Via is putting the Cyrix roadmap back on track with the launch of a 500MHz-plus Socket 370-compliant chip, codenamed Joshua, this year. Cyrix had this and other chips on the stocks, but had to all intents and purposes suspended operations pending its acquisition by Via. Joshua is based on the Cayenne core, and is a modification of Cyrix's MII with 3Dnow! instructions added. It has 64k of primary cache and 256k secondary cache. Via has been running a roadshow demonstrating a Joshua implementation running at 350MHz, but says that production silicon will operate at speeds in excess of 500MHz. Even so, the company will probably have to work hard to carve a slice of the low cost market for itself - the very fact that NatSemi sold Cyrix to Via indicates that this is a trickier patch than Cyrix, Centaur and Rise anticipated. And Via also has a few other items from the Cyrix roadmap in the locker. Earlier this year it was aiming to ship Mojave, with the Jalapeno core, at 600MHz plus in summer of next year - this obviously now seems some revision. ®