free File Hosting Services To Store Your Files!

People have a love and hate relationship with file hosting sites. Some file hosting sites are really handy and make sharing data even simpler than sending a file via email while other services spam you with countless pop ups and forced membership options to simply download a file.Here is a list of some great file hosting sites that make uploading and sharing files a cakewalk.

You are welcome to share if you know more free file hosting services which our readers/viewers may like. Do you want to be the first one to know the latest happenings at SmashingApps.com just subscribe to our rss feed.

File Savr - Free File Hosting

File Savr

FileSavr.com makes file hosting easier with Web 2.0 technology and the use of Ajax and Flash. FileSavr has 10 GB upload size limit, currently the largest available on the internet. This allows users the flexibility to upload any large file of 10 GB or less.

File Dropper - Free File Hosting for MP3, Videos, Documents

File dropper

FileDropper’s beauty is in its simplicity. It has one click file hosting where you simply click on the upload button and select your file. After the file is uploaded you are taken to the page where the file is hosted. If the file is an image, it shows the image directly on the page for easier sharing. Upload size is an impressive 5 GB.

File Factory - free and simple file hosting service

File Factory

FileFactory lets you host files up to 300MB for free. You don’t have to register and there is nothing to download. Your files can be downloaded an unlimited number of times! One thing we found very annoying and spammy about FileFactory was the number of ads they have on the page.

FileDen - Free file hosting and online storage

File Den

With File Den’s free file hosting and online storage service it’s easy to share files across the internet with friends, family, work associates or anyone else. They allow our users to direct link to their files also giving you the oppurtunity to embed your files into your webpages, myspace or other social networking profiles.

Fileqube - Free Online Storage

fileqube

Fileqube has an eye-pleasing design that shows its intentions well. When you upload a personal file it gives you a download link, a link to remove the file, and embed code to drop your file’s link on a website. The only downside is the 150MB file size, which is rather small with some of the other sites in comparison.

Case study: enhance technology'™s RAID solution selected by Medical Research Foundation

Founded in 1944, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) is dedicated to conducting basic research to benefit society by expanding the knowledge of the basic biological processes fundamental to life. As a leading independent medical research institute, it has over 300 scientific staff members, including some of the world'[TM]s foremost immunologists committed to pinpointing the cause of human illnesses and preventing the spread of deadly diseases.

OMRF recently undertook the development of a computerized information system for the identification of biomarkers in lupus (SLE) disease. To support the storage and archiving of large amounts of data on their servers quickly, especially images generated from their in-house MRI scanner, OMRF looked at RAID controller storage unit, to increase their current and future storage capacity.


Since OMRF is a non-profit organization operating on a limited budget, they needed a dependable and reliable storage device at a reasonable price point. They wanted a 2U rackmount storage device with RAID capability from an established company well-known in the area of storage solutions with good customer and technical support service. After an exhaustive search they selected Enhance Technology.

After looking at different products offered by Enhance Technology, OMRF chose Enhance Technology'[TM]s R6 because it was an all-in-one unit. The R6 had an array of six disks and an empty 5.25" bay that could be used for installing a removable disk unit for off-site backup. The R6 also had a next generation 64-bit scale storage processor that was capable of sustaining data rates up to 265MB/sec with an Ultra320 SCSI host interface as a standard connection. Additional selling points included a user interface that gave complete storage control over a standard Web browser and a front panel with multi-function display with controls and audible alarms.

The EnhanceRAID R6 provided a cost-effective solution with the durability and speed that OMRF needed. 'This is just incredible that we can do everything in just one unit,' said Kenaz H. Thomas M.S., M.B.A., the principal investigator for Clinical Pharmacology Research Program at OMRF. 'Overall, so far we are very satisfied with the R6 and in our opinion we got the best bang for the buck! One of the major factors for our decision making was customer service and after-sales technical support. Enhance Technology not only has great storage products but excellent customer service. The sales team was friendly and was easy to reach via email/telephone.'

System and Application Setup

Host Systems: Dell PowerEdge 2950 Server Video/Audio Capture Devices: C-Scan MRI machine made by e-saote, SPA, Italy Additional Hardware: Tandberg QuickStor RDX internal backup unit (installed on the R6)

Korea Predicts Four-Year Chip Boom - Statistical Data Included

Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy has forecast the global semiconductor industry will post double-digit growth each year from 1999 to 2002. "The semiconductor industry will enjoy a continued boom for the next few years as demand for communications devices and internet use are expected to surge," a ministry statement said. It forecasts the global chip market will be worth $145bn this year, 15.6% up from last year, $172.3bn next year, $199.1bn in 2001 and $223.5bn in 2002.

The ministry said the current recovery is a much broader one than past recoveries because of the increase in use of chips in many consumer products, including digital cameras, audio players, and mobile phones.

Demand for DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chips, one of Korea's core exports, is forecast by the ministry to grow nearly 39% to $19.4bn in 1999 from $14bn last year and for growth to average nearly 25% over the coming four years.

Hewlett-Packard tackles the future

To take a phrase from the auto industry, this is not your father's HP. The stalwart of Silicon Valley has done some deep group thinking, perhaps thanks to management consultants, and devised a vision in which it can capitalize on its strengths by weaving together what were previously standalone product offerings and aggressively adding to its product portfolio.

Although words by themselves don't translate into action, the new Hewlett-Packard attitude is shown in a speech by Joe Beyers, general manager of the Internet Business Unit. He said the attitude could be captured by the words "move fast; aggressive; take risks, innovate." So HP can talk the talk, but can it walk the walk? The larger issue is whether HP's vision of eservices will be widely adopted.

HP is also trying to outdo IBM in the vision category by promoting eservices with thought-provoking ads. The ad campaign is designed to gain entry into the vision game. The interesting thing about eservices is that it can be nearly anything one wants it to be. In HP's words, eservices "envisions a world in which people and businesses derive new value from the line et by moving beyond Web-based access to information to a world in which a rich array of nimble, modular electronic services, eservices, are accessible by virtually anyone and any device."

Some of the main prongs of HP's eservices thrust:

* Espeak - the underlying glue

* Risk model - financing systems at no up-front cost to the new eservices provider in return for sharing revenue

* Alliances - to provide turnkey solutions

ESPEAK

Espeak is HP's term for "an open platform for the creation, composition, mediation, management, and access of Internet-based services." HP has some ambitious plans for espeak's capabilities. According to HP, eservices powered by espeak "can advertise their capabilities to other eservices, discover other eservices on the Net, and even ally with other eservices on the fly to create new eservices." Espeak allows ad hoc and secure interactions across firewalls and is open, modular, scalable, secure, and manageable and features dynamic brokering, HP said.

Espeak is cross-platform software that supports Unix, NT Server, and Linux. HP plans to make HP espeak core software available to the development community on an open source model and to sell development tools, support products, and consulting to the eservices marketplace.

The espeak "architecture includes core software and programming tools that can be used with resources of any kind (computing device, application, or data content) regardless of hardware or operating system environment," HP claims. The core software components need to be installed on each device/appliance that connects to the espeak services environment and provide basic capabilities such as messaging, security, naming, monitoring, and mediation for the eservices running on or accessed by these devices/appliances. This means espeak needs a high degree of adoption by device manufacturers. The idea is that developers will be able to focus more of their effort on solutions that differentiate their services if they can use prebuilt components and solutions [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 1 OMITTED].

The real question is whether HP can propagate to its competitors its espeak technology, the interoperable glue that helps different systems provide the new era of services. Traditionally, efforts proposed by a major systems player have often met with less-than-complete adoption by competitive systems makers. Now, the question is whether in the Internet era, when the whole is constituted of many parts, competitors will adopt underlying software designed not by a neutral third party but by one of them.

Sonera Ltd., a Finnish communications company, is working with HP to develop technologies and eservices based on espeak and Sonera's Smart Trust technology, a secure digital signature technology for wireless networks.

RAZOR BLADES

In the topsy-turvy world of the Internet, companies are suddenly finding their business models changing. Companies are discovering they are in the razor blade business in which their systems razor equivalents - are merely the entry point to a revenue stream. HP understands this concept and is drawing upon its financial strength to inject itself as a key supplier to emerging and existing service providers. HP's accountants apparently have cast aside their ultraconservative ways and are now muttering a mantra that sounds like "invest now, reap later." They're actually speaking the words "risk sharing."

Some of the prongs of the HP strategy appear to be:

* Get systems adopted by service providers and gain access to the ongoing revenue stream.

* Pilot eservices in a variety of markets.

* Make deals and acquisitions to complement HP's portfolio.

HP launched its eservices campaign via its modestly named "Commerce for the Millennium" program in which HP is positioning itself as the preferred, no-cost provider of complete ecommerce-in-a-box systems for service providers catering to small businesses. In this program, HP has adopted the risk-sharing business model in which HP takes no up-front payment from the service provider and deploys, supports, and comarkets the solution. In return, HP and the service provider share service-related revenue streams from sources such as monthly service fees, service set-up fees, and transaction fees.

More WLAN

A research survey conducted by AirMagnet found more than 92 percent of those polled plan to extend their wireless LAN deployments in 2009 despite the current state of the economy. Of those organizations expanding their networks, 15 percent wilt at least double the network in 2009. Fourteen percent will extend it by 50 percent to 75 percent, 33 percent by 25 percent to 50 percent, and 34 percent will grow it by up to 25 percent. Only 8 percent of those surveyed said they did not plan to extend their WLAN deployment in 2009.

According to the survey, two-thirds of WLAN deployments now support at least one "mission-critical" application. Forty nine percent stated they have multiple mission-critical applications running on their WLAN and 18 percent cited a single critical application. The remainder, nearly one-third of the respondents, cited using WLANs only for convenience access, such as lobby or conference room wireless access.

Organizations are also looking to put heavy-duty applications on their WLANs in 2009, with onethird saying they plan to add video and/or collaboration, and 30 percent indicating that voice-over-WLAN is scheduled for 2010. These applications join location services and guest access as the top WLAN applications.

Separate Wi-Fi Deployments Spread Coverage of Airports

Business travelers' access to wireless broadband service while waiting for a plane became a little broader today with a pair of Wi-Fi launches in different parts of the country. AT&T Wireless Services [NYSE: AWE] launched service at Philadelphia International Airport. AT&T's service covers the airport's gate and concourse areas and represents the sixth major airport where AT&T Wireless provides Wi-Fi service. AT&T's pricing offers single-day access - - unlimited access for 24 hours from a single location -- for $9.99 or various subscription plans.

Meanwhile, Rhode Island-based provider ICOA Inc. [OTC: ICOA] has launched Wi-Fi, as well as wired access, at Louisiana's Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport. ICOA is using a slightly different model, pairing its "neutral host" Wi-Fi access points with wired Internet kiosks to serve customers of any carrier or even those travelling without laptops. ICOA is offering service under a fiveyear shared revenue contract with the airport.

For more on this story and other critical issues affecting the broadband industry, see the latest edition of Communications Today's sister publication Broadband Business Report. For details, visit http://www.telecomweb.com/cgi/catalog/info?BBN . For the latest in breaking news and industry developments concerning broadband, visit the Broadband Channel of Telecom Web at http://www.telecomweb.com/broadband/feature.htm .