Intel disputes Japan FTC's unfairness warning

http://tinyurl.com/5slps
TOKYO, March 8 (Reuters) - Chip giant Intel Corp. (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday disputed a warning by Japan's antitrust regulator about unfair business practices, saying the company believed its practices were fair and lawful.

Intel warned by Japan antitrust watchdog

http://tinyurl.com/4e83e
TOKYO, March 8 (Reuters) - Intel Corp. (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) received a warning from Japan's Fair Trade Commission about unfair business practices, the regulator said on Tuesday, marking the FTC's second such action against a computer industry giant following a similar move against Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) last July.

Where Intel will produce its 65 nano, 45 nano chips
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=21612


My guess is that 65nm will require the latest 300mm equipment, so so the future Lexlip and the converted Fab12 sites are probably better candidates then New Mexico's F11X, which will most likely continue 300mm 90nm.

The differences in planning btween AMD and Intel for future processes is highlighted by these comments. Intel, with its more conservative approach, is far more likely to have a usable and manufacturable solution far sooner than AMD. It will be fascinating to see how far immersion technology will take the industry, if at all. However, it will be a given that if AMD uses this technology at 45nm and Intel doesn't, the Droids will attempt to claim that their beloved company is ahead in process technology.


I think intel really really really, wants to skip immersion, and go on to Extream Ultra Violet, but from what I gather, EUV doesn't work yet. If intel can extend the performance of 193nm, then they will get the future benefits of EUV without having to invest in the shorter term immersion stopgap solution.

Semi
So that would be the side away from the Reservation?


Right..... more towards Price Road, over that-a-ways.....

Semi
This makes good sense. It would be poor planning to build a huge fab and not plan for expansion. I hope Arizona realizes what side it's bread is buttered on. Would the hypothetical new fab be on the north side of F22 or west?


Shoot, I always get the orientation on the 2 Fabs on the Ocotillo campus messed up, because they are not oriented identically. Let's see, so........ if you are standing on dobson road, and facing F22, then you are standing south of the Fab, which would then be oriented east/west. So I "believe" that actually means the bridge is on the east side of the fab, so it would need to be built on the east side of F22.

btw, I believe that Fab12 is oriented more northeast/southwest

I think the outcome will be the same as it was when the 8 Member Chandler City Council voted on F22.....

Unanimous



Late Edit: I believe it is actually a 7 member council..... whatever

Intel is going through a very similar situation here in Arizona. The Fab12/22 facility in Ocotillo is big enough to expand and there is a push here for legislative action to make tax laws more business friendly. Intel's proposals here include (IIRC) up to 3 additional fabs, bringing the eventual total as high as 5. I haven't seen Intel's Ireland plans but it's not impossible that the long term plan could be similar.


Interesting story, when F22 was being built, there apparently were design plans implemented, to attach another Fab to Fab22. I remember when I took The open house day window tour, the tour guide mentioned that one section of the Fab building was called "The Bridge". It didn't strike me at the time, but about a year later, I met this construction worker who worked on the F22 facilities, and he told me that all of F22's facilities were run up to an outside wall, and capped off "at the end of the bridge". As I heard it, the rumor at the time, was that when desired, "the bridge wall" would be knocked down, and the facilities uncapped, "when they build the other fab. Then "the bridge" would function as a cleanroom connection between the 2 fabs". Interesting huh?

Construction Worker rumor and speculation, of course


The opposition here is Arizona is calling the proposed tax law changes "corporate welfare" or a multi-hundred million dollar giveaway. The tortured reasoning being that if you reduce the tax burden then the State has "given" the company the money they would have otherwise collected. Because business will otherwise move somewhere with a lower tax burden, failure to pass tax relief will have the same result. I guess that's a multi-hundred million dollar giveaway too...


I don't think there'll be an issue. Since you live around here, I'm sure you've heard the Governor, and most of the real decision makers, when they speak about intel. There's a love fest around these parts. It may have something to do with the ~ 15K jobs, intel brings to the state. There will be a bunch of (loud) noise during the process, but I think the outcome will be the same as it was when the 8 Member Chandler City Council voted on F22.....

Unanimous

AMD appears to be behind the curve here, despite having perhaps a more "true" dual-core solution (props to Doug, er, chipdesigner). Meanwhile, Intel is pushing hard with the platform theme, and it seems to be resonating everywhere.


Ya wanna know something? Whether dual core is 2 pieces of silicon connected together with assembly packaging interconnect technology, or 2 cores on 1 piece of silicon, It really doesn't matter much, performance wise. It's mostly cost difference. I think in that way now, because what I've discovered, is that Packaging Technology, is far more advanced then I though it was, say, even only 1 year ago. It's really amazing to me the difference in perspective that it brings when you change from the outside looking in, to inside looking out.

BTW, in case you were wondering, I don't make semiconductors anymore, per se'. I R&D assembly and packaging technology now

New Intel Irish plants 'under threat'

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/04/intel_irish_plants/
A report has suggested that the IDA's decision to withdraw €170m in grant aid for Intel could have more severe consequences than originally thought.

The Irish Times has reported that Intel Ireland has sought planning permission to build as many as three new factories in Leixlip, Co Kildare, where it already employs some 4,700 people at a massive microchip manufacturing complex. However, the recent decision by the IDA to withdraw some €170m in grant aid for Intel could influence the company's stance on the construction of two of the three new facilities.

Dual core Robohordes shows off chip futures

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=21596
ONE OF THE COOLEST DEMOS at IDF was a game called Robohordes from Naked Sky Entertainment. I say demo not game because it was meant to show off the dual core capabilities of the P4/Smithfield, and if you spend the time to talk to the developers, it actually does so fairly well.

If an earthquake leveled an Intel fab, this thread will spin the news into a positve thing for Intel even before the ground stops shaking. Just incredible.
Andy Grave


And I can't help noticing, that this persons response to my post, offered no real rebuttle of the content of my post, nor any content of real value to this thread at all, for that matter. Only criticism.

Considering the source, I'm not surprised.

RE: FTC
That's fantastic!
That means that Intel can get higher prices now b/c they won't be able to discount. Buy signal!
Smooth


Actually, I think that more likely, the main ones to be hurt, will be the Japanese Computer vendors. The ruling applies to Japanese computer makers only, and don't forget, the intel inside campaign, which is still active in countries neighboring Japan, will make Japanese computer maker prices higher then their neighbors. Since Japanese business's can buy their computers from anywhere, I expect that Japanese Computer Vendor sales will decline, and those orders will most likely go to Computer vendors elsewhere. Null effect to intel, and a bunch of Japanese computer makers pissed off at their government.

Edit:
Ya know, intel might even end up saving some marketing dollars, recouped from any Japanese intel inside PR campaigns

IBM is a great company with great people and great products :)


Based on developments over the past year or so, I don't believe that you are going to find much love, or sympathy, for IBM on this thread, sorry

You don't even know who is
fabbing their SHUB/SHUB2 ASICS :) It could still be IBM.
Doesn't that scare you a bit?
Smallpops


Shoot, in that case, then following along with that opinion, the logical conclusion, is that "anyone" involved with IBM in fabbing something, should be "scared a bit", right?

Intel leads 32/64-bit chip sales, CEO says

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-5595063.html
SAN FRANCISCO--Advanced Micro Devices may have come to market with the first x86 chips that can run both 32-bit and 64-bit software, but Intel's chief said his company has surpassed AMD in shipments in that sector.

Father of Moore's Law to receive Marconi prize

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-5597085.html
In its 31-year history, Columbia's Marconi Foundation has handed out only two Lifetime Achievement Awards. Make that three--with the father of Moore's Law.

AMD Profit And Stock Options

http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=21097828
WASHINGTON -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) said that if it had used the fair-value method accounting for stock options for the year ended Dec. 26, 2004, it would have posted a loss for the year of 18 cents a share instead of net income of 25 cents a share.

Intel Says New Chip-Making Technology on Target

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&e=2&u=/nm/20050303/tc_nm/tech_intel_...
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC - news), the world's largest chip maker, is seeing good results with an advanced manufacturing technology it plans to use in products next year, an executive said on Wednesday.

IBM's Opteron ruse falls to long-term Intel love

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/03/ibm_amd_storm/
IBM last month announced its new Hurricane chipset for the xSeries line of servers. The product garnered a lot of attention first for its apparent strength in boosting the memory performance of basic servers. Hurricane also caused a stir because, unlike its predecessor, it won't support Intel's 64-bit Itanium processor. But reporters and analysts largely ignored the fact that IBM shunned Opteron as well when making its future x86 server plans.

Unlike rivals HP and Sun Microsystems, IBM appears to have little desire to make Opteron a central part of its server line. HP and Sun have put considerable investment and energy into creating unique, homegrown Opteron servers. IBM, by contrast, looks content to buy third-party designed Opteron hardware, leaving serious research and development work for Xeon-based systems.

Intel set to acquire Lurv logo

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=21559
Either way, VIIV is the new 64-bit trademark that Intel is about to roll out, one that has been know for quite a while. The burning question is, what is the logo going to look like?

Only 2?"

http://www.overclockers.com/tips00732/
If there's anything we've learned in the last few years, it's that there's a pattern when a CPU company is having problems making a chip. The advance chips either don't show up, or if they do, they show up slow.

IDF: "NOR is not dead", says Intel

http://tinyurl.com/665ek
Chip giant Intel was keen to push the virtues of NOR flash at its developer forum, as it announced production of multi-level cell NOR flash memory on its 90nm process, with the comment "NOR flash is not dead".....

Last year Intel’s revenues from flash were 34 per cent up over 2003 figures. It shipped more than 100 million units of 0.13µm StrataFlash.....

Intel to continue Irish expansion

http://tinyurl.com/64b8m
The expansion of Intel’s Fab 24 at Leixlip in Ireland will go ahead, despite the company withdrawing its application for a major grant from the Irish government.

However, the company hinted the situation may affect decisions on where to site its operations in future.

Intel preps HyperTransport competitor

http://eet.com/semi/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleId=60404677
SAN FRANCISCO — Intel Corp. plans to embed a memory controller and to use a common high-speed serial interconnect as the processor bus for its Itanium and Xeon server processors starting in 2007, EE Times has learned.

re: The recent problems that IBM has had with selling it's PC division to Leveno is a prime example of the oversight the US Govt has on similar dealings.

Didn't seem all that difficult to me... I remain paranoid.
Smooth


I'm not sure what some would consider "difficult", though the deal doesn't seem to me to be going smoothly, and AFAIK, so far, the deal has not been approved by US Government regulators....

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=20979
Security panel will review IBM Lenovo takeover
THE CHINESE government won't be happy about this, but the acquisition of IBM's PC business by Lenovo will be investigated by a federal panel.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=21433
A REPORT from Bloomberg News claimed that faced with an investigation from a US security panel, IBM has offered a deal which vastly complicates the proposed sale of its PC business unit to Lenovo.

http://tinyurl.com/4odhp
On Thursday, Bloomberg News reported that IBM was proposing concessions to U.S. regulators worried that IBM's planned $1.25 billion sale of its PC assets to Lenovo could pose a threat to national security. According to the report, IBM's proposed concessions included measures such as sealing off buildings in a shared office park and witholding the names of its U.S. government customers.

Aren't you being a little Pollyanna-ish to the possibility that some China manufacturer will just steal the technology?


Hummmmm, I had to look that one up
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=pollyannaish

By that definition, I don't believe that I am, for 2 reasons:

First, I don't believe that intel shares that type of proprietary information with the semiconductor equipment vendors. Let's take a major Litho Vendor, ASML for example. While ASML would need to know what exposures, and aperture settings intel might be using in their steppers, for a specific process, that doesn't mean that they would have access to the Line/Space, or Contact/Via diameter, Critical Dimension data, that results from those settings. More likely they're told "Your Equipment passed our tests". And even if they did share that data, that would tell ASML nothing about the Etch, Thin Films, or Diffusion portions of the process, and none of that data would tell them anything about the design itself. It would be like having the greatest puzzle in the world, but you only have 1/4 of the pieces, and no picture example to go by, in other words..... useless.

Secondly, The US Government. Despite the fact that China has joined the WTO, which removed plenty of restrictions that the US Govt had placed on selling High Technology to the Chinese, there is still quite a bit of scrutiny (fear?) involved with any type of High Technology being sold to Communist China. The recent problems that IBM has had with selling it's PC division to Leveno is a prime example of the oversight the US Govt has on similar dealings.

IMO, having a Chinese CD burner copy a Major Motion picture from a Cam somebody brought into the theatre is one thing. Making a Pentium or Opteron clone is something else.

LONDON — Intel CEO Craig Barrett has said that current legislation "demotivates" Intel from making further investment in Arizona.......


Sounds to me like pre-legislation passage talk, designed to motivate the state assembly into passing a tax break, to make it more attractive to either retrofit Fab22, or to build an additional fab in Az. I think, a better report on the legislation, and a "clearer" view of how intel arizona is viewed by the company, can be found reported in the local press...


http://tinyurl.com/3vu2h
Costs, including taxes, are part of the business-climate issue. Intel is among the multinational companies supporting a bill in the Arizona Legislature that would change the way corporate taxes are calculated. House Bill 2139 would allow companies to use a formula that relies less on the share of property and payroll they have in Arizona and more on the amount of sales they make within the state. "The current formula is a demotivating factor for growth and investment, because if we increase our property and payroll in the state and our revenues stay neutral, we pay increased taxes," said Hillary Juel, government affairs manager for Intel in Chandler.


I don't really see how revenues stay neutral, when you're either converting a 200mm Fab22 to 300mm, or building an additional fab, wouldn't revenue from the site go up? If the bill passes, and intel were taxed on the sales in the state, instead of based on the value of the property and payroll, it sure seems like it would be a big savings.

In any case, since intel is making so much "noise" about this, that tells me that they really want to put this investment in Arizona. Plus, I have this friend in the construction industry. He worked on the construction of fab22, and he told me, that the buildings power/plumbing/waste systems, were designed to attach an additonal fab. Alhough that doesn't mean they have plans to do it

Now - How can intel keep the semi equipment folks from sharing their technology with competitors? There must be an interesting tug and pull going on here.
Will

Oh, I wouldn't be concerned about that. Even if it weren't for the hard core, airtight, NDA agreements that equipment makers probably have to sign with all their customers, no semiconductor equipment maker would even want any suggestion, that they might be sharing customers proprietary secrets. They wouldn't be in business too long, if that happened.

Momentum shifts from AMD to Intel

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2005-02-28-intel-usat_x.htm
SAN FRANCISCO — The sleeping bear is waking up.
That's No. 1 chipmaker Intel (INTC), which has struggled for two years. Intel kicks off its developer's conference here Tuesday. Attendees will see a company emerging from hibernation, says equity analyst Rick Whittington at Caris & Co.

Intel's new outlook could be trouble for rival Advanced Micro Devices. AMD's (AMD) fortunes soared as Intel struggled. In 2004, Intel shares fell 28% while AMD's rose 46%. This year, Intel shares are up slightly. AMD's have dropped 22%.

"The momentum all looks like it's on Intel's side," Whittington says. That's critical as semiconductor growth slows after the 2004 boom. Researcher Gartner on Monday reduced its industry growth forecasts, saying overcapacity will be a problem through 2006.

Intel misses Itanium sales mark by $26.6bn

IDC 95 per cent wrong

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/28/itanium_04_sales/
Total Itanium server sales hit $1.4bn in 2004, according to IDC. The same analyst firm tossed out the $28bn figure in 2000 right before the first Itanium chip hit the market. It must be comforting for those of you who pay IDC thousands of dollars to see it miss a forecast by 95 per cent.

All, however, is not as bleak as it seems. Itanium did show solid gains from 2003 to 2004. Vendors moved 18,730 Itanium servers worth $479m in 2003 compared to 33,623 servers and that $1.4bn in 2004, IDC said.

Intel confirms 64-bit Celeron scheme

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/01/intel_64bit_celeron/
IDF Spring 05 Intel today publicly confirmed its 64-bit addressing system, EM64T, will be brought to the company's budget Celeron processor line "this year".

The chip maker also revealed that its dual-core Pentium 4 processor, 'Smithfield', is now in production.

Spindler also confirmed Smithfield's status: the twin-Prescott processor is "in production today", he said. The dual-core chip is due to launch in Q2, Intel said recently, pulling the release foward from its original early Q3 debut. Given that timeframe, it's reasonable to expect Smithfield to be sampling in the current quarter.

Slow semiconductor growth seen for both '05, '06

http://eet.com/semi/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleId=60403708
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Semiconductor sales were robust in 2004, but concerns about inventory levels continue to shape the industry in 2005 — and 2006, according to a report from Standard & Poor's Equity Research on Friday (Feb. 25).

Standard & Poor's (New York) believes that excess inventory, coupled by slower growth for the economy and the major end-markets, will lead to more moderate single-digit growth for the chip industry in 2005, following robust sales growth of 18 percent in 2003 and 28 percent in 2004.

State grants for Intel may be illegal
From:ireland.com
Monday, 28th February, 2005
The European Commission is on the verge of ruling that Government grant support for an expansion at the Republic's biggest private-sector employer is illegal, reports said yesterday.


I'm not too sure that the Republic of Ireland is going to be too happy with that decision. If upheld, then in that case, intel may not complete the expansion there. That might open the door for that money to be spent upgrading either Arizona's Fab22, or perhaps Hudson's Fab17 to 300mm instead.

If you feel that way, I'm not sure you have a good grasp of the term "leveling off".


Now Now, attacking my "feelings" is irrelevant. It has nothing to do with my "feelings" at all, simply an evaluation of the term you used, in the context you used it, compared to generally accepted definitions of the english language. I think the term means, exactly the same thing, you meant for it to mean, a year ago, and is pretty clearly defined "unfeelingly", by dictionary.com


http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=level%20off
Phrasal Verb:
level off
To move toward stability or consistency: Prices leveled off.


I don't believe that Itanium sales have leveled off by that definition. As a matter of fact, afaik, they have increased modestly in the last year, just as you agreed they would continue to do in the future.

Oh, and btw, I understand the term as you meant it all right. What's more, I think everybody else reading this does too. The term "leveling off", and what Itanium sales have done since you made that "prediction" last May, has defied that prediction, so I agree, that "someone" is trying to "redefine" what was meant, all right, but it's certainly not me.

No. 1 chipmaker Intel scored big with its only platform to date, Centrino. It debuted in 2001. Centrino gave notebook PCs wireless Internet access capabilities, among other features


Hey, I wonder if Centrino is still considered by "someone" to not be pulling it's weight?

HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

My bad. If anybody doesn't know why that's so funny, Sorry. For the old timers, it was a very funny, old joke

litte more info on HP servers.


Hey.... What's up with this "Kate The Great" Stuff

I would have said, Kate The Marvelous, Kate The Wonderful, Kate The Fantastic, maybe..... but Kate The Great?

Well..... O.K.

Itanium may grow modestly for another year, after which it will whither away slowly.


"Grow Modestly" huh? Well, I must say, then I can't help noticing, that's a bit more of an optimistic prediction from you, then your previous, "leveling off then contracting" prediction in Q2/04.....

http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=3113093

Apparently now you believe that IPF is gaining some traction. As a matter of fact, it looks to me, like you now believe, that there has actually been improvement in the IPF competitive situation in the past year, and not leveling, or contraction, after all. Thanks for the prediction

Intel Vanderpool holds promise, some pitfalls

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=21448
INTEL INTRODUCED VT or Vanderpool Technology a few IDFs ago with great fanfare and little hard information. Since then, as the technology got closer and closer to release, there has been a little more info, but even more questions. In the following four part article, I will tell you a little about what VT is, and what it does for you.

Dell and AMD

http://www.overclockers.com/tips00730/
Dell is going to stick with Intel. It's important to understand why, not the reasons of the day why, but the deep underlying reasons why.

The one sentence explanation is: Dell is not geeky.

The average Dell customer is not a geek. If you asked the average Dell owner what he or she has, he or she doesn't say, "I have an Intel machine." He or she says, "I have a Dell." To them, Dell is a brand like Panasonic or Sony; they care little more about what chips power their Dell as they do what chips power their Sony WEGA. If anything, they'd probably prefer Intel, but most wouldn't go out of their way to get a machine with one.

Consider this: Dell's main rivals sell AMD systems. If there were such demand for AMD systems, they ought to be flourishing, and Dell should be floundering. Look at sales, though, and it's exactly the opposite.

How could this be if AMD-ness were so important?

The obvious answer which nonetheless eludes many AMDers is that AMDness isn't too important to too many people compared to the overall computing population, and Dell can easily afford to ignore those for whom it does matter.

And since at least AMDroids internalize their loyalty, it gets personal, to them, Dell is saying, "You are too small to matter to us," which is even more infuriating.

The final insult is that should the world turn and some day all of a sudden 30% or 40% or 50% of average PC users suddenly demand AMD chips; Dell won't fight, they'll switch, and then proceed to mop up that market, too.

Nothing personal; it's just business, the way it used to be.