Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Intel Corporation (INTC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Paul Engel who wrote (75994)	3/10/1999 8:08:00 AM
From: Kealoha	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 186894

Paul: Transmeta????? what's the story???? Intel outside By Owen Thomas Red Herring Online March 8, 1999 At least Intel (INTC) didn't have to go inside a federal courtroom. The surprise announcement Monday morning of a proposed settlement with the Federal Trade Commission in the antitrust suit brought against Intel is one spot of good news for the giant chip maker. "The FTC brief was a good, strong outline of an interesting story," says Rich Gray, a partner at the San Jose law firm of Bergeson, Eliopoulos, Grady & Gray. "The Intel brief put meat on all the bones." The Intel brief cited writings of economics professor Frederic Scherer, a government witness, in countering the FTC's arguments. "When you can use the other side's expert against them, that says something about your case," says Mr. Gray. GROWING COMPETITION Assuming FTC commissioners approve the settlement, Intel still faces a host of challenges, however. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and National Semiconductor's (NSM) Cyrix division have been gaining market share in consumer offerings. In the consumer market, PCs with AMD chips recently outsold PCs with Intel inside for the first time. AMD's announcement of its market share gains came shortly before the FTC and Intel announced the settlement; later Monday, however, AMD announced that it would not meet Wall Street's expectations and would lay off 300 employees. "The timing couldn't be any better for Intel," says Dan Niles, an analyst at BancBoston Robertson Stephens. WHAT PRICE SPEED? Intel's new Pentium III chip was met largely with yawns -- and a few loud boos. At a launch event, Intel CEO Craig Barrett acknowledged that people using PCs for productivity applications would see no real performance gains from the Pentium III; instead, he touted its superior graphics power for games. A controversial new feature, a unique ID in each Pentium III chip that can be tracked over the Internet, raised a storm of protest from consumer privacy advocates. The American Civil Liberties Union recently joined a coalition of groups that aims to have Intel drop or modify the chip ID. Intel agreed to modify the feature to turn off the tracking ability by default, but tech enthusiasts found it was easy to subvert Intel's modification to expose PC users. A boycott effort, targeted at the PC manufacturers who are Intel's main customers, remains a possible course of action for the privacy groups. Recent reports that Microsoft word processing and spreadsheet software contained a similar tracking ID may have reignited consumer privacy concerns, which showed signs of burning out after the launch of the Pentium III. Now, competitors appear poised to take advantage of consumer fears of privacy violations to gain market share at Intel's expense. "The whole concept of putting a secure ID feature into the chip speaks to the fact that Intel is still in denial," said Steve Tobak, National Semiconductor's senior vice president of marketing, in February. SILENT KILLER While the FTC and Intel mentioned a range of industry players in their briefs, one name appeared surprisingly prominently in both sides' claims: Transmeta. Speculation has run rampant that Transmeta, a secretive Santa Clara startup that recently filed a patent for "code morphing," has technology that could render Intel's lead in chip technologies irrelevant. The company is aggressively hiring both software and hardware engineers -- Linus Torvalds, the inventor of the Linux operating system, is among its employees -- but describes itself as a fabless semiconductor company. IBM (IBM) may provide its leading-edge copper-chip technology and manufacturing prowess to Transmeta. And it's rumored that Gateway (GTW) may have a deal to use Transmeta-designed chips in its next-generation Amiga consumer computer. "No comment," says Gateway spokesperson Bill McEwen. "I don't know anything about that." In documents filed with the court, Intel acknowledged that Transmeta was likely to enter the market in 1999. Transmeta officials could not be reached for comment, but it's safe to assume that Intel views Transmeta's products as a real threat to its core PC microprocessor franchise. Does Wall Street see a threat to Intel? "Not going to talk about it," says Mr. Niles. Robertson Stephens's venture-capital affiliate is an investor in Transmeta.

To: Paul Engel who wrote (75994)	3/10/1999 11:28:00 AM
From: Jeff Fox	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Paul, re: Level One This was a great move by Intel. LEVL is an excellent fit for Intel in product line, strategic and cultural. I'd like to know your opinion on where Intel might go with this... 1. I'm somewhat concerned with the fab of LEVL chips. What are its foundry relationships? 2. Do you see Intel moving to aquire/build internal fab for mixed signal? 3. What do you forecast for growth rate? (per LEVL history or higher?) 4. Do you see focus on fast Ethernet, or do you see thrust with ADSL and/or cable modem silicon? Your opinions are always tops. Thanks, Jeff

To: Paul Engel who wrote (75994)	3/10/1999 12:23:00 PM
From: andy kelly	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Hi Paul I'm sure you have sensed a certain emptiness on this board for the last 9 months-yes, my pesky questions have been missing. I fell off the edge of the earth but have recently managed to climb back up and am happy to find the INTC thread still as interesting as ever. A few questions? Is the Hudson fab now called #19? D1B now called #20? Do you think Intel will maintain IA32 and IA64 indefinitely or will everyone be moved over to IA64 after a few years? Do we have first silicon on Coppermine yet? Is AMD to your knowledge working on a 64 bit chip? Thanks Andy