“Well, Microsoft may not be a tiger nor even a mammal, but you
certainly don’t want any kind of vicious creature turning on you
and rending you, and this could explain why Intel is fighting shy
of complaining about the progress of Win64 while continually wooing
the Open Source community.”
“Sources close to the progress of Win64 told The Register over
the weekend that progress on the Microsoft 64-bit port is indeed
slower than expected. This must worry Intel a tad, given that
roadmaps we saw earlier in the year suggest that the launch date
for the Merced-Itanic platform is mid-July.”
“One developer said to us: “I believe Intel has a fetish for
Linux on Itanium because of the delays in Win64, or more accurately
the confluence of factors. While it would be silly to rile up
Microsoft… given the tremendous volumes and potential, if Win64
isn’t delivered on time, that is in October or November, Linux and
Monterey are likely to be Intel’s best hope.“