Everything PC

In the third episode of Everything PC, we begin our adventure into the world of Intel, the company that in many respects started it all back in 1968.

In this episode, the first of a two-parter, Everything PC hosts Duncan McLeod and Gerhard Pretorius look at the storied history of Intel, from its founding by chemist Gordon Moore and physicist Robert Noyce, to its chip designs that helped create and their transform the personal computer industry.

In many respects, Intel is the flip side of the AMD story, which we covered in episodes 1 and 2 of Everything PC - and we do recommend starting with those if you are new to the show (welcome).

In this episode, we unpack Intel’s early history and its phenomenal rise in the 1980s and 1990s, and how it later lost its mojo amid management upheavals and other self-inflicted wounds.

Part 2 of the Intel story, in which we look at the company’s future prospects under the leadership of Pat Gelsinger, will be published next week.

Welcome back to Everything PC, and to the second episode of this brand new South African podcast that’s aimed at computer enthusiasts and technologists.

In the second part of a two-parter on Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Everything PC hosts Duncan McLeod and Gerhard Pretorius unpack the Silicon Valley company’s bumpy history, its fights with Intel and why it’s emerging, after five decades in the business, as a powerhouse in semiconductors.

The podcast covers the most important milestones in AMD’s history, including its licensing agreement with Intel to start making x86 chips, its deal to buy graphics chip maker ATi and its recently blockbuster, US$50-billion acquisition of Xylinx – and why it could change everything in the chip business!

Welcome to the first-ever episode of Everything PC, a new South African podcast aimed squarely at computer enthusiasts.

In this episode, the first of a two-parter, your hosts Duncan McLeod and Gerhard Pretorius unpack why Advanced Micro Devices - the US chip company better known as AMD - is worth watching.

In fact, AMD has a fascinating history, which we unpack in some detail in part 1 of this two-parter episode.

Having been founded within months of rival Intel, the companies have had a love-hate relationship for decades.

But AMD is on the rise, for various reasons, and is set to give Intel a proper run for its money in the next few years.

In this podcast, we unpack why: what is AMD doing right, why has its market capitalisation topped Intel's this year (albeit briefly), why is its "fabless" approach to chip making playing to its advantage, why is its alliance with Taiwan's TSMC so important, and what comes next?

We hope you enjoy Everything PC as much as we have enjoyed putting it together.

We will push out the first few episodes through TechCentral's podcasting and YouTube channels, but we encourage you to subscribe to the podcasts by searching for Everything PC in your favourite podcatcher. More details about how to subscribe are included lower down on this page.