AMD vs Intel: Technology, Competition, and Sustainability

There has been an implicit live-and-let-live conspiracy between the giant firms of
the semiconductor industries. They are associated in the ITRS. Thousands of employees
exchange information about company plans and what they are working on. The CEO’s
are very open about their plans when interviewers ask pointed questions about products
and technology. Ruthless competition is inconsistent with the widespread practice of
cross licensing. Workers come and go, and not all of them are diligent in avoiding
conflict of interest between employers. In an unregulated industry like semiconductors,
an innovator needs as second source because a canny customer will not willingly lock
himself into a single supplier to form an indeterminate bilateral monopoly. Competition
that results from quality or performance improvement is welcome since most
semiconductors are routine, low margin, products. Profits require that someone innovate,
i.e. make something new, and someone else authenticate the innovation by licensing it
from the innovator. Innovations tend to come in bunches.
One example of contemporary innovation is the 2B1 computer, developed by
Nicholas Negroponte of the MIT Media Lab and the OLPC not-for-profit. OLPC means
“one laptop per child.” The screen is 7.5 1200 x 900 pixel TFT self-refreshing display
with 200 dpi resolution. It has a color mode ( 1 W.), and a high-resolution reflective
mode that can be read in sunlight (0.2 w.). Total power is 2-3 W. It has an eight-hour
battery, and it can be recharged by a hand-powered crank. It has internal video/still
camera, internal speakers with stereo line-out jack, microphone, two USB 2.0 slots, SD
flash slot, 400 MHz AMD Geode processor with 128 MB SLC NAND flash on board,
double wide touch pad and Linux, communication facilities, OS and other custom opensource
software. All users will be able to tie into their neighbors and everyone will be
able to sign onto the Internet. The initial price for the 2B1 will be about $140, but the
sponsors hope that the price will fall to about $50 in time. Nigeria has already ordered
one million of them. Libya has agreed to spend $250 million to buy 2B1s for all Libyan
kids. There does not seem to be any coordinated program for integration of these
computers into the schools. Rather the inborn desire to hack computers will have them
downloading music, movies, and pornography in the first few hours they get their hands
on them.
Intel has a grandiose 5-year plan, called “World Ahead.” Intel hopes to introduce
the “Eduwise” computer at $250, although $200 is the ultimate target. They will be
serious full-powered machines, interconnected and on the Internet. Intel has pledged $1
billion over five years to train 10 million teachers in using computers in the class room,
to teach 1 billion students to use computers in their education. Intel is contributing
100,000 computers for classroom in developing countries.
If either or both of these systems actually improve education in remote third
world villages, they will revolution education. Demand will grow without limit until
ultimately everyone will get a laptop when first they go to school. Intel has pronounced
Ball State University the most computerized campus, and the average student spends
more than 20 hours on-line. When one considers how slow, hot, heavy, awkward, shortlived
and inconvenient today’s computers are, it is easy to recognize that computers will
have to be markedly improved if most students are to accept them. Intel and MIT are not
selling existing computers, but re-inventing them. Kids will put up with today’s laptops if
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