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To: techanalyst1 who wrote (11969)	6/7/2002 12:18:39 AM
From: Bill Harmond	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 57684

I'm not arguing with you. I agree PC's are a maturing market, at least in the US and Europe. I haven't followed Intel closely, and like you, have avoided the PC complex. I can't get into the heads of the recent buyers of Intel so I don't know what they expect. This much I do know, though, and that is x86 is central to almost (with due respect to Sun) all things Internet and on the server side is gaining share especially with the rise of Linux. You may have noticed Intel saying today that enterprise sales were as expected. The last PC cycle peaked (I'm guessing now) in 1998 or 1999 because of Y2K compliant bios need. The typical model from that period had a PIII 600 or so running Windows 2000 which is still a very powerful machine. If I were an IT manager I'd upgrade the monitors first because of space and energy savings. The only reason to upgrade a computer would be for a larger drive or a digital video interface I guess. Replacing the entire machine at this point for either of those needs is probably a cost-effective option. So I don't have a compelling reason to think Intel is about to see a big ramp in desktop demand. Mobile and servers are another story. From what I read those two are very healthy segments. Sooner or later the Y2K "boomers" will become more trouble than they're worth, but I doubt it's anytime real soon. The last question today I found the most interesting. An analyst asked if any of this softness could be attributable to the HPQ merger. No comment on that specific from the company. My guess it has plenty to do with it since those are the two biggest brands at retail and it's back-to-school that's a concern.