Intel to revamp its CPU lineup, new 6-core part due mid-July

Intel is preparing to revamp its range of Core i processors with the launch of four new models over the next few weeks. According to DigiTimes, the chip giant will kick off its new introductions in mid-July with the hexa-core Core i7 970, priced at $885 in thousand-unit quantities, or about $115 less than the range-topping Core i7 980X. The new six core part will reportedly run at 3.2GHz and sport a total 12MB of L2 cache.

A Core i5 760 with two cores clocked at 2.9GHz will also be released, priced at $205, alongside a lower powered Core i5 870s with a selling price of $351. Finally, rounding off the revamp, Intel will deliver the Core i3 560 in August priced at $138 in thousand-unit quantities. Further models to be introduced in August include two Pentium and a Celeron processor, while the company will also be dropping its prices across several models.

Among the highlights for the cuts are the Core i3 540 and Core i3 530, which will drop to $117 in mid-July and mid-October, respectively, and the Core i7 950 which is rumored to be falling dramatically from $562 to $294 in August. That model runs at 3.06GHz and is part of Intel's high end LGA 1366 platform.

AMD to increase top Athlon II X2, X4 speeds by 100MHz

Fudzilla reports that AMD is preparing to offload two speedier dual and quad-core processors, one being Regor-based while the other is Propus-based.

The Athlon II X2 265 will boost the range's maximum frequency to 3.3GHz, with other specs remaining identical to the existing 3.2GHz X2 260, such as a 65W TDP. The 265 is expected to arrive in time for the back-to-school period, probably in August.

The second processor is an Athlon II X4 645, which comes in an AM3 package, supports DDR3 1333MHz, and has a clock frequency of 3.1GHz – a 100MHz boost over the current X4 640. It should stick with the same 95W envelope and is also due in the third quarter, although no specific month has been cited.

Although these are only minor improvements on existing products, AMD is preparing a larger rollout toward the end of this year and into 2011 which will include the long awaited CPU/GPU Fusion chips.

Apple iTunes accounts hacked, used to cheat ranking system

A rogue Vietnamese developer reportedly hacked into iTunes accounts and used them to purchase his book apps, thus artificially boosting their ratings and sales in Apple's App Store. Both The Next Web and Engadget covered the story over the weekend and noted that, at one point, the high volume of sales propelled Nguyen's apps to take over 40 of the top 50 book app slots in the store. According to The Next Web, up to $1400 has been spent on some users' accounts.

Apple has not officially responded to the problems, but Nguyen's apps have now disappeared from the App Store. We're not sure whether Apple decided to shut down the operation or the seller pulled the apps himself after the story blew up. Even more worrisome is the fact that this doesn't seem to be an isolated incident -- reports are now emerging about alleged "App Farms" in iTunes being used to scam users out of their money, including one developer who hands out around 45 games for free (many of them clones that only differ by the number of "points" they offer), and then uses in-game points purchases costing upwards of $150 to make their money.

With over 100 million active iTunes accounts to date this is a serious matter. It's unclear at this point how the hackers got their hands on the iTunes account passwords, whether by employing phishing scams or through a vulnerability in Apple's system. Either way, it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep an eye on your account for any suspicious activity and make sure you are using a strong password.