Microsoft Corp has admitted to preliminary discussions with Sun Microsystems Inc on Windows NT for the Sparc chip but senior vice-president Paul Maritz said it was too early to tell if it would work out. It also confirmed discussions with Hewlett-Packard Co on NT for the Precision Architecture RISC, as widely thought. Sources say more ink has been spilled in the press about a deal between IBM Corp and Microsoft for the PowerPC chip than on any agreement papers between the two. MIPS Technologies Inc chip vendors are quick to claim their chip will be the only non-Intel Corp system for which Microsoft does the work – others must follow Digital Equipment Corp and Intergraph Corp and do it themselves.
