[wellylug] we're (by proxy) number two!

[Rob Giltrap]

Nigel Roberts wrote:

> I don't know about anyone else, but I've yet to see an Itanium 2 
> processor on a shelf, let alone in a working machine.
>
> Has anyone actually had a play with one of these on linux or otherwise?

I'm working right in the heart of Silicon Valley right now (I can walk 
to Intel's head office in just a few minutes). I've been talking with 
some CPU designers (not in Intels, but they all talk to one another 
anyway), pretty much the word of the street is that the Itanium line is 
screwed and Intel are in the process of a quiet exit strategy. They are 
rapidily doing catchup work to ramp up the cores on the Pentium line to 
stay in touch with the forth coming processors from IBM, Sun & AMD. 
Apprently the have some impressive new solutions resolving various 
thermal issues (which is the single biggest problem in CPU design these 
days).

In the mean time both Sun and IBM are doing heaps to help AMD (Sun on 
the CPU development side and IBM on the manufacturing process).