So now three out of four of our PCs are suddenly obsolete in the Windows world. But what about the fourth? That's a different story. Hydra hasn't had a bios update in years, but it still took Windows 10 without a problem – even without a Windows 10-specific version of the bios.Admittedly, all of these systems are fairly old, so I wouldn't necessarily expect the manufacturers to spend time/money to build new bios versions for these boards.But Microsoft could fix these problems by putting more backward compatibility into the Windows 10 code base. They did it with other versions of the venerable OS – why not now? From using Windows 10 on Hydra, it seems more of an evolution of Windows 7 than something completely new and different.Sure, there could be different, non-Windows 7-like things happening under the hood that I don't see, but that stuff can be translated via software routines in order to make it run on older hardware.I predict that legions of users are facing the same problems as I saw today, and that they won't be happy to see their free upgrade hopes dashed.

Analysis Intel's non-volatile memory product revenues are diving as it converts to 3D NAND and waits for XPoint to deliver the goods.Intel’s second quarter 2016 flash revenues of $554m were down 20 per cent year-on-year and one per cent sequentially.Analyst haus Stifel Nicolaus' MD, Aaron Rakers, charted Intel’s quarterly flash product revenues and we can immediately see a four quarter decline.The company talks about a challenging price environment and we would point out it, and flash foundry partner Micron, are late into 3D NAND, which is being popularised by Samsung, with its 48-layer technology.This means, in general, that Samsung can supply flash capacity more cheaply than Intel/Micron as its flash wafers have three bits per cell whereas Intel/Micron’s have two bits per cell.

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The client computing 850 EVO SSD from Samsung now has up to 4TB of capacity using 48-layer 3D TLC NAND for the 4TB model. Its the first 4TB PC/laptop SSD. Lenovo is now also shipping its own Atsani* M.2 NVMe SSDs. Both these data points indicates how flash drive supply is broadening and competition intensifying.Intel is also facing the winding down of an SSD supply contract to WDC’s HGST unit which sold Intel-based SSDs. As WDC has bought SanDisk and has acquired its foundry partnership with and output from Toshiba NAND fabs then it will change the Intel/Micron flash componentry to SanDisk/Toshiba NAND and save itself cost.Chipzilla is converting its Dalian fab in China to build 3D NAND and initial wafer production has started. Rakers writes that “Intel/Micron expects it will have cost effective pricing on 3D-NAND in 2HC2016” but whether this translates into increased non-volatile product revenues for Intel depends upon market dynamics. In general, in the flash product market you have to run to stand still, and Intel has fallen behind – so it has to catch up before it can run ahead of the pack.

Intel is looking to bulk up its non-volatile product revenues with the coming Optane 3D XPoint drives. Intel might launch Optane either at the Flash Memory Summit in Santa Clara, Aug 89-11, or the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, Aug 16-18. Optane SSDs should start sampling before the end of the year.But Optane revenues will start in 2017. So we could see continued declines in Intel flash revenues in the third and even fourth 2016 calendar quarters. * See Atsani drives lusted on the recent NVMe plugfest which also listed Intel’s Optane 3D XPoint SSDs.World exclusive Dell's ingenious strategy for financing its audacious $67bn acquisition of EMC is a secret no more.Now a crack Reg investigative team can reveal that the Round Rock computing giant has an ambitious plan in place to raise the cash necessary for the deal – and it involves kicking out a line of portable PCs that are so powerful they shatter conventional price structure. Behold, the $650,000 Precision 7700-series laptop, available from dell.com.Throw out your MacBooks and take a second mortgage, because the game just changed (click to enlarge)
These revolutionary notebooks, touted as the world's most powerful, will almost certainly turn the IT market on its head. Given the price, the only logical explanation we can find is that Dell has advanced the field of computing by such amazing leaps and bounds that all other electronics will now be obsolete.

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The $652,000 superbooks – on sale, down from a million dollars – will sport a state-of-the-art Windows 7 operating systems, the software that Microsoft doesn't want you to have. It is also packed with a Core i5 processor from Intel, and a full 500GB of storage space.For those who may not be able to splash out the $650k up front, Dell is offering a generous financing program with payments as low as $19,565 per month, well within the spending range of even the most junior of Oracle VPs.While the cost of the systems may seem steep, Dell doesn't need them to sell far and wide. Just 102,631 units sold would scare up the necessary money for the EMC buyout. Sure, Dell's PC business is going through a rough patch, but cracking the 100,000 mark should still be doable.So only about three months of rent of a one bedroom apartment in San Francisco
When confronted with El Reg's findings, Dell predictably went silent, as if it were treating today's startling revelation as a mere website programming error. More on this breaking story as it develops. After we contacted Dell, the US tech titan tore down the pages for its Precision 17 laptops (normal RRP: $1500). Good thing we took screenshots, huh?Seagate has added three new 10TB helium drives, simultaneously re-branding its desktop/laptop disk and SSHDs, NAS and surveillance drive products in a complicated scheme involving disparate drive technologies.

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