X

Intel wishes it could rewrite Itanium history

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Expertise Processors, semiconductors, web browsers, quantum computing, supercomputers, AI, 3D printing, drones, computer science, physics, programming, materials science, USB, UWB, Android, digital photography, science. Credentials
  • Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
See full bio
Stephen Shankland

Despite its history of no-holds-barred marketing, Intel has become more candid about the difficulties the company has had with its Itanium processor, which was hobbled by delays, poor initial performance and software incompatibility with the company's mainstream x86 chips such as Xeon. Now Pat Gelsinger, the company's former chief technology officer and now head of its digital enterprise group, engaged in a little wishful thinking about what might have been in the company's approach to the high-end server market.

"If we could unwind the clock, I would have just built a RAS version of Xeon to attack the market," Gelsinger said in an IInformationWeek interview. RAS means reliability, availability and servicability, and refers to features that let chips and servers nip errors in the bud.

Gelsinger also said in the interview that Intel is working on making Itanium a productive member of the company's overall business. "We're working pretty hard to get it to a profitable product," he said.