Reuters reports Microsoft is pulling its European software distribution operations from Germany to the Netherlands due to the web of patent disputes it is going through with Motorola Mobility.

Motorola is suing Microsoft over use of the H.264 video codec standard-- and the decision the Mannheim Regional Court does on April 17 has the power to ban Windows 7 (and related technologies such as Media Player) and Xbox sales in the biggest European economy, as well as other countries the German centre supplies.

"We would have preferred to keep our European distribution center in Germany, where it has been for many years. But unfortunately the risk from disruptions from Motorola's patent litigation is simply too high," Microsoft says.

AMD launches low-cost server chip competition to Intel with the Opteron 3200 series-- 3 chips the company says are ideal for web hosting and cloud applications in single socket servers.

Based on Bulldozer architecture (as in Opteron 6200 16-core processors), Opteron 3200 chips carry 4 or 8 cores. Speeds are up to 3GHz and power use ranges at 45-65W. 

The new series will also surely go in products from recent AMD purchase SeaMicro-- the SM10000-XE server currently carries Intel Xeon E3 series chips. 

Go AMD Opteron 3200 Series Processors

HP announces an "organisational realignment," merging the Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) with the Personal Systems Group (PSG)-- forming the Printing and Personal Systems Group.

"Combining these two entities will rationalize HP’s go-to-market strategy, branding, supply chain and customer support worldwide," a HP statement claims.

Leading the group is is PSG executive VP Todd Bradley, as IPG executive VP Vyomesh Joshii is retiring after 31 years with the company.

HP is also streamlining other business functions-- the Global Accounts Sales organisation Read more...

Intel will be introducing optical Thunderbolt cables later this year, an Intel spokesperson says-- allowing longer data transfer distances (with potentially greater bandwidth) for the connection standard.

The news joins the earlier announcement of Intel adding Thunderbolt support to PCI Express 3.0.

What are the differences between copper and optical? Copper handles data transfers for up to 6m (with sufficent bandwidth) while optical technology allows for tens of metres-- making it particularly useful for enterprise applications.  However, copper c Read more...

Intel reveals an update on the Xeon processor line with the E5-2600 series, saying it is designed to address the growth in cloud data traffic with "the best data centre performance per watt."

The latest Xeon chips carry up to 8 cores per processor and up to 768GB of system memory while supporting Intel Advanced Vector Extension (AVX)-- an instruction set Intel says doubles the speed of heavy-duty operations such as financial analysis, media content creation and scientific simulation.

The company claims the new series improves performance by up to Read more...

MSI launches a range of consumer and professional all-in-one PC models at CeBIT 2012-- specifically the Wind Top AP16 and AP2011 business models.

The AP16 is a 16" mode with x2 built-in COM ports (making it ideal for cash registers or barcode readers), while the AP2011 is 20" in size. The AP16 supports fast boot from USB stick (allowing users to quickly switch between operating systems) while the AP 2011 features an adjustable stand and carries a second-generation Intel Core processor.

Both carry specially designed LED backlighting MSI says gives Read more...