Intel Corporation announced today that the board of directors has unanimously elected Brian Krzanich as its next chief executive officer (CEO), succeeding Paul Otellini. Krzanich will assume his new role at the company's annual stockholders' meeting on May 16.

Krzanich, Intel's chief operating officer since January 2012, will become the sixth CEO in Intel's history. As previously announced, Otellini will step down as CEO and from the board of directors on May 16.

Intel Corporation today reported first-quarter revenue of $12.6 billion, operating income of $2.5 billion, net income of $2.0 billion and EPS of $0.40. The company generated approximately $4.3 billion in cash from operations, paid dividends of $1.1 billion, and used $533 million to repurchase 25 million shares of stock.

"Amidst market softness, Intel performed well in the first quarter and I'm excited about what lies ahead for the company," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "We shipped our next generation PC microprocessors, introduced a new family of products for micro-servers and will ship our new tablet and smartphone microprocessors this quarter. We are working with our customers to introduce innovative new products across multiple operating systems. The transition to 14nm technology this year will significantly increase the value provided by Intel architecture and process technology for our customers and in the marketplace."

Amped Wireless, the leading manufacturer of high power, long range wireless communication products for the home and office, today announced the PLA2 Powerline Nano AV500 1-Port Network Adapter Kit to allow consumers to extend Internet and network access to any room using existing power outlets. The Powerline AV500 standard provides speeds of up to 500 Mbps* and includes a pass-through power outlet on each adapter. The PLA2 kit includes two paired Powerline Network Adapters.

"At Amped Wireless, we strive to provide a complete solution for our customers' network extending needs. With that said, we realize there are certain scenarios where Wi-Fi may not be the best solution. For example, thick walls made with metal or concrete may interfere with Wi-Fi signals. Powerline provides an ideal, plug-and-play solution for these types of situations and can be used to easily connect A/V devices or game consoles. It can also help extend a Wi-Fi signal by pairing a Powerline adapter with our award-winning High Power Wi-Fi Access Points," said Jason Owen, president and CEO at Amped Wireless.

OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCZ), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced that the Audit Committee's investigation, assisted by third party legal and financial advisors, has been substantially completed and a preliminary report has been provided to the Audit Committee. While there continue to be various matters requiring further investigation, the Company believes they will be concluded shortly. The Audit Committee has approved this report and, in consultation with management, concluded that the Company should restate the results for the first quarter of fiscal 2013, as well as the results for certain quarters of fiscal 2012 and for the fiscal year 2012.

The restatements primarily relate to the timing of revenue recognition, the classification of certain customer incentive costs and for the level of reserves for product returns. The number of prior periods affected and the impact of the adjustments will be disclosed in more detail in the Company's restated financial statements, which will be provided as soon as practical. The Board and management are in discussions with Crowe Horwath LLP, the Company's independent auditors regarding the matters identified in the investigation.

PROMISE Technology Inc., a leader in providing high-performance storage solutions for the rich media market and the leader in designing cutting-edge Thunderbolt enabled devices, is proud to announce creative professionals and power users on PCs can now leverage the unparalleled performance of the award-winning Pegasus J2 to power them through their creative projects. The ultra-portable PROMISE Pegasus J2, one of the first storage devices with Thunderbolt technology to be certified for PC by Intel Corporation, can deliver up to 750 MB/s of performance, yet it's pocket-sized, enabling users to harness high bandwidth to transfer, playback, or edit media directly from the Pegasus J2 from anywhere.

Intel Corporation today announced that the company's president and CEO, Paul Otellini, has decided to retire as an officer and director at the company's annual stockholders' meeting in May, starting an orderly leadership transition over the next six months. Otellini's decision to retire will bring to a close a remarkable career of nearly 40 years of continuous service to the company and its stockholders.

"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," said Andy Bryant, chairman of the board. "The board is grateful for his innumerable contributions to the company and his distinguished tenure as CEO over the last eight years."

Microsoft sold over 4 million licenses to its Windows 8 operating system, which was launched last Friday worldwide. The figure was announced by CEO Steve Ballmer, speaking at the Build conference, attended by over 2,000 developers. Ballmer cited these numbers to encourage developers to build apps for the new operating system, and its fundamentally changed user-interface. Microsoft claimed that there are over 120,000 apps in its Windows App Store, a number catching up with the roughly 700,000 apps on similar established distribution platforms such as Apple App Store and Google Play. "Windows 8 is the best opportunity for software development today," Ballmer stated. "Hundreds of millions of people are aching to use your apps, just dying to use your application."Source: Tom's Hardware

Perfect World Co., Ltd.("Perfect World"), a leading online game developer and operator based in China, and Valve, a leading entertainment software and technology company based in the United States, today announced an agreement granting Perfect World exclusive rights to operate Dota 2 in mainland China. In development at Valve, with design lead "IceFrog," Dota 2 promises to expand on the unique mix of action, RTS, and RPG gameplay that has made Dota one of the most popular online games in the world and a leading title at professional e-sport competitions.

"Valve is one of the best developers of online games in the world. We are very excited to partner with Valve in bringing Dota 2 to Chinese gamers," commented Mr. Robert Hong Xiao, Co-CEO of Perfect World. "Dota 2, a refined work by the developers at Valve, has received great attention from players worldwide. With our years of expertise in delivering quality games in China, we are confident that adding this action strategy game to our diverse portfolio of games will bring additional world-class entertainment and premier gaming experiences to our players in China."

Microsoft Corp. today commemorated its 30th Employee Giving Campaign and announced that U.S. employees raised $1 billion in cash since 1983 for approximately 31,000 U.S.-based nonprofits and community organizations. CEO Steve Ballmer announced the milestone during a special town hall event at the Microsoft Redmond campus, which included Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Washington State Gov. Chris Gregoire.

"Today, I'm thrilled to announce that since our Employee Giving Campaign started in 1983, Microsoft employees have donated a total of $1 billion to more than 31,000 nonprofits," Ballmer said. "I'm incredibly proud of our employees, and this is truly a time to celebrate, not just because we've raised a record amount of funds, but also because together with our nonprofit partners, we have impacted and improved the lives of hundreds of millions of people."

AMD is reportedly working to cut its workforce by nearly a third, about 20 to 30 percent, according to sources who spoke with All Things D. That's anywhere between 2,200 to 3,300 jobs. The sources say the cuts could affect employees in engineering and sales, departments that have been spared in previous rounds of cuts. The cuts will be deep enough to show that AMD is scaling back its product offerings. It's likely that the cuts could be announced along with the company's quarterly results due on October 18.

AMD CEO Rory Read is said to have assembled a team of business consultants from McKinsey & Company and BCG to guide the company through the process. McKinsey's will handle the job cuts, while BCG will be consulting on a "grand strategy" that could take the company forward.Source: All Things D

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced its board of directors has appointed Ralph Schmitt as the Company's president and chief executive officer effective immediately. Ralph Schmitt has been a member of the Company's board of directors since April 2011.

"I am pleased to announce that OCZ's board has appointed Ralph Schmitt as the Company's president and chief executive officer," said Adam Epstein, OCZ's lead independent director. "Ralph's knowledge of OCZ's business, customers, and target markets along with his extensive management experience and technical expertise make him the ideal person to lead OCZ through the next phase of its development."

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Alex Mei, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer as Interim CEO, effective immediately. Mr. Mei's appointment follows the Board's acceptance of Ryan Petersen's resignation as President, CEO and a director of the Company. Mr. Mei will also maintain his current responsibilities as EVP and Chief Marketing Officer until a permanent CEO has been selected.

In regards to his decision to resign, Mr. Petersen said, "I am very pleased to have transitioned the Company from a niche developer, manufacturer, and seller of high-performance DRAM memory modules to a global leader in solid-state storage solutions."

AMD (NYSE:AMD) today announced revenue for the second quarter of 2012 of $1.41 billion, net income of $37 million, or $0.05 per share, and operating income of $77 million. The company reported non-GAAP net income of $46 million, or $0.06 per share, and non-GAAP operating income of $86 million.

“Overall weakness in the global economy, softer consumer spending and lower channel demand for our desktop processors in China and Europe made the closing weeks of the quarter challenging,” said Rory Read, AMD president and CEO. “We are taking definitive steps to improve our performance and correct the issues within our control as we expect headwinds will continue in the third quarter as the industry sets a new baseline. We remain optimistic about our core businesses as well as future opportunities with our competitively differentiated next-generation Accelerated Processor Units (APUs). Our recently launched Trinity APU continues to gain traction with customers. We are committed to driving profitable growth.”

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced that its PCI Express (PCIe) SSD platform, featuring all Z-Drive R4 PCIe SSD models and VXL software, accelerates virtualization of Microsoft’s cloud-ready SQL Server 2012 database. Providing enterprise, host-based flash performance and support for all virtualization capabilities, this combination of OCZ SSD hardware, with acceleration and virtualization software, is an optimal and cost-effective solution for the data access requirements of SQL Server 2012.

Lenovo today introduced Lenovo Mobile Access, a flexible, no-contract mobile broadband service that gives consumers and business users greater choice and flexibility when connecting to valued online services. Lenovo Mobile Access provides pre-connected, always-on, customizable connectivity to the Internet and corporate networks, making it an ideal solution for users who need access to online content, applications and services away from their home, office or public Wi-Fi hotspots. Powered by a scalable cloud-based platform from Macheen Inc., the service is now embedded across select models of the ThinkPad product line and available immediately in the United States and nine European countries.

“We live in world where it’s not only undesirable to be without online access, it’s often disruptive to businesses. For that reason we wanted to create a flexible mobile broadband solution that would be unparalleled in its ability to help business users stay connected and working,” said Dilip Bhatia, vice president and general manager, ThinkPad Business Unit, Lenovo. “Fundamentally, Lenovo Mobile Access gives individual and corporate customers options to determine how, when and where they want to connect with online applications and services, all at a price that fits their budget.”

Noise reduction specialist RotoSub and renowned quiet cooling fan manufacturer Noctua today announced a strategic partnership agreement for the development and commercialisation of PC fans with integrated Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). A first prototype of a Noctua fan with integrated RotoSub ANC technology will be shown at Computex Taipei next week.

Active Noise Cancellation (also referred to as Active Noise Control or Active Noise Reduction, ANC) is the technique of using sound waves to reduce noise by means of an effect called phase cancellation or destructive interference. Lars Strömbäck and Mårten Oretorp from RotoSub have invented a system (RotoSub Active Noise Control, R-ANC) that allows a fan to emit the sound signal that cancels out the original sound of the fan and thereby greatly reduces the overall noise emission.

From the launch day server meltdown to the way everyone you know seems to be playing, it's pretty clear that Diablo III is quite popular. But just how popular? Blizzard announced today that it sold 3.5 million copies within the first 24 hours, which supposedly makes it the fastest-selling PC game of all time. On top of those 3.5 million copies were another 1.2 million doled out free to World of Warcraft Annual Pass subscribers. After a week, Blizzard says, Diablo III was up to 6.3 million players--not including South Korean game rooms, where it's estimated to have a 39% share. "We're definitely thrilled that so many people around the world were excited to pick up their copy of Diablo III and jump in the moment it went live," CEO Mike Morhaime said in the announcement.

"We also regret that our preparations were not enough to ensure everyone had a seamless experience when they did so. I want to reaffirm our commitment to make sure the millions of Diablo III players out there have a great experience with the game moving forward, and I also want to thank them for their ongoing support." As well as rolling out sneaky little balance updates, Blizzard is investigating reports of nasty hacks, and preparing to launch the real-money auction house on May 29.Source: Shacknews

Intel Corporation today announced that its board of directors has approved a 7 percent increase in the quarterly cash dividend to 22.5 cents per share (90 cents per share on an annual basis), beginning with the dividend that will be declared in the third quarter of 2012.

Today's announcement is the third dividend increase in the past 18 months. Intel's dividend has increased every year over the past decade and was recently recognized as Dividend Channel’s1 “Top Dividend Stock of the Nasdaq 100.”

After a thorough, independent investigation found significant issues with working conditions at three factories in China operated by Apple's major supplier Foxconn, the Fair Labor Association secured groundbreaking commitments that will reduce working hours to legal limits while protecting pay, improve health and safety conditions, establish a genuine voice for workers, and will monitor on an ongoing basis to verify compliance. The nearly month-long investigation found excessive overtime and problems with overtime compensation; several health and safety risks; and crucial communication gaps that have led to a widespread sense of unsafe working conditions among workers.

"The Fair Labor Association gave Apple's largest supplier the equivalent of a full-body scan through 3,000 staff hours investigating three of its factories and surveying more than 35,000 workers. Apple and its supplier Foxconn have agreed to our prescriptions, and we will verify progress and report publicly," said Auret van Heerden, President and CEO of the Fair Labor Association, a coalition of universities, non-profit organizations and businesses committed to improving the health, safety, fair treatment and respect of workers worldwide.

It 'tis the season of rumors and assumptions for this years winter time blockbusters. According to Computer and Video Games, the following information, claiming to reveal the game's release date and a load of multiplayer features, was first posted on the official Black Ops forums in a thread that was later taken down, and its cached version is unavailable. It was then reposted in another thread on Activision's forums, which was also killed off by the publisher, but its cache remains available (via MP1st). None of this information is confirmed, but there's no reason it couldn't be genuine as it all sounds feasible. The list is full of new modes but makes no mention of a new game engine.

Apple's Tim Cook make his first trip to China as the CEO of the company, where he met with the Chinese Vice-Premier Li Keqiang. The two talked about three important subjects: the ongoing trademark dispute circling "iPad" brand name, strengthening of intellectual property laws in the country, and issues of workers' rights. Cook took away assurances from the high-ranking official, that China is working to strengthen intellectual property rights, and will pay more attention to "caring for workers." Tim Cook also visited foundries belonging to Foxconn, ZhengzhouTechnology Park in the north central province of Hebei, where Apple's products such as the iPhone and iPad are assembled. This facility employs about 120,000 people.Source: Reuters

Led by President and CEO Kazuo Hirai, these changes are intended to drive revitalization and growth across Sony's core electronics businesses, and deliver compelling user experiences through convergence of the unique assets in place throughout the Sony Group.

With Mr. Hirai at the center of a management team that will work together with the heads of each business group and platform, this new business structure is intended to establish rapid and optimized decision making processes as "One Sony," that significantly reinforce and accelerate Sony's overall business management. The changes are effective April 1, 2012.

ORIGIN PC is excited to announce the launch of the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 video card for their award-winning desktops and the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M notebook GPU for their record breaking EON17-X laptop. Now whether you're gaming at home or on the go, you can now experience faster, smoother and richer gaming like never before. It's more than just innovative, it's game-changing. And to celebrate the launch of the most power efficient GPU ever created, ORIGIN PC is giving away a free 90GB Corsair Force GT Solid State Hard Drive on their systems for a limited time.

Logitech International today announced that Whirlpool EMEA leader Bracken P. Darrell will join Logitech as president, effective April 9, 2012. Reporting to Guerrino De Luca, Logitech chairman and chief executive officer, Mr. Darrell will assume responsibility for research and development, sales and marketing, manufacturing, supply chain, IT, human resources and legal functions. The company's finance organization and LifeSize division will continue to report to Mr. De Luca until January 1, 2013, at which time Mr. Darrell will succeed Mr. De Luca as chief executive officer.

Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash, storage, and enthusiast computer products is pleased to announce the company has named Paul McGuire as Executive Vice President of Sales. The addition of Mr. McGuire to Patriot Memory’s Executive team will swiftly propel the company through its next set of growth objectives. In his role, Mr. McGuire will be overseeing worldwide business development and ramping up sales channels for Patriot Memory’s full suite of products.

"As we continue to aggressively expand our global sales initiatives with our key corporate alliances, we are very excited to have Paul McGuire join our team," said Paul Jones, CEO of Patriot Memory. "Paul is an extremely focused executive leader with the experience to be an enormous asset in positioning Patriot Memory for incredible growth in our major global channels."