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Mostly, though, he continues to fret about Intel's future. The firm faces dozens of challenges--from cheap PCs to antitrust investigations--and Grove is engaged in the meta-movements of the technology world more deeply than ever. Says David Wu, an analyst at ABN AMRO Chicago: "I used to have a lot of problems with Intel, but every time I asked them a question, they had already thought about...
Grove has so effectively squashed the competition that his biggest worry isn't the rumblings of AMD but the strategic risk of a slowing PC market. The hottest-selling PCs this year have been dirt-cheap, sub-$1,000 models. Growth there could wreck Intel's business model. Says Drew Peck, an analyst at Cowen & Co.: "You can't sell a $500 processor in a $1,000 PC." And though cheap PCs are a tiny part of the overall market--businesses generally buy pricier PCs--Intel may be heading into a sea change. Intel's buoyant stock...
Grove, of course, sees it as an opportunity. He is in the midst of rejiggering Intel's operating model so the firm can make money on sub-$1,000 PCs. That means taking more risks and finding new applications for Intel chips. Intel has also invested hundreds of millions to "seed" demand for PCs. The firm is betting on interactive multimedia (imagine watching the Super Bowl and clicking on a player to see his stats), cable modems that speed Internet delivery and audio software that makes your PC sound like the local THX multiplex. Grove has reviewed dozens of battle...
...biggest iceberg came in 1994, when Intel released millions of flawed Pentium chips. The problem was small, an internal routing glitch that caused a mathematical error. Intel took solace from the fact that this occurred so infrequently that most users could leave their PCs on for years without running into a problem. Intel's hyper-rational, Grove-trained engineers told concerned callers not to worry unless they were planning to sweat some advanced astrophysics problems that weekend. The callers hung up and dialed CNN. And the New York Times. And the Wall Street Journal. Grove, who was on a Christmas...
White-hot competition is another part of the equation, and it's a jarring reality pretty much across the tech board. Success breeds imitators. Imitators flood the market with goods. Prices (and profits) come down. Again, take Intel. It supplies nearly 90% of the microprocessors in PCs worldwide--a more commanding grip than even Microsoft's stranglehold on PC operating systems. But to protect its position, Intel has cut semiconductor prices faster than anyone expected as rivals Cyrix and Advanced Micro Devices compete furiously to supply cheaper components for the $1,000 PCs now taking the world by storm. Intel...