News.com heeft een artikeltje over verdere problemen met de Merced, Intel's eerste processor die gebaseerd zal zijn op de volledige nieuwe IA-64 architectuur. Het ding blijkt weer eens vertraagd te zijn:
Prototypes of Merced still aren't out, and it looks like Intel's next-generation processor may slip until the third or fourth quarter of next year.The latest lag, which could put off Merced's release by a few weeks or months, won't be as significant as the delay Intel imposed last year when it shifted the 64-bit chip's debut from the end of 1999 to mid-2000.
Still, the revised calendar may sap Intel of some psychological momentum and will likely solidify arguments that Merced, the first Intel server and workstation processor designed to compete directly against the most powerful Alpha and UltraSparc processors, will primarily serve as a test vehicle. Customers and computer companies may buy it, but could hold off on migrating to Intel's 64-bit chips until McKinley, Merced's successor, comes out in late 2001.
"My sources tell me first silicon was originally scheduled for the first of June, and now it's late August, so I think there's been some slippage over there," said Linley Gwennap, senior analyst at Cahners Microdesign Resources.
