Via may produce Alpha chipsets

Chipset, and now CPU manufacturer, Via has strongly hinted it will support the Alpha processor in the future. But, at the same time, it has said it will only produce uniprocessor chipsets for the AMD Athlon. In a FAQ on its Website, Via says: "Currently there are no plans to support DEC-Alpha CPU's, but it is possible that in the future after the K7 builds up mainstream acceptance, VIA will make the necessary pin changes to support DEC-Alpha processors." Such processors are also produced by Alpha Processors Inc (API), which has vowed to drive the Alpha into the lower end of the market, on the back of a growing market in Linux-based systems. Meanwhile, according to industry analyst Terry Shannon, who runs newsletter Shannon knows Compaq, Q's decision to eliminated Alpha NT jobs at Bellevue, exclusively reported here, is likely to have little effect on the future of the Alpha chip. He said: "I anticipate no direct impact of the negative kind on Alpha. Alpha sales are up 16 percent year-over-year and Linux appears to be taking off nicely." ® See also Compaq set to fire Alpha NT developers Via to push Gobi chip in Q4