“Transmeta Corp., one of Silicon Valley’s most secretive startup
companies, is about to come out of hiding this week with a new
processor for mobile computing devices that sources said has a
novel approach to chip design.”
“Semiconductor industry sources who asked not to be named said
that the Crusoe chip represents a fundamental change in the
Internet-based world of computing. The sources, which include
industry analysts, said that the Crusoe chip will initially be
aimed at notebook computers and Internet appliances, but it can
ultimately be used in cell phones and other devices.”
“The company was founded in 1995 by David Ditzel, who is well
known in the semiconductor industry as a key architect of Sun
Microsystems Inc.’s SPARC processor family…”
“Everything will be revealed on January 19 both at the product
announcement and on the Web site,” said Ditzel…”
“Torvalds’ employment at Transmeta has fueled speculation
that the Crusoe processor will power devices running
Linux…”