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WIRE WARS

by Tom Cantrell

Start ı Letıs Rumble ı Once More, With Feeling ı Layer It On Me ı Plug-In Possibilities ı Ready Or Not ı Sources and PDF

Over the years, and especially recently as the stakes have gotten higher, Silicon Valley hasıhow shall I put it?ımatured in the ways of the world. Cozier ties with Washington are all the rage, as protection against Feds, who might come-a-calling with subpoenas, search warrants, or heaven forbid, handcuffs. There are more lobbyists in suits than suits in the lobby or, for that matter, in the lab.

Although Silicon Valley always pushed the marketing envelope, the art of spin is being refined, rising to the pro level in DC, where a decrease in growth is a cut, pork is an investment, and no oneıs quite sure just what the meaning of "is" is.

So, on one hand, we read favorable reports, such as: "Intel believes that IEEE 1394 enables the PC to add tremendous value to consumer electronics devices," said Patrick Gelsinger, Vice President and General Manager of Intel's Desktop Products Group. "Broad deployment of IEEE 1394 requires reasonable licensing terms around this technology, and Intel is very pleased to join these companies in driving to that goal" (www.1394ta.org).

Only to find that Gelsinger takes another stance in an EE Times article, written by Rick Boyd-Merritt. There he says, "We expect 1394 will play a role in connecting consumer electronics devices to the computer which can enhance those devices, but that's something of a niche, and it doesn't make sense to integrate that into our chip sets" (www.eetimes.com/story/OEG19990224S0015).

Now, itıs not uncommon in the world of spin for yesterdayıs story to be declared inoperative. But in this case, I donıt think itıs simply a change of mind. Instead, I think weıre seeing the initial diplomatic posturing in whatıs going to turn into a full-fledged shooting war between IEEE 1394 and USB 2.0. I suspect the spinning has just begun.

Although the USB 2.0 spec wonıt be public until later this year, whatıs known so far is that it targets much higher speeds of 120 and 240 Mbps (and possibly even higher). No doubt, the move is in response to complaints from mouse manufacturers that the current USB 1.1 speed of 1.2 and 12 Mbps isnıt enough to keep up with power point-and-clickers.

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