Hmm... Calxeda and Dell are at the prototype stage and haven't shipped yet. In the Register article, ARM admits
they have "0%" market share in PCs and servers. So the data for ARM in those markets essentially boils down to "boy, those markets would sure be profitable" and "just wait until 2020!"
There's a lot more to the server market than power savings. The Register article also notes: "It is a pity that ARM is not moving the quad-core, 40-bit Cortex-A15 to market faster and talking about either 64-bit kickers or how it will manage virtualized 32-bit applications on multi-core ARM servers such that no one cares that they are 32-bit applications."
As to Microsoft, I can remember Windows NT shipping for DEC Alpha, MIPS, and Power PC. Just because Windows 8 will work on ARM-based netbooks doesn't justify extrapolation to the PC and server markets. And even if Microsoft did (theoretically) support ARM in those markets, well, they actually shipped NT for Alpha, MIPS, and Power PC, and where are those architectures now?
My read of history is that if ARM ever became a real threat to Intel in PCs and servers, the company would simply lower profit margins in those markets to starve the competition. But hey, maybe this time things really will be different.
There's a lot more to the server market than power savings. The Register article also notes: "It is a pity that ARM is not moving the quad-core, 40-bit Cortex-A15 to market faster and talking about either 64-bit kickers or how it will manage virtualized 32-bit applications on multi-core ARM servers such that no one cares that they are 32-bit applications."
As to Microsoft, I can remember Windows NT shipping for DEC Alpha, MIPS, and Power PC. Just because Windows 8 will work on ARM-based netbooks doesn't justify extrapolation to the PC and server markets. And even if Microsoft did (theoretically) support ARM in those markets, well, they actually shipped NT for Alpha, MIPS, and Power PC, and where are those architectures now?
My read of history is that if ARM ever became a real threat to Intel in PCs and servers, the company would simply lower profit margins in those markets to starve the competition. But hey, maybe this time things really will be different.