Intel is claiming that its Core line of processors has allowed for $2bn in savings since release.
First introduced two years ago, the Core chips were touted by Intel in part for their low power consumption in the face of ever-climbing energy rates.
A company report estimates that since their release, the Core desktop, notebook and server chips have allowed for some 20 Terawatts less energy being used by the processors over the previous line.

Intel then divided this by an average energy cost of $0.10 per kilowatt hour to claim a $2bn energy savings from the chips.

"All the while we’ve been delivering these performance improvements, we have also been able to reduce the energy used by our microprocessors," wrote Lorie Wigle, general manager of Intel’s eco-technology program office.

Energy savings have become a major selling point for all major chipmakers in recent years.
Both Intel and chief rival AMD have touted faster and more efficient processors of late, fuelled by smaller manufacturing processes and the use of more efficient materials.

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News Corp’s MySpace launches a new online music service on Thursday, aiming to loosen Apple’s grip on the US music industry and challenge all other online rivals. The service, MySpace Music, also aims to come to the aid of a music industry reeling from the continued slide in CD sales. MySpace Music is viewed by the music industry as an alternative to prior partnerships, most notably, its pact with Apple’s Steve Jobs. Label chiefs have long grumbled that Apple’s iTunes service is primarily designed to funnel profits back to Apple’s iPod and iPhone devices at the expense of the music industry. But so far, no contenders have managed to dent iTunes.

The big three labels – Vivendi’s Universal Music Group, Sony BMG and Warner Music Group – together own about 40 per cent of MySpace Music joint venture. “Ultimately, it gives us some skin in the game,” says Rio Caraeff, Universal Music Group’s executive vice president of digital. “It gives us a voice in the ongoing development of the business.”

EMI had been the lone holdout, but joined the group at the last minute. Sony ATV and independent music group The Orchard are also participating. Chris DeWolfe, MySpace chief executive, says he wants MySpace Music “to be the biggest music catalogue in the world”. Some 5m artists already own profile pages on MySpace.

The company believes it can better connect to its 120m global visitors, 65 per cent of whom already stream music on their profile pages, with a more integrated and flashier interface that gives members access to the catalogues of these artists rather than the handful of songs they can currently upload.

If you’re living in a part of the EU that has yet to be reached by broadband internet access, then help could be at hand from the European Commission.

The European Commission is about to begin a review of the communications services available to EU citizens and, if it finds a majority of them use broadband, then it will likely mandate that it must be made available to everyone.

EU Rules called the Universal Service Obligations cover what member states must provide to citizens. When usage of any service passes 50 per cent of the EU, that service is considered essential and must be made universal.

The scheduled review has been brought forward because Commissioners realised that the rapid growth of broadband will probably hit the threshold before long.

Should that happen, telecoms companies across Europe could be forced to expand their networks to even the most remote areas as early as 2010.

At the same time, the minimum speed considered acceptable is likely to be raised from the current 28.8Kbit/s. It’s nice, but how about a slice of that Japanese 1Gbit/s pie, eh?

View: TechRadar