Sure, no problem. How much do you think HP and SGI would ask for Intel to be able to slip out of such a restriction? $10 billion? $40 billion? $100 billion?
If contracts exist which prevent Intel from introducing another 64-thing for a while to protect IPF, it would most probably be limited to serverspace. (Otherwise quid pro quo-terms would not allow HPQ to offer Athlon-64 as well, dont you think?)
Do you think that Compaq gutted the Alpha program with no iron-clad assurances from Intel that Itanium would be the future? No quid pro quo?
Maybe they had no choice. Alpha was losing money and the cost of R&G was crushing. Same goes for HP. They knew the roadmap and they knew Intel could do it. They just accepted what SUNW is facing soon enough to do something about it. Itanium was coming no matter what concessions they got from Intel, which I don't believe amounted to anything.
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