| After losing a key court decision on its use of Intel
microcode in future chip designs, AMD (Sunnyvale, CA) has
been forced to delay the introduction of its first
486-compatible microprocessor until June. AMD is
developing a version of the Am486 that does not use Intel
microcode. The company suffered the setback in December when a federal judge ruled that a 1976 agreement between the two companies does not allow AMD to use Intel's microcode in its latest chips. The judge's decision dealt a major blow to AMD, which had anticipated a favorable ruling and was planning to introduce the Am486 in January. In fact, AMD was already producing and stockpiling small numbers of the chip, said AMD spokesman David Frink. Those chips will probably be scrapped, unless AMD wins a timely appeal. Because the "clean room" microcode isn't finished and will require more rigorous compatibility testing, AMD was forced to postpone the introduction. Copyright 1994-1997 BYTE |