>> One interesting little company that I try to get a handle on from time to time is Transmeta
Hey, Ray ... Jay. Ask and ye shall receive, courtesy of the Redherring spies:
Transmeta comes into focus
herring.com
Transmeta already has given strong signs of what it's working on, based on filings with the U.S. Patent Office. The company was granted four patents from November 3, 1998, to September 28, 1999.
Transmeta, with major manufacturing partners, plans to make a microprocessor that's less expensive and easier to manufacture than PC chips on the market today. Given the information in the patent filings, Transmeta's software is expected to allow microprocessors to run any computing operating system -- from Windows to Linux to the Palm OS.
Transmeta, therefore, will target the high-volume, low-cost market for Internet access devices, rather than the traditional PC market. It's even less likely to pursue higher-end server deals.
Drilling deeper into Torvalds's Transmeta
redherring.com
Redherring.com sources say the company is making a microprocessor for Internet appliances running the Linux operating system. It's a huge undertaking. With Transmeta's chip technology -- which translates software written for Intel's (Nasdaq: INTC) x86 architecture to Transmeta's native P95 architecture -- a handheld device would be able to run Windows CE applications without using Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) OS or Intel's chips.
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Transmeta executives are mulling whether Linus Torvalds, the company's pitchman, should flash a Transmeta-powered Web device as a proof of concept when he delivers his keynote speech at Comdex on Monday evening, a former hardware designer for Transmeta says. The company has not planned to make a detailed announcement about its vision and technology until mid-January
Transmeta discussion on Slashdot
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