AMD ships 500 millionth processor, gives away laptops

Having lost money for eleven quarters in a row, AMD is turning attention to more pleasant news. The chip vendor said Wednesday that it has shipped 500 million x86 (Intel-compatible) processors since the company's founding in 1969. To celebrate this milestone, which coincides with its 40th anniversary celebrations, AMD is giving away four HP Pavilion dv2z ultra-thin notebooks based on its low-power Athlon Neo X2 chip.

To participate customers need to follow AMD on Twitter (@AMD_Unprocessed), where a new question regarding the company's history will be posted every other Monday beginning July 27. Those who answer correctly through a direct message to AMD's twitter handle will be entered into a drawing for the HP notebooks. You can find out more about the contest rules and eligibility here.