What makes you think that consolidation of markets isn’t how the free market operates as it matures? As if the X86 market was any way competitive and healthy before when there are literally two companies sharing critical patents with each other and gatekeeping the competition out.
There are three, I think VIA still has a foot in the game. There were quite a few companies that clean roomed, licensed or extended the x86 platform back in the day. My first machine had a NEC V20 in it and I had 386 machines with AMD, Centaur, and VIA chips…
What makes you think that consolidation of markets isn’t how the free market operates as it matures? As if the X86 market was any way competitive and healthy before when there are literally two companies sharing critical patents with each other and gatekeeping the competition out.
There are three, I think VIA still has a foot in the game. There were quite a few companies that clean roomed, licensed or extended the x86 platform back in the day. My first machine had a NEC V20 in it and I had 386 machines with AMD, Centaur, and VIA chips…
be that as it may, my point still stands. Nobody is realistically getting into that market.
Not disagreeing, just pointing out there is a third…
What makes you think the other commenter wants chip makers to operate in a free market?