A collaboration between IBM, Samsung and Global Foundries brings about an industry firsts-- silicon nanosheet transistors allowing the production of 5 nanometer (nm) chips.

Presented at the 2017 Symposia on VLSI Technology and Circuits conference in Kyoto, Japan, the process arrives just 2 years after the development of a 7nm test node chip with 20 billion transistors, paving the way for 30 billion switches on a "fingernail-sized" chip.

As Big Blue puts it, the breakthrough uses "stacks of silicon nanosheets" to build the transistor instead of FinFET architecture, the current blueprint for the semiconductor industry. It promises a 40% performance enhancement at fixed power, or 75% power savings at matched performance, bringing about a "significant" boost in the performance of anything from AI systems to VR and mobile devices.

Intel launches the Compute Card at its Computex keynote-- the modular, credit card-sized computing platform first revealed at CES 2017, now with partners (Dell, LG, Lenovo) and a shipping date.

The Compute Card concept remains unchanged from that seen back in January 2017. A compact package fits an Intel system-on-chip, memory, storage and wifi/Bluetooth connectivity. One can slot the Compute Card in a variety of products, with examples seen at the show including a desktop PC replacement docks, laptops, smart TVs, VR headsets and even refrigerators.

Computex 2017 has Qualcomm announce PC plans-- specifically, the chip maker has been working with big names, including Asus, HP and Lenovo, on mobile PCs running on the Snapdragon 835 SoC.

"Today's consumers experience mobility in nearly every aspect of their lives and they've come to expect more from their PCs than legacy computing models are able to provide," the company says. "With compatibility for the Windows 10 ecosystem, the Snapdragon Mobile PC Platform will enable Windows 10 hardware makers to develop next-generation modern device form factors and deliver unparalleled anything, anywhere creation experiences with up to Gigabit Class LTE connectivity."

Revealed back in January 2017, the Snapdragon 835 is a premium-tier mobile device processor built using a 10 nanometer process. The 64-bit ARM-based chip comes complete with an own X16 LTE modem and can run Windows 10 and Win32 apps, making ideal for, "next-generation entertainment experiences and connected cloud services for premium-tier consumer devices."

AMD reveals its near-future compute product roadmap at its Financial Analyst Day, with upcoming offerings including the high-end Ryzen Threadripper CPU and Ryzen 3 desktop CPUs.

Aimed at the high-end desktop segment, the Threadripper is a Zen-based CPU carrying up to 16 cores and 32 threads. It is to feature a new platform with expanded memory and I/O bandwidth, and promises to "fulfill the insatiable desire for more cores and threads that permeates the extreme desktop market" once it launches on Summer 2017. More details should be available soon at Computex 2017.

Also announced is the Q3 2017 availability of Ryzen 3 CPUs, while more PCs from "top 5" OEMs running on Ryzen 7 and 5 CPUs should hit the market on Q2 2017.

TechCrunch reports Apple has acquired Lattice Data, a specialist in "dark" data-- unstructured data, which the company turns into structured (and thus more usable) information.

The iPhone maker confirms the deal with the usual "“Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” statement. Further details of the deal are not known, but TechCrunch claims the purchase cost at least $200 million.

But what is dark data? One can describe it as an information jumble, lacking in labels, categorisation or sense of context. It actually makes the vast majority (around 70-80%) of all data currently produced, and promises at least some value if actual organisation is applied.

VMware is the next player in the growing Internet of Things (IoT) space-- the company announces the Pulse IoT Centre, a means for companies to manage IoT infrastructure and devices at Dell EMC World.

Described as an opening salvo in a longer-term assault on the IoT industry, Pulse IoT Centre combines VMware AirWatch for device management and vRealize Operations for infrastructure monitoring and troubleshooting. It offers users a single console with tools to visualise devices, perform analytics and real-time infrastructure fixes, and policy-based over-the-air update and security patch management.

It also includes means to wipe all data from compromised devices, and enterprises can set up secure tunnels between devices and applications.