Early today we heard from a reliable source that IBM is to buy the Cyrix division of National Semiconductor. No confirmation from either company was available at press time but we will update this story today as more information becomes available. IBM formerly manufactured processors for Cyrix as part of a fabbing deal set up before National Semiconductor bought the chip company. Under that deal, IBM was allowed to take half of the wafers produced at its fabs and re-market them as the IBM 6x86 brand. If the rumours are true, it would mean that IBM could, once more, become a real player in the x.86 industry. And such a deal would change the fundamental balance of power in the processor market. IBM's financial results our out later today. ®