What's another name for the "Intel Inside" sticker on Pentiums? Answer: "Warning Label." How many Pentium designers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Answer: 1.99904274017, but that's close enough for nontechnical people.
These may be mere jokes to computer jocks who post them on the Internet, but they spell a public relations debacle for Intel, the world's No. 1 computer-chip maker. The trouble started in early November when word got out that a math professor doing intricate calculations had discovered a flaw in his Pentium microprocessor, Intel's top-of-the-line chip. Intel responded by setting up an 800 number where technicians decide whether callers perform calculations of sufficient complexity to warrant replacement. Average users need not worry, said Intel spokesman John Thompson. "Statistically," he said, "the bug will affect them once in 27,000 years." He added that Intel, which has sold 4 million Pentium chips, will ship the rest of its flawed Pentiums until the supply runs out, probably early next year.
Analysts are stunned by Intel's approach, especially since the company has spent millions to make "Intel Inside" synonymous with high-performance and low-risk computing. Even an apology that Intel's CEO posted on the Internet could not quell the complaints that raged as the stock of Intel and computer manufacturers using the Pentium chip dropped last week (story, Page 70). "Intel should have put on the velvet gloves to deal with their customers," said Erik Jansen, an analyst with Alex Brown & Sons. "Instead, they took out the big hammer."
