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They might be trying to get some "lock-in" back, though I have no idea how. Ballmer's Microsoft apparently missed the Mobile/Tablet revolution assuming that th
by beagle3 12y ago
They might be trying to get some "lock-in" back, though I have no idea how.
Ballmer's Microsoft apparently missed the Mobile/Tablet revolution assuming that the desktop lock-in they still have could be leveraged. That didn't work for years, but seems to have been ignored until Nadella came in.
Intel might be trying to gain a lock-in by somehow putting the familiar x86 into mobiles/tablets, in the hope that developers would release x86 binaries that would make ARM undesirable. But that's an 80 degree inclination uphill battle. They either have a crazy card up their sleeve, or are unable to respond properly (and the $0 cost + $50 subsidy) is the best they can do at present while trying to craft that crazy card.
- personZ 12y agoQuite the opposite: It's eliminating lock-out, which is where Intel was in an ARM-only mobile world. Intel has the most advanced fabs in the world, and the limits of their own devices has primarily been their concern about competing with themselves (which I'm sure is still the case. With each new chip they probably have internal negotiations about how to ensure it doesn't threaten their desktop and server chips). If Intel isn't disadvantaged in mobile, only a fool would count them out.