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Technology Stocks : The New Qualcomm - a S&P500 company -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: engineer who wrote (9895)	5/10/2000 1:20:00 PM
From: Cooters	Respond to of 13582

engineer, I've noticed a T/AWE direct rebuttal to the Gilder WSJ piece has been conspicuously absent from the WSJ Letters to the Editor, or anywhere else for that matter. Cooters

To: engineer who wrote (9895)	5/10/2000 2:00:00 PM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 13582

This solidifies Q lead> <Network processors are set to replace the custom-designed chips used in the current routers and switches that propagate the Internet. These custom chips are known in the industry as application-specific integrated circuits, meaning they are designed to do one very specific job very well. But an ASIC has two important drawbacks that make network processors attractive. First, ASICs take a long time to design and build. The process of going from the drawing board to a finished chip inside a router can take two years or more for a piece of equipment meant for several years of operation. That's not Internet speed. Why not simply buy a ready-made chip off the shelf that can do the same things an ASIC can do? This, NPU proponents argue, would shorten the all-important time-to-market factor, cutting valuable months from the process of designing a router or switch. Second, ASIC, by it's very nature, is inflexible. Once built, it is very difficult to teach it new tricks. The Internet is a dynamic medium that is rapidly changing. Who would have known, in 1996, for example, that voice and video would become an important component of Internet traffic by 2000? An NPU could be adapted to meet changing needs with software downloaded from the Internet. Last year, the buzz surrounding the market was such that Intel (Nasdaq: INTC - news) and IBM (NYSE: IBM - news) pledged to get into the network processor market. This year, they have made good on their promises and both say they are shipping products. But don't count on these products to have a big impact on corporate revenues. Tom Bain, equity research analyst at Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown, says in the case of Vitesse/Sitera, network processors will make up 5% of sales in calendar year 2001. For Globscan, network processors will account for 3% of sales, and Conexant Systems, 1.5%. Although Freeman believes it is far too soon to predict winners or losers, winners and losers there must be, he says, suggesting that the market may only be able to support two suppliers over the long term. The company whose product does win the most hearts will do so by attracting third-party hardware and software developers to its platform, making it easy for network equipment makers to mix and match the hardware and software components they deem to be the best for their needs. Who's Who In Network Processors Maker Communications Framingham, Mass. Acquired by Conexant Systems (Nasdaq: CNXT - news) in December 1999 for $943 million Agere Austin, Tex. Acquired by Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU - news) on Jan. 20 for $415 million C-Port North Andover, Mass. Acquired by Motorola (NYSE: MOT - news) on May 9 for $430 million Sitera Longmont, Colo. Acquired by Vitesse Semiconductor (Nasdaq: VTSS - news) for $750 million in stock; shipping first products now T.Sqware Santa Clara, Calif. Acquired by Globespan (Nasdaq: GSPN - news) for $200 million Intel (Nasdaq: INTC - news) Santa Clara, Calif. Currently shipping its own network processor, the IXP1200 IBM (NYSE: IBM - news) Armonk, N.Y. Shipping two network processor products MMC Networks (Nasdaq: MMCN - news) Sunnyvale, Calif. Shipping several network processors Go to www.forbes.com to see all of our latest stories.> biz.yahoo.com