Microprocessor
Headline News

Top Stories for March 16, 2000 (details below)
EE Times	PCI-X silicon, systems due in second half
The Register Files
The Register	Intel broadsides Broadcom for poaching secrets

Microprocessor Headline News

Collected By Robert R. Collins

Week of March 12, 2000

Older News

March 16, 2000
PCI-X silicon, systems due in second half By Rick Merritt March 15, 2000 EE Times	The first products to support the PCI-X local bus standard are slated to roll in the second half of this year as new PC servers and supporting silicon emerge in tandem with Intel Corp.'s Willamette and Foster microprocessors. PC and chip makers gathered at the PCI-X Forum on Tuesday (March 14) to pledge their support for the faster, more efficient version of the Peripheral Component Interconnect bus.
The Register Files
Intel broadsides Broadcom for poaching secrets By Mike Magee March 15, 2000 The Register	Silicon giant Intel has confirmed it has taken legal action against Broadcom for allegedly acquiring its trade secrets by stealth. The firm yesterday filed a lawsuit against Broadcom, which makes silicon for digital cable set top boxes, alleging that the firm had wooed away three staff who possess inner secrets of Intel's Ethernet products. According to an Intel representative, Broadcom had engaged on "a systematic programme of targeting specific employees and placing them within roles which would inevitably lead to them divulging confidential information."
March 14, 2000
Judges dismisses antitrust charges against Intel By Ken Popovich March 13, 2000 PC Week Online	Intel Corp. did not violate federal antitrust laws by withholding product information from Intergraph Corp., the U.S. District Court in Birmingham, Alabama, ruled Monday in dismissing a lawsuit against the chip maker. Intergraph, which makes graphic chips and workstations, filed suit in November 1997 alleging that Intel unfairly retaliated against it by cutting off access to product information after the Huntsville, Alabama, company threatened to file a patent-infringement suit.
Intel wins antitrust ruling By Bloomberg News March 13, 2000 C/Net	Intel, the world's largest computer chip maker, won another victory in its battle with Intergraph as a federal court dismissed antitrust claims made against Intel. The U.S. District Court in Birmingham, Ala., said Intel didn't violate antitrust laws when it withheld information from Intergraph, a Huntsville, Ala.-based company that makes graphics chips and workstations.
S3-Via venture ships first integrated PC logic/graphics IC March 13, 2000 Semiconductor Business News	The three-month-old S3-Via Inc. joint venture today announced full production of its first integrated chip with graphics and video technology from S3 Inc. and PC system logic from Via Technology Inc. The new chip is part a joint-venture strategy to roll out highly integrated ICs for desktop and notebook PC platforms. Santa Clara-based S3 and Taiwan's Via Technologies Inc. announced the venture last year to expand on an alliance between the two companies (see Nov. 2 story).
March 13, 2000
Intel Willamette Preview March 10, 2000 iXBT Hardware	1999 turned out not very successful for Intel. On the one hand, the industry received Direct RDRAM not very enthusiastically, and on the other hand, VIA managed to make a really effective move with its Apollo Pro133/133A. As for the processors, the things were not quite smooth there as well. AMD finally managed to make full use of its hidden engineering potential and to offer a CPU, which would definitely help it out of the Low-End market sector. Moreover, AMD Athlon launched about half a year after Pentium III appeared quite a promising CPU in terms of clock frequency increase. Supposedly, in the end of 2000 these CPUs should be reaching the top of 1.4GHz while Intel's last offspring brought to the world this autumn, Coppermine, proved much less overclockable and by the end of the year is expected to achieve 1GHz at the most.
Transmeta CEO previews devices based on Crusoe By Anne Knowles March 10, 2000 PC Week Online	Transmeta Corp. is working with at least three manufacturers that are developing devices based on the chip designer's new Crusoe processor. Transmeta CEO David Ditzel showed slides of three prototype Crusoe-based systems during a presentation given at a Microprocessor Design Resource dinner here Thursday night.
Transmeta Shows Prototype Web Slate Top designers apply Crusoe chip's low-power capabilities to handhelds. By James Niccolai March 10, 2000 PC World	The designers that put together the slick-looking Palm V for Palm Computing, and the trendy Visor for Handspring, have now dreamed up a wireless Internet appliance called the Web Slate that showcases Transmeta's new Crusoe chip. Transmeta's Chief Executive Officer David Ditzel showed slides of the prototype device, designed by Ideo Product Development, during an industry dinner here Thursday. The Web Slate is the size of a paperback book, offers wireless Internet, and receives input via handwriting recognition.
Chip upstart takes on Intel ... with God By John Spooner March 10, 2000 ZDNet News	VIA Technologies is not your usual chip company. Just ask CEO Wen Chi Chen, who code-names his chips after biblical characters. The desktop PC processor market is shaping up to be a battle of biblical proportions. So it only seems appropriate that newcomer VIA Technologies Inc. names its processors after biblical heroes. Let's call VIA "David", because, lead by 45-year-old President and CEO Wen Chi Chen, the company is taking on a giant: Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC), the chip industry's own Goliath.
Intel follows AMD: Gigahertz-Pentium III By Andreas Stiller Issue 5, 2000 c't Magazine	Today, Intel presents its 1-GHz processor, two days after its rival AMD. However, the new processor will be available in limited quantities only. Mass production will not start until the third quarter of this year. Until then, 1-GHz systems can be obtained from exclusive PC sellers only. On the other hand, AMD plans to ship to retailers in April. The new processor is based on a Coppermine kernel that Intel introduced in versions from 600 to 733 MHz five months ago, and is manufactured in a 0,18 µm aluminum process. Today, many customers are still waiting for the 800 MHz version and it seems a bit strange that Intel now presents 1-GHz processors. It is a hard blow for the market leader that AMD got there first, but there also is a small advantage: Intels strategists could follow Athlon's prices. The 1-GHz Pentium III costs $ 990. It is $ 309 cheaper than its pretty expensive rival and hits the price point of the Athlon-950 quite well.
Week in review: Intel, AMD chips go supersonic By Kurt Oeler March 11, 2000 C/Net	Advanced Micro Devices and Intel each surpassed a landmark with the introduction of 1-GHz processors, but supply problems may crop up. Having raced to unveil the high-speed PC chips, the duo may struggle to furnish computer makers. Both companies have recently suffered manufacturing problems at the top end of their product lines, and both skipped over 900-MHz chips to get to the breakthrough "clock speed," an unusual step.
The Register Files
Intel censors Pentium III forums By Mike Magee March 10, 2000 The Register	The very day that Intel introduced its first 1GHz Coppermine processor, two days after AMD's release of its one gig chip, the company enforced new rules on its Pentium III product support forum. People who posted messages referring to Intel's competitor have now had their messages removed and replaced with a standard message advising them that if they want to talk about competitors' offerings, they should do so on non-Intel sites.
Intel Europe centralised puppets on a string By Mike Magee March 10, 2000 The Register	Chip giant Intel is not making things any easier for itself following the series of disasters that beset it last year during its annus horribilis. When it launched its Coppermine processors in both desktop and mobile versions last October 25th, only a day later it antagonised a vast swathe of its customers by telling them just the next day that there would be a big shortage of some parts at least until the end of Q1 this year. Even loyal tier one customers, like Toshiba, were irritated by the treatement they received at Intel's hands.
NatSemi's IA strategy paying off By Mike Magee March 10, 2000 The Register	The window of opportunity National Semiconductor opened for itself last year with information appliances (IA) appears to be paying off, the company said today, following the release of financial figures that showed it made a profit in its third quarter. The company turned in net profits of $327.8 million on turnover of $548.9 million, compared to a loss of $27.2 million for the same quarter last year.

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