THE INDUSTRY STANDARD MAGAZINE
Don't Win, Don't Tel
May 30 2000 12:00 AM PDT
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Talk about hitting a guy when he's down. As Microsoft (MSFT) cringes in anticipation of the antitrust judgment, today Gateway (GNRG) and AOL announce a deal with upstart chip firm Transmeta. Gateway will build an Internet appliance, pre-wired with online service from AOL or Gateway, using Transmeta's low-power chips and its implementation of Linux. (Linux originator Linus Torvalds works at Transmeta.)
The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal talked to mostly the same people: Transmeta CEO David Ditzel, Gateway CTO Peter Ashkin and Giga analyst Rob Enderle. Both outlets played up the angle of Gateway breaking out of the Wintel duopoly. "The phrase 'Internet appliance' has become a code word in the industry meaning 'no Windows.'" Ditzel told the Times. Writing for the U.K.'s Register, John Lettice turned in a Grok-like piece analyzing what the Times and the Journal reported, adding some speculation on Gateway's likely pricing strategy. The Slashdot.com community, from whom you might expect lively commentary on news of a win for Torvalds' company, must be tuckered out from all those Memorial Day barbecues. As of this morning, only one of the site's comments on the story rated better than 2 on its scale of 5. - Keith Dawson
Gateway and AOL Bypass Industry Stalwarts on Components
Gateway to Unveil Agreement to Buy Chips From Transmeta
Transmeta Scores Gateway-AOL Linux Appliance Deal |