Kevin - Re: "...K7 ..can AMD produce it COST EFFECTIVELY and in SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH VOLUME before Intel's .18u offerings start appearing. "
Tomorrow we may know what Intel's 0.18 micron schedule is !
Check this out:
Intel will detail its plans for the ID numbers, as well as give more insight on its transition to making chips using so-called
0.18-micron technology, at a briefing on Thursday in Santa Clara,
Calif., where the 30-year-old chipmaker is headquartered.
Paul
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Wednesday January 20 7:54 PM ET
Intel Chips To Carry Identification Numbers-Sources
By Duncan Martell
PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuters) - In a move aimed at boosting computer security and speeding the acceptance of electronic commerce, Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC - news) on Thursday will disclose plans to place identification
numbers on its processors, analysts and industry sources said.
The world's largest chipmaker plans to put a unique ID as well as a random number generator in every processor, starting with its next-generation Pentium III chip. Analysts said that could prove a boon to electronic commerce by making it more secure for personal computers to encrypt data for transmission over the Internet.
''This will add another layer of security that cannot but help boost e-commerce transactions,'' said analyst Ashok Kumar of Piper Jaffray Inc. in Minneapolis. ''You already have software encryption and with the hardware assist; it increases the level of security.''
But that added security could come at a price.
Because it is wired directly into the chip, the feature could enable computer users to be tracked as they surf the Internet, analysts said. Even so, the analysts said, the benefits of added security and boosting e-commerce probably outweigh the privacy risks.
''There could conceivably be a privacy issue,'' said Nathan Brookwood of market research firm Insight 64. ''But at the same time they are no more profound than when you get on the Internet, you're going through a log-in process anyway'' with an Internet service provider.
Details of Intel's plans were first reported by online technology news service ZDNet. Intel officials declined to comment.
Sources said Intel would provide a software ''patch'' allowing them to turn off the ID feature.
The feature would also help Intel crack down on illegal sales of
microprocessors and so-called ''overclocking,'' where hackers essentially turbocharge, say, a 266-megahertz processor and then resell it as a 400 Mhz processor.
''Today, aside from the markings on the outside of the processors, there's really no way to tell one Pentium II from another,'' Brookwood said.
Intel will detail its plans for the ID numbers, as well as give more insight on its transition to making chips using so-called
0.18-micron technology, at a briefing on Thursday in Santa Clara,
Calif., where the 30-year-old chipmaker is headquartered. |
