Intel touts Merced test run

The Monterey-64 operating system has been up and running on a prototype of Intel's next-generation Merced chip since Monday, IBM officials said.

"This is a good indication of how well the silicon is working," said an Intel spokeswoman.

Merced is Intel's first attempt at building a 64-bit processor - one that can handle instructions and blocks of data twice the size a 32-bit processor can accommodate.

Monterey-64, an advanced version of Unix, is the combined product of IBM, Sequent, and Santa Cruz Operation, one of several operating systems that will work on Merced, the first of the IA-64 lineage. Other operating system contenders include Sun Microsystems' Solaris, HP's HP-UX, Compaq's Tru64 Unix, Windows, and Linux.

Intel says it is on track to debut the Merced chip in computers in mid-2000.

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