Thank you for your compliments on my posts. As I said last night [made dozens of posts last night], I am an unabashed Intel bull, but I am trying NOT to be an Intel cheerleader.
The point you make is one of the weaknesses in DEC's case: their chip IS generally considered to be at least equal to Intel's, and until at least the last few months has generally been considered superior from a PURELY technical perspective. If DEC's chip is better, and is widely considered as better, it's hard to argue that Intel stole your technology, or is putting you in the position of competing against your own technology. A primary reason that Intel is now impinging on DEC's performance comes from increasing clock speeds, which have to do with Intels skill as a semi mfgr., and shrinking geometries rather than with chip architecture. This is also an area in which DEC can't claim infringement.
Intels success clearly comes from its marketing -- TV ads, "Intel Inside" and other things that were innovative for a semi mfgr[although they might be mundane to a consumer company like Proctor & Gamble], and from the power of the X86 relative to the installed software base. Intel's strength does NOT does not derive exclusively from technology; Intel's technology IS good, but no better than that of Sun, SGI, Motorola or even DEC from a PURELY abstract technical basis.
DEC can't claim infringement from either the marketing advances or the X86 instruction set. The 386, which contains the core of the instruction set as currently used, was out in what, 1986 [I could be off by a year or so] ? DEC is claiming that Intel infringed on confidential information shared in 1990 to 1991. So I think that this is a critical weakness of DEC's case.
We will have to wait for more FACTS [not too much available yet], Intel's response, UNBIASED evaluation [I'm trying to provide some of this] and industry reaction [hardware/software/computer/financial industries] to see what will happen. The worst case outcome for Intel could be catastrophic, but I think it is unlikely. In the meantime, if there is no quick resolution or settlement, Intel could easily delay a final outcome until after Merced is shipping [probably will take longer than that anyway with no effort], AND could make ABSOLUTELY sure that Merced is non-infringing. So by the time the verdict comes down, the subject chips would have been replaced by subsequent generations anyway as far as then currently shipping product. This would mitigate SOME aspects of an adverse decision, should that be the outcome. |
