Article Abstract:
Several companies are developing chips that duplicate the functions of Intel's 80386 microprocessor. Competitors will not disclose their plans, but 80386 clones are expected to be introduced within a few months. Clone makers face problems: Intel is ahead of the competition in development, promising to improve its microprocessors and to tailor them for custom uses; the inner workings of the 386 are not well documented, so that it will be difficult to build a chip that duplicates all its functions; and Intel will probably sue clone makers for infringement of patents, copyright or trademark. Intel already has begun an advertising campaign, warning buyers to look for computers that contain real Intel chips, not imitations. Among the companies working to develop clones are Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Chips and Technologies Inc.
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Article Abstract:
The Commerce Department, in Oct 1992, responded to a complaint filed by Micron Technology Inc, imposing duties that would force Samsung Electronics Company Ltd to raise its prices in the US by 87.4 percent. Micron accuses Samsung and two other Korean semiconductor companies of dumping dynamic random access memory, or D-RAM chips, on the US market. The other companies, Goldstar Electron and Hyundai Electronics Industries Co, are assessed penalties of 52.41 and 5.99 percent, respectively. If these rulings are upheld in Mar 1993, it will force Samsung and Goldstar out of the US market and will hurt them significantly worldwide. Duties will also hurt US computer companies, which have held down their costs by purchasing low-cost Korean chips.
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Article Abstract:
Intel Corp's new $258 486SX microprocessor is nearly half the price of the Intel 80486 microprocessor and roughly the same price as earlier 80386 microprocessors. Industry observers note that the semiconductor company is marketing the new low-priced 486SX as a means of retaining important market share in the microprocessor market. Intel lost its monopoly of the 80386 microprocessor market when Advanced Micro Devices Inc was allowed to manufacture a clone. The 486SX is not as fast as the full-blown 80486 microprocessor, which has been renamed the 486DX, and it lacks the floating point unit of its more powerful relative; it is still between 10 percent and 40 percent faster than the 80386 microprocessor family.
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