C integral types [was Re: Semi-OT: Why Kids Can't use Computers] (fwd)

[Lennart Sorensen]

On Tue, Aug 20, 2013 at 08:49:06PM -0400, Walter Dnes wrote:
> On Tue, Aug 20, 2013 at 02:23:26PM -0400, D. Hugh Redelmeier wrote
> 
> > The Itanium was a noble experiment.  It's just that (a) they didn't
> > realize it was an experiment, and (b) they poured their resources into
> > the x86 battle, starving the Itanium project, and (c) they took the
> > wind out of the sails (sales?) of RISC processors.
> 
>   An old internet post with a cynical take on the "Itanic disaster".
> 
> > Is Microsoft responsible for Intel's Itanic disaster?
> > Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, February 21 2006 @ 04:12 PM EST
> > There was no Itanic disaster.
> 
> > Remember, when Intel started the Itanium bluff, they hand zero
> > presence in 64-bit computing and very limited presence in high-end
> > computing.  Leading 64-bit players were MIPS/SGI, Alpha/Dec,
> > PA-RISC/HP, and yes, IBM and Sparc.
> > 
> > In fear of Itanium, SGI spun-off MIPS and became a Wintel reseller.
> > Compaq feared Itanium would quickly kill DEC's Alpha and gave it to
> > Intel when they bought DEC. HP redirected their hardware resources
> > away from PA-RISC to their intel/itanium partnership.
> > 
> > Without laying out a single transistor, Itanium completely destroyed
> > 3 of the 5 64-bit competitors; and Intel went from being a PC desktop
> > brand to a wall-street-recognised leader in high-end computing.
> > 
> > Never was there a more successful bluff in business. I don't see
> > how people can consider that a failure.

As a CPU design it is a failure.

As a business decision, they seem to have pulled it of very well.
It pretty much killed SGI, and as for compaq and HP (now one company),
they aren't doing well in that side of the business either, although HP
is the only company that has anything to do with Itanium anymore.
Their customers don't seem very happy either given there seems to still
be features of True64 that haven't made it to HP-UX for the Itanium that
they want and I think the Alpha machines are just about to stop being
available to buy.

-- 
Len Sorensen
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