“In the computing world, two great mysteries became one last
week. That’s because Transmeta, whose star engineer is Linux god
Linus Torvalds, finally revealed what it’s been doing for the past
four-and-a-half years. From the other mysterious company-Groove
Networks, the “new gig” from Lotus Notes creator Ray Ozzie-comes
only silence, if you don’t count the touchy-feely language on its
Web site. Actually, at two-plus years and counting, it’s not that
new anymore….”
“On paper, the processor sounds great-fast, low-power, and
compatible with any bit or byte you can throw at it, through a
process called Code Morphing. It’s too early to judge the purported
innovation because we do not know of any OEM with firm plans to use
the chip….”
“One source tells me that two of the top seven or so
notebook makers have made firm commitments to the chip and that one
in the top three-IBM, Compaq or Toshiba-has been nailed down.
Since IBM Microelectronics will manufacture the chips, it stands to
reason that Transmeta extracted a commitment from its big
partner.”