Following speculation that the Alpha chip may be in some jeopardy after this week’s unconfirmed reports that Intel Corp was to buy or license the technology to settle a patent infringement lawsuit (CI No 3,263), Digital Equipment Corp issued an internal letter stating that its technical road map remains unchanged. The letter does not rule out the possibility of an ‘out of court’ settlement of the lawsuit, which DEC filed against Intel May, claiming the chipmaker has stolen some of its Alpha technology intellectual property (CI No 3,160). Intel later counter sued it. DEC’s letter said that whether the companies’ differences were settled in or out of court, its business objectives remain the same. Analysts reckon the company had little choice but to say this, given that its business is likely to be Alpha business for some years to come. The letter went on to say DEC would continue to exploit its 64-bit Alpha technology but recognized the success and growing importance of its Intel products. That seems to leave the way clear for DEC to adopt Intel’s Merced chip when it is ready in 1999.
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