user: Nvidia Reports Problem With Laptop Chips

Nvidia has uncovered a problem with some older graphics chips that shipped in "significant quantities" of laptop PCs, the company said Wednesday.

Nvidia hasn't determined the exact cause of the problem but said it relates to a packaging material used with some of its chips, as well as the thermal design of some laptops. Modern processors generate considerable amounts of heat.

To tackle the problem, the company is releasing a software driver that will cause system fans to start operating sooner and reduce the "thermal stress" on the chips. The driver has been provided to laptop makers directly, said Derek Perez, an Nvidia spokesman.

Nvidia will take a charge against second-quarter earnings of US$150 million to $200 million to cover the expected cost of repairing and replacing the products, which include graphics processing units and media and communications processors. It didn't say specifically which of its products were affected.

The products have been failing in the field at "higher than normal rates," Nvidia said. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, it said it was talking to its supply chain about getting reimbursed for some of the costs.

The company also had other bad news on Wednesday. It said it was lowering its revenue forecast for the second quarter due to pricing pressure and delayed product ramps. The company now expects revenue to be between $875 million and $950 million.

Copyright 2008 IDG News Service. All Rights Reserved.

Summary: Nvidia will take a charge against second-quarter earnings to cover the expected cost of repairing and replacing the products, which include graphics processing units and media and communications processors.


Scarlett Johansson’s Favorite Karaoke Song: ‘Rocky Raccoon’?

Stars Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans told “Nightline” that when they were filming “The Avengers” in Cleveland, Ohio, they went to a local bar to blow off some steam, and Johansson wound up on stage singing “Rocky Raccoon.”

“It was a dive bar. It was in the middle of nowhere. There must have been no more than 20 people in the whole bar,” Evans, who plays Captain America in “The Avengers,” told ABC’s Chris Connelly.

“On the stage was this band, this real broke-down band, and [Johansson] said, ‘We should get up there and sing ‘Rocky Raccoon.’”

“Always a good karaoke song,” said Johansson, who plays Black Widow in the film. ”The singer, I think she just had one too many and she was just, like, done…and I was like, ‘This is somebody who’s got to do something about this.’”

Actor Chris Evans, center, who plays Captain America in the upcoming film "The Avengers," said he watched co-star Scarlett Johansson, right, sing at a bar in Cleveland, Ohio. Actor Samuel L. Jackson, left, plays Nick Fury in the film. Credit: Eric McCandless/ABC

Evans said Johansson then asked one of the guitar players if he knew the song “Rocky Raccoon.”

“She got up on stage and just started singing,” he said. “Not only was she amazing, the whole bar got into it. I didn’t even think they knew who it was…but that’s Scarlett. She’s got a wild streak in her. She’s adventurous.”

“I thought Evans was going to join in, you know, his love for musical theater and all,” Johansson joked back. “That’s a little-known fact about Chris Evans… he’s a big singing-dancing enthusiast.”

As much fun as the cast had off-set, they said working together on set was a blast.

“Then when you get Robert [Downey, Jr.] and Tom Hiddleston into the mix, it just plummets. It’s a zoo,” Johansson said.

“You get nothing done,” said Jeremy Renner, who plays Hawkeye in the film.

And if “The Avengers” director Joss Whedon wanted to get their attention? “He would clap and scream and say, ‘Children!’” Renner said.

“Yes, he’d be like, ‘Kids, kids,’” Johansson said. “We were like an unruly classroom.”

Whedon compared directing “The Avengers” cast to “herding adorable kittens.”

“I had to use my teacher voice,” Whedon said. “The only problem I ever had was that when they were having so much fun together and I was trying to roll and they were supposed to fight. You’re supposed to be arguing, not loving each other.”

“The Avengers,” which is produced by ABC News’ parent company, The Walt Disney Company, premieres in theaters nationwide on May 4.

Watch the full interview with “The Avengers” cast on “Nightline” TONIGHT at 11:35 p.m. ET

Summary:

assistant: Credit: Eric McCandless/ABC Stars Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans told “Nightline” that when they were filming “The Avengers” in Cleveland, Ohio, they went to a local bar to blow off some steam, and Johansson wound up on stage singing “Rocky Raccoon.” “It was a dive bar. It was in the middle of nowhere. There must have been no more than 20 people in the whole bar,” Evans, who plays Captain America in “The Avengers,” told ABC’s Chris Connelly. “On the stage was this band, this real broke-down band, and [Johansson] said, ‘We should get up there and sing ‘Rocky Raccoon.’” “Always…