Intel has launched its next-generation Atom netbook processor, saying it will bring longer battery life and improved system performance to low-cost laptops. The single-core Atom N450 chip is 60 percent smaller than existing Atom processors, and consumes about 5.5 watts, 20 percent less than previous models. Netbooks with N450 chips will be shown by major vendors at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. The chip integrates graphics and memory controller into the CPU, making it capable of playing 720p high-definition graphics natively. Intel also launched two processors for low-cost, small form factor desktops, the D410 and the dual-core D510.
Red Hat is dropping support for a different family of Intel processors in the next version of its Linux distribution for businesses. Enterprise Linux 6 will no longer run on Itanium processors used in some high-end servers. However, the company will continue to support the current version of Enterprise Linux on Itanium processors until March 2014, and some Itanium server vendors may also support Red Hat Linux for three years after that.
