Microsoft and IBM Announce Technology Agreement (XBOX to become internet access PC?)

Big Charts Business News ^ | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 03, 2003 9:00 AM | Sean Durkin , Shoreen Maghame

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REDMOND, Wash. and EAST FISHKILL, N.Y., Nov 3, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- -- Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) today announced that it has entered into a semiconductor technology agreement with IBM Corp. Under the agreement, Microsoft has licensed leading-edge semiconductor processor technology from IBM for use in future Xbox(R) products and services to be announced at a later date.

"Microsoft is already developing the software and services that will drive the Digital Decade," said Robbie Bach, senior vice president of the Home & Entertainment Division at Microsoft. "By combining our vision, software experience and R&D resources with IBM's computer and semiconductor technologies, we plan to deliver unprecedented and unparalleled entertainment experiences to consumers while creating new engines of growth for the technology and entertainment industries."

According to Bernie Meyerson, IBM Fellow and chief technologist for IBM's Technology Group, the new Xbox technologies will be based on the latest in IBM's family of state-of-the-art processors.

"IBM's advanced chip technologies are in demand across a wide range of industries and applications," Meyerson said. "We're excited to be working on a project of this magnitude and that Microsoft has chosen IBM to provide technologies that will power future consumer devices and expand the boundaries of what's possible in entertainment."

About IBM Technology Group

IBM's Technology Group is the source of many of IBM's legendary silicon breakthroughs. The group plays a critical role with its OEM customers and the IBM Systems Group in creating unique, high-performance semiconductor devices. It offers engineering design services, a vast portfolio of intellectual property, industry-leading interconnect technologies, customized processors or application specific integrated circuits, that can be fabricated at IBM's state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. More information about IBM Technology Group can be found at: http://www.chips.ibm.com .

About Xbox

Xbox ( http://www.xbox.com/ ) is Microsoft's future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful games experiences ever. Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Xbox is now available in the continents of North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device.

NOTE: Microsoft and Xbox are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.

Sean Durkin, +1-206-268-2229, or sean.durkin@edelman.com, or
Shoreen Maghame, +1-323-202-1061, or shoreen.maghame@edelman.com, both of
Edelman for Microsoft Corp.; or Scott Sykes of IBM Microelectronics,
+1-845-892-5023, or sykessc@us.ibm.com

AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

http://www.xbox.com

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OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

[Callahan]

I have to admit I love my Xbox. I like playing ESPN Football better that watching the real thing. Maybe that's because my Eagles are 8-0 in the video game universe.

[JerseyHighlander]

Great news, Sony will have to stop milking the PS2 market and release the PS3 they have ready to produce.

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Added news to the above item:

__________________________________________________________________________

Xbox to Switch to PowerPC 

By Leander Kahney  |   Also by this reporter Page 1 of 1

02:00 AM Nov. 04, 2003 PT

Microsoft's next-generation Xbox will ditch its Intel chip in favor of the same kind of chip used in Apple's Macs -- an IBM PowerPC processor -- IBM and Microsoft announced on Monday.

At least one industry analyst thinks the choice may be the first crack in the so-called "Wintel" partnership that has dominated the computer industry for decades.

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For many years, the speculation has been that Apple may migrate to Intel chips to survive. But with the advent of the G5 and a state-of-the-art IBM chip plant in Fishkill, New York, it may be Microsoft that does the migrating.

In a cryptic press release issued on Monday, IBM announced Microsoft's intention to use an IBM chip in the next-generation Xbox, which is expected to debut in early 2005.

"Microsoft has licensed leading-edge semiconductor processor technology from IBM for use in future Xbox products and services to be announced at a later date," the statement said.

The release studiously avoids naming the chip architecture, referring only to "IBM's family of state-of-the-art processors."

However, IBM spokesman Scott Brooks said IBM's "family of processors" are all PowerPCs. He declined to name the architecture specifically, saying IBM had promised Microsoft it would not do so.

He also said the statement refers to the Xbox's main processor -- not an ancillary chip.

"They looked at a number of possibilities, and we are very happy they selected us," Brooks said.

A spokeswoman for Microsoft, which also issued a release, declined to elaborate. "It's quite simple," she said. "It's an announcement of a technology agreement. There's not much more to be said."

But Richard Doherty, research director of Envisioneering Group of Seaford, New York, said the announcement could be the first in a more general shift by Microsoft away from Intel.

"It's a very big win for IBM. It's a clear change of direction for Microsoft, and it's a very unfortunate surprise for Intel," he said.

"There's quite a bit of irony here," he added, referring to the fact that it has always been assumed that Apple would move to Intel, rather than Microsoft moving to the PowerPC, a chip technology co-developed by Apple, IBM and Motorola.

Doherty said the PowerPC is very secure and boasts great graphics. "Intel doesn't have the security IBM does," he said.

He said he hasn't seen any specs, but he said he expects IBM to brief analysts in Silicon Valley on Wednesday morning.

Whatever the details, he said the chip will likely perform much like the IBM PowerPC 970, better known as the G5 used in Apple's Power Macs, when it ships in late 2004 or early 2005. "I think performance will be akin to a G5 today," he said.

Doherty said IBM chips will now power all the major game consoles -- the next-generation PlayStation will be based on IBM's The Cell, and Nintendo currently uses the PowerPC in the GameCube.

Microsoft will use the Virtual PC technology it acquired from Connectix last year to provide backward-compatibility with the current generation of Xbox games.

Doherty said the move could signal a more general shift by Microsoft toward chips from manufacturers other than Intel, especially as the company migrates into other markets such as media center PCs, consoles and portables.

"The new Microsoft is hardware-agnostic," he said. "I think we will see Microsoft decided on chips on their merits now, rather than an aging bias."

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The above from Wired Magazine, Links are not working!

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From Microsoft:

___________________________________________________________________________________

Microsoft and IBM Announce Technology Agreement

IBM Technology to Power Future Xbox Products and Services

REDMOND, Wash., and EAST FISHKILL, N.Y. -- Nov. 3, 2003 -- Microsoft Corp. today announced that it has entered into a semiconductor technology agreement with IBM Corp. Under the agreement, Microsoft has licensed leading-edge semiconductor processor technology from IBM for use in future Xbox® products and services to be announced at a later date.

"Microsoft is already developing the software and services that will drive the Digital Decade," said Robbie Bach, senior vice president of the Home & Entertainment Division at Microsoft. "By combining our vision, software experience and R&D resources with IBM's computer and semiconductor technologies, we plan to deliver unprecedented and unparalleled entertainment experiences to consumers while creating new engines of growth for the technology and entertainment industries."

According to Bernie Meyerson, IBM Fellow and chief technologist for IBM's Technology Group, the new Xbox technologies will be based on the latest in IBM's family of state-of-the-art processors.

"IBM's advanced chip technologies are in demand across a wide range of industries and applications," Meyerson said. "We're excited to be working on a project of this magnitude and that Microsoft has chosen IBM to provide technologies that will power future consumer devices and expand the boundaries of what's possible in entertainment."

About IBM Technology Group

IBM's Technology Group is the source of many of IBM's legendary silicon breakthroughs. The group plays a critical role with its OEM customers and the IBM Systems Group in creating unique, high-performance semiconductor devices. It offers engineering design services, a vast portfolio of intellectual property, industry-leading interconnect technologies, customized processors or application specific integrated circuits, that can be fabricated at IBM's state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. More information about IBM Technology Group can be found at: http://www.chips.ibm.com.

About Xbox

Xbox (http://www.xbox.com/) is Microsoft's future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful games experiences ever. Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Xbox is now available in the continents of North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device.

Microsoft and Xbox are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft® Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft's corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft's Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.asp.