Intel - The True Shanzai King
I read an article linked by Sean in regards to Intel’s initiative into Ultrabooks. It then hit me. Intel is the King of Shanzai. What is the Ultrabook but Intel’s initiative to push PC companies to shamelessly copy Apple’s MacBook Air? What are Asus and Acer’s UltraBook but poor man copies of the MacBook Air?
Intel rose to market domination in the 80s by promoting IBM PC clones. Mediatek grew rapidly this last decade by promoting Nokia knockoffs and enabling so called pioneering turnkey solutions. I like to argue that these MTK turnkey solutions are not pioneering. Wintel is a turnkey solution between Microsoft and Intel. Taiwan in the 80s was to cheap PCs what Shenzhen now is to cheap phones and tablets. Shanzai is but a derogatory name to what really should be termed whitebox. Shanzai is the new white.
Fortunately out of this market, Taiwan innovated and clawed to create a semiconductor industry. TSMC is a shining example of a mfg company that created the fabless IC model. In our prime, VIA drove memory standards like PC133 and DDR. We were the first to promote UMA and the first to evangelize the concept of “HW platforms” and low power x86. It’s shameless how Intel used legal forces to squash us in the name of innovation. We crashed and burned. It struck fear in the hearts of IC companies in Taiwan. Who else had the courage to lead? Taiwan is now stuck with IC companies that only execute. It’s dangerous.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t disagree with imitation. Like Picasso said “good artists copy, great artists steal. ” But that’s not the whole picture. Great masters apprentice under their masters, stand on the shoulders of these giants, and grew from that. I do disagree with how Intel says one thing and does another. Intel enabling the HW industry? What a crock of shit.Why are Intel’s margin 60 percent and PC companies 5 percent? Intel treats Taiwan as a bunch of system assemblers. Intel has handicapped Taiwan in our RD capability and fed us new age opium with their marketing dollars.
Intel Inside? Inside of Intel is the heart of a Shanzai king, the heart of a true bandit.
