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Sheldon, Could you please be a little more explicit for non-techies such as myself? Perhaps a few arrows or some simple words of explanation?
TIA,
Svenm
Ramsey, Agreed. But I would add revenues from Dell Wave products sales to near-term revenue. Q3 may not be much, but Q4 hopefully will be a lot more significant.
Svenm
Dig,
Thanks for the chartwork. Unfortunately I think you're probably a little optimistic, but nevertheless on the right track. Hopefully one more PP will get the job done, however. Of course, Dell ETS sales may be a wild card for us!
JMHO,
Svenm
From ST Micro's 9 month report today:
- ST announced volume production of the ST19WP18 Trusted Platform
Module, and confirmed that more than one million of the TCG 1.2
(Trusted Computing Group) solutions, complete with software stack,
had been delivered to a number of major PC motherboard makers.
Excuse me if already posted,
Svenm
Awk, Nice summary! Much appreciated and thanks!
Svenm
DOMA: Agreed!
Svenm
Barge, You're too much!
Svenm
Same problem and I wasn't able to arrive at the links Mundo provided two days ago (the European tour) either.
Svenm
SL, Thanks for this work! It's much appreciated!
Svenm
Bluzboy, re: Apple. Don't you agree that Apple will have a tough time securing truly premium content without hardware security? And if that is the case do you see an alternative for them to TCG standards? I don't, so I suppose I'm a bit more optimistic than you about Wave's chances here.
OT: Things in Vista are fine though I'm just here for a short while between a recent trip to Europe and I'm going to be spending a few weeks up north after this weekend.
Good to hear from you and I trust all is well!
Svenm
Dig, I have to agree on all those points. I've had my doubts about express for a long time but this demo really drove it home to me. There may be a temporary advantge of quality for Xpress for a while on movie downloads, but the writing on the wall is becoming ever more legible. For VPN's, corporate instructions, and valuable content that requires pretty good quality (most things short of full length feature films) I'd say they're out of the running already. A little more time with fatter pipes and the icing will be on the cake. But..hardware security and server services will be more valuable than ever!
Svenm
Ramsey, Take a look at Jobs' demo. My point is that his real-time video stream is superior to any I've seen before. And the technology is for the iMAC as well as the IPod, so this is all about computers. It's a very short step to applying it to the entertainment center wirelessly and at this time the IPod can be plugged into a TV set. Even on my relatively slow broadband cable connetion with a 19 inch screen the quality, though not HDTV by any stretch of the imagination, is still becoming very good. With hardware security (I assume TPM) I don't see a need for Wavxpress technology any longer. Who would want to wait overnight for something that can be delivered right now with the same security? I don't think there is any question that Jobs will be using hardware security once he is using Intel processors for the Apple platform. Hence, Wave may lose its Wavexpress niche but the premium content delivery system is much closer to reality. And therein lies Wave's best killer app for consumers, imho. I hope that sks and sj get along very well because that combination would be rocket fuel for Wave.
Svenm
Ramsey, You're right on the big question. However, unless Jobs has another way (I doubt it) to protect premier content, I think it is a pretty good bet that with the move to Intel processors and TPM's on the Apple we will soon see a TCG-compliant Apple content delivery system. Personally I think it's almost a foregone conclusion, but then again I've been drinking koolaid for a long time now.
In regard to the multimedia aspect of non-Apple vs. Apple platforms. Sure, there will be competition, but check out the Jobs demonstration that Bluzboy linked. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at what Jobs has accomplished here. I do think that Wave has a good shot at providing its infrastructure services for Apple as well as others and Apple is moving the content market forward quickly. I see that as a great development for Wave as long as they aren't forced to remain PC-centric for capital reasons.
Svenm
Bluzboy, re: new iMac. Thanks for the links. I watched half of Jobs' presentation and was amazed. Let's hope that there is room for Wave via the Intel connection, because Apple is so far out in front in the content delivery race that it's going to take a long time for anyone else to catch up. As an aside, watching this makes me feel that Wavexpress is completely obsolete. Michael Sprague will have to be looking for a new job soon.
JMHO,
Svenm
SL, I won't pretend that I understand most of what you've presented here, but I certainly appreciate your effort to clarify some (for me) difficult concepts regarding this technology.
Thanks,
Svenm
Awk, Dig, Zen: Re: Sinosun. I received a response about a half year ago from Sinosun indicating that they intended to develop their own TSS, enterprise, and server applications. They explicitly denied, in response to my questioning, that they intended to license that software from another company.
Based on that I think that Sinosun may be a long way from "in the bag."
FWIW,
Svenm
Application competition:
ImageWare and NEC Announce Shipping of IWS Desktop Security with NEC's New Line of Business PCs
10/11/2005 8:30:02 AM
SAN DIEGO, Oct 11, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- ImageWare(R) Systems, Inc. (IW), a world leading developer and provider of identity management solutions, today announced a licensing agreement with NEC Personal Products, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation (NIPNY) (FTSE:6701q.l), that will bring the power of IWS Desktop Security to the largest personal computer provider in Japan.
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NEC is shipping ImageWare's IWS Desktop Security with NEC's new line of Business PCs in Japan. IWS Desktop Security is a comprehensive authentication management platform that is optimized to enhance corporate security and usability, avoiding unauthorized access to mission-critical data. NEC's new lineup of its Mate desktop (11 models) and VersaPro Laptop (23 models) products include an embedded TPM chip with IWS Desktop Security as a standard configuration. Bundling ImageWare's IWS Desktop Security with NEC's Mate and VersaPro product line provides users with an additional layer of security such as password management and file/folder encryption using the strong encryption features of the TPM chip. Support for Windows login with TPM security will ship in November 2005.
Additionally, the companies are working collaboratively to integrate ImageWare's authentication security technology into NEC's fingerprint sensor embedded computer product lines which will integrate additional security to the laptop product line.
"NEC selected ImageWare for its proven technology and experience in the security solutions market," said Takashi Yoda, chief manager of NEC Business PC Division. "As NEC's new line of PCs enter the marketplace with IWS Desktop Security we look forward to working together to bring enhanced usability and overall systems security to our customers."
"We are very excited to announce our entrance into the Japanese market through this strategic partnership with NEC," said Jim Miller, ImageWare's chairman and CEO. "Our relationship with NEC will establish a firm foundation in the market and present new business opportunities through new and existing business relationships, distributors and systems integrators in Japan. ImageWare's IWS Desktop Security, coupled with the TPM chip, provides overall system security with strong authentication between systems and networks, allowing secure access from doorway to desktop such as PCs, laptops, computer programs, as well as physical access to facilities and buildings. We are confident that our experience in the U.S. security industry will be of great value to NEC and its partners."
About IWS Desktop Security
IWS Desktop Security enables organizations to maintain a simplified, yet secure method of seamlessly integrating various security devices within a centralized authentication platform. Specifically designed to provide enterprise networks and systems with the most advanced authentication mechanisms, IWS Desktop Security encompasses three robust modules that effectively protect critical data and enable organizations to maintain a simplified, yet secure method of seamlessly integrating various security devised within a centralized authentication platform. This solution can be integrated into any security network environment such as secure credential issuing and management systems.
The integrated device interface also offers a universal authentication management service towards various types of network framework layers including, LAN, WAN, VPN, VLAN, 802.1x wireless, as well as network servers such as MS Active Directory, and Citrix MetaFrame, upholding the integrity of the network security. Utilizing the platform, organizations are able to replace passwords, strengthen user authentication and condense existing authentication technologies and oversee authentication policies for the entire network environment.
Nothing about interoperability or server functions. Image Ware is a $30M company but given Wave's past work with NEC it's a little surprising to me that IW got this business, rather than Wave. Any comments?
Svenm
LD, Re: platform irrelevancy. Perhaps I should have written: ..."will be largely irrelevant." I haven't reflected too much on this but I suspect that one thing that won't be irrelevant on your digital machine will be security.
Svenm
Weby, Re: Web ownership. They WILL continue to own the OS for computers, but they won't OWN the OS for the Internet....and that is NOW the more important platform. I agree entirely. In the not too distant future computer platforms will be irrelevant. Whether MSFT can adjust or not in a timely fashion is still a question mark. For the time being Google appears to be leading that chase. The field is still wide-open for digital security, but with Wave's postion and still no competitors on the horizon one has to like our chances.
Svenm
C M, Nice reasoned post and I appreciate your insights in regard to Mr. Softee. One of (no, maybe, THE ) the biggest accomplishment so far in this whole undertaking has undoubtedly been overcoming MSFT's reluctance. It's great to have Dell and Intel in our corner!
JMHO,
Svenm
Wavxmaster, Re: 945 chipset. It looks to me as if some of the 945G chipsets, more specifically those in the "Executive" series are equipped with TPM 1.2's. A brief look at the Intel Product site indicted three lines of 945G chipsets, each of which carried an Executive series. Right now I'd say we don't know for sure, but I think go-kite as already established that we're in the Gateway PC's with TPM's.
Svenm
2B,Thanks for the your viewpoints this a.m. I've no clue what the engineering dollar costs and "loss of focus costs" might be for Wave to divert some resources to Apple's platform at this time. I've no doubt, however, that it is being given serious consideration (regardless of what may have been past policy} for the reasons (among others) you're presenting. Luckily, management's decisions won't be based on what Wavoids want to do!
Svenm
AWK, Re: Infineon "solution" Thanks for the explanation. I hadn't realized that an interoperable software solution for Infineon would require cooperation from their silicon competitors. And my limited technical understanding makes it difficult for me to appreciate how difficult it would be for Infineon to replicate the Wave server solution. I've plowed through the patents a few times and it seems to me that a competitor has a lot of Wave IP to work around, so I'm hopeful that that will be enough of a hinder for Wave to maintain their headstart for a good while to come. As this market expands, and hopefully quite rapidly (finally) that gap should be more difficult to overcome. It certainly was a relief to see the limited TC solutions offered up by Vista!
Cheers,
Svenm
AWK, Do you mind explaining why Infineon would never be able to offer a solution that works across all the different platforms?
TIA,
Svenm
AWK,Just like to add my voice to the many applauding that brilliant post and thank you for so clearly making a forest of all those trees!
Svenm
Re: UBS. Many on this board are familiar with previous dots between UBS and Wave tech. For those who may not be it is worth knowing that UBS actually has implemented a system of smart card readers used for authentication by their customers. This evolved from a pilot study
( UBS Opts for FINREAD
2003/08/5th
UBS Wealth Management & Business Banking launched its pilot phase last Fall 2003.
UBS Headquarters - 21.5 kb
UBS Headquarters
From left to right: UBS head office in Zurich, UBS head office in Basel.
Top: the teller hall in Zurich.
Given the positive results of compliance and interoperability tests with several card reader manufacturers, UBS Wealth Management & Business Banking, the foremost personal asset manager and the Swiss leader in consumer business and banking services, has decided to run a FINREAD pilot project.
The project concerns a new secure solution based on a smart card with a certificate to provide access to the bank's home banking service.
The choice of the FINREAD solution was, in particular, dictated by the concern for maximum security for this application; the level of security will be further strengthened by the use of a bank smart card.
An initial pilot phase is planned for the second half of this year with a small sample of the bank's customers. It will be followed by a second phase that will then involve a panel of around 1,000 customers outside the bank.
UBS is considering offering its customers a multi-application card next year that can be read by a portable card reader using a "challenge-response" type procedure. This is in addition to the FINREAD solution adopted for the home banking application, which requires a higher level of security.
initially implemented in conjunction with the FINREAD initiative, an initiative that Wave was involved with. This pilot study led to an implementation of these card readers which is now used by customers of UBS and can be viewed on their website.
IMHO it is no stretch of the imagination to believe that UBS, the financial institution with more "tax concerned" clients than probably any in the world, has decided to implement trusted computing to build upon their trusted cardreaders strategy. Once their corporate trusted computers are up and running how long will it be before their consumer clients are urged to "go TPM?"
Svenm
Unclever,
Thanks once again! You're terrific!
Svenm
Sorry!! Didn't notice the date and didn't remember that piece of news from before. I must still be asleep.
Svenm
NEWS!!
ONDON (CBS.MW) -- Wave Systems (WAVX) said the French banking authority for payment systems involving bank cards and terminals, Groupement des Cartes Bancaires, will use Wave's software development tools. Wave shares rose 10.6 percent to $1.15 on low volumes in pre-open trading on Instinent.
sVENM
Sheldon, Dig, Ramsey: Thanks for the clarification and pointing the way toward the MS TPM Services whitepaper. It is very gratifying to read MS' own whitepaper conceding the importance of hardware security. Hopefully the NTRU TSS, Wave CSP will be the ported software of choice to be loaded into Vista. I wouldn't bet against it at this point and I have a feeling that people "beta-ing" Vista may have been speaking with their dollars the last few days, much as the April runup a few years ago could probably be attributed to attendees at the concurrent WinHec conference.
Cheers,
Svenm
Sheldon Levine, I always appreciate your technical insight, even if I admittedly can't follow all of it. In this case, can you define "TBS" please and explain the importance of " Microsoft is working with TSS vendors to create TSS products that interface properly with the TBS infrastructure."
Thanks,
Svenm
Good to hear from you, Awk!
Svenm
Weby,
Slight correction on TTT: Countryboy's (thanks Countryboy!) interesting find about Wave's entry into the mortgage lending business revealed a security technique that is being used by Wave that is not at all dependent on TPM's. From Countryboy's find: Step 3 – Create and install your digital certificate
After installing the plug-in, you’re prompted to get your digital certificate. There is a small, one-time charge for the certificate, so you will need a credit card to process the application.
1. Enter your credit card information into the proper fields and click Next.
2. Now, click the link to access the Wave Systems Smart Identity page. Read and accept the license agreement, then complete the application form and click Continue.
3. The Wave service accesses your credit history and presents you with a few questions to answer based on the information they contain. Providing the correct answer to these random questions ensures that your are, indeed, the person you claim to be in your application. Answer the questions posed and click Submit.
* Note: While this process does access your credit report to help verify your identity, it in no way affects the report or your credit rating.
4. Once confirmed, the site will begin retrieving the new digital certificate. You’re likely to receive some warnings about this process from the Windows operating system. Acknowledge these warnings to continue. When prompted, click the link to install the certificate on your system. When completed, close the installation window and return to the installation screen.
5. Click the Finish button to complete the configuration process, then click Next to move on to the final step.
Of course, this form of software security will eventually be hardened with the use of TPM's as they are deployed. In the meantime, it allows Wave to participate in the security process for a significant group of financial businesses that don't currently have (but will in the not-too-distant future) TPM-equipped computers. I think that this may be part of what SKS referred to a few CC's ago when he mentioned, in regard to Longhorn, that current Windows OS's support much of the security process.
Personally I was very happy to see the digital certificate for $15 as a way for Wave to earn revenue in this space now and not have to wait for TPM deployment. I haven't figured out whether or not Wave intends to actually make money as a mortgage broker/lender but I suspect it is merely a way to showcase the technology, similar to Wavecharity of yesteryear. I have an email in to the Tucson office with that question and if I get a response I'll share.
Svenm
Mark1, re: Dell. This was in the WSJ print edition today (bolds mine):
June 21, 2005
Manager's Journal
Uploading Better Health Care
By KEVIN ROLLINS
Turning the notion of second opinions on its head, patients today often arrive at doctors' offices already armed with Internet-gleaned self-diagnosis and treatment recommendations.
Similarly, health-care practitioners and administrators routinely use the Internet to significantly enhance treatment of patients, improve productivity and become more efficient. Add to this unprecedented evolution in lifesaving drugs, new medical practices and preventive care, and it's clear that we are witnessing a transformation in American health care and wellness.
Yet, despite the United States' global pre-eminence in health-care science, the actual delivery and management of health services often is inefficient, outdated and disconnected at its roots. Health-care costs to patients and providers continue to skyrocket, while the quality of care remains weighted down by medical and administrative errors, duplication, and often antiquated management practices.
Information technology can and must serve as the primary catalyst for dramatic change. First, however, public and private organizations must begin to work in partnership, embracing approaches in which health-care services can be more effectively delivered and managed.
Fortunately, our policy makers are headed in the right direction. Sen. Bill Frist (R., Tenn.) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D., N.Y.) have come together to introduce a bill that would enhance the development, implementation and widespread use of information technology in health care. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt recently announced a public-private initiative to achieve interoperability among health-care systems and providers and to speed the transition to accessible and secure electronic health records.
Essential components of both measures include the establishment of common data standards and the development of safeguards to provide patients with high levels of confidence that their privacy and information will remain protected. Carried out collectively and in the right way, these efforts will redefine traditional health-care relationships to benefit consumers and providers.
Examples can already be found in pilot programs that provide direct communication between patients, providers and administrators. From drug interaction reporting and use of evidence-based medicine to offsite medical consultations and electronic transmission of health records, greenfields of opportunity exist.
The successful application of information technology in other industries offers an important lesson: First and foremost, transformation must be customer-focused and collaborative. Whether between patients and doctors or health-care facilities and insurers, trust and open dialogue must serve as the foundation for a more innovative, more effective health-care system.
To advance a national agenda to modernize and make America's health-care system more efficient, five key principles, borrowed from industries where information technology has provided tremendous benefit, should be used to guide our collective efforts:
* Stay close to the customer. Communicate directly, clearly and frequently with the universe of customers to explain the use and benefits of health information technology. Incorporate privacy and security of personal health information as centerpieces in the design and development of all IT services.
* Customize the experience. Work with patients and providers to make it easy to input, retrieve and protect information. Develop ways in which patients and providers can contribute to the health-care process and management.
* Embrace government as a partner. Recognize the significant role that government at all levels plays in assuring that health information technology allows for the reliable, secure exchange of data across locations and between technologies, practitioners and patients.
* Drive down costs with continual improvement. Highlight the potential for cost-savings through information technology by minimizing time constraints and errors caused by excessive paperwork and administrative requirements.
* Deliver standard technologies. Develop common terminology, interoperability and simple processes to ensure accuracy of electronic information. Incorporate privacy and security policies that fully protect individual health records at rest and in transit.
Guiding principles are critical, but real progress toward meaningful innovation in improving America's health-care system will require great tenacity and open dialogue. It is an effort that must be guided by a united vision -- one of better health care, better choices, and, ultimately, a better country.
Mr. Rollins is CEO of Dell Inc. and a member of the Computer Systems Policy Project, an 11-member co
Svenm
Observer, Re:Google's PayPal competition. I doubt it. Until there is significant (whatever that is) consumer deployment of trusted computers it wouldn't make much sense for Google to have a TPM-based online payment system. Once the consumer rollout is begun in earnest it should be a different story, however.
JMO,
Svenm
Weby, Ahaa! Went over my head (not hard). I'm not sure how that will happen aslong as TPM deployment is in the hands of the OEM's and the white box makers. Obviously Barge is right about the importance of a consumer application in relationship to the hockey stick slope. The fast way would be a killer app (video downloads come to mind!). The slow way would be enterprise security and then some sort of osmotic seepage to the general population via finance, healthcare, etc. Originally I thought only the slow route was possible and Janus, for example, was a non-starter (sorry Barge). I find this Apple/Intel relationship extremely interesting. Jobs still has a fire in his belly and what a legacy it would be to create the breakthrough company that manages premium digital video download and creates a whole new era in entertainment? I'm just dreaming here, I know, but suppose Jobs were to prove it by selling the new Apples with the caveat that Pixar animated films would be available as premiers on your new Apple (protected by Trusted Computing, of course!). That would truly move the consumers into TC as those machines would be flying off the shelves!
JMHH(hope),
Svenm
Barge, It's still a longshot for Wave to be involved with the Apple/Intel mix. But I have to like the odds much better than anything MSFT would pioneer.
Svenm
Weby, Off topic,IMO, but fantastic technology. I saw it last week for the 1st time and bitterly regretted not having bought Google at $85.
Svenm
Barge, Maybe this is where your consumer applications will come from? From the New York Times (Bolds mine).
Svenm
by JOHN MARKOFF
Published: June 11, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO, June 10 - Nearly a quarter-century ago, Apple Computer ran a snarky ad after its onetime rival encroached on its territory: "Welcome, I.B.M. Seriously." This week, however, Steven P. Jobs had a different message for Big Blue, which had since become a chief ally: "Goodbye. Seriously."
Mr. Jobs, 50, a co-founder of Apple, is famously brash and mercurial. Even so, the Apple faithful - not to mention I.B.M. itself - were caught by surprise by Apple's decision to end its 14-year relationship with I.B.M. and team with Intel for its computer chip needs.
The buzz that began Monday among developers, bloggers, analysts and Apple followers trying to guess Mr. Jobs' true designs has not let up. After all, Mr. Jobs is a legend in no small part because he defied the monster combination that is Wintel - as the digerati call the Windows and Intel alliance - and lived to talk about it.
Apple's decision in the 1980's to use a different chip from the one put in most personal computers "fit in with the idea of Think Different," Stephen G. Wozniak, who founded Apple with Mr. Jobs in 1976, said in an e-mail exchange. "So it's hard for some people to accept this switch."
So what could a Macintel possibly hope to accomplish?
Potentially, quite a lot. In striking the deal, Mr. Jobs, Apple's chief executive, has opened a range of tantalizing new options for his quirky company.
Many people in the industry believe that Mr. Jobs is racing quietly toward a direct challenge to Microsoft and Sony in the market for digital entertainment gear for the living room. Indeed, Sony's top executives had tried to persuade Mr. Jobs to adopt a chip that I.B.M. has been developing for the next-generation Sony PlayStation.
An Intel processor inside a Macintosh could put the vast library of Windows-based games and software programs within the reach of Mac users - at least those who are willing to run a second operating system on their computers.
Moreover, having Intel Inside might solve an important perception problem that has long plagued Apple in its effort to convert consumers who are attracted to the company's industrial design, but who have stayed away because the computers do not run Windows programs.
There is an immediate risk in the tie-up with Intel, however: Mr. Jobs could soon find himself trapped if his best customers stop buying I.B.M.-based Macintoshes while they wait for more powerful Intel-based systems, which are likely to begin arriving in January 2006.
"There is going to be a long wait," said Mark D. Stahlman, a Wall Street analyst at Caris & Company. The power-conserving 64-bit Intel chips that Apple is counting on to rejuvenate its laptop products will not be available until early 2007, he pointed out.
In an interview, Mr. Jobs rejected the notion that Apple might suffer from what is known as the "Osborne Effect," a term that describes the fate of the computer pioneer Adam Osborne whose firm went bankrupt when he announced a successor to his pioneering portable computer before it was available.
At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, Mr. Jobs talked of a transition that would appear almost seamless to customers. "As we look ahead we can envision some amazing products we want to build for you and we don't know how to build them with the future PowerPC road map," he said.
Nothing was seamless about how the deal with Intel came together.
Several executives close to the last-minute dealings between Apple and I.B.M. said that Mr. Jobs waited until the last moment - 3 p.m. on Friday, June 4 - to inform Big Blue. Those executives said that I.B.M. had learned about Apple's negotiations with Intel from news reports and that Apple had not returned phone calls in recent weeks.
Each side disputes what led to the breakup. People close to I.B.M. said pricing was a central issue, while Mr. Jobs insisted on stage Monday that I.B.M. had failed to meet promised performance measures.
On stage, Mr. Jobs noted that he had promised both a 3-gigahertz Macintosh as well as a more powerful PowerPC-based portable computer, promises that he had not been able to deliver.
In the end, Mr. Jobs was given no choice but to move his business to Intel, when I.B.M. executives said that without additional Apple investment they were unwilling to pursue the faster and lower-power chips he badly needs for his laptop business.
"Technical issues were secondary to the business issues," said an executive close to the I.B.M. side of the negotiations. Because the business was not profitable, I.B.M. "decided not to continue to go ahead with the product road map."
But Mr. Jobs disputed this assessment, simply stating that I.B.M. had failed to meet its technology road map. The issues in the end, he said, came down to speed and the absence of a chip that consumed less electricity than traditional processors designed for PC's.
"As soon as I heard Steve say that the factor where Intel's road map was superior was processing power per [watt] I knew right away that it was exactly what I have been reading and saying and so have many others, that this is the real key to the future of high performance computers," Mr. Wozniak wrote.
As it happens, Intel's was not the only alternative chip design that Apple had explored for the Mac. An executive close to Sony said that last year Mr. Jobs met in California with both Nobuyuki Idei, then the chairman and chief executive of the Japanese consumer electronics firm, and with Kenichi Kutaragi, the creator of the Sony PlayStation.
Mr. Kutaragi tried to interest Mr. Jobs in adopting the Cell chip, which is being developed by I.B.M. for use in the coming PlayStation 3, in exchange for access to certain Sony technologies. Mr. Jobs rejected the idea, telling Mr. Kutaragi that he was disappointed with the Cell design, which he believes will be even less effective than the PowerPC.
Now that Mr. Jobs has broken with I.B.M., however, Apple is free to pursue a potentially intriguing consumer electronics strategy with Intel.
Intel has been looking for ways to get its chips into devices that can compete with game consoles as living-room entertainment hubs. In fact, all three next-generation video game machines made by Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony are based on I.B.M. chips. And analysts say that both Microsoft's Xbox 360 and the Sony PlayStation 3, scheduled to arrive next spring, will be positioned as home media hubs in addition to being video game machines - and priced far lower than the Intel-powered, Windows Media Center PC's that are also aimed at the living room.
Should the new consoles find wide acceptance as broad-based entertainment engines, Intel will need to respond - and one attractive alternative would be an inexpensive Macintosh Mini based on an Intel processor, able to run the vast library of PC games.
Before he can set his sights on that new market, Mr. Jobs faces the task of shoring up his base, his customers and developers. On Monday, he made the case to the software designers who must be willing to rewrite their software for the new Macintel world.
Early indications are that he made a convincing presentation.
"The reason people buy Mac is the software, and I think the real fun is yet to come," said Scott Love, the president of AquaMinds, a software concern in Palo Alto that sells a Macintosh program called NoteTaker used by writers, researchers and students. "We'll be able to develop a program that will just work on both I.B.M. and Intel-based computers."
Even more important will be Mr. Jobs' ability to persuade the Macintosh faithful to join him in his journey from I.B.M. to Intel. That is where he has an advantage over virtually every other executive.
"He is still committed to the idea of an Apple culture," said Peter Schwartz, the co-founder and chairman of the Global Business Network, a consulting firm in Emeryville, Calif. "It is the counterculture to the dominant Windows culture."
Indeed, Mr. Jobs has always set himself apart from other corporate executives. After all, which other American business executive would have thought to name the holding company for his executive jet airplane "Marmalade Skies"?
Steve Lohr contributed reporting from New York for this article..
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Barge, If I had a crystal ball I would have sold at $50 and bought back at .70 and own 5% of the company! (lol) My point really was that the game plan is intact and moving forward. As always, the timeline is uncertain. Unfortunately the gorillas aren't willing to change their schedule to fit the Wavoids' wishes! Darn!
Carry on,
Svenm