First up, I would say that due to the 3dfx/STB linkup, and this shoe dropping today, this trend is probably gonna go a bit further before it's all over. And if I was laying odds, here's how I think that it would/will play out, over the next couple years:
1. I think that the S3/diamond linkup, is likely. It may require some changes in the makeup of the takeover, but I think that at some price, it will happen.
2. Once it's signed and sealed, Nvidia, is going to be left in an untenable position. True, there are several small companies supporting them. But 2 of their biggest customers, are now going to be totally in bed with their enemies.
3. Either Creative will snap up Nvidia, or Hercules will get snapped up by Nvidia, or some combination of the three even, possibly. Whoever gets left out of this stage, is hosed, as far as video cards go. Sure there are options, but none are very palatable, once S3, Nvidia, and 3dfx are all captive organizations.
4. Moving forward, once the M&A frenzy starts to die down, I would say that in terms of cutting edge tech, the advantage will be to either ATI, or Matrox, for the next couple years. 3dfx, S3, and Nvidia, are going to be preoccupied for some time, absorbing and integrating into their new organizations, and engineering WILL suffer as a result. Once the suits start hacking away at organizations, nobody is gonna be very comfortable for a bit.
And regarding Nvidia's chances, I'd say that once the market realizes what's going on in this segment,and it dawns on analysts that nvid's market share is going to suffer as a result of what's happened so far, their stock is likely to get hammered down, and very likely Creative will take that opportunity to snap them up.
What do I think of this, as a consumer? I'm not sure. I think that it's not as catastrophic as some fear mongers are saying. Realistically, this shouldn't have too big a real effect on the competitive market in video cards. If Creative is the only big guy making Nvid cards, so what. It's not like there was a significant difference between their cards, and Diamonds anyhow. Both card companies basically used reference designs on their stuff anyhow. And there will still be plenty of price competition, just not within the same chipset. A Diamond/S3 card, is still going to be living in the same space, as a Creative/Nvid card, and will still have to be price competitive. You'll just have to spend a little more time comparing specs, and seeing who has a better total package, and not just comparing 2 functionally identical cards to see who has the best price.
Jurisdiction is defintely an issue. And currently there is little legal precedent set where jurisdiction should lie in cases like this. The VA courts are simply applying their laws to the case, as there is a dearth of authorities currently available to seek redress of matters like this in the cyber sphere.
I'm not sure that applying laws from the physical sphere is totally appropriate to the internet, but I do think that it's probably better than letting people run around doing and saying whatever they like.
I agree with several of the poeple that have pointed out previously, that freedom of speech does not guarantee that you can say whatever you feel like, with impunity.
Actually, it's not that the person has to be located in a particular place, it's enough that you have "dealings" with that locale. if you are a Texan, posting via AOL's servers in VA, you would be subject to both state's legal systems, assuming that this ruling holds.
The fact that you are using a server in VA, was considered to be "significant dealings" with VA. and living in Texas vertainly puts you under their jurisdiction
You're right, the chipsets do have all sorts of functions that are nice to have fully implemented. Fortunately most of these are totally generic functions, that are supported out of the box by Win. USB, IDE, work (more or less) fine, without MS recompiling anything. Or worst case the mobo supplier will have a driver disk, in which case again, no additional work is needed by MS.
Personally I think that there are too many lawsuits in the world today, and that there are many frivolous lawsuits abounding.
Further, I'm not sure that the courts picked the right course on this item either, but...
Where would you folks propose that someone go for redress in a case like this? Or do you all think that people should feel free to say whatever they want, about whomever they want, with total impunity?
Personally, I think that until there is an internet based court system, people have to accept that there are some difficulties with the drawing together aspects of the net.
Just for the record, ALL celeron processors run at a 66mhz bus. And according to Intel, they have no interest in going to 100 with them, apparently they don't want to run the risk of cannibalizing sales of PII/PIII's.
Slashdot Mirror
First up, I would say that due to the 3dfx/STB linkup, and this shoe dropping today, this trend is probably gonna go a bit further before it's all over. And if I was laying odds, here's how I think that it would/will play out, over the next couple years:
1. I think that the S3/diamond linkup, is likely. It may require some changes in the makeup of the takeover, but I think that at some price, it will happen.
2. Once it's signed and sealed, Nvidia, is going to be left in an untenable position. True, there are several small companies supporting them. But 2 of their biggest customers, are now going to be totally in bed with their enemies.
3. Either Creative will snap up Nvidia, or Hercules will get snapped up by Nvidia, or some combination of the three even, possibly. Whoever gets left out of this stage, is hosed, as far as video cards go. Sure there are options, but none are very palatable, once S3, Nvidia, and 3dfx are all captive organizations.
4. Moving forward, once the M&A frenzy starts to die down, I would say that in terms of cutting edge tech, the advantage will be to either ATI, or Matrox, for the next couple years. 3dfx, S3, and Nvidia, are going to be preoccupied for some time, absorbing and integrating into their new organizations, and engineering WILL suffer as a result. Once the suits start hacking away at organizations, nobody is gonna be very comfortable for a bit.
And regarding Nvidia's chances, I'd say that once the market realizes what's going on in this segment,and it dawns on analysts that nvid's market share is going to suffer as a result of what's happened so far, their stock is likely to get hammered down, and very likely Creative will take that opportunity to snap them up.
What do I think of this, as a consumer? I'm not sure. I think that it's not as catastrophic as some fear mongers are saying. Realistically, this shouldn't have too big a real effect on the competitive market in video cards. If Creative is the only big guy making Nvid cards, so what. It's not like there was a significant difference between their cards, and Diamonds anyhow. Both card companies basically used reference designs on their stuff anyhow. And there will still be plenty of price competition, just not within the same chipset. A Diamond/S3 card, is still going to be living in the same space, as a Creative/Nvid card, and will still have to be price competitive. You'll just have to spend a little more time comparing specs, and seeing who has a better total package, and not just comparing 2 functionally identical cards to see who has the best price.
Jurisdiction is defintely an issue. And currently there is little legal precedent set where jurisdiction should lie in cases like this. The VA courts are simply applying their laws to the case, as there is a dearth of authorities currently available to seek redress of matters like this in the cyber sphere.
I'm not sure that applying laws from the physical sphere is totally appropriate to the internet, but I do think that it's probably better than letting people run around doing and saying whatever they like.
I agree with several of the poeple that have pointed out previously, that freedom of speech does not guarantee that you can say whatever you feel like, with impunity.
Actually, it's not that the person has to be located in a particular place, it's enough that you have "dealings" with that locale. if you are a Texan, posting via AOL's servers in VA, you would be subject to both state's legal systems, assuming that this ruling holds.
The fact that you are using a server in VA, was considered to be "significant dealings" with VA. and living in Texas vertainly puts you under their jurisdiction
You're right, the chipsets do have all sorts of functions that are nice to have fully implemented. Fortunately most of these are totally generic functions, that are supported out of the box by Win. USB, IDE, work (more or less) fine, without MS recompiling anything. Or worst case the mobo supplier will have a driver disk, in which case again, no additional work is needed by MS.
Personally I think that there are too many lawsuits in the world today, and that there are many frivolous lawsuits abounding.
Further, I'm not sure that the courts picked the right course on this item either, but...
Where would you folks propose that someone go for redress in a case like this? Or do you all think that people should feel free to say whatever they want, about whomever they want, with total impunity?
Personally, I think that until there is an internet based court system, people have to accept that there are some difficulties with the drawing together aspects of the net.
Just for the record, ALL celeron processors run at a 66mhz bus. And according to Intel, they have no interest in going to 100 with them, apparently they don't want to run the risk of cannibalizing sales of PII/PIII's.