Thread, about the ruling on Microsoft, and the potential impact on Intel:
If the government imposes corrective action on the items it extensively lists in the Finding Of Facts, this is my guess at what could result:
POTENTIAL PROS:
- Intel becomes more powerful; Microsoft's leverage over Intel with OEMs decreases
- Intel would be free to develop operating system independent APIs and DDIs to promote new microprocessor features, without fearing Microsoft will withhold Windows support for Intel Architecture, as the FF reports it did with Intel's NSP
POTENTIAL CONS:
- Intel has stated it wants to become the building block supplier to the Internet.
Problem: this requires industry standards. Success in the network business requires a common set of industry APIs, not a zillion different ones from every single vendor. To the extent Intel disables Microsoft's lead on being the depository for APIs/DDIs within the OS, would Intel possibly be disabling itself?
- In the worse case, a full-blown APIs war ensues between the industry giants (not immediately, but after several years have passed for the power of Microsoft to be diluted so that it no longer has control over APIs/DDIs.) Instead of Windows being the common depository for all 10,000 APIs, the industry may suddenly experience a number of competing APIs from every big player (LU, Cisco, Intel, IBM, Nokia, Sony, Microsoft, Motorola, etc.) resulting in incompatibility issues and one of the world's largest gridlock, which pretzels innovation, stalls the industry, and no one wins
- Incompatibility of standards is the biggest threat to industry growth. Will the large, competing companies have the foresight to realize it's better to work together on standards, than ship competing standards which result in an industry packed-full of incompatibility with no clear winner, which could result in dividing engineering design time/costs onto many different competing factions, with no net gain?
Amy J |
