Intel doth protest too much, we thinks

EVEN ANDY BRYANT, Intel's chief financial officer, protested to financial analysts this day by showing charts he'd prefer not to have shown.

(See Intel Woodcrest to ship in June, Conroe July, Merom August)

In the many years we've covered Intel we must admit that the amount of information it disclosed today goes far beyond what's usual. The chip giant even coined a new three letter acronym, MSS, which doesn't stand for misses, not for missus, and nor for manuscripts, but for market share, it appears.

Further, Intel chief executives made a frank admission that it had fouled up and lost market share as well as having heaps of stock it needs to shift while relying on the dreaded third party vendor ATI to make up a shortfall on chipsets.

The quality of Merced is not strained, it's the down market channel which was the winter of Intel's retail discontent.

But tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow the next generation microprocessors will knock its competitor, AMD, off its currently cocky spot. Out, damned spot, Intel says, although the firm admitted that it will be some while before it's wrested back the server share and can regain its robe and crown, because Intel continues to have immortal longings.

Yond Otellini has a lean and hungry look, however. He thinks too much. He believes that fair Merom, Cointreau and the Woodcrest chip can bring fair fortune's smile back to Intel's face. The channel is loyal to Intel, and Intel is as constant as the northern star.

But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? Yond Otellini discounted the influence of Microsoft on its future fate - Vista is not aimed at the corporate market and it will be a while before it gives fair Intella a boost. Vista is such stuff as dreams are made on.

And what of Intel's re-vamped marketing? What's in a name? That which we call Vpro by any other word would smell as sweet.

AMD is mad if it trusts in the tameness of a wolf, a horse's health, a boy's love or a whore's oath. The firm [Intel. Ed.] said in the Q&A that it had an answer to AMD's next generation too. This was the unkindest cut of all, but what's gone and what's past help should be past grief.

Intel's cher price (tick: INTC) was up 38 cents and close to twenty dollars on the news. µ