Intel Aims for the Upper, Upper Decks

Intel Aims for the Upper, Upper Decks
by Ed McKernan on 01-20-2012 at 3:07 pm

Since the introduction of Apple’s iPhone and then the follow on iPAD, it has been Wall Streets frame of reference that Intel would be playing defense as the PC market slid into oblivion and therefore a Terminal Value should be placed on the company. Intel’s Q4 2011 earnings conference call provided a nice jolt to the analysts as Paul… Read More


Samsung’s Regrettable Moment and the Coming of 3D Tick Tock!

Samsung’s Regrettable Moment and the Coming of 3D Tick Tock!
by Ed McKernan on 01-10-2012 at 12:35 am

The might have beens. The shoulda’s, coulda’s, woulda’s are what launches a thousand Harvard Business School Case Studies that are meant to prepare a generation of business leaders on how to make decisions that impact the future directions of companies. Right before the 2008 financial crises (September … Read More


Intel Proves Last Year’s Conventional Wisdom Wrong

Intel Proves Last Year’s Conventional Wisdom Wrong
by Ed McKernan on 12-11-2011 at 7:00 pm

Back in the 1990’s, Richard Branson, the legendary Entrepreneur and investor was asked how to become a millionaire, and he allegedly responded, “There’s really nothing to it. Start as a billionaire and then buy an airline.” I think the same principle can be applied to a large part of the Semiconductor… Read More


Microsoft’s New Tablet Strategy: Here, There and Everywhere

Microsoft’s New Tablet Strategy: Here, There and Everywhere
by Ed McKernan on 12-03-2011 at 10:33 am

As mentioned in a previous post, Microsoft has started to come clean on its software strategy as it relates to Windows 8 for PCs and Tablets. The strategy has been changing quite rapidly since their first admission in September. Essentially the Windows 8 O/S will be forked based on whether the mobile device is operating on an x86 or… Read More


Will Amazon’s Kindle Fire Force x86 Processors To Revisit the 1980s?

Will Amazon’s Kindle Fire Force x86 Processors To Revisit the 1980s?
by Ed McKernan on 11-29-2011 at 12:07 am

What if Amazon’s new Kindle Fire, priced at $199 and using a sub $10 TI processor, has effectively started the ball rolling towards forcing Intel and AMD to building a Very Low Cost (perhaps even <$10) x86 mobile processor? A recent article entitled “Amazon’s Risky Strategy” explores the ramifications of Amazon selling Kindle… Read More


Did Apple Influence AMD’s TSMC Foundry Switch?

Did Apple Influence AMD’s TSMC Foundry Switch?
by Ed McKernan on 11-27-2011 at 7:00 pm

During the weekend, I read two articles that highlighted Apple’s LCD supply chain build out and started to think of how this would look if Apple were to do the same on the x86 side of the ledger. The two articles, one related to Hitachi and Sony building a new 4” LCD for iphones and a more extensive one on Sharp building a new LCD for the iPAD3… Read More


ARM Chips Away at Intel’s Server Business!

ARM Chips Away at Intel’s Server Business!
by Ed McKernan on 11-06-2011 at 7:40 am


When Intel entered the server market in the 1990s with their Pentium Processor and follow on Xeons beginning in 1998, they focused on the simple enterprise applications. At the same time they laid the groundwork for what will turn out to be a multi-decade, long war to wrest control from all mainframes and workstations. The announcements… Read More


Meg Whitman Should Buy AMD and Take HP Back To Its Roots

Meg Whitman Should Buy AMD and Take HP Back To Its Roots
by Ed McKernan on 10-31-2011 at 11:16 am

Back in the 2008 financial Crises, GM was finally brought to its knees and had to face a radical makeover. They asked for a bailout from the government that allowed the unions to swap out lower compensation for equity, something no union would do unless the alternative was to shutter the doors. The bondholders and the shareholders… Read More


Intel’s Incredible Semiconductor Machine

Intel’s Incredible Semiconductor Machine
by Ed McKernan on 10-21-2011 at 8:15 am

It is hard not to be impressed by Intel’s stunning financial performance since the 2008 downturn. They are on track to post revenue of $55B this year or 50% higher than 2008 while nVidia and AMD will be flat to less than 10% better. More significantly, earnings will be 3X that of 2008. More significantly, in the past 12 months they have… Read More


Memo To New AMD CEO: Time For A Breakout Strategy!

Memo To New AMD CEO: Time For A Breakout Strategy!
by Ed McKernan on 09-12-2011 at 2:52 pm

“Where’s the Taurus?” In the history of company turnarounds, it was one of the most penetrating and catalyzing opening questions ever offered by a new CEO to a demoralized executive team. The CEO was Alan Mullaly, who spent years at Boeing and at one point in the 1980s studied the successful rollout of the original Ford Taurus. For… Read More