By: Peter Lewis (peter.delete@this.notyahoo.com), June 2, 2022 6:07 pm
Room: Moderated Discussions
What did you mean by Itanium was founded on “wrong assumptions about the increasing complexity of processors”?
> Unbelievably, they also appeared to think you could over take a market from the high end down
Why is this impossible, even if it is different from the history of microprocessors? Apple started with high priced iPhones and later introduced low end models.
> and the need for as much as possible to be patentable.
Only one patent is needed to prevent someone from copying a chip. There is no way the failure of Itanium has anything to do with a desire for patents. Companies file a lot of patents for bragging rights and so they can counter sue anyone that accuses them of patent infringement. When the first Itanium was introduced in 2001, it was already impractical to copy a chip. Anyone who introduces a new microprocessor instruction set should be happy if some other company wants to make a compatible product.
> Unbelievably, they also appeared to think you could over take a market from the high end down
Why is this impossible, even if it is different from the history of microprocessors? Apple started with high priced iPhones and later introduced low end models.
> and the need for as much as possible to be patentable.
Only one patent is needed to prevent someone from copying a chip. There is no way the failure of Itanium has anything to do with a desire for patents. Companies file a lot of patents for bragging rights and so they can counter sue anyone that accuses them of patent infringement. When the first Itanium was introduced in 2001, it was already impractical to copy a chip. Anyone who introduces a new microprocessor instruction set should be happy if some other company wants to make a compatible product.
