Digits
Wall Street Journal; New York, N.Y.; Mar 7, 2002;
Column Name: / Digits
Start Page: / B5
ISSN: / 00999660
Abstract:
The Santa Clara, Calif., company is asking the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to deny a trademark on "Yoga Inside" to the nonprofit Yoga Inside Foundation in Los Angeles, which teaches yoga in juvenile detention facilities, inner-city schools and battered women's shelters in 31 states. With billions of dollars invested in the "Intel Inside" mark, "the public will reasonably understand applicant's `Yoga Inside' mark as referring to [Intel]," the company argued in its filing. Indeed, the company claimed ownership of any "___ Inside" trademark.
"They've spent billions promoting this name and somehow they are threatened by a tiny organization that has nothing to do with computers?" wonders Mark Stephens, Yoga Inside's executive director. Without commenting on the case specifically, an Intel spokesman said the company routinely opposes all applications for "___ Inside" trademarks. Several other companies continue to hold such trademarks, but Intel often prevails. Still, the company seeks to settle such disputes amicably, the spokesman said. Intel offered to help cover costs if Yoga Inside changed its name; Mr. Stephens invited Intel to sponsor his organization. Discussions continue.
His escapade, also reported by a British online publication, The Register, set off some banter between AMD and rival Intel. An Intel spokesman said its Pentium 4 chips wouldn't be good for cooking because of a feature that throttles down performance of chips before they reach a temperature that will cook an egg. AMD chips switch off entirely for safety reasons at a higher temperature. "The thing I would really disagree with is the idea that an egg wouldn't fry on their processors," an AMD spokesman says. "It may take a little longer [on an Intel chip], but it will still cook."
Chips That Cook
Heat is something to be avoided in computers. But here is an offbeat upside: a British tinkerer recently used the microprocessor chip on his PC to fry an egg and took photos of the experiment that he posted on a Web site for by computer enthusiasts.
The experimenter, identified only by the online handle Trubador, removed the cooling apparatus from an Advanced Micro Devices Inc. chip. To transfer heat from the device, he glued together copper coins and clipped them to the chip. Trubador then placed on the chip a pan made from aluminum foil, and cracked an egg into it. "It was a tedious task waiting for the egg to cook, but 11 minutes later it was loverly," said Trubador, who consumed it on bread with brown sauce, the stuff the British use to spice up chips, sausages and the like.
His escapade, also reported by a British online publication, The Register, set off some banter between AMD and rival Intel. An Intel spokesman said its Pentium 4 chips wouldn't be good for cooking because of a feature that throttles down performance of chips before they reach a temperature that will cook an egg. AMD chips switch off entirely for safety reasons at a higher temperature. "The thing I would really disagree with is the idea that an egg wouldn't fry on their processors," an AMD spokesman says. "It may take a little longer [on an Intel chip], but it will still cook."
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Column compiled by Ann Grimes with contributions from David Bank, Don Clark, Dennis Berman and Gary McWilliams.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.