14 DAY TRIAL // Rumors often get people to start thinking about possibilities, even more outlandish ones, but it looks like a certain, recent one was short lived, as Advanced Micro Devices decided to put the record straight.
As end-users know, AMD is the one real rival that Intel has on the market for x86 processors, especially now that the Fusion APUs have arrived.
The rumor that emerged a few days ago, however, spiraled into something that had people guessing and second guessing left and right.
Simply put, it was reported that ARM had started courting AMD and trying to persuade it to license its architecture.
Normally, this would not come as that great a shock, but the implication was that ARM actually wanted AMD to drop the x86 architecture altogether.
Needless to say, skeptics weren't the only ones to raise an eyebrow at that, although the ripples it caused among the world's populace were wide.
In fact, the reaction seems to have been pronounced enough for the Sunnyvale, California-based outfit itself to come out and squash said rumors.
True enough, ARM chips have definite advantages on the mobile front and could also make a name for themselves on the PC and server market, in the right hands.
However, the fact remains that AMD's experience lies in the x86 architecture and the outfit has already invested much time, effort and money in it.
The fact that the Fusion architecture uses x86 should be enough to make it clear that the company won't step away from it any time soon.
Granted, nothing says an ARM license won't be bought eventually, since Advanced Micro Devices is going through significant changes anyway, what with all the CEO issues.
Nevertheless, it is unlikely that any major technological shift will happen until the second greatest chip maker gets back to normal.