Barrett talks about politics, AMD and life after Intel
Published: 29 Oct 2004 16:39 BST
So how do you get inside consumer electronics devices?
The old-fashioned way. You design great technology and great parts that work better than the competition. We're still obviously struggling in the cell phone market to get good traction... but the only way you compete is the old-fashioned way: technology, price, customer service. Life is tough; you have to compete.
Microsoft is trying to get into consumer electronics devices just like you are. Is it going to be a little different than the PC stuff, where it has been Intel and Microsoft -- Wintel -- in lockstep?
Intel and Microsoft got into PC devices and grew up with the market. There is a consumer electronics market today and there are already entrenched players. Our job is not to try to displace the entrenched players; our job is get design wins with them. We're not trying to displace them, we're just trying to bring a better solution to their business.
As an engineer, and a true pioneer in this space, you must have a passion for certain devices that your processors go into. Which stand out for you?
Well, the BlackBerry, and I'm obviously a PC user. I'm a three-screen fanatic. A big-screen fanatic for entertainment, and I'm a PC fanatic for interactivity, and a BlackBerry user for cell phone and short communication. I don't really believe the arguments that these devices are dependent on one another. I think they are complementary.
So you don't have a houseful of gadgets?
No, I don't. But I do have a Montana ranch full of audio-visual gadgets. I have a big media room and all of that cool stuff, and a distributed sound system. I'm a digital camera person. I like those. But that's kind of the extent of it.
So you don't have a little lab in the basement where you design chips?
No, no. I tie flies maybe, but that's it.
Tell us a little about the digital home. You talked about entertainment PCs. Are the competitors to Intel going to be different there than in the PC space?
I think you are clearly going to see the consumer electronics guys have some presence and some degree of experimentation here, as well as the PC guys. I think it is undecided whether this is a gateway PC or an intelligent set-top box -- or if they all coexist. The challenge for us is to get design wins, wherever they are, and have them be Intel-based. One of the beauties of coming from the PC side is that the PC has been digital its whole life and as all of these devices go digital, you get to bring that capability into this space.
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