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This Week's x86 Headline News
All other stories and details below
EE Times FTC extends Intel antitrust probe to PC chip sets
ZDNet UK Intel dumps Slot 1 for Mendocino
C/Net Intel countersues Intergraph

 

x86 Weekly News

Collected By Robert R. Collins

Week of June 15, 1998

Older News

June 19, 1998

Intel countersues Intergraph

By Dan Goodin

June 18, 1998
C/Net

In a two-punch counterattack on Intergraph, Intel has accused the workstation maker of infringing seven of the chip giant's patents and argued that an existing cross-licensing deal gives it "absolute immunity" against Intergraph's initial patent claims.

As part of a portfolio that numbers more than 2,500, Intel's patents cover a broad range of technologies for high-end computing, including graphics, disk access, and memory. In addition to the patent infringement claims, the countersuit by Intel alleges misappropriation of trade secrets, intentional interference with business relations, and breach of contract.

See Today's Related Stories

Grove squeezed between Pfeiffer and Gerstner
IBM expected to license technology from Compaq

June 18, 1998
The Register

Intel has found itself between a rock and a hard place after reports that IBM is about to license Alpha technology from Compaq.

That will put the future of Merced in further jeopardy, following Compaq's decision, reported here last week, to push its volume servers using the Alpha platform.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had earlier this year forced Intel to allow third parties to license Alpha technology after Intel came to an arrangement with Digital at the end of last year. Under that deal, Intel was forced to license that technology to AMD and others.

 

Otellini Shows Off Intel's Xeon

By Edward F. Moltzen

June 18, 1998
Computer Reseller News

Intel's executive vice president Paul Otellini showed off the chip giant's new Xeon dual server processor in a PC Expo keynote session in New York.

"Intel is investing tremendously ahead of the curve to support [improvements in] servers," said Otellini, executive vice president architecture business group for Intel. "With Xeon, we're going to set new records in price performance." Xeon is slated to ship on June 29.

 

Intel's Otellini: Expect faster versions of Celeron

By Margaret Kane

June 18, 1998
ZD Net News

Executive Vice President Paul Otellini took attendees at PC Expo through a tour of the company's processor line, in a keynote speech that focused more on how technology is being used than on where it is going.

But while Otellini mostly focused on existing offerings from Intel he did shed some light on new technology coming in the next few months.

In an interview after the keynote with PCWeek Radio, Otellini said that consumers can expect to see faster versions of Intel's low-end Celeron processor by the Christmas selling season. The newer version will feature a level 2 cache, he said.

 

New Intel design to cut costs

By Michael Kanellos

June 18, 1998
C/Net

To further cut manufacturing costs on its low-end chips while beginning its move into information appliances, Intel will release a version of the Celeron processor next year that abandons the "Slot 1" architecture that has become synonymous with the Pentium II.

The new chip package, currently called "370 Pin Socket," will eschew the long, steel, grooved connector of Slot 1 Pentium II chips. Instead, the new processors will be mounted into circuit boards through a series of metal pins. They will look more like traditional microprocessors, said Manny Vara, an Intel spokesman.

 
Today's Related Stories

Intel strikes back at Intergraph
Requests summary judgement, countersues over patents

June 19,1998
The Register

Pre-empting a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation into alleged monopolistic practices, Intel has filed a counter-suit against Intergraph, the company that sparked US government against it.

Intel filed its response to Intergraph's suit in an Alabama court and at the same time claimed the company had infringed seven of its patents. Intel also claimed that it had a long-standing cross-licensing deal with Intergraph which meant the case against Intel was null and void and asked for a summary judgement in its favour, according to reports.

 

Intel seeks summary judgment in suit, strikes back at Intergraph

By Margaret Kane

June 18, 1998
ZD Net News

Intel Corp. has asked a judge to dispense with a trial and issue a ruling in its dispute with Intergraph Corp. But its response to that original suit may get it into hot water with the Federal Trade Commission.

Intel on Wednesday filed a motion for summary judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, asking the court to decide on patent infringement claims filed by Intergraph last year. Intel maintains the patents are covered in a prior licensing agreement it signed with National Semiconductor Corp., which sold the patents to Intergraph in 1987 along with assets of its Advanced Processor Division.

 

Intel seeks dismissal, damages in Intergraph patent lawsuit

By Elinor Mills

June 18, 1998
InfoWorld Electric

Intel said Thursday it is asking a judge to dismiss patent infringement and other claims in a lawsuit filed against it by Intergraph and is alleging that Intergraph has infringed on seven of its patents instead.

In the motion for summary judgment and counterclaims filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Alabama, Intel also asked the court to rule that it does not have to disclose its trade secrets to Intergraph and to order Intergraph to return alleged Intel trade secrets. Intel's counterclaim seeks punitive damages and unspecified damages for breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, and patent infringement among other claims.

 
June 18, 1998

Intel dumps Slot 1 for Mendocino

By Richard Barry

June 17, 1998
ZDNet UK

Sources close to Intel have confirmed that the forthcoming Mendocino processor will not use the Slot 1 architecture. Instead, Mendocino, which Intel hopes will receive a more positive reaction than its predecessor the Celeron, will sit on a pin grid array (PGA) similar to socket 7.

Intel has confirmed the report saying "the socket is a PGA called socket 370 and enables OEMS (Intel customers) to achieve cost savings. Slot 1 is more expensive because of its packaging".

See Today's Related Stories

Intel tests next-generation Direct Rambus DRAM from LG, Toshiba

By David Lammers

June 18, 1998
EE Times

Intel Corp. said it has tested the initial 64- and 72-Mbit Direct Rambus DRAMs from Toshiba Corp. (Tokyo) and found that they meet Intel's speed targets.

Intel confirmed on Tuesday that the parts had passed pipelined read/write testing at the 800-MHz speed, including initialization procedures and power management. Testing of initial silicon from LG Semicon (Seoul, South Korea) is currently in progress at Intel.

Intel has not only stuck by the Rambus approach, but has even dropped the idea of using double-data-rate (DDR) DRAMs in graphics subsystems, said a DRAM technology manager for Fujitsu Ltd. The manager said that Fujitsu is also ready with engineering samples of its Direct RDRAMs.

 
Today's Related Stories

Intel plans yet another socket design
Cost prompts new socket for low-end designs

June 18, 1998
The Register

Intel has confirmed it will introduce a new socket design next year aimed at the low end market but claims it will not abandon its proprietary Slot One technology.

A representative said: "The idea is that it's cheaper to make and you won't need retaining clips on the processor, as with Slot One." OEMs, he said, were told of Intel's plans a few days ago.

But he said that the new pin grid array (PGA) design, which Intel snappily dubs the 370-pin Socket, will be incompatible with either Socket Seven, used by competitors AMD and NatSemi-Cyrix, or the P6-based Socket Eight, which the Pentium Pro used.

 

Intel changes chip plans

By Matt Loney

June 18, 1998
ZDNet UK

Intel Corp. confirmed Wednesday that the next-generation Celeron processor will be available in both a socket and a slot architecture, signaling that some PCs with the processor will cost less than expected.

The next Celeron, code-named Mendocino, will include 128Kb of on-chip level 2 cache and will launch later this year in the same Single Edge Processor Package as the current Celerons.

 

Intel plugs new socket for Celeron

By Andy Santoni

June 17, 1998
InfoWorld Electric

Aiming to reduce the cost of Basic PCs, Intel next year will offer Celeron processors in a pin-grid array (PGA) package that plugs in to a new socket that is an alternative to Slot 1.

So far called simply "370-pin Socket," the interface is not compatible with either Socket 7, the Pentium interface, or Socket 8, the Pentium Pro interface. It is meant to complement, not displace, the Slot 1 design, according to an Intel representative.

"We are not moving away from Slot 1," the representative said.

 
June 16, 1998

Cyrix Intros M II-333 Chip, Drop Price On 300-Version

June 15, 1998
Electronic Buyer's News

National Semiconductor's Cyrix Corp. today announced the M II-333 X86 microprocessor for desktop PCs, dropping the price on its older M II-300 chip.

The new M II-333 does not run at 333 MHz; rather, the 333 rating is used to give buyers a sense of the chip's performance compared against an Intel processor. After the company developed versions of its 686MX line at the equivalent of 300 and 333 MHz, Cyrix renamed those chips as the "M II" product family.

 
June 15, 1998

FTC extends Intel antitrust probe to PC chip sets

By George Leopold and Brian Fuller

June 12, 1998
EE Times

As it prepares to present its antitrust case against Intel Corp. to an administrative law judge, the Federal Trade Commission continues to pursue a broader investigation of Intel's chip-design and licensing procedures that could have far greater implications for the PC industry.

Sources confirm that FTC lawyers are probing whether interface changes Intel made in its Pentium chip design represented an improvement in performance or instead created incompatibilities that locked in OEMs.

See Today's Related Stories

Intel Charges May Have Limited Impact

By Mark Hachman and Chandra Steele

June 12, 1998
Electronic Buyers' News

Government allegations that Intel misused its monopoly control over the microprocessor marketplace are likely to have little effect unless prosecutors widen the scope of their investigation, according to industry observers.

The case, which was filed last week by the Federal Trade Commission, charges Intel (company profile) withheld crucial documents from customers who refused to relinquish key patent rights. Those patents would have enabled Intel to tighten its monopoly grip on the processor industry, according to the FTC.

 

Copper bottomed RAMs to speed IBM chips
IBM Microelectronics breakthrough could benefit AMD, Cyrix

June 15, 1998
The Register

News that IBM is considering building its copper interconnect technology into Intel-based Xeon servers last week was followed by announcements of other ways it will use the super-fast process. And CPU manufacturers Cyrix, AMD and Centaur-IDT are also set to benefit from the technology.

Last week, a senior executive from IBM Emea, said that the technology, which uses copper rather than aluminium, would eventually result in x.86 based systems which would give a 40 per cent performance boost. Intel then expressed surprise at the announcement, saying that while it will use copper interconnect, it would come with its .13 micron technology, which is some years off. Earlier this year, IBMs CEO Lou Gerstner, promised such technology would arrive by this summer.

 

Overclocking: Intel accused of indifference and manipulation
Taiwan engineer seeks aid to bring US lawsuit

June 8, 1998
The Register

A Taiwanese engineer is seeking help in mounting a lawsuit against Intel in the US. I-Ming Lin, who filed against Intel in Taiwan last December, claims Intel has been involved in defrauding consumers via a combination of indifference to and complicity in overclocking. He is seeking help in Chinese-English translation and expert witnesses who could help him put together a case for the US courts.

I-Ming Lin has produced a document outlining his case, a translation of which is available on the Inside Intell site, http://www.pro-desk.com/inside/special/remarking/lawsuit_p1.htm. The basis of his action is that "regardless of the manufacturer, Intel, AMD or Cyrix, the processor dies from wafers within the same family are identical in cost and design in the process of manufacturing, testing, and packaging." Therefore, he says, all of the processors produced from these dies are capable of the same clock speed, which in Intel's case is defined by a rating standard as "the targeted core speed which can be considered "good" after manufacturing and rating procedures."

 

Toshiba ships 800-MHz RDRAMs

By Will Wade

June 12, 1998
Semiconductor Business News

Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc. here today announced it has shipped functioning direct Rambus DRAM (RDRAM) silicon that is running at 800 MHz.

The company says this would make its chips the first such devices to operate at that speed. Toshiba says its samples are now undergoing system testing and chip set validation.

 
Today's Related Stories

FTC set to widen Intel investigation
And both AMD and Cyrix put boot in...

June 15, 1998
The Register

Investigators from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are set to extend their inquiries into Intel's business by focusing on other areas than patents.

According to several unconnected reports, the FTC will broaden its case against the chip giant by investigating whether its introduction of proprietary Slot One technology put competitors, including Cyrix, AMD and Centaur-IDT at a disadvantage.

 

FTC could broaden Intel case

By Lisa DiCarlo

June 12, 1998
PC Week Online

Although the Federal Trade Commission lodged a complaint against Intel Corp. earlier this week, the agency is far from finished with its investigation.

The FTC slapped Intel with a lawsuit charging that the semiconductor manufacturer unlawfully used its monopoly power to separately force Compaq Computer Corp., Digital Equipment Corp. and Intergraph Corp. into giving up specific patents-royalty-free-to Intel.

 

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