Advanced Micro Devices Inc plans to introduce a clone of Intel Corp’s top-selling 80386 microprocessor in the autumn, the Wall Street Journal reports. AMD, which has been locked in litigation with Intel for two or three years now, has long threatened to come out with a compatible re-engineering of the 80386 – and despite all normal reticence about buying an unauthorised copy of a key chip, demand for 80386s, particularly the 80386SX, is so far outstripping supply that the AMD chips are likely to get a warm welcome – not least from chip users wanting to punish Intel for handicapping their production plans. Chips & Technologies Inc is thought to be working on an 80386 clone too, and a Japanese start-up, VM Technology Corp, is promising one by year-end. And NexGen Microsystems Inc is working on a chip set to enable users to build machines that are 80386-compatible but much more powerful.
