Prior to joining Intel in the early spring of 1993 I had already experienced many years of high-tech PR and Marketing Communications in Orange County, California.  See my experience backgrounder.  The majority of my PR experience in California was in the service of semiconductor companies.  For several years I was the sole PR manager (in-house) for the Semiconductor Products Division of Rockwell International.  During my agency years I also served Silicon Systems and other chip companies.

It was like coming home to join Intel.  My first assignment was to help the Intel Architecture Labs (think of this as being like the Bell Labs of Intel) promote some of their graphics standards and technology such as Indeo Video and Intercast. 

The highlight of this period was my work to guide the Labs on how to manage the dispute between Intel and Microsoft regarding a technology called Native Signal Processing.  In a nutshell, the Intel Architecture Labs team had developed a way for a generic microrprocessor to perform the multimedia functions traditionally associated with specialized chips (Digital Signal Processing).  This technology added many features to the Windows operating system.  Microsoft was not happy about Intel software engineers making additions/changes to their operating system.  I spearheaded a campaign to help manage what some called the "Native Signal Processing War" between the companies.  Ultimately, Microsoft absorbed the technology and its legacy is found in Direct X.

A few news releases are offered below from this early period of my time with Intel.