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Technology Stocks : Compaq -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Captain Jack who wrote (66870)	8/22/1999 6:54:00 PM
From: Elwood P. Dowd	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 97611

Sunday August 22 6:31 PM ET - Compaq Abandons Alpha Project BOSTON (AP) - Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ - news) has abandoned efforts to make its advanced Alpha computer chips compatible with 32-bit Windows 2000, the next version of Microsoft Inc.'s NT operating system due out later this year. Houston-based Compaq said it has disbanded the 100-person team assigned to the project, and some layoffs are likely. ''The decision in no way diminishes our commitment to Microsoft or Alpha,'' he said. ''Alpha is the development platform for 64-bit Windows NT.'' The company continues to work with Microsoft to develop 64-bit Windows NT, Compaq spokesman Jim Finlaw said Sunday. The Alpha chip has been consistently faster than the competing Pentium chip because it's built to handle 64 bits of data at a time, compared to 32 bits for Pentium, The Boston Globe reported Saturday. But Alpha's 64-bit design won't run on Window's 32-bit operating system, including NT, without a translation program, the newspaper said. This translation causes Alpha to run slower, eliminating its advantage over Pentium. The operating system is what runs the computer's basic functions. Finlaw said he could not confirm such a slowdown, but said the decision was based on customer demand. ''We do not plan to support 32-bit Windows 2000 on Alpha systems because we're getting the power and performance customers need ... with 32-bit Windows NT on the Intel platform,'' he said. ''We've got to go where the volume is.'' Meanwhile, he said, Compaq will focus on selling its Alpha-based machines with Linux and Unix operating systems. Unix is widely used for high-end corporate computing because it's considered more reliable than Windows NT. Linux produces a 64-bit version of its operating system for Alpha users that is available at low cost. The Alpha chip was developed in the early 1990s by engineers at Maynard-based Digital Equipment Corp., which was acquired by Compaq in 1998. The alpha chip, which Compaq helps design, is manufactured by Intel and Samsung, among others, Finlaw said. Search News Stories Search News Photos Aug 21 \| Aug 20 \| Aug 19 \| Aug 18 \| Aug 17 \| Aug 16 \| Aug 14 \| Aug 13 \| Aug 12 \| Aug 11