Newsgroup: it.comp.hardware
Titolo: Notizia BOMBA! nVidia aquisisce 3dfx!

Il consiglio di amministrazione di 3dfx ha proposto in via ufficiale di
accettare la vendita della maggioranza delle azioni dell'azienda ad nVidia
in modo da tutelare i creditori e massimizzare il valore delle azioni in
possesso degli investitori. L'affare vale 112 milioni di dollari che nVidia
dovrebbe pagare in contanti e in azioni.
L'utilizzzo di soluzioni non al massimo dell'innovazione (voodoo 3 e voodoo
4/5) e l'insuccesso di altri (voodoo 6000) ha quindi decretato la fine di
questa azienda, grazie alla quale oggi sui nostri pc possiamo godere dei
vari bilinear filtering, etc. introdotti per la prima volta nel 1996 con il
chipset grafico forse più rivoluzionario mai introdotto, il Voodoo Graphics.
A seguito di questo grande successo, 3dfx forse ha peccato di troppa
sicurezza di sè e delle proprie posizioni, quando i concorrenti (nVidia in
testa) hanno accelerato lo sviluppo a livelli praticamente doppi rispetto a
3dfx che alla fine è rimasta indietro, troppo indietro.
Che dire? Si profila un pericoloso, per noi consumatori, monopolio de-facto
nel mercato delle schede grafiche?
Questa la press release ufficiale:
<i>"San Jose, Calif., December 15, 2000 - In an effort to protect its
creditors and maximize shareholder value, 3dfx Interactive, Inc. (Nasdaq:
TDFX - news) announced today that it will substantially reduce all of its
workforce as part of an initiative to significantly reduce expenses. In
addition, the company said its Board of Directors will recommend to its
shareholders that they approve the sale of most of the company's assets to
NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA- news) as outlined in a definitive
agreement between the companies that was signed today, and also approve a
plan to dissolve the company following completion of the asset sale.
"After aggressively pursuing a wide range of options that take into
consideration the interests of our creditors, our shareholders, our
employees and our customers," said Alex Leupp, president and CEO, 3dfx
Interactive Inc., "we strongly believe that to reduce expenses, sell our
assets and dissolve the company provides the highest return to our
creditors, shareholders, and employees."
"We expect that the combined technologies of 3dfx and NVIDIA will continue
the legacy that 3dfx began in 1994, " Leupp continued. "NVIDIA is the number
one supplier of graphics technology to the OEM market. With the addition of
3dfx's high-quality technology that leads the retail market, we believe the
combination of the two will result in even greater PC graphics leadership."
The target market for 3dfx has historically been the retail graphics market,
a market that 3dfx has dominated since 1998. The segment represents
approximately 10 percent of the overall graphics market, and is subject to
extreme volatility and unpredictability. Specifically, high inventory
expenses, decreasing margins, and slowing demand have done irreparable harm
to 3dfx. While the company had recently announced plans to expand its
business into additional markets, it has been unable to invest in its
expansion under current business and financial market conditions.
The company announced that it plans to substantially reduce its costs in
order to best conserve its resources. These cost-cutting measures include a
reduction of substantially all of the company's workforce by early next
year, reduction in office space, and other efforts to reduce non-essential
expenses. 3dfx is also providing manufacturing services to third parties to
help cover the overhead associated with its Juarez, Mexico manufacturing
facility pending the sale of that facility. In the meantime, 3dfx expects to
continue to maintain an adequate workforce to support its customers.
The Board of Directors, with the assistance of the company's advisors, has
undergone exhaustive efforts to explore many alternatives including raising
new financing to continue its operations and exploring various strategic
alliances and business combinations. It has concluded that the best
interests of the creditors and shareholders will be served by selling its
assets to NVIDIA Corporation, as outlined in a definitive agreement between
the companies signed today, and also to approve the plan for dissolution.
Under the terms of the agreement signed today, NVIDIA has agreed to pay a
value of $112 million ($70 million cash and one million shares of registered
NVIDIA common stock as value based on NVIDIA's closing price on December 14,
2000).
Upon signing the definitive agreement, NVIDIA has agreed to loan to 3dfx $15
million for working capital, which will be credited to the cash portion of
the purchase price. In addition, 3dfx and NVIDIA have agreed to stay the
patent infringement litigation between them through closing of the
transaction, at which time the suits will be jointly dismissed with
prejudice. Assets included in the transaction include all 3dfx intellectual
property and chip inventory as well as certain other assets. In addition,
upon signing the definitive agreement, 3dfx transferred to NVIDIA the "3dfx"
and "Voodoo" brand names and trademarks.
The closing of the transaction is subject to a variety of conditions,
including 3dfx shareholder approval, receipt of governmental approvals
including the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, and
receipt of all necessary consents of third parties. After closing the NVIDIA
asset sale and upon 3dfx shareholder approval, 3dfx will proceed to pay or
adequately provide for its debts and liabilities. 3dfx will thereafter
distribute its remaining assets to its shareholders in one or more
distributions.</i>
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Maddai! Ma veramente fate? ^______^
-- 
Lunga vita e prosperità
Sibok
"Gravity is nothing to me, I'm moving at the speed of sound, I'm just gonna get my feet wet, until I drown..." [Ani DiFranco]

 nel mercato delle schede grafiche?
Perche' non c'e' gia' il monopolio di Nvidia?
Basta dare un'occhio ai prezzi delle suddette schede.......
E' incredibile come si possa mettere sul mercato una scheda come la Ultra a
1.300.000 e lo e' ancora di piu' il solo pensare che qualcuno la compri.

 1.300.000 e lo e' ancora di piu' il solo pensare che qualcuno la compri.
La seconda che hai detto... :-(
Ciao!
Baio

 Basta dare un'occhio ai prezzi delle suddette schede.......
Appunto, ci sono ottime schede (addirittura con una qualità nel 2D, migliore
decodifica DVD e una maggior quantità di feature supportate) anche a prezzi
molto inferiori (tipo la serie Ati Radeon).