Intel's Clarksfield to begin production in second half of 2009

Penryn-based Monteniva just hit the streets a few months ago, but hardware geeks are fickle fellows, so Intel said today that Clarksfield, its Nehalem-based mobile CPU, will go into production in the second half of next year; sadly, there was no word on when the chips will actually be available to consumers in the Calpella platform, which (rumor has it) will have built-in WiMAX. Clarksfield will include an onboard memory controller and a bunch of other new techs like its desktop brethren, so the promise of performance gains comparable to what we've seen in the desktop benchmarks is there -- we'll just have to wait at least a year to enjoy them, so get comfy.

Intel Tech Chief Reveals Secret Origins of the MacBook Air's Super Small Chip

Here's something you didn't know about the MacBook Air's infamously tiny CPU: The shrinkage tech behind it had been collecting dust on Intel's shelf for a couple years since no PC manufacturer was interested in it. When Apple put in the call for a dwarven chip, Intel originally thought what Apple wanted was years away on their roadmap before re-discovering the concept—a year later they had it refreshed and ready to go. Which is the usual breakneck speed Apple moves, Intel's CTO Justin Rattner told Fortune. He also dished that they're collaborating on more breakthrough stuff that's "equally aggressive."

Besides chatting about how Intel and Apple are now BFF and love working together, delivering super cool crazy tech to the masses, he said something fairly odd about WiMax, considering how much money they've been pumping into it. Basically, he said Intel pushed WiMax hard because at the time it was the best and easiest way to deliver broadband everywhere. Now there are alternatives, and their view is that "if WiMax succeeds, we'll have the bandwidth. If others succeed, we'll have the bandwidth." Does that smell like a vote of confidence to you, or ambivalence, sprinkled with hints of regret? [Fortune gizmodo]