There's only one guy around these parts that can tell you anything about the BitBoys, and he no longer works for them...I'm talking about Dave.
I'm not sitting here trying to make interpretations for everybody else...But let's look @ the obvious...
-BitBoys have never kicked out a retail product...IE something that you can physically purchase from your favorite store, etc.
-Last January (it was like Jan 6, 2001), an interview was conducted with Shane Long, the now head of BB's. He said, point blank, that they would have something to say "soon", and even gave a timeframe for production on this project that they make reference to on their website.
Want to take a guess as to when that followup interview took place? You know, the one that might read like, "The last time we interviewed Shane Long, he said that production would begin in the 2nd or 3rd Quarter...Well, here we are, and we can finally...blah blah blah"...
Answer...never happened.
-Sometime in the middle of 2001, it was pretty obvious that Infineon was having some tough financial times, as they seemed to be hit by the recession pretty hard...It turns out that the financial stability, or lack thereof, might have had some influence in a supposed decision to freeze certain programs...and it appears/appeared that the BiyBoys project was one of them.
This was never really formally announced (at least, I don't think it was)...but a couple of the die-hard BB's followers, like Nappe1, started talking about it in-and-around the time when Infineon was, indeed, making public statements about what they were going to do about the huge losses they were absorbing.
-The supposed word was/is that this BB's part, though supposedly complete, would never be manufactured...Hmmm...A bit perplexing, eh?
Let's just make an assumption about this chip...let's suppose that the chip is considered "complete," and it was just a matter of getting the chip(s) cranked out...This is, of course, only half the battle...and, perhaps, you can make the argument that it's only a Quarter of the battle!
Even if they had a manufactured piece of silicon, what about drivers? Let's focus on nVidia for just a second here...
As of right now, nVidia has some $100+ Million invested in a wide range of software/utilities/hardware/systems to better help them design their products well before you ever get the things in their hands...Lets start right there...
OK, so here you have nVidia...They have, arguably, the finest staff of 3D/ASIC/Software engineers...period. In addition, they also have this wealth of experience in actually MAKING actual products...Not pipe-dream products, but bona-fide products that can actually be purchased.
OK...still with me? On top of ALL of that (if that weren't enough of a difference maker), nVidia has invested HUGE sums of money on tools to better assist them in designing their products literally years before the things ever become reality. Not only do they have tools that assist them in designing the chips, but also in virtually every conceivable area along the development path...
OK...Again, this then leads you back to the drivers issue...nVidia then has, as of now, drivers that basically encompass 4-5 years of evolving know-how/technology/experience/etc. This is not something that you can just pickup...you have to "be there" to be able to garner this kind of experience.
Going back to the issue of $$/tools/CAD/etc...nVidia has, once again, invested a huge amount of capitol in the so-called "farm" of systems that run 24/7 in testing their drivers for errors, etc.
Now, lets think about this one...Try to imagine all of these things for just a second...and then consider where the BitBoys are coming from.
=>No product experience...
=>No driver maturity to rely on...
=>No Super Wiz-Bang, well-known CAD tools to help them out (be it development, diagnosis, etc)...
=>No reduction-to-practice experience...
=>No real manufacturing experience...
=>Heck, no real Marketing experience either...Even if they had something that kicked ass, and could be manufactured...they would still have to marker the product!
OK...This message is getting long-winded...But honest to God...
If you just look @ what makes nVidia tick, and then think about the hurdles that a BitBoys would have to overcome, just to get the thing out the door...In terms of numbers, you almost come to the conclusion that the probability of it ever happening are nearly ZERO...I have been delusional about the BitBoys, as have many others, over the years...and I have finally come to this conclusion.
I'm sure Dave can throw his $.02 in here, if he wants...but the fact that he no longer works there does, indeed, tell you a little bit about what might be going on (if you read between the lines).
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Typedef Enum on 2002-03-07 08:45 ]</font>
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Typedef Enum on 2002-03-07 08:46 ]</font>
