Samsung-Linux plans emerge as Alpha takes shape

More details have emerged of plans that the Alpha partnership has to grab Intel market share. At the same time, it appears that AMD will introduce its SharpTooth product on the 24th February as a spoiler for the Katmai platform, released later in the month.

As revealed here some weeks ago, Compaq and its partners Microsoft and Samsung are making an all out bid to push the Alpha as a volume platform in 1999. This is part of a cunning plan Compaq's Eckhard Pfeiffer has to leverage his company's relationship with Intel. Again, as revealed here first, Compaq will rename D/UX to Tru64 Unix at the end of this month, while IBM will seek to spoil that launch with some new RS and AS/400 boxes.

Now slides outlining the Alpha partners' plans have been sent to The Register which give solid details of the future this year. The first shows that during this year, the partnership will aim at the sub-$1,000 market, leveraging the Windows NT platform and using the PCA57/RX architecture.

The second slide shows this years' roadmap for the 21264, with AMD's uniprocessor design present as part of the plans.

And the third slide gives clear bill of material pricing for the different flavours of the Alpha PC57 and 21264 uni- and dual- processor platforms, as well as showing how the partners will leverage the Linux connection. C

ompaq has promised The Register we will be invited to its spate of product announcements towards the end of the month. Its own offerings have already been previewed by Shannon knows Compaq Shannon knows Compaq and benchmarks are available at that site. ® Related Stories Compaq AMD Alpha plans take Linux shape Compaq unable to deck Alpha Cunning AMD-Compaq plan takes shape