AMD Releases 64-Bit Athlon

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) will launch its new 64-bit Athlon microprocessor tomorrow. This chip gives AMD a significant edge over rival Intel. Microsoft is slated to release a version of the Windows operating system optimized to run on AMD's new chip, forcing Intel to model the AMD component architecture or convince Microsoft to create a Windows version for the as-yet-unreleased 64-bit chip from Intel.