Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD)

[I_banker]

I think the generally held view is that Intel was tired of having cloners compete with them and decided to resolve that problem by creating a proprietary architecture. Their intention was to move the world over during a 32-64 bit conversion (servers first). IPF was the vehicle. They recruited MS as a chauffeur.

Now like all smart planners, Intel management had a backup plan which they would not reveal, lest it put a bullet in the head of IPF (for general purpose computing). Intel kept denying or at least refusing to acknowledge the existence of x86-64 (both the discarded variety and the AMD clone) until it became apparent that the market preferred this architecture and that by not offering a competitor they risked losing their dominance to AMD. Only then did they acknowledge they had an x86-64 chip.

Intel would have had legal liability if they made statements regarding Yamhill -- so they didn't. It was left to the journalist, enthusiasts and reviewers to decipher Intel's message.