What about if Acer does not just buy Centaur WinChip business but the whole of IDT? (Story: IDT exits x.86, puts Centaur up for sale) Those are the rumours we are hearing, from normally reliable sources, as Acer diversifies its business away from chip manufacturing and into design. If the rumours are true it would give ALi, Acer's wing, an x.86 clone with one snap. It would bother Via, also a Taiwanese company, but could help propel Acer into the XC business it covets at one stroke. At press time, we were unable to contact Acer in Taiwan, and this is just a rumour, right? But our rumours have a way of turning into realities... ®