IBM licensing out POWER too?

[jhu]

According to ars that's what their doing. Should be interesting.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Not sure about servers but between ARM and x86 consumer computing could care less for POWER.

 

[SocketF]

Hm interesting ... on the one hand it is not the first time, see the xbox360, which is mentioned in the end of the article, on the other hand they already want to license the newest, high-end Power8 core...

Could be interesting for the Linux people ;-)

 

[NTMBK]

Interesting that NVidia is mentioned so prominently in there. They're still trying to find their x86 alternative.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Didnt IBM not just give everyone an extra week of vacation, due to...not going so well?

Seems they are starting to be willing to try anything now.

 

[Jimzz]

^

yep furloghs for IBM power group and layoffs coming near November so they don't have to pay the 401k for 2013.

Talked with my inside person yesterday and they got notice about the furlogh and up coming layoffs.

 

[Idontcare]

The inevitable consolidation continues.

I pity the people whose livelihoods will be impacted by the unavoidable, at the same time though its not like the handwriting hasn't been on the wall and they haven't had plenty of lead time to do something for themselves rather than wait to become the victims they are surely going to become.

There's an easy-to-identify list of things you don't want to find yourself working on in a mature technology market. Itanium and Power are two examples. AMD excavator is another. Process technology at any logic IDM that does not have >$8B revenue is another. Be an Oracle software engineer working on Itanium support is another.

These are all obvious dead-end career paths where you either find your next job before the pink sheet comes or after, but either way a new job is in your future. So why not make the transition as easy as possible on yourself and your family? Why wait until the inevitable comes and you do get laid off?

 

[NTMBK]

These are all obvious dead-end career paths where you either find your next job before the pink sheet comes or after, but either way a new job is in your future. So why not make the transition as easy as possible on yourself and your family? Why wait until the inevitable comes and you do get laid off?

There are some incentives to stay within a clearly doomed team. If your higher ups are jumping ship then that means vacancies will be opening up within the team, providing some pretty solid chances for promotion. (I would expect.) The question becomes- am I better off quitting now as an engineer, or do I hold on a year and then get laid off as a senior engineer?

 

[Jimzz]

^^

From what I have been told many are staying just to get the severance. So many have been let go there is more work per person than before. But the 4th quarter and the 401k hit in November is a sure time IBM will cut more people.

Now the other side is since IBM is licensing out power all these people with power experience can now do work at other companies with no conflict. Weather there is any room left for that is to be seen.

 

[Tuna-Fish]

The question becomes- am I better off quitting now as an engineer, or do I hold on a year and then get laid off as a senior engineer?

Exactly. A few good friends of mine played this game in the Nokia Linux unit post-Elop, and did pretty well for it. Chaos produces opportunity.

 

[SocketF]

AMD excavator is another.

Why? Didnt you see the linkedin profile some time ago? There was an XV engineer reassigned to a new AMD high-perf. ARM server core. So dont worry, there is still some work for the engineers ;-)
It probably also means that XV has taped out (or canceled ^^) and that AMD has bought an ARM architecture license.