“An extremely low-key triple alliance of Microsoft,
Transmeta and AMD has been working quietly to ensure Microsoft
software will support AMD’s 64-bit Sledgehammer chip from the word
go. This despite public claims by Microsoft execs that Sledgehammer
will be playing decidedly second fiddle to Intel’s
Itanium.“
“The deal probably originates in AMD’s cosying up to Transmeta
earlier this year on the subject of power management, but
specifically got going, we’re told, because the simulator AMD
shipped Microsoft was a dud. The fact that Microsoft was shipped a
simulator at all makes it clear the company intended to support
AMD, but Microsoft’s refusal to work with the cripplingly slow code
it got from AMD was the catalyst.”
“So what does AMD do? Call for super-morpher. According to our
sources, Transmeta modified the software to morph standard x86 to
VLIW, along with all the Sledgehammer extensions and the
differences from Pentium 3. Despite the presence of the Demon
Torvalds on the Transmeta roster, you can see how this kind of
approach might entrance Microsoft’s high command.”