Judge not, lest ye be judged
Cyrix = Compatibility problems and lack of determination saw them quit the game early of their own accord / on their own failures. They might have done well for themselves ... if they had not given up so easily.
Transmeta = Runs their proprietary instruction set, that no one uses. So emulates any other instruction sets, such as x86. Results always performed horribly on the first iteration of any code as it needed translating. This made their performance "unreliable" at best and highly unpredictable at worst. They would have had great potential had they ever done straight x86. Or had they improved their translation speeds.
Via = Cheap crap that was often buggy. Did the IT industry a big favor by giving up as it cut tech support overhead significantly to no longer have them ending up in supply chains. Many companies started blacklisting them simply because of the support costs of running Via chips, mobos, or graphics.
AMD = (Usually) good tech, but lousy management. Numerous times they held potential ... but their success always inspires them to shoot themselves in the foot. For example, when they held a significant performance crown over Intel (poor Prescott) they ____ on their best mobo chipset manufacturer (nVidia) by buying AMD and turning their epic success into a major nosedive by alienating a significant gaming segment. It's the most extreme example, but is typical of their inability to understand their own place in the market and build on that instead of _____ on it.
Intel = Big, bulky, Chipzilla. Often taking risks and making mistakes, has the business strength to survive them. By default the defacto standard of x86 simply by merit of surviving the market and adapting when needed. (Even if that adaptation is sometimes rather slow to happen.)
The market was not a result of Intel giving discounts to bulk buyers. (Seriously, who does not expect to pay less per part when buying in bulk, be it in the form of initial price or in rebates?)
The market was simply a result of the various natures of the players involved. Intel won simply because they did not give up, and because they knew when to grab onto something, and when to let it go.
As Kenny Rogers sang,
"Every gambler knows
That the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away
And knowin' what to keep
'Cause every hand's a winner
And every hand's a loser
And the best that you can hope for is to die
in your sleep."
Biting the hand that feeds IT
