All, (from the 'for what it's worth dept)
Tonight on 'Bull Session', a CNBC show hosted
by David Faber, he and two guests (I didn't get
their names but they were identified as tech
stategists from some investment / research firm)
discussed some of the recent Intel/DEC/AMD news
and movements. I will try to summarize what I
heard.
On DEC: The alpha needs someone to build PCs for
it. DEC has partnerships with Mitsubuishi and
Samsung and AST but needs one of the 'big boys'
before the alpha chip can move into a position
as a real threat to Intel's business. DEC, however,
is in trouble and is experiencing a severe case
of brain drain. One of the guests recently visited
one of their largest plants and the big problem
is that all the employees spend alot of time doing
their resumes and many are leaving/have left.
On AMD: This company has not yet figured out
exactly how to get into the business of making
AND MARKETING AND SELLING CPUs. Without major
partners and more of a plan than just "hey, let's
make some CPUs and sell them" they may "be
very vulnerable" to the same sorts of failures they
have had in the past.
On Intel: The company continues to have no
competition other than, possibly, DEC due to the
sheer size of the DEC and the alpha. Margins
remain the envy of the land. People forget just
how dominant this company is. They spend 4B on
research but do have some 'architectureal issues'
to solve with Merced.
End of my notes.
I am sorry they were sketchy. The spot was about
7 minutes long and I am sure I didn't get everything.
I don't normally watch this show, but was home sick
today and happened to see it, so if it is the usual
CNBC drivel, just let me know (once, please) and I
will never watch it again.
Comments/discussion are appreciated.
Again, thanks, Jules, for starting this thread.
Regards,
J
ps - caveat: I am currently long on Intel with current
cost basis of $51. |
