BAD HARDWARE WEEK

Finally, a truth on Intel's ongoing restructing.

One analyst predicted Intel may look at exiting big businesses such as its high-end microprocessors, dubbed Itanium, on which Intel has spent well over $1 billion to develop since 1994. It might also unload its flash memory businesses and communications chip businesses -- all of which are losing money.

``Getting out of Itanium is politically difficult'' because of Intel's alliance with Hewlett-Packard, Wu said. ``But it's no more difficult than getting out of DRAMs.''

Let me remind you, after the last big crisis in 1985, Intel got out of DRAM business. Thus, Intel did it once, and it will do it again. Today died the last Titanic survivor. The same destiny is to Itanium users, to dye alone.

LATEST: Silicon Graphics, a major Itanium customer bankrupted.

Sell offs are only the first item from list. Now, what about the lay offs? It is moderate estimate of some phased out 10K jobs. Nicely compensated with 101,300 - 87,100 = 13,200 newbies last year, in a broad but hidden operation of venerable monopoly giant rejuvenation. Now, only the last part of that operation remained. After Barnum style "NGA" announcement in June, cautious and quiet burial of all unnecessary in company, covered by noisy simulatenous NGA circus show at all main TV networks. And on "remote controlled" computer related sites and magazines.
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