Rande, snagged this off Yahoo...good stuff!
theglobeandmail.com
"Corel and Intel discuss alliance
In talks with computer maker to launch cheap line of
PCs that would challenge Microsoft's dominance
SIMON TUCK
Technology Reporter
Thursday, March 9, 2000
Ottawa -- Corel Corp. is in talks with Intel Corp. and at least one major computer maker to launch a line of cheap personal computers that takes direct aim at Microsoft Corp.'s near-monopoly in desktop PC operating systems.
"There are lots of discussions under way," Corel head Michael Cowpland told The Globe and Mail yesterday, just before the start of the Ottawa software maker's annual general meeting. "We've been talking for months."
Mr. Cowpland said the talks are "multifaceted" and involve other computer industry players. Although he wouldn't reveal further details, Corel and Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel would likely also want to include a computer maker, a browser company and an Internet service provider. "There's a huge amount of action."
Under the deal being discussed, Corel will supply its Linux operating system, a cheap and reliable alternative to Microsoft's dominant Windows software. There are no details on what the hardware component of the computer would be, but Intel markets a line of low-cost microprocessors called Celeron.
Doug Cooper, a spokesman for Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel, said the two companies have been working together for "quite some time," but that the key relationship in the arrangement would involve Corel and a computer maker. "We want to ensure that the mainstream software works best with Intel chips."
A definitive deal would be a technology industry landmark because it would mark a new path for Intel, which has made its name -- and its vast fortune -- largely on the back of its lucrative relationship with Microsoft. The two giants have dominated their respective areas of the PC industry through a partnership commonly known as "Wintel."
But Mr. Cooper said Intel believes in choice. "It's certainly good news for consumers," he said of the talks.
There is no indication that Intel plans to sever or scale back its relationship with Microsoft of Redmond, Wash.
For Corel, a deal would mark its latest -- and easily most important -- step in the company's strategy of increasing its user base by bundling low-cost versions of its software with the major players in other corners of the PC industry.
But a deal would also mark a return to a head-on confrontation with Microsoft, a strategy that sent Corel into a tailspin in the mid-1990s as it attacked the software giant's entrenched position in the office software market.
Deal update
Corel, Inprise won't adjust merger" |
