Sony, IBM, and Toshiba "are poised to reveal details at a chip industry conference on Feb 7. One hint of what's to come: Cell will include a cluster of Power processors, making it 10 times more powerful than today's contenders. If the momentum continues, IBM could emerge as a much more potent force in the processor realm," says BusinessWeek.
Comment: The most telling quote -- applied to many IBM efforts but particularly its chip business -- was always: "You can buy better, but you can't pay more." So far, the PowerPC processor, which was originally intended to wipe out Intel, has mainly been associated with marginal products such as the Apple Macintosh, the Pegasos (an Amiga spin off) and Nintendo's struggling GameCube, with the Microsoft Xbox II to come. However, the Cell processor could rescue IBM's fortunes in processors, if it comes anywhere near the pre-launch hype.
