Via's Joshua chip is to be formally unveiled on 22nd February, according to company sources. The low-cost chip is aimed at Intel's Celeron, uses Socket 370, and will initially run at speeds of 433MHz and 466MHz. Clock speeds of 500MHz and above are due later this year. With the launch of the chip Via will have the opportunity to prove that the low-cost Intel cloning market isn't automatically a bone-yard. Joshua is based on Cyrix's Cayenne core, Via having bought Cyrix from NatSemi last year. Cyrix had been relatively unsuccessful in making inroads into the market, as had Centaur, which Via also bought last year. It remains to be seen whether Via has sufficient extra advantages to be able to succeed where Cyrix and Centaur failed, but greater integration opportunities and the rise of the appliance-like PC may help. Joshua is being fabbed at 0.18 micron by NatSemi. ®