Zack E-Mail: spazzman@iname.com One regrets more the things that you did not do than the things you did do. -----Original Message----- From: Brian Fitzpatrick To: Undisclosed Recipients@axionet.com Date: 23 May 1999 10:04 Subject: Brian Just some interesting facts I found on the net that I thought may interest you.. This week Intel Corp. (nasdaq: INTC), the world's leading chipmaker, announced the rollout of its new superfast 550 MHz Pentium III chip. By the end of 2000 its chips should hit speeds approaching the 700 MHz level, which is powerful enough to run the computer-aided design software that an engineer would use in designing a car. Today almost all consumer electronic devices have embedded microchips. But how fast does a refrigerator need to be? That good old stationary fridge doesn't require the latest, most sophisticated processing power. But Intel is able to repackage its old i960, 386, 486 and Pentium chips for use in refrigerators and everything else from washing machines and air conditioners to pagers and Chevrolets. This is a hot market. By 2000 General Motors (nyse: GM), the world's largest automaker, will ship more computing power than International Business Machines (nyse: IBM)--only most people will not even be aware of the various chips under the hood. Renamed "embedded microprocessors" or "micro-controllers," Intel's older chip models have been given a new lease on life. Embedded microprocessors are small, specialized computers that control devices such as auto engines and laser printers. The chip is designed to perform a fixed set of simple functions that are the semiconductor equivalent of running on a treadmill. Since these embedded microprocessors are derivatives of old technology, not much is needed in terms of research and development, and Intel can use factories with older manufacturing technology to churn out these low-cost chips. A chip that costs less than $10 to manufacture sells for more than $30 a chip. That's a 200% premium.