CEO of Centaur Discusses x86 Strategy and Linux

An anonymous reader writes "This fascinating interview with Glenn Henry, founder of VIA processor subsidiary Centaur Technology, discusses the founding of Centaur, its strategy and products, and why Linux is fundamental to his company's success. Additional topics covered include: how to produce an x86 clone with a few million dollars and a few dozen engineers; the embedded x86 market, and how it compares to the traditional ARM and MIPS based embedded market; why Centaur doesn't compete with AMD and Intel so much as enable x86 to reach new markets; how Linux is enabling greater hardware functionality; the urgent need for pervasive security -- and much more!"

Comments

Re:Is x86 the best chip to use

[stratjakt]

Whether it's the best "textbook" architecture or not, it's entrenched itself in the computer world so deeply that x86 will be around forever.

It works, engineers and coders are familiar with it.. The embedded world is still largely about ASM routines and tight little loops that dont leave the cache, etc, etc.. You can write and test your fancy-shamcy hand-assembled routine at your leisure on your desktop computer.... There are plenty of upsides, and the only downside is the "other stuff looks better on paper" argument.

It's a newcomer to the embedded world, but will no doubt take a strong hold.