my point was simply that if AMD still owned their shares that would be a great dipping stick for the MARKMAN ... the 2nd leading chip maker would have surely sold if they thought that this was going to turn out all wrong.

the MARKMAN alne will not create a buying attitude with them, that i understand but they too are going through tough times as INTEL are taking their business away with their new (better than AMD) chips.  so take a little of that and sprinkle other things that we don't know about yet ... maybe it is not so far fetched.

I am not sure about the others stories you presented but that REALLY is far fetched for so many reasons ... like I doubt that any of the other companies actually had a steak in us (i mean how important is that? this is a huge buying point for new blood) ... the MARKMAN was a million miles away (the way you made it sound) so there could NOT be any action until a strong ruling showed up anyway (still the same situation now).

Hope the day gets better for us all