LESSON 43

AMD COMPANY [4]

Task 1. Read and translate the text:

Задание 1. Прочитайте и переведите текст:

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is a manufacturer of integrated circuits located in Sunnyvale, California. It is the second-largest supplier of x86-compatible processors. It was founded in 1969 by a group of defectors from Fairchild Semiconductor. AMD's current president and CEO is Dr. Hector Ruiz.

AMD is best known for the Athlon, Opteron, Turion64, Sempron and Duron lines of x86-compatible processors. Their more general components have been found in early and current Apple computers and numerous other electronic devices.

The company started as a producer of logic chips in 1969, and then entered the RAM chip business in 1975. That same year, it introduced a clone of the Intel 8080 microprocessor. During this period, AMD also designed and produced a series of bit-slice processor elements such as Am2900, Am29116, Am293xx which were used in various minicomputer designs.

Later AMD decided to switch gears and concentrate solely on Intel-compatible microprocessors and flash memory. In February 1982, AMD signed a contract with Intel, becoming a licensed second-source manufacturer of the 8086 and 8088 processors. This put them in direct competition with Intel for x86 compatible processors and their flash memory secondary markets.

AMD produced the 80286, or 286, under the same arrangement, but then Intel cancelled the agreement in 1986, and refused to hand over technical details of the i386 part. Jerry Sanders could have closed the company and retired at this point; instead in 1991 AMD released the Am386, its clone of the later Intel 80386 processor. It took less than a year for AMD to sell a million units. And AMD's 386DX-40 was very popular. AMD followed in 1993 with the Am486. Both sold at a significantly lower price than the Intel versions.

The same time AMD challenged the decision to cancel the agreement, and subsequently won under arbitration. A long process of legal dispute followed, that ended in 1991, when the Supreme Court of California finally sided with AMD, and forced Intel to pay over $ 1 billion in compensation for violation of contract.

But on December 30, 1994 the Supreme Court of California finally formally denied AMD rights to use the i386's microcode. Afterwards AMD and Intel concluded an agreement, the details of which remain largely secret, which gave AMD the right to produce and sell microprocessors containing the microcodes of Intel 286, 386, and 486. But Intel keeps locking AMD processors out of the global market.

Task 2. Answer the following questions:

Задание 2. Ответьте на следующие вопросы:

1. What is AMD?

2. Where is Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. located?

3. When was AMD founded?

4. Who founded Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.?

5. Who is the current president and CEO of AMD?

6. When did AMD enter the RAM chip business?

7. When did AMD release the Am386?

8. When did AMD sign a contract with Intel?

9. Why were AMD's 386DX — 40 and Am386 so popular?

10. Why was there a dispute between Intel and AMD?

11. When did AMD's Am486 appear?

12. When was Intel forced to pay over $ 1 billion to AMD company in compensation for violation of contract?

Task 3. Find the English equivalents for the words and word — combinations given below in the text:

Задание 3. Найдите эквиваленты следующих слов в тексте:

Версия, нарушение, точка, многозначительно, передовой, поставщик, согласие, вычеркивать, впоследствии, вспышка, цена, перебежчик, содержать в себе.

Task 4. Translate the following words and word — combinations into Russian:

Задание 4. Прочтите следующие слова и словосочетания и переведите их на русский язык:

The global market, release, under arbitration, technical details, sided with AMD,

the Intel versions, compatible processors, solely.

Task 5. Make the sentences interrogative:

Задание 5. Поставьте следующие предложения в вопросительную форму:

1. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is a manufacturer of integrated circuits located in Sunnyvale, California.

2. The same time AMD challenged the decision to cancel the agreement, and subsequently won under arbitration.

3. And AMD's 386DX-40 was very popular.

4. It took less than a year for AMD to sell a million units.

5. Afterwards AMD and Intel concluded an agreement.