An InfoWorld article that focuses on programmer skills needed for multicore software development:  Multicore boom needs new developer skills

Microsoft Research has a new multiprocessor programming toolkit named Dryad.  It seems to be similar to the Map Reduce tool from Google.

More information in the upcoming Intel GPU:  Intel Announces Multipurpose, Multicore Graphics Chip

The most interesting announcement is related to a multipurpose graphics processor scheduled for 2009 or 2010. Gelsinger said the new chip will come with a brand-new set of vector-processing instructions as part of its design, but will still feature x86 compatibility.

“Attempts to create new programmable architectures are painful heavy-lifting over time, and for the most part they fail,” said Gelsinger, recalling the Itanium experience. He claims that its software development tools will take the platform above products from competitors Nvidia and Advanced Micro Device’s ATI unit. The new chip will be able to handle both graphics and other math tasks such as video compression.

A mainstrteam press article about Microsoft’s efforts in multicore / parallel software:  Microsoft’s top visionary sees a parallel world

A presentation from this summer on the latest thinking from the Berkeley parallel computing group:  The Landscape of Parallel Computing Research:  The View from Berkeley 2.0 (June 2007)

The Rebel Science News blog has several interesting multicore postings, including a five part series ‘Nightmare on Core Street’.

The idea of simulation (a.k.a. ‘virtual prototyping’) for aiding in programming multicore software development continues to gain ground:  Fast virtual platforms open up multicore software development

One of several multicore-related projects at Microsoft:  Want a peek at a non-Windows operating system from Microsoft?

UK startup Imperas has announced that it will open source its new multicore simulation platform:  Imperas Unleashes Open Source Initiative to Establish Common, Open Standard for Multicore SoC Design

From the EE Times:  Opinion:  Notes from the TI Developer Conference  A quote from the article:  “Everybody wants to go multicore, but nobody knows how to get there”.