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New I know this sounds funky...
[link|http://news.com.com/2061-10808_3-5689785.html|Sun to go private? No way, says McNealy]

But read the article. It makes a couple of connects for me on some things I have seen.

In the DEEEEP background of corporate dealings where whacked things are explored sometimes, I have had 3 people ask me if I had heard about it. One is with a capital procurement firm, the other two are with deal brokers. All three are IT members in perspective firms.

One even added a tidbits of some thing akin to "Some tasty little nuggets of alien technology", Sun selling SPARC architecture designs and facilities lock-stock-n-barrel to AMD, with special guarantees for pricing for SUN from AMD, to buy SPARC from AMD. As well as mainboard contruction... which is new (though familiar) for AMD.

This presents a bigtime head scratcher for me. I hope, nope REALLY hope that what happened to EV (Alpha technology) doesn't happen to SPARC. I can see AMD jumping on this.

Only problem... AMD doesn't have the free capital/stock/whatever to accomplish this right now. Though the/a special deal may allow it to happen. Of course pending approval.

There are other rumors in the mill, that if taken with this, makes sense.
--
[link|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net|greg],
[link|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] @ iwethey
[image|http://www.danasoft.com/vipersig.jpg||||]
New what would they sell without sparc?
All tribal myths are true, for a given value of "true" Terry Pratchett
[link|http://boxleys.blogspot.com/|http://boxleys.blogspot.com/]

Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 48 years. meep
questions, help? [link|mailto:pappas@catholic.org|email pappas at catholic.org]
New No, you misunderstand.
It is a cooperative effort to remove a heavy piece of SUN, that keeps dragging resources away from the company's core imperatives.

AMD already geared for this kind of work, sorta kinda is the natural choice. As is evidence SUN buying Opeteron's by the truckloads, they would expand that to include the SPARC stuff.

I am guessing an exclusive deal for SUN would be that.
--
[link|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net|greg],
[link|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] @ iwethey
[image|http://www.danasoft.com/vipersig.jpg||||]
New Why would AMD want SPARC?
SPARC is a processor architecture design that Sun (via Sparc International) licenses to others. E.g. [link|http://www.sparc.com/members.html|Fujitsu, TI]. Sun doesn't make chips.

If AMD were interested in SPARC, it could get a license to make the chips at any time.

There may be something to the rumor of taking Sun private, but it seems to me that if the main purpose is to do a reorganization then that could be done without the expense of a buyback.

McNealy needs to do something, but I don't see how SPARC fits into it.

My $0.02.

Cheers,
Scott.
New They resources to keep doing the R&D for it...
Is the single largest expense they have at this point.

AMD, would Want it... to get the licensing revenues from Fujitsu and TI. And to get into a good arrangement for fall back and growth.

Margins are extremely thin, the bigger you are, the more you have. Economy of Scale.
--
[link|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net|greg],
[link|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] @ iwethey
[image|http://www.danasoft.com/vipersig.jpg||||]
New But Sun is going with Opterons...
SPARC seems to be shrinking as an architecture. As you say, processor R&D is very expensive. AMD has a tough enough time battling Intel, I don't think they want to be seen as competing with IBM's POWER architecture too.

I just don't see an upside for AMD. I doubt that Fujitsu and TI pay anywhere near enough upkeep to keep SPARC a viable platform on their own.

But it would certainly be interesting if it came to pass. :-)

Cheers,
Scott.
New In short...
"I see what's in it for you, but what's in it for me?"

Cheers,
Ben
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
New I don't have an answer for either of you.
--
[link|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net|greg],
[link|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] @ iwethey
[image|http://www.danasoft.com/vipersig.jpg||||]
     I know this sounds funky... - (folkert) - (7)
         what would they sell without sparc? -NT - (boxley) - (1)
             No, you misunderstand. - (folkert)
         Why would AMD want SPARC? - (Another Scott) - (4)
             They resources to keep doing the R&D for it... - (folkert) - (3)
                 But Sun is going with Opterons... - (Another Scott) - (2)
                     In short... - (ben_tilly) - (1)
                         I don't have an answer for either of you. -NT - (folkert)

Many of the dead have finished being dead without the assistance of medical staff or fancy equipment.
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