Intel Corp. on Thursday canceled plans to introduce its highest-speed desktop computer chip, ending for now a 25-year run that has seen the speeds of Intel's microprocessors increase by more than 750 times.
The unexpected move also adds to a string of product changes, cancellations and recalls that has roiled the world's largest chip maker this year. Intel shares fell 2.3 percent. Both Intel and its arch-rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. , have shifted their focus from increasing clock speed -- a measure of how fast a chip can crunch numbers -- to a less quantitative goal of performance encompassing multi-tasking, security, and multimedia.
