Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

AMD unveils plans to compete directly with the new Intel Itanium through a new chip code named "SledgeHammer." This chip is a departure from the copycat mentatlity that AMD has embraced. Its not an Itanium duplicate (like the K5-6-7 which ARE Intel dupes), its AMDs own x86 64bit chip. This will mean software may have to learn to deal with both architectures! The new AMD chip is also purportedly going to be able to run 32bit apps at high speeds, whereas the Itanium is not (Intel is sticking strictly to worrying about 64 bit apps.)Good for competition but this could suck for software developers if AMD pulls it off. Imagine having to port everything to two seperate x86 flavors. Kinda like having two different standard browsers (yes thats a jab.) Oh well, technology is what sells chips (and browsers) and the best one, even if its different than the norm will be the winner. Not only that but all of this competition will make them both better.