Momentum — For Power Architecture Technology; IBM to Add 150 Design Engineers in China; Intros New Chips; Signs Deals With Local Firms

Business Wire, Dec 2, 2004

BEIJING -- A community for open standards for chips and systems that use Power microprocessors is growing in China, helping the technology find its way into a longer list of consumer, networking and computer electronics.

At an event here today called PowerEverywhere Beijing, attended by numerous high-ranking government and university officials, regional customers, reporters and industry analysts, IBM and many other companies outlined their vision for a development community for this microprocessor, including the formation of Power.org.

Power.org is a community meant to promote advances in Power Architecture technology and make those advances available to a wider community, accelerating open standards for this customizable technology. It was one of several important announcements showing momentum that included:

--Shanghai Belling said it intends to license Power Architecture technology to create advanced chips;

--Culturecom is testing a new "tax organizer" system driven by Power processors;

--Peking University intends to launch a remote access "Linux on Power" initiative;

--IBM will grow the number of engineers supporting its Power Architecture Technology Center in Shanghai by 150 people;

--the company has shipped more than one million IBM Power 970 FX chips;

--new Linux development kits for the IBM Power 750 FX and GX from TimeSys;

--unveiled the details of a pioneering technique to build Power chips known as "wet" immersion lithography while adding new low-power "synthesizable" processor cores to its offerings;

--and detailed the Power Architecture technology in the processor code named Cell.

"IBM is building a soup-to-nuts strategy of being a focal point of technology development for the world's chip suppliers at the baseline and following this through to the market with its design capability and partnerships with other companies. At the same time, it is opening up to make those partnerships viable," said Dan Hutcheson, president, VLSI Research.

Customizing for Local Markets

In today's world -- where innovation on demand is a must -- consumers are surrounded by intelligent devices, such as cars, communication gear, video game stations, MP3 players, computers, network systems, and more. Many of these are driven by Power Architecture technology, and many more might be introduced soon given the technology's flexibility, recent breakthroughs, and greater acceptance by companies in China.

For instance, Shanghai Belling, China's largest semiconductor company, said today it intends to license Power Architecture technology so it can design and manufacture advanced chips for a host of future consumer devices, while Culturecom has introduced a unique kiosk-like system called a tax organizer, now being piloted in several Chinese villages. The organizer helps rural citizens understand a providence's tax structure and how to pay taxes, and it helps the government keep better track of them.

The university setting isn't a stranger to the milestones and accessibility of Power technology, either.

Peking University says it will launch a no cost Internet access pilot program so developers can access Power-driven servers, making it easier for them to develop, port and test "open source" applications. "This also will enhance the level of excellence in undergraduate and graduate engineering programs," said Professor LIN Jianhua, chief vice president of the university.

Million Milestone, Adding 150 Engineers

Chips based on Power technology have been shipped in the multiple millions worldwide, but this week one of its more recent entries, the IBM Power 970 FX, which the firm Semiconductor Insights gave an award to for its new design and technology innovation, reached a new milestone, with more than one million of the chips shipped.

And given its expanded use, with the heightened interest in Power technology in a variety of industry segments, IBM, which designs and manufactures the chips, said it will expand its Power Architecture Technology Center in Shanghai, operated by IBM Engineering & Technology Services, to help clients create their own product designs using the technology. IBM expects support for this center could reach 150 people during the next 18 to 24 months. This would occur through a significant increase in IBM staffing as well as through teaming with local companies that provide engineering skills.

In a related product development, TimeSys, headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, announced the availability of its TimeStorm Linux Development Kits for IBM PowerPC 750 FX and GX. Thousands of embedded Linux developers worldwide from a range of industries have chosen TimeSys solutions to streamline the development, customization and validation of homegrown or commercial Linux-based embedded systems.

A First in Wet Manufacturing

Innovation in processes used to make chips contributes to IBM's leadership in the area. Dr. Bernard Meyerson, chief technologist, IBM Systems & Technology Group, revealed new details of its pioneering use of immersion lithography.