Ten,
Of course, it's going to be hell to execute perfectly on such a plan. And the press is certainly not going to be one bit
forgiving if Intel falters in any one area (RAS problems, lower-than-expected performance, lower-than-expected
volumes, take your pick).
It could be that the press will understand less about IA-64 and the products it will go into, and lay off of it some. I've maintained for a while that the reason all the analysts feel they can pick on Intel is because they think they know the microprocessor and PC businesses. They don't bother trying to nail a Cisco because they think only that ATM is where you get money and a gateway is a PC vendor. IA-64 should at least snow them a little. OK, any schedule slips can be seen by anyone.
Once IA-64 takes off (whenever that'll be), Intel will combine RAS and pure performance along with the
SHV concept. This is what will differentiate Intel from the competition like Sun or IBM.
I like that statement. Intel has clue. RAS is good. IBM did invent it, though, and Sun has picked up on it. Got to at least do as well as those guys. A key is to not spend too much $$ in terms of chip, board, or system area on it, or make performance suffer because of it. Most important, don't overdo it such that it ends up like the tail wagging the dog.
Bring it on, this IA-64. With it, Intel can at least in part shake some little annoyances, like the AMDs, Cyrixes and Vias of the world. And, no sweat re monopoly when you're up against the likes of IBM and Sun.
Tony |
