Re: If Intel is going to commit a flagrant foul, they're not going to do it while the refs are watching closely...
Not unless they see no other way out of a major setback.
Just think about, it: VIA, SIS, ALI, FIC, etc, have been producing and shipping chipsets and boards that used these technologies for years. Intel has never taken issue with products such as these until AMD started shipping a processor that outperformed anything Intel had (remember, coppermine is just now starting to ship) and their selection of rambus as a memory technology blew up in their faces.
I think that Intel is genuinely worried about next year. Barrett has taken on a bunch of new, expensive, initiatives, and if Intel has to give up substantial margins in the CPU business until Willamette ships, it could be hurt pretty badly.
The response is this sudden, desperate attempt to exclude AMD from the PC market by claiming that some heretofore open to license technologies are no longer available and that previous license agreements don't apply if another company can produce products that are better than Intel's (Athlon, PC133).
It's pretty transparent, and if Dresden can't get copper to work, it's also unnecessary. They should have held off on this particular move, it's too raw.
Regards,
Dan |
