At first, news on ZDNet of Intel's recent scuffle with Via over the latter's introduction of a Pentium 4 chipset wasn't jumping out at me as a real attention grabber. It seemed like it was just another battle in what seems like a never-ending stream of infringement cases.
But when I saw the story making headlines in the Wall St. Journal and Financial Times, I started wondering what all the fuss was about, and started suspecting that there may be an impact on corporate IT. I was wrong. The Pentium 4 chipset impact goes well beyond corporate IT.
If you want the nitty gritty details of the skirmish, TechUpdate contributing editor Bill O'Brien's in depth look does a terrific job of unearthing the core issues. When you take a closer look, things aren't very pretty. Back up for a 30,000 foot view, and it starts to look worse.
In a nutshell, Intel has shipped a processor--the Pentium 4--and a companion chipset that requires the installation of a more expensive form of memory. VIA, on the other hand, has designed a lower-cost version of that chipset that lets you use much cheaper memory. Regardless of whether VIA has the right to do this--something Intel is contesting--it sure makes you stop and think: Why, if VIA can engineer a chipset that keeps system costs down, hasn't Intel already done the same? After all, few companies in the world have the resources that Intel does. Something doesn't seem right.
Now, throw in Intel's aforementioned challenge of Via's right to build such a cost-reducing technology that's beneficial to buyers, and this is where you get that "I smell a rat" feeling. Intel could have built the technology itself when it launched the Pentium 4 last November, but didn't and now that someone else has, Intel's going to put a stop to it. Meanwhile, your IT budget suffers because of the Intel "technology tax." Sure, in tight times, the company has to protect its bottom line, but at whose expense? The free market economy? You?
For the record, Intel spokesperson Chuck Malloy has said that "the company never speculates on future legal activities. Our position is that Via is not licensed to our intellectual property that is needed to build chipsets for Pentium 4 technology. Via does have a license to build chipsets for Pentium 3 and we are in litigation with them over the chipsets they build for AMD's Athlon." Malloy also mentioned that other third parties such as SIS, ALI, and ATI do have legitimate licenses.
When asked about Via's ability to release a chipset that lowers the cost of owning Pentium 4 systems, Malloy was quick to point out that, like the Via chipset, Intel's forthcoming 845 chipset will provide equal access to lower cost memory for Pentium 4 systems.
It's good to know that Intel will indeed provide access to lower cost components for Pentium 4 systems. But you can't help wonder why it didn't make this lower cost option available to us back in November when the Pentium 4 first launched. When faced with that question, Malloy argued that the Intel chipset will be available in the same timeframe as Via's.
Interesting timing. That's all I can say.
What do you think? Has Intel levied a tax on buyer's of Pentium 4 systems, or is it doing the best it can to help IT managers manage the cost of system technologies? Share your thoughts with your fellow readers at ZDNet TechUpdate's Talkback, or write directly to david.berlind@cnet.com.
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