| May 29, 1998 |
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By Kurt Oeler
May 28, 1998
C/Net
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Intel will lay off up to 650
manufacturing employees at a Dupont, Washington,
facility, the first group of some 3,000 positions the
company expects to trim from its rolls over the next five
months. In August, Intel will begin phasing out its PC
and server computer manufacturing operations in Dupont,
where the company completes the assembly of chips, hard
drives, and other components. Intel does not sell these
products under its own name, but markets them to
third-party vendors who brand them independently.
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Today's Related Stories |
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By Michael Kanellos
May 28, 1998
C/Net
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A Federal Trade Commission decision on
whether to file an antitrust case against Intel has moved
to the second-to-last phase in the process, making it
possible for a case to be filed in the next few weeks. The
FTC investigative staff has sent its recommendations to
William J. Baer, the director of the Bureau of
Competition for the FTC, sources close to the
investigation said.
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Today's Related Stories |
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By Edward F. Moltzen
May 29, 1998
Computer Reseller News
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Intergraph's CEO said his company, which
is suing Intel for anticompetitive behavior, has not
actively helped the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in its
probe of the chip maker's business practices. Jim
Meadlock said he only had one brief conversation with FTC
officials about his Intergraph's claims against Intel,
but is assuming the agency has culled publicly available
records about the Intergraph-Intel lawsuit in federal
court.
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By Reuters
May 29, 1998
C/Net
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Investors yesterday appeared to shrug
off, for now, a looming lawsuit by the Federal Trade
Commission against Intel, whose chips are inside more
than 80 percent of the world's personal computers. Government
lawyers are preparing charges that the world's largest
semiconductor company illegally abused its monopoly power
to hurt its rivals, sources familiar with the case told
Reuters late Tuesday.
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By Erich Luening
May 28, 1998
C/Net
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Chip behemoth Intel today filed suit and
won a restraining order against an alleged racket that
tampers with its microprocessors and stamps them with
false speed ratings before selling them at higher prices. Intel
lawyers reportedly told Australian Federal Court Justice
Brian Tamberlin that a "remarking" scheme
involving Pentium and Pentium II chips originated in Asia
and had spread to Australia. Since reports of fake chips
first surfaced, fears of counterfeit proliferation have
spread.
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By Lisa DiCarlo
May 28, 1998
PC Week Online
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Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s K6-2 chip,
announced today, is not only a watershed product for the
company, but it also marks the beginning of a campaign to
compete on more levels with Intel Corp. The K6-2, with
21 integrated 3D instructions called 3DNow, is the first
nonclone processor developed by an Intel X86 competitor.
Cyrix Corp. and Centaur Technology Inc. will use the
3DNow! extensions in forthcoming processors.
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By Will Wade
May 28, 1998
Semiconductor Business News
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OPTi Inc. here announced late yesterday
that a possible deal to sell its systems logic group had
fallen through. The company has been in discussions for
the past three months with an unnamed potential buyer,
and even received an offer for the business unit, but
that offer was withdrawn. Bernard Marren, president
and CEO of OPTi, said he did not know why the offer was
withdrawn. However, he did note that rumors of the deal
had reached some of OPTi's shareholders.
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| Today's Related Stories |
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May 28, 1998
San Jose Mercury News
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Intel Corp. plans to close its computer
manufacturing division at its 2-year-old plant here,
which will cost as many as 650 employees their jobs. The
computer chip maker will continue its research and
development operation at the plant south of Tacoma, which
employs about 1,800 people, Intel spokesman Bill Calder
said.
He said Intel plans to contract with an outside vendor
to perform the computer assembly work. The assembly line
will be phased out by the end of the year.
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By George Leopold and Alexander Wolfe
with additional reporting by Ron Wilson
May 28, 1998
C/Net
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The antitrust lawsuit that the Federal
Trade Commission is expected to file against Intel Corp.
sets the stage for another government-industry showdown
over competition in the U.S. computer industry, and
raises questions over whether Intel and partner Microsoft
Corp. should be compelled to change the way they deal
with PC makers. Industry and legal observers agree that
Intel's bitter legal battle with Intergraph Corp.
(Huntsville, Ala.) was a turning point in the FTC's
decision to pursue an antitrust case against Intel. In
that case, Judge Edwin Nelson of U.S. District Court
ruled on April 10 that Intel had engaged in
"anti-competitive practices" by attempting to
extend its monopoly in microprocessors to other markets.
Intel is appealing that decision.
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By Tom Schmidt and Margaret Kane
May 28, 1998
PC Week Online
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It's looking more and more as if Intel
Corp.'s turn is next. In the shadow of the recent
antitrust assault on Microsoft Corp., the Federal Trade
Commission appears on the verge of taking the next step
in bringing its own antitrust action against Intel, the
other half of the so-called Wintel duopoly.
As early as Friday, FTC staffers are expected to
recommend a two-pronged suit against the world's leading
microprocessor maker, according to sources close to the
investigation and published reports.
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By Mary Mosquera
May 28, 1998
TechWeb
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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is
expected to slap Intel with an antitrust lawsuit for
allegedly using its monopoly power illegally against PC
makers that use its microprocessors. An FTC spokeswoman
said Thursday she could not comment on agency
investigations.
Howard Morse, former assistant director of the FTC's
Bureau of Competition and now an attorney at Drinker,
Biddle & Reath in Washington, D.C., said any
antitrust suit the government would bring against Intel,
if it did act, would draw upon legal proceedings related
to Intergraph, a workstation maker based in Huntsville,
Ala.
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By Christine Casatelli
May 28, 1998
TechWeb
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The U.S. government is gearing up to
launch another high-tech antitrust suit -- this time
against Intel, according to The New York Times Thursday. The
Federal Trade Commission is reportedly getting ready to
charge the chip maker (company profile) with using its
dominant position to withhold important technical
information about its microprocessors from some computer
manufacturers.
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| May 28, 1998 |
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Mercury News Staff and Wire Reports
May 28, 1998
San Jose Mercury News
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The Federal Trade Commission is moving
ahead with plans for a tightly focused antitrust suit
against Intel Corp., despite indications from the company
that it would change some of the business practices at
issue. The suit would accuse Santa Clara-based Intel of
withholding key technical information about its
microprocessors from at least two computer manufacturers
with which Intel was involved in patent disputes. Because
of Intel's overwhelming dominance in the microprocessor
market, manufacturers are essentially unable to design
new computers without that information.
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Today's Related Stories |
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By Tom Quinlan
May 27, 1998
San Jose Mercury News
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Advanced Micro Devices will attempt to
escape Intel Corp.'s long shadow today when it introduces
a new processor ''unlike anything Intel has.'' According
to analysts and sources familiar with AMD's new
processors, the K6-2 chips and AMD's 3D-Now technology
should provide enough power at a low enough price that
AMD can start moving into the more expensive and
lucrative market for multimedia PCs.
The chips are impressive enough that at least two
major PC manufacturers -- International Business Machines
Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. -- will announce plans to use the
chips in PCs on Thursday, support AMD was unable to get
when it first announced the K6 line last April.
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By Michael Kanellos
May 27, 1998
C/Net
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A window of opportunity may open up this
week for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) when it unveils the
new K6-2 processor, although analysts caution that
aggressive pricing by Intel could quickly shut it again. Increasingly
found in sub-$1,000 PCs from top-tier vendors such as
Compaq and IBM, AMD's processor line could take another
step forward with the K6-2. Incorporating the new 3D-Now
instruction set, the chip is expected to be a staple for
the next round of high-performance, low-cost PCs.
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By James Niccolai
May 27, 1998
InfoWorld Electric
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IBM and Acer America this week released
business PCs that dip well below the $1,000 price mark.
But a $300 price gap between the offerings seems to
contradict conventional wisdom -- that newer processors
and more expensive PCs equal faster performance. IBM's
PC 300 GL is expected to retail at $969 and sports
Intel's recently introduced 266-MHz Celeron processor.
Acer's AcerEntra 3000 series starts at $699 and runs on
the older, 233-MHz Pentium MMX processor.
Although Acer's Pentium MMX machine costs less, it
will likely run business applications faster than IBM's
Celeron-based PC, said Michael Slater, industry analyst
and founder of Microprocessor Report, in Sebastopol,
Calif.
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| Today's Related Stories |
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By Kristin Balleisen
May 27, 1998
Washington Post
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Welcome
to Beltway Bootup.
WHEN IT RAINS: It just hasn't been a
good year for Wintel. First, Microsoft Corp. is sued
under the Sherman Act. Now it looks as if Intel Corp. is
closer to facing more monopoly-abuse charges. Sources
tell Reuters that the Federal Trade Commission's top
staff will review evidence against Intel within the next
week. If the case moves forward, expect narrow charges to
be brought in front of an administrative law judge –
with broader charges possible later. Meanwhile, Intel's
got to deal with competition. As the sub-$1,000 PC market
continues to exhibit legs, another Intel nightmare could
come true as PC makers turn to other chipmakers for the
low-end machines. "You can make money at $999 with
an Intel processor, but at $799 and below, you need one
of the other guys," says analyst Mike Feibus.
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| May 27, 1998 |
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By Reuters
May 26, 1998
C/Net
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Government lawyers are preparing charges
that Intel illegally abused monopoly power to hurt
rivals, sources familiar with the case said today. Within
the next week, top staff at the Federal Trade Commission
will review the proposed charges against the company,
which makes the microprocessors running four out of every
five PCs, the sources said.
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May 27, 1998
The Register
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AMD will release its K6-2 processor
tomorrow but details of its specification and pricing
have already leaked out. The first iteration of the
processor, will be a part that runs at 333MHz priced at
$369 in units of 1,000 and that will have a knock on
effect on other members of AMD's CPU family. According to
the leaks, the 300MHz part will cost $281/1000 and the
266MHz chip $185/1000.
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By Michael Kanellos
May 26, 1998
C/Net
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A window of opportunity may open up this
week for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) when it unveils the
new K6-2 processor, although analysts caution that
aggressive pricing by Intel could quickly shut it again. Increasingly
found in sub-$1,000 PCs from top-tier vendors such as
Compaq and IBM, AMD's processor line could take another
step forward with the K6-2. Incorporating the new 3D-Now
instruction set, the chip is expected to be a staple for
the next round of high-performance, low-cost PCs.
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| May 26, 1998 |
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By Anthony Cataldo
with additional reporting by Mark Carroll and Rick
Boyd-Merritt
May 26, 1998
EE Times
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Startup Rise Technology is about to
throw its hat into the ring of Intel X86 processor
competitors with a Socket 7 device geared toward low-end
PCs and notebook computers. The new entrant comes at a
time when processor, graphics and core-logic companies
are partnering to deliver integrated parts to power
low-end systems whose price points are continuing to
fall. The move toward sub-$700 PCs is forcing the
industry to look for as many ways as possible to cut
costs. "By the end of this year, you will see at
least one of the major U.S. OEMs offering a sub-$600
PC," said Samuel Liu, president of Taiwanese
chip-set maker Silicon Integrated Systems Corp.
"Moving graphics functions onto the core logic is
one way to reach that price point."
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May 19 1998
The Register
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IBM today made an unprecedented attack
against its partner Intel, blaming it for confusing its
corporate customers. The director of IBM's personal
systems group in the UK and Ireland said that confusion
in the market over PC specifications was responsible for
lower demand from major corporations, although he
stressed it was his personal view.
Ian Boulton, the newly appointed head of the PC
business, said: "People are saying they don't know
what to do in the corporate market place." He said
while IBM was gaining customers, the value of their
orders was down.
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May 20 1998
The Register
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Intel said it had no comment to make
about a story on the US wires that it had licensed its P6
technology to an unnamed third party. But a
representative said that he was under the impression that
companies that wanted to license the architecture could
so anyway.
The report quoted Paul Otellini, general manager of
Intel's architecture unit as saying the company had
already licensed the technology and the company will
introduce chip sets soon.
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May 17 1998
The Register
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A US software expert claims he has
discovered the truth behind Intel's additional MMX2
instructions in its forthcoming Katmai processor. In
addition, he has posted information he said he found on
an FTP site, which could compromise Intel's internal
security. Clive Turvey, who has posted the information
at his web site at http://www.tbcnet.com/~clive/vcomwinp.html#KNI
said he came across the instructions accidentally on
Intel's own public FTP site.
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May 18 1998
The Register
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A row is set to erupt between
NatSemi-Cyrix and IBM after Big Blue said it would offer
the same processors to the market but at a lower price.
That could precipitate the end of the agreement between
both companies, as National Semiconductor prepares to
fabricate all parts itself. One source said it was on the
verge of announcing its own Slot One solution to attack
Intel on its own ground. A few days ago, it emerged
that IBM Microelectronics had difficulty in setting up
its distribution programme in Europe. IBM
Microelectronics is set to inflame the situation further
by asserting that its products have better packaging,
testing and distribution than the same chips from Cyrix.
The company today announced the release of two chips in
its 6x86MX range. These processors are produced as part
of a joint agreement with National Semiconductor-Cyrix.
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By Michael Kanellos
May 22, 1998
C/Net
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Next year will likely be a watershed for
the pricing and performance of notebook computers. Low-cost
yet high-performance versions of Intel’s Celeron
processor will begin to permeate the portable world in
the first half of next year, say sources, joining a
low-end notebook market being pioneered by Cyrix and
Advanced Micro Devices.
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By Mark Hachman
May 25, 1998
Electronic Buyer's News
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Once thought of as clone makers,
manufacturers of x86 microprocessors are beginning to
carve out unique road maps. The relationship between
IBM Microelectronics and National Semiconductor's Cyrix
subsidiary is quietly evolving beyond simply sharing
processor wafers.
And Integrated Device Technology's Centaur Technology
subsidiary described its plans to integrate core-logic
functions into its microprocessors at last week's PC Tech
Forum.
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Rude
Awakening
Most of forged Pentium II models
discovered in the United States
By Sabine Cianciolo
c't Magazine
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In the United States nobody so far took
notice of reports from far-off Europe regarding forged
Intel processors. But by means of the c't test program
'ctP2info' more and more users and dealers in Intel's
native country now discover that they also fell a victim
to the remarking fraud. Until quite recently forged
Pentium processors in the United States have simply been
a typical case of 'SEP' (Somebody Else's Problem). This
is aggravated by the fact that for many Americans the
importance of news diminishes corresponding to the
distance squared. This perhaps is the only possible
explanation for the lack of interest so far in the
American trade press concerning this subject.
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May 25 1998
The Register
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Senior executives at IBM
Microelectronics have said that the foil they showed in
the UK last Monday and exclusively revealed here, will be
based on the design of the Cyrix Slot One solution. But
that disclosure is set to mean further friction between
the two companies, as National Semiconductor-Cyrix looks
set to ditch IBM as its own fabs come onstream.
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