[mythtv-users] Intel Compute Stick as a frontend?

[Gary Buhrmaster]

On Thu, Aug 6, 2015 at 5:32 PM, Tom Bongiorno <tbjr at bongohut.com> wrote:
....
> This is what I understand, but may not be exactly correct.

It is always more complicated.  And it is always about money
(because with enough money, you can buy anything, or at
least an incredible simulation of pretty much anything(*)).  And
while there has never been any love lost between the companies,
they both understand it is still, bottom line, about the money.

Intel and Nvidia (and pretty much all the chip heads) have
complex patent cross licensing agreements usually involving
the payment of funds from one to another (and sometimes back
again for some other patent).  These are not FRAND patent
licenses, this is the core of the company value, and everyone
believes that the competitive advantage those patents provide
have value, and use of should be compensated.  There is often
disagreement as to the perceived value of those patents.

> The ION computers
> included a complete Nvidia chipset with integrated GPU and Intel CPU. The
> Nvidia/Intel agreement expired, Intel licensing rules changed for newer
> CPUs, or something like that happened.

Intel and Nvidia had a long running dispute regarding what, exactly,
the existing chipset license included.  When the newer tech had
newer patents, Intel and Nvidia were unable to agree on licensing
the newer patents.  The spin by Nvidia (it was all Intels fault) is just
that, spin.  The spin by Intel (it was all Nvidias fault) is also just
spin.  It was about money.  At some point Nvidia decided that they
would be willing to pay X for a license to do A, and Intel wanted Y
to do B and whatever negotiations happened did not lead to an
agreement.

The rumor is that both Intel and Nvidia also wanted to change
some other parts of their other licenses, which would have
complicated (perhaps contributed to the failure of) the
negotiation for a chipset license change, (Intel and Nvidia did
settled at least some part of those other licenses, but
somewhat later).

As all the real negotiations are private, only the spin made it to
the press.  Everything else is just conjecture.  But it is always
about the money.  I suspect that if Nvidia offered enough money,
Intel would have sold them anything (including the Mission
College Blvd. properties).

Gary


(*) "Anyone who thinks money can't buy happiness does not
know where to shop."