“LINTEL. It sounds a little dippier than WinTel. But you’re
going to be hearing a lot more talk about Intel…and the Linux
operating system in the same sentence. The No. 1 chipmaker on
Wednesday outlined an ambitious Web-appliance strategy, which uses
the open-source Linux operating system. On a rocky day for tech
stocks, Intel shares gained a fraction of a point in trading, while
the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slumped 24.1 points, or .6%, after
wild swings. Meanwhile, Linux-related stocks enjoyed a bigger
boost, but we’ll get to that below.”
“Intel said today that it is developing a family of
Intel-branded, Linux-based Web appliances that are expected to
debut later this year. The first category of Intel appliances
combine phone and Web services. (Prototypes are already available.)
The next step is for telecom companies and service providers to
partner with Intel and distribute the Intel-branded e-phones,
bundled with their own proprietary services. (One-touch,
pay-per-use phone features on Intel’s platform are expected to ramp
up the participating telcos’ revenues, you see.) Intel is
displaying its prototypes and trumpeting its concept at the
Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.”