Subject: ????strongArm

From: Charles Esson <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 1997 10:10:32 +1100

I writing this in the hope that someone will tell me I am a raving
lunatic and more importantly, why.

    The future belonged to digital, they have a 64 bit architecture that
is the best available. It runs windows NT, which is going to become the
main OS. Intel are about to try and push us onto there 64 bit
architecture, a move that surely would have created a window for
Digital. 
    But it takes time for people to become confident, they have to
confident that Alpha is a long term solution. We had the confidence,
that is why we chose the strongArm and were about to swap to Alpha
machines for our NT systems.
    With the strongArm they had the best solution for real time control,
for hand held devices, and for the NC.
    The stockholders held a meeting and complained that the stock price
was $45 while Intels was $75.
    Digital is now being broken up, semiconductors to intel, network
products to someone else, leaving them as just another PC supplier and 
a Alpha hopefull, if the Alpha doesn't come off they are finished, why
buy a PC of Digital.

    When the stockholders meeting was held $45 was a bargain, it may
have been the stock of the future. Now I think it may be just a little
overpriced.

    The strongArm is no longer a Digital product. If you take away the
products digital developed, the arm archetecture is nice but it does not
have the run-away performance that it once had. When it came to chip
design Digital where the best.
    Even if Intel take the strongArm seriously, and there seems to be
indications that they want to continue with the Joke called the I960,
what is the strongArms future in there hands. Will the engineers that
made the strongArm what it is stay with Intel.
    Digital were a great company, Intel were in the right place at the
right time. The deal has been done, Digital are now out of the Arm
picture.

    And comimg up the outside is Motorola. Now Motorola have made some
really bad strategic decisions. When the RISC archetecture were
developing there markets the 80k was priced to save the 68k, when it
should of been priced to claim market ( it died). They had the real time
market ( the market of the future ) what do they do, tell us to use the
powerPC ( you know where my money is, it will die), and recently they
started talking about the Mcore ( did Mcore see the light of day, I
havn't heard or looked).   
   It however looks as if the Motorola may have realised that the power
PC is a dead duck ( and very few care for another archetecture). The
local dealer is no longer trying to tell us to swap our real time
designs to powerPC ( I can only assume many other told motorola to shove
it where it hurts ).
    Last week was the first time I saw an advertisment where motorola
admitted that the coldfire was a 68k derivative ( they are now adding in
the 68k deliveries and claiming first spot). They have brought out a v3
core. Now all they have to do is drop this sweet spot rubbish and
produce something that flies.
    But as you say Motorola cannot afford to stuff it up many more times
people are getting sick of it. Perhaps when selecting a processor family
the companies stock price should be considered.

I know we have delivery deadlines but I think we should put the
strongArm on hold, as I said five months of my life wasted, but imagine
how the engineers at Digital feel.

---

From: Dave Gilbert <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 1997 00:40:00 +0000

Hi Charles,
  I'm sure there are many people feeling as uneasy about StrongARM and
Alpha as you are.

  But things are not necessarily that bleak for StrongARM.  For a start
my understanding is that if Intel packed up StrongARM it would be
possible (due to the way they own bits of the rights etc and the fact 
that there are other people with appropriate IC processes) for ARM to
have StrongARM produced.

  Then there is the fact that StrongARM will by mid 98 be an alternative
processor for I2O - the wacky fast I/O system which Intel like, of
course Intel like the fact there is an, i960 in it ; but a lot of people
have said they would rather prefer a StrongARM, so that might help it.

  Even if Intel didn't want it, there must be someone else who would buy
it - as long it didn't just get thron away.

  The biggest problem is the uncertainty - Intel are doing serious
damage by not saying what there intentions are.

Dave

P.S. Who has just ordered an Alpha on the basis it is safe at least in
the short term.
-- 
---------------------------------------------------- Man can not live  -
 David Alan Gilbert - gro.gilbert @ treblig.org ---- by bread alone. He 
---------------------------------------------------- needs chocolate.  -

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From: Charles Esson <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 1997 13:18:25 +1100

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From: Alan Cox <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 1997 17:15:10 +0000 (GMT)

> have said they would rather prefer a StrongARM, so that might help it.

Most vendors seem intent on shipping i960 stuff only. so the person with
an SA based I2O board loses big time. I2O is also getting drawn into the
microsoft/intel monopoly investigations so other mess could yet occur

Alan