After nearly 40 years, Intel's president and the company's fifth CEO, Paul Otellini, is heading for retirement.

Intel today announced that its president and CEO Paul Otellini will retire after 40 years of work at the computing innovation company. 

Otellini will step down at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in May 2013. The move will take place over the next six months as an orderly leadership transition, during which the board of directors will choose Otellini’s successor by considering internal and external candidates.

“Paul Otellini has been a very strong leader, only the fifth CEO in the company’s great 45-year history, and one who has managed the company through challenging times and market transitions,” Andy Bryant, chairman of the board, said in a press release from Intel. “The board is grateful for his innumerable contributions to the company and his distinguished tenure as CEO over the last eight years.”

Otellini said he will collaborate with Bryant, the board of directors, and the management team during the six-month transition period. Afterward, he will be available as an advisor to management.

“I’ve been privileged to lead one of the world’s greatest companies,” he said. “After almost four decades with the company and eight years as CEO, it’s time to move on and transfer Intel’s helm to a new generation of leadership.” 

During Otellini’s tenure as CEO, from the end of 2005 through the end of 2011, Intel’s annual revenue climbed from $38.8 billion to $54 billion and annual earnings-per-share surged from $1.40 to $2.39. Under Otellini, Intel successfully began producing low-power Intel Core processors that, when paired with solid-state drives and unibody chassis, created what we now know as the Ultrabook. 

Intel also announced some pretty major promotions of three senior leaders to the position of executive vice president: Renee James, head of Intel’s software business; Brian Krzanich, CEO and head of worldwide manufacturing; and Stacy Smith, CFO and director of corporate strategy.

With the mobile market almost exclusively using ARM chips, whoever takes over as Intel’s CEO will have a lot of work to do in order to stay relevant. After all, ARM chips are in nearly all U.S. smartphones as well as Apple’s extremely popular iPad. There are already rumors of Apple ditching its Intel chips for ARM processors in its iMacs and MacBooks, so the following year should be an interesting one for Intel.

LG today announced the launch of the world's first 21:9 UltraWide monitor; and with the ability to break down the 29-inch screen into four split screens, the company has our attention.

Whether you’re a hardcore multitasker, a tech fanatic, or simply just a bit myopic, LG has a new monitor to pique your interest. The EA93 UltraWide Monitor is a whopping 29-inches wide and boasts a 21:9 aspect ratio. The company says it’s the world’s first monitor with that format. 

LG is focusing on the new product’s multitasking capabilities for its launch. Not only does the impressive size mean plenty of space for however many documents, files, or windows you might have open at once, but the EA93 also has a feature called 4-Screen Split, which allows you to divvy up screen real estate into quarters, with the ability to separately customize each section. That could make this monitor a possible alternative for people who use a dual-screen setup. In fact, it has a Dual Link-up option to connect the monitor to two external devices, which means you could have a similar setup to multiple monitors without any variation in color or image quality. It also features a DVI-D port and two HDMI connectors.

The company insists that the UltraWide monitor can perform double duty as a machine for work and personal use. The aspect ratio makes the EA93 an excellent choice for watching movies. With a maximum resolution of 2560 x 1080, the IPS display is designed for people who live and die by intense visuals. Although LG has not given a price point for this impressive monitor, it is due to roll out in South Korea early this month before making its way to the US market. 

LG has been making waves with its efforts to improve screen quality this year. The company has gone very small with a 5-inch LCD screen with high definition and 440ppi, and insanely big with a whopping 84-inch Ultra HD television. Between these updates, Apple’s proliferation of Retina displays, and other companies working hard to offer comparable technologies, computing will only be getting easier on the eyes.

GameFly has expanded its ability to distribute games to its members by releasing a PC client that allows players to download titles directly. To celebrate, the company is giving out free copies of BioShock.

When GameFly started out, it was a pretty transparent effort to ape the success of Netflix in the world of video games. Both Netflix and GameFly made their names by delivering discs to subscribers via the mail, and both eschewed the traditional rental model by allowing users to hang on to their rented media for as long as they might like. As of this morning, GameFly has further increased its resemblance to Netflix by releasing a PC client that, like Netflix’s various streaming video clients, allows players to download games on demand from a huge list of Windows- and Mac-compatible titles.

Or, at least, that’s how it’s supposed to work in theory. Like Netflix’s streaming service, GameFly’s list of titles that can be streamed by subscribers without dropping extra cash to actually purchase the game is relatively paltry. Though GameFly as a whole boasts “over 1,500″ computer games that could feasibly be eligible for inclusion in the firm’s Unlimited PC Play program — that’s what GameFly is calling this service — the current list of titles you can download and play right this very minute features fewer than 400 games. Again, this mirrors Netflix’s streaming service, which didn’t really become a compelling addition to the Netflix subscription plan until the company began adding new content en masse. We shot an email off to GameFly to ask if the firm would be implementing a similar plan for its Unlimited PC Play titles, and it confirmed that yes, the list of games available will increase over time.

Derivative though it may be, we support GameFly’s decision to release this PC client, not only because Netflix has become an indispensable facet of modern home entertainment, but also because GameFly is clever enough to know that simply issuing a new PC client isn’t a substantial draw for the large numbers of new subscribers it hopes to attract. To assist in this effort, the company is offering a free, downloadable PC copy of BioShock to anyone who downloads the new, free PC client. While BioShock is a bit long in the tooth at this point, it’s still a phenomenal game. 

Plus, thanks to that zero dollar price point, BioShock is one of the most cost-effective primers on Ayn Rand’s Objectivist theory available. Just please don’t finish the game and immediately start railing on the rest of society for being a bunch of soft-hearted pinko commies. We got enough of that in the lead up the recent elections.

Anyway, if you’re interested in scoring your free game or exploring GameFly’s offerings in greater detail, you should click through to the firm’s official site and download the free PC or Mac client. That page also lists the necessary system requirements for the client, though assuming you have a computer built in the last half-decade you should be fine. Enjoy your new bounty of free entertainment.

Research In Motion's upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform has received US security clearance that will allow it to be used by goverment agencies – provided they don't all desert the Canadian company before the new platform launches.

As Research In Motion (RIM) executives count down the days to the launch of its next-generation BlackBerry 10 platform (though one wonders if they really know precisely how many days are left), the company has been pushing out a number of positive press releases recently in an effort to create a silver lining on the gray cloud that has been hanging over the firm for some time.

Last week it announced that development of BB10 had passed what it described as a “critical milestone” with news that it had entered lab testing with more than 50 carriers worldwide.

And on Wednesday evening it issued a statement saying its new BB10 smartphones and its Enterprise Service 10 management console had both received important Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 security certification from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This is the first time BlackBerry products have been FIPS certified ahead of launch, the Ontario-based company said, and paves the way for US and Canadian government agencies to use the devices in their work.

Commenting on the news, Michael K. Brown, vice president of security product management and research at RIM, said, “Achieving FIPS 140-2 certification means that BlackBerry 10 is ready to meet the strict security requirements of government agencies and enterprises at launch.”

Talking up the security features of BB10, he added, “What differentiates BlackBerry is that it integrates end-to-end security, and includes certified encryption algorithms for data at rest and data in transit. No other mobile solution has achieved the level of security accreditation that the BlackBerry solution has.”

The certification is undoubtedly good news for the mobile company, though with several agencies in recent months announcing their intention to turn away from BlackBerry handsets in favor of iOS and Android-powered devices, RIM will have its work cut out to get them back on board. It must also work to hold on to those who have so far stuck with its devices.

Happily for RIM, last week the Pentagon said it would continue to support “large numbers” of BlackBerry smartphones even though it’ll also be allowing many of its employees to use the iPhone and other devices.

BlackBerry’s reputation for strong security was what until recently made RIM’s handsets stand out for those who required such features. But for many IT administrators working today, iOS and Android phones now offer more secure and manageable platforms.

RIM has been able to offer a few bits of positive news of late, but the real test will of course come when its new, long-awaited BB10 OS and handsets finally make an appearance.

iPhone 5 manufacturer Foxconn admitted Wednesday that assembling the lighter, thinner device is "not easy" and as a result the company is having a serious problem keeping up with demand.

With the holiday season fast approaching, we can safely assume that demand for the new iPhone 5 will surge to some degree, though even now it appears that Foxconn, the company charged with assembling the device, is feeling the pressure.

Speaking to reporters after a business forum on Wednesday, Foxconn boss Terry Gou said, “It’s not easy to make the iPhones. We are falling short of meeting the huge demand.”

Gou’s comments appear to back up a number of recent reports regarding the production of the latest iteration of Apple’s popular smartphone. Last month an official at the Taiwan-based manufacturer told the Wall Street Journal that the handset was “the most difficult device that Foxconn has ever assembled,” largely because its lighter, thinner design called for more precision from factory workers when putting it together. “It takes time to learn how to make this new device. Practice makes perfect. Our productivity has been improving day by day,” the official added.

Another issue facing the production line is the phone’s susceptibility to damage, with its relatively soft aluminum casing more prone to scuffs and scratches compared to the glass back found on the iPhone 4S. Shortly after the phone launched in September, a number of disgruntled customers took to forums to complain that their new handset had arrived damaged. Following this, reports emerged that Apple executives had ordered a quality-control crackdown at Foxconn in an effort to reduce the number of less-than-perfect handsets leaving plants.

No doubt Apple CEO Tim Cook will be more than a little perturbed by the fact that more than six weeks after the iPhone 5 launched, shipping time on its online store is still showing at between three and four weeks. Demand for the new phone may be healthy, but Cook will want Foxconn to find a way of cranking them out at a faster rate – a solution which could involve the Taiwan-based company outsourcing some of the orders to other manufacturers to help cope with demand.

[via Reuters]

Halo 4 has been released, but that won't stop Microsoft's PR efforts. The company wants you playing Halo 4, and it's willing to pay to ensure that happens.

Regardless of how you might feel about the game, the launch of Halo 4 will go down in history as a magnificent, unprecedented display of wanton spectacle channelled entirely toward convincing every gamer on the planet that they absolutely must buy the game as soon as humanly possible. To wit: Microsoft effectively rented a country for a day purely so a group of Halo fans and international media could stomp through its historical architecture while pretending to solve riddles that vaguely tie in to Halo lore.

Obviously if Microsoft was willing to go to such great lengths to ensure that we purchase Halo 4, the firm must have some interest in keeping us playing as long as possible, no? Of course it does, and it’s also got a keen promotional stunt lined up to make sure that we all spend our every waking moment shooting aliens.

A new addition to the Xbox Live Rewards program, the newly revealed “Halo 4 Combat Tour” builds on the idea of rewarding Xbox Live gamers with free Microsoft points, but instead of subjecting users to endless surveys the Combat Tour hands out bonus points merely for playing Halo 4. Points earned in any of these Xbox Live Rewards programs can be used to purchase items on the Xbox Live Marketplace, and should not be mistaken for Achievement points. Those are an entirely separate thing, and have no real monetary value.

Anyway, according to the official Halo 4 Combat Tour page, points are being handed out both for how much time you spend within Halo 4, and how much of your real-world cash you spend on items for the game (read: downloadable content additions, premium themes, etc). Spend 35 hours or more playing Halo 4′s multiplayer modes and you’ll pick up an extra 100 points. 70-plus hours will net you 300 points, and those who play for more than 140 hours will earn 600 points. Likewise, those who spend 1500 Microsoft points in the Xbox Live Marketplace on Halo 4 content will earn 100 free points, and those who spend over 3000 points will see a 200 point return. All told, there’s a massive 800 Microsoft points on offer here.

For the record, that “massive” was sarcastic. 800 points seems like a large number out of context, but if you do the math it only works out to about $10. “Oh, well, I’d still like a free $10,” you think, before realizing that to earn that money, you would have to spend at least $37.50 on downloadable Halo 4 content, and have spent over 140 hours in the game’s online multiplayer modes by themselves. Any time you spend playing the single-player campaign is completely ignored. Even if we discount that aforementioned cash outlay, players who take advantage of this scheme are only earning about seven cents an hour — which, again, can only be spent on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

So maybe it’s not exactly a foolproof get rich quick scheme, but for those of you who will inevitably rack up 140-plus hours in Halo 4′s multiplayer and are quite likely to buy all of the game’s DLC, it does seem like a nice sign of gratitude from Microsoft in the form of a useful, thematically appropriate rebate. You’d be a fool to turn that down, so if you for some baffling reason aren’t already enrolled in the Xbox Live Reward service, click through to the sign up page and make sure you’re getting all the free Microsoft points you’ve got coming.

Assassin's Creed III becomes Ubisoft's most successful launch in company's history.

It’s no surprise that Assassin’s Creed III sold well upon its release last week, but just how well is pretty darn impressive.

Ubisoft released its first-half financial report this week, and the company estimates that the latest installment in the blockbuster game franchise has sold more than 3.5 million units since its October 30 release. Not only does that qualify Assassin’s Creed III as the most successful launch in the company’s history, but the sales tally is actually double that of the previous game, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, at the same point in its life.

The massive sales figures for the game, which is set amid the American Revolution and pits its stealthy hero against Templar controlled British forces occupying the colonies, also helped push Ubisoft’s sales figures up 12 percent over last year’s tally at this point. This prompted the publisher to bump its sales estimates for the year to a figure between $1.54-1.62 billion.

In related news, yesterday’s reveal of an upcoming Assassin’s Creed Anthology bundle that will package all five games and their associated DLC into a single box has received an update of sorts — though U.S. gamers won’t be happy about it.

According to Joystiq,Anthology will be released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Europe, but there are no plans for a North American release at this point. The bundle is currently designated as an “EMEA” (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) release, with an expected release date of November 30 in the UK and November 29 elsewhere in Europe.

Still, the site notes that the Ubisoft rep who confirmed these details left the door open for future updates regarding a U.S. release, saying that Assassin’s Creed Anthology is exclusive to the UK “for now” and isn’t currently confirmed for US release.

So keep your fingers crossed, North American Assassin’s Creed fans. There’s still hope.

Microsoft isn't taking any time off between releasing Windows 8 and starting on its next big thing. The company's latest job listings suggest that we'll be seeing a cloud-based TV platform in our future.

Microsoft isn’t letting up on its efforts to stay relevant in the computing industry. Hot on the heels of the Windows 8 release, job listings on the company’s website show positions for developing “a new cloud-based TV platform.” The positions are part of the Interactive Entertainment Business division of Microsoft, so the possible new cloud service will appear on Xbox if it does come to fruition.

Think you’re up for the task? The job listings are for engineers experienced with using HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and jQuery. It also looks like the company is seeking both mobile and browser options, since iOS, Android, Windows 8, and Windows RT are also listed as ideal fields of experience.

It would be a huge coup for Microsoft to be the first company to offer a device-specific cloud television service. Microsoft’s foray into a cloud-based TV platform could also be an effort to muscle out the other companies with Xbox Live apps for watching TV and movies, such as Netflix and Hulu Plus, in favor of an internal platform. Microsoft worked with Comcast to release the NBC News app on Xbox in August, and that could be just an early step toward positioning itself as an entertainment leader.

Whatever the motivation, this is one more sign that Microsoft is willing to adapt to secure its spot as a key player in the fast-moving tech scene. With plans for the Xbox 720 to hit the market some time in 2014, Microsoft has plenty of time to make a concerted push to have an impressive new addition to its product when the new console becomes available. 

[Source: SlashGear]

Though Apple's been using Intel chips in its iMacs and MacBooks since 2005, word is the company is planning to ditch Intel for ARM to create a more unified structure among all of its devices.

In a late-day news kerfuffle, Bloomberg reports that Apple is considering switching its chips in future MacBooks and iMacs from Intel to ARM. Rumor has it that the company is looking for ways to replace its Intel processors in its Macs with chips based on designs in its iOS devices.

Bloomberg says that the chips used in its iPhone and iPad will some day be powerful enough to run larger machines, like iMacs and MacBooks. And that makes some sense; with tablets and smartphones becoming more or less replacements for computers, Apple may want to unify its chip platform. In five years, according to Bloomberg, if Apple wants a “seamless experience” across all of its devices – including televisions! – it will want all of those disparate devices running the same chip architecture.

Take this information with a grain of salt, since Bloomberg’s source is “people familiar with the company’s research.” We’re a bit skeptical, too. But while we don’t think it will happen overnight, there is a possibility that this could happen within the next five years. We don’t expect Intel to go down without a fight, however. The chipmaker has been furiously trying to break into the smartphone and tablet market, which is now held by rival ARM processors, and has made great strides toward designing powerful chips that suck up less power and don’t require loud fans to stay cool. Apple sold 4.9 million laptops and desktops last quarter. 

What do you think? Will Apple really leave Intel for a unified ARM structure across all its devices, or is this just Apple nerds creating rumors due to sheer boredom between new iPad mini releases and we’re still waiting for new on the iMac’s release?

Amazon's cloud storage service for photos isn't just for Kindle HD users anymore. The company made its Cloud Drive Photos app available for most Android devices today. Signing in with your Amazon account will net you 5GB of free space for your pictures.

Android phone and tablet users have yet another option for cloud-based storage, though this time it’s specifically for photos. Amazon has made its Cloud Drive Photos app, which is already integrated into the Kindle Fire HD, available on most Android devices. This app looks like a service that will serve constant photo-snappers quite well.

The app initially asks for users to sign in using an Amazon account. You’re going to want to sign up for an account if you don’t already have one, because this app is completely useless if you don’t. The point of a cloud drive service is to save space, not take it up. Once you’re signed in, you’ll be greeted with the app’s home screen, or the “Cloud” tab. This simply explains to you how to access your drive online and add content from your computer that can then be viewed on your phone or tablet.

There is a second tab atop the display in this app called “Photos.” This is where you will actually be able to see the photo content that is currently saved on your device. Your camera roll, screen captures, Draw Something drawings, Instagram images, and all other photographic data is displayed. These are displayed by category, which can then be explored to see what each album holds. Pressing and holding on an album or an individual picture will allow you to manage the selection, prompting you to either remove it from the device or upload it to the cloud. These are very contrary choices, so make sure you select the one you want. The app also doesn’t appear to automatically sync and there is no option to do so in the settings, so you’ll have to manually update your sync after every snapshot, making this app annoyingly out of date compared to options from Google+ and others. 

All users of Amazon’s Cloud Drive Photos get 5GB of free storage. That can be upgraded to 20GB of space for $10 a year. Everything you upload is accessible right from your Amazon account, making it easy to manage from your phone or your computer. The app isn’t exactly feature rich, but it does the job it claims. An auto-sync feature would be nice, but it looks like we’ll have to wait until the next update to see if it’s there.

you can download the Amazon Cloud Drive Photos app on the Google Play store or Amazon’s Appstore.