US wires reported late yesterday that Bob Palmer, who ran Digital before it was bought by Compaq, may be invited to be a board member of AMD. Palmer, who had a walk-in wardrobe when he worked at Digital, has natty taste in clothes. But he is widely blamed for selling off Digital's "family silver", leading it to a point where it would inevitably be bought. If the reports are true, however, it would be further evidence of the close ties between AMD and Compaq-Digital, already widely reported here. ®