Bill, thank you for your thoughtful post. I fully agree that Intel will stand strong for a while, even with all "errata" and coming failure of hype around MMX. However, it looks that the AMD-K6 seriously unseated the P55-MMX, so the Intel had to shift their production to P-II ahead of plans, with all related production problems. I think the situation will press Intel even more with M2 and C6 on horizon.
I only want to add that today there is a difference in sutuation with AMD. In the past, AMD was doomed to be behind because of 386 and 486 design was not owed by them. This days they have the full-scale development technology and logical models completely in-house, so they are no longer limited technologically, and could quickly monitor the market twists and demands - MMX-2, AGP, on-chip L2, etc. However, it does not guarantee that they will make the right strategic and marketing decisions, but at least one part of the business equation is now independent.
Best regards,
- Ali |
