AMD Chief Exec says consumers should be the focus

The Chief Executive of Advanced Micro Devices addressed Comdex and stated that the semiconductor industry has often overlooked the needs of consumers, focusing instead on chip speed and remaining competing in the industry.

Hector Ruiz also said that AMD's technology approach is now more customer focused. Ruiz also said that microprocessor speed in MHz or GHz should not be the only factors in product performance measurement. AMD has labeled its Athlon processors with numbers based on AMD's own performance indicators. AMD's industry rival, Intel, has criticized that AMD has backed off on its processor speed focus because AMD processors can't compete with Intel's processors.

AMD has not had a profitable year and recently announced that it would cut 15% of its work force. AMD's newest product, the Hammer desktop and server processors, are anxiously anticipated, as they will reportedly handle data in 64-bit mode, rather than the standard 32-bit mode of most processors. AMD's Sledgehammer 64-bit processor, to be retailed as the "AMD Athlon 64," was to be available by the end of 2002, but Ruiz announced that its launch has been postponed to sometime in early 2003.