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Top Stories for October 14, 1999 (details below) |
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| EE Times | SiS acquires Rise CPU technology |
| Electronic Buyers' News | Judge Reverses Ruling In Intergraph vs. Intel |
| InfoWorld Electric | Intergraph will appeal Intel patent ruling |
| The Register Files | |
| The Register | Intel chief: 64-bit could take ten years to conquer desktop |
| The Register | i840 Carmel mobo details leak |
| The Register | Intel still king of x86 jungle despite Q3 slip |
| Today's Related Stories | |
| InfoWorld Electric | Taiwan chip vendor licenses low-cost x86 processor |
| C/Net | SiS eyes Intel-compatible chips with Rise deal |
| Microprocessor
Headline News Collected By Robert R. Collins |
Week of October 10, 1999 |
Older News |
October 14, 1999 |
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SiS acquires Rise CPU technologyBy Mark Carroll October 13, 1999 |
Silicon Integrated Systems Corp. (SiS ) has acquired CPU technology and related intellectual property from Rise Technology (Santa Clara, Calif.).
Silicon Integrated Systems, a leading Taiwanese supplier of core logic and graphics chips, said Tuesday (Oct.12) that it was acquiring the CPU technology from Rise is to expand its technology portfolio in order to fuel its continued long-term growth. |
See Today's Related Stories |
Judge Reverses Ruling In Intergraph vs. IntelBy Mark Hachman October 13, 1999 |
In a stunning twist, a U.S. district court on Tuesday reversed its own ruling on a fundamental point of law resting at the heart of Intel's patent dispute with OEM Intergraph.
Judge Edwin Nelson ruled that National Semiconductor did indeed own the "Clipper" microprocessor patents, and, therefore, Intel is covered under its 1976 patent cross-licensing agreement with National Semiconductor. Judge Nelson granted Intel's motion for summary judgment and tossed out Intergraph's patent claims with prejudice. |
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Intergraph will appeal Intel patent rulingBy James Niccolai October 13, 1999 |
Workstation manufacturer Intergraph officials said they will appeal Tuesday's U.S. district court ruling dismissing the company's patent-infringement claims against Intel.
"We will immediately begin the appeal process with Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit," Jim Meadlock, Intergraph's president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. |
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The Register Files |
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Intel chief: 64-bit could take ten years to conquer desktopBy Graham Lea October 13, 1999 |
Gordon Moore is alive and well -- and so is his law, Intel boss Craig Barrett said at the Gartner ITExpo in Orlando yesterday, dismissing the recent suggestion by an Intel engineer that Moore's time was up.
In fact Barrett envisaged five more generations before the limits of CMOS technology were reached, when the signal to noise ratio would become critical at around 0.05 microns. By most standard this is pretty optimistic, and provided Barrett isn't just whistling in the dark it suggests that Intel must have several rabbits it thinks it can pull out of its R&D hat. But as a consequence, Barrett thinks that the world will come to an end on 15 June 2015 - or at least CMOS will. |
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i840 Carmel mobo details leakBy Mike Magee October 13, 1999 |
Sources close to Intel's plans have said that the company will release its Carmel (i840) chipset towards the end of the month, and, at the same time, introduce a motherboard aimed at the workstation market.
The board, dubbed the OR840, is expected to cost around $250 for the boxed version and will support up to two Intel CPUs. |
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Intel still king of x86 jungle despite Q3 slipBy Mike Magee October 13, 1999 |
Chipzilla staggered to its full height yesterday and bellowed aw-wooh-aw-wooh-aw as it released Q3 financial earnings that only marginally disappointed Wall Street. (Yeah, we know that it was Tarzan that made that noise, but you get the picture.)
And Craig Barrett, the rough and tough CEO of Intel, said that it expected its fourth quarter results, always its best selling period, would show considerable and good growth. |
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Today's Related Stories |
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Taiwan chip vendor licenses low-cost x86 processorBy Terho Uimonen October 13, 1999 |
Core logic and graphics chip vendor Silicon Integrated Systems (SIS) on Tuesday
announced a licensing agreement with Rise Technology that will make SIS the second Taiwan-based company with access to x86 processor technology for PCs.
The deal is another sign that Taiwan is emerging as the main supplier of low-cost alternatives to processors from market leaders Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, which is likely to put further downward pressure on prices. |
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SiS eyes Intel-compatible chips with Rise dealBy Michael Kanellos October 13, 1999 |
Although few companies are making money on low-cost PC processors, Taiwan-based Silicon Integrated Systems today announced that it will likely start producing inexpensive Intel-compatible chips through a licensing deal with struggling Rise Technologies.
SiS, which makes chipsets, graphic chips, and other computer components, announced today that it is licensing intellectual property from Rise that will allow it to manufacture Intel compatible microprocessors. |
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October 13, 1999 |
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Chipset maker SIS licenses CPU technology from RiseBy Mark Hachman October 12, 1999 |
In a strategy that closely emulates fellow chipset maker Via Technologies Inc., Silicon Integrated Systems Inc. has licensed CPU technology from troubled microprocessor vendor Rise Technology Co.
SIS disclosed few details about the agreement, however, in a statement the Taipei, Taiwan-based company confirmed it has licensed "CPU technology and related intellectual properties." Calls to Rise, Santa Clara, Calif., weren't immediately returned, so it was unclear specifically which processor technology SIS has licensed. |
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Via defies Intel's P6-bus license ban by shipping new Apollo Pro chipsetBy Mark Hachman October 12, 1999 |
Via Technologies Inc.'s simmering legal contest with Intel Corp. took a step up in intensity this week when the company began shipping its Apollo Pro 133A chipset in what Intel claims is a clear case of patent infringement.
The new P6-class chipset includes a 133-MHz front-side bus and an AGP 4X graphics connection, as well as an interface to PC133 SDRAM. The former two features include technology developed by Intel. |
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Via Prepares 133-MHz Chip Set
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Via Technologies launched its first chip set supporting a faster 133-MHz system bus speed, which the Taiwan vendor says will soon be a standard feature in mainstream PCs.
Although only an incremental increase from today's 100-MHz systems, Via's new Apollo Pro133A chip set also supports a range of other features not yet available on systems powered by market leader Intel's current line. Chip sets are key integrated circuits on a PC's motherboard that define its system capabilities. |
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Judge rejects patent claim against IntelBy Evan Hansen October 12, 1999 |
A federal judge today threw out a patent suit against Intel, ending one part of a multipronged legal challenge by computer maker Intergraph.
The decision represents a remarkable turnaround in the case, which was closely watched primarily because of its implications for separate and more serious antitrust allegations. Those charges, which await a decision on Intel's appeal of an adverse preliminary injunction in the case, were not directly affected by today's ruling. |
See Today's Related Stories |
Intel's Camino chip set to ship in Q4, says sourcesBy Mark Hachman October 12, 1999 |
Intel Corp.'s twice-delayed Camino PC chip set will ship in the fourth quarter, and most likely in November, according to industry sources that were briefed by Intel this week.
A spokesman for Intel professed the company officially no knowledge of the meeting, which several sources said was conducted in advance of the company's quarterly earnings conference call today. "There have been no public updates on Camino," said a company spokesman, who added that platform integration work continues and no new launch date has been scheduled. |
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Barrett says Intel learned from Pentium III spatBy Juan Carlos Pérez October 12, 1999 |
Intel learned a big lesson from the controversy that followed the introduction of its Pentium III processor this year: People like having options.
"We came away from that whole episode with one deep-rooted learning: The most important thing is to give end-users control and choice over whether to be private or secure," said Craig Barrett, Intel's president and chief executive officer, Tuesday at Gartner Group's Symposium/ITxpo '99 here. The Pentium III incident also made Intel aware that there are users for whom security is paramount, and others for whom privacy is crucial. |
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Coppermine key for Intel's holidayBy Michael Kanellos October 12, 1999 |
The fourth quarter for chip giant Intel is going to largely depend on a chip code-named
Coppermine.
The "Coppermine" processor, a deluxe version of the Pentium III debuting October 25, will likely become one of the major issues for the semiconductor industry over the next three months. What makes the chip special? At a speedy 733 MHz and faster, it should excite consumer demand. At the same time, it will cost less to manufacture than current Pentium IIIs, making it an accountant's dream. |
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Intel invests in BIOS makerBy John G. Spooner October 12, 1999 |
Intel Corp. has put money into Insyde Software Inc., a startup BIOS vendor.
Insyde, based in Taipei, Taiwan, completed its second round of financing with a contribution from Intel Pacific and the China Development Industrial Bank, which it says is the largest venture capital firm in Taiwan. The BIOS, or basic input/output system, is a core piece of software that allows the PC's operating system interact with its hardware. Insyde develops BIOS software only for notebooks and information appliance devices. |
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Intel earnings fall short of expectationsBy Michael Kanellos October 12, 1999 |
Pricing and expense pressures caused Intel to miss profit expectations for the third quarter as the chip giant reported earnings of $1.9 billion, or 55 cents a share, excluding acquisition costs.
Like other PC-centric companies, Intel is shipping more products than ever before. Volume, however, is not completely compensating for lower prices, resulting in deflated earnings. Intel also missed profit expectations last quarter because of pricing pressure. |
See Today's Related Stories |
The Register Files |
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Rambus fixed? We'll wait and seeBy Mike Magee October 12, 1999 |
Forbes magazine is claiming that Intel and Rambus have found a solution to the technical problems which have dogged the introduction of Chipzilla's i820 Camino chipset.
According to the report, which can be found here, wiring specifications which caused the difficulties have now been solved. But Intel has so far unable been to confirm a solution has been arrived at. According to a representative in the UK, engineers are still working to fix the problems. |
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SiS licenses Rise x86 technologyBy Mike Magee October 12, 1999 |
Taiwanese chipset company SiS has licensed a whole raft of x86 technology from Rise, to help it grow its integrated solutions business.
SiS, like Via, is a competitor to Intel in the chipset business. The licence deal means Rise is in a better state to continue developing technology, while it gives SiS more ammunition to better fight its chipset corner. |
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Intel's Xeon chips to migrate downwardsBy Mike Magee October 12, 1999 |
Chip giant Intel is expected to announce shortly a subtle change in its strategy on its high-end Xeon processors, bringing the server family much closer to the desktop family of chips.
That has emerged after an investigation into the pricing of new Coppermine Pentium III and Xeon processors, which Intel will introduce in the week of the 25 October, as we exclusively revealed two days ago. |
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Today's Related Stories |
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After Shortfall, Intel Has High Hopes For Q4
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Despite recent pricing pressures and some unanticipated bumps in its road map, Intel Corp. expects to end the year on a high note.
The chip maker, based here, posted third-quarter earnings Tuesday that fell slightly short of Wall Street expectations. But Intel executives said they expect revenue for the fourth quarter to be up from the third quarter. "We expect strong seasonal demand for all products," said Andy Bryant, Intel's senior vice president and chief financial officer in a conference call with analysts Tuesday. |
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Intel's revenues up 9% in Q3, but acquisitions dent earningsOctober 12, 1999 |
Intel Corp.'s binge of acquisitions in the past few months increased its revenues but dented its earnings in the third quarter of fiscal 1999, and the closely watched chip maker fell short of analysts'
expecations.
Intel today reported quarterly revenues of $7.3 billion, up 9% from the same period a year ago, when it took in $6.7 billion. It was identical to the company's performance over the second quarter of fiscal 1999. |
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Intel earnings fall short againBy Sergio G. Non October 12, 1999 |
Intel Corp. missed again.
For the second straight quarter, the world's largest maker of PC processors fell short of analysts' estimates. In third-quarter results releaswed after market close Tuesday, Intel reported net income of $1.9 billion, or 55 cents per share, not counting acquisition costs. First Call's survey of 23 analysts predicted a profit of 57 cents per share for the September quarter. |
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Intel earnings rise 21 percent, but lower than expectedOctober 12, 1999 |
Intel Corp.'s third-quarter operating profit rose 21 percent, but the chipmaker's results were shy of forecasts and may heighten earnings fears that helped send the stock market plunging on Tuesday.
The world's largest manufacturer of semiconductors earned $1.9 billion, or 55 cents a share, in the three months ended Sept. 26, excluding one-time expenses related to acquisitions of other companies. |
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Judge dismisses Intergraph patent claim against IntelBy Reuters October 12, 1999 |
A U.S. federal district court judge Tuesday dismissed a patent claim against Intel Corp. (INTC.O) brought by computer maker Intergraph Corp. that was part of an antitrust case against Intel, the world's leading chip maker.
While the patent case was dismissed, a broader case is still set to go ahead on the related issue of alleged coercive behavior and illegal business practices by Intel. |
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Judge Reverses Ruling Against Intel In Intergraph CaseBy Marcia Savage October 12, 1999 |
A federal judge Tuesday reversed his previous ruling against Intel Corp. in Intergraph Corp.'s patent infringement lawsuit against the chip maker.
U.S. District Judge Edwin Nelson granted Intel's motion for reconsideration and vacated his June 4 order that said Intel had no license to use Intergraph's microprocessor patents. His original ruling struck down Intel's claim that it had rights to use Intergraph's patented technology through a cross-license agreement between Intel and National Semiconductor Corp. |
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October 12, 1999 |
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Intel Commoditizes 3D Graphics
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With the introduction of the 810E chip set (see MPR 10/6/99, p. 30), Intel has pushed integrated graphics from the low end to the mainstream of its product line, leaving discrete 3D accelerators for only the most performance-conscious users. By next spring, the majority of new PCs are likely to be using a chip set with integrated 3D graphics--most with Intel's name on them. This represents a huge change from early this year, when nearly all PCs contained a discrete 3D-graphics chip.
While integration has been a powerful force in PC design for years, this transition is unusual: in many cases, PC users will see a decrease in performance when comparing the new integrated parts with older designs. The 3D core built into Intel's 810 and 810E is competitive with the least expensive discrete 3D chips available today but behind the chips typically used in midrange PCs. The success of Intel's integrated devices indicates how few OEMs and PC buyers care about 3D performance. |
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Intel leads Nasdaq to record highBy Bloomberg News October 11, 1999 |
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose to a record today, led by Intel, which will post earnings tomorrow. U.S. stocks are on track to report the fastest profit growth in more than four years in the third quarter.
"With the economy as productive as it is, we're going to see some good earnings," said Richard Sichel, chief investment officer for the Philadelphia Trust. Sichel recently bought shares of Tyco International and MCI WorldCom. |
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The Register Files |
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Via piles pressure on Chipzilla with chipset introBy Mike Magee October 11, 1999 |
Chipset manufacturer and up-and-coming processor contender Via will today announce the intro, in volume, of its Apollo Pro133A chipset.
The chipset, which is the subject of litigation by Intel's large legal department, supports AGP 4x, the 133MHz front side bus, PC-133 and the ATA66 bus. Via claims it is the first to market with this type of solution. |
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Rise not shining in chip desperation derbyBy Mike Magee October 11, 1999 |
Internet jockeys now routinely trot out phrases suggesting that they're at the leading edge of technology, with the pace a constant gallop towards a winning post which moves so fast that they can never cross the line.
But those hip and cool cyber wallahs are living in a slightly different universe from the grumpy and curmudgeonly folk in the world of microprocessors. This branch of the industry has always had a reputation for having the roughest, toughest sales people in the computer industry. The reason for that is because the cost of making chips, without but especially with fabrication plants (fabs), is very high. |
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Intel to come clean on i820, Rambus tomorrowBy Mike Magee October 11, 1999 |
Intel will tomorrow morning US Satan Clara time hold an analyst briefing at which it is expected to clarify its position on the vexed future of the Camino i820 chipset and Rambus memory technology.
As we reported last week, the indications are that it will admit that product is at least three months away. |
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AMD, Intel deny mobo muscle allegationsBy Mike Magee October 11, 1999 |
Allegations that Intel has used its muscle in the market to deter Taiwanese manufacturers from producing motherboards for AMD microprocessors were denied by both companies today.
On the contrary, AMD has said that it is very pleased with the response of the Taiwanese mobo makers, with more partners coming on board quicker than it expected. |
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Acer Semi to merge with TSMC?By Sean Fleming October 11, 1999 |
Speculation is mounting that chip maker Acer Semiconductor and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) -- the island's largest foundry -- are to merge.
Back in June, TSMC revealed it would take a 30 per cent stake in Acer Semi, and now a full-blown merger is thought to be on the cards. |
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Intel admits founder's Law on its last legsBy Tony Smith October 11, 1999 |
Watch out, semiconductor people -- Moore's Law is about to be repealed. That's the conclusion of one Paul Pakan, a scientist at Moore's own company, Intel, published in an article in a US science journal called... er... Science.
The gist of Pakan's comments is that while chip developers have been dutifully doubling the number of transistors in a processor every 18 months, in accordance with Moore's Law, for the process to continue, the transistors will become so small -- ie. they'll be made from under 100 atoms apiece -- that chip designers will no longer be able to control them. |
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October 11, 1999 |
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AMD bets the farm on its microprocessor businessBy Mark LaPedus October 8, 1999 |
Placing a huge and perhaps final bet to fund its struggling microprocessor business, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. last week went against the grain by putting its profitable communications-chip business up for sale.
Though there were no buyers for AMD's Communications Group as of last week, the announcement prompted a flurry of speculation about the future of this operation, as well as the company as a whole. |
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Rough road ahead for low-end PC processor makersBy Mark Hachman October 8, 1999 |
Market pressures are slowly tightening around the throats of low-end PC microprocessor vendors, trapping Rise Technology Co. and threatening the future of Via Technologies Inc.'s two design teams.
One of the two paths to escape extinction, executives say, is to adopt the cynical but realistic viewpoint that customers want high clock speeds at rock-bottom prices. "Megahertz matters," said analyst Keith Diefendorff of MicroDesign Resources Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif. The only other alternative to dropping prices directly is to craft less expensive integrated system-on-a-chip (SOC) devices, according to observers. |
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Intel's Itanium looks over its shoulder--and sees IBM and AMD comingBy David Lammers October 8, 1999 |
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and IBM Corp. sailed into the Microprocessor Forum this week with CPU strategies that could put a competitive squeeze on Intel Corp.'s IA-64 Itanium (previously code-named Merced) processor in 2001 and beyond.
AMD disclosed it will extend the x86 architecture to the 64-bit realm in its eighth-generation Sledgehammer CPU, a strategy that could serve the low end of the PC server market as well as desktops. |
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Has Size Of Chips Reached Its Limit?By John Markoff October 10, 1999 |
For more than three decades, Moore's Law has been an unshakable principle for the computer industry: every 18 months, the number of transistors that will fit on a silicon chip doubles.
Named for semiconductor pioneer and Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, who first stated it in 1965, the phenomenon has been the foundation of the computer revolution. As transistors have been scaled ever smaller, computing performance has risen exponentially while the cost of that power has been driven down. And it has been assumed in the industry that the rate of progress would hold for at least another 10 to 15 years. |
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Intel scientist sees chip design limits
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After 30 years of progress in the quest to make cheaper and faster computers, an Intel researcher said scientists may have reached the limit of their ability to scale down a silicon
transistor crucial to the technology revolution, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Citing an article in the journal Science, the Times reported that Paul Packan, a scientist with Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC), the world's largest chipmaker, said semiconductor engineers have not found ways around basic physical limits beyond the generation of silicon chips that will begin to appear next year. Packan called the apparent impasse "the most difficult challenge the semiconductor industry has |
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The Register Files |
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AMD cools on Slot-B, but Alpha alliance still strongBy John Lettice October 10, 1999 |
Rumours of the demise of the deal between AMD and Alpha Processor Inc. (API) over Slot-B may have been somewhat exaggerated, according to sources close to the companies. AMD director of product marketing Steve Lapinski seems to have started this particular hare when unveiling the company's first 64-bit chip, "SledgeHammer," but he might just have said a little more than he intended to. | |
Camino to appear in Q1 2000, says IntelBy Peter Sherriff October 8, 1999 |
Coppermine based Pentium IIIs will hit speeds of almost 800MHz sometime in Q2 next year, according to the latest leaks from Chipzilla’s roadmap.
Internal Intel charts show a 733MHz (133MHz FSB with a 5.5x clock multiplier) part aimed at systems in the $1.5 - $2K price range and a mysterious '7XX' part for systems in the over $2K bracket. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to calculate that a 6x multiplier would result in a speed of 798MHz. |
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Coppermine: we got the prices -- it's an Intel goldmineBy Mike Magee October 8, 1999 |
Intel has managed to meet the deadline for the introduction of its Coppermine processors set by CEO Craig Barrett one month ago, as details of pricing for the parts leak through its distributor and dealer channel.
At autumn's Intel Developer Forum, Craig Barrett imposed a geas* on his employees to release Coppermine desktop processors in late October. Earlier in the year, Intel had said the parts would be delayed until November. |
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