TECHNOLOGY - Oct. 20, 1992

Intel to Alter Chip-Naming Pattern: When personal computer users ask each other what type of PC they have, they typically say: “Is it a 286, or a 386 or a 486?” Starting next year, such conversations about microprocessors will include the term Pentium. Intel Corp. said that is what it will call its next-generation chip. The decision came after the Santa Clara, Calif., company lost the trademark on the 386 name to Advanced Micro Devices Inc., which makes a 386 clone and is working on a 486 imitation. “The natural course would be to call this chip the 586,” acknowledged Intel’s chief executive, Andrew Grove. But, he said, Intel feared that it would be unable to trademark the 586, meaning other companies could use it for competing microprocessors.