Merced no more: Intel names IA-64 as 'Itanium'

Intel Corporation on Monday announced that its upcoming 64-bit IA-64 microprocessor, code-named "Merced," would be marketed under the name "Itanium." The company also announced that five different operating 64-bit systems, including Windows 2000 and Linux, have already booted on the processor, which is currently being beta tested.

"The Intel Itanium processor represents a new level of processor capability that will be the driving force for the Internet economy," said Jami Dover, vice president of Intel's Sales and Marketing Group. "The Itanium brand represents the strength and performance of the unique processor features that provide customers with a reliable and responsive foundation for e-Business in the future."

Processors that follow Itanium will retain the Roman numeral scheme Intel used with the Pentium line, so the processor code-named "McKinley" will likely be named Itanium II when it debuts in 2001. Merced is slated for a mid-2000 release