Editing Intel (section)

====Pentium flaw====
{{Main|Pentium FDIV bug}}
In June 1994, Intel engineers discovered a flaw in the [[floating-point]] math subsection of the [[P5 (microarchitecture)|P5]] [[Pentium|Pentium microprocessor]]. Under certain data-dependent conditions, the low-order bits of the result of a floating-point division would be incorrect. The error could compound in subsequent calculations. Intel corrected the error in a future chip revision, and under public pressure it issued a total recall and replaced the defective Pentium CPUs (which were limited to some 60, 66, 75, 90, and 100&nbsp;MHz [[Pentium FDIV bug#Affected models|models]]) on customer request.

The [[software bug|bug]] was discovered independently in October 1994 by Thomas Nicely, Professor of Mathematics at [[Lynchburg College]]. He contacted Intel but received no response. On October 30, he posted a message about his finding on the Internet.<ref name="Nicely-email">{{cite web |url=http://www.emery.com/nicely.htm |title=Thomas Nicely's Pentium email |access-date=July 12, 2007 |last=Nicely |first=Thomas |date=October 30, 1994 |publisher=Vince Emery Productions |archive-date=January 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116171317/http://www.emery.com/nicely.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> Word of the bug spread quickly and reached the industry press. The bug was easy to replicate; a user could enter specific numbers into the calculator on the operating system. Consequently, many users did not accept Intel's statements that the error was minor and "not even an erratum". During Thanksgiving, in 1994, ''[[The New York Times]]'' ran a piece by journalist [[John Markoff]] spotlighting the error. Intel changed its position and offered to replace every chip, quickly putting in place a large end-user [[Technical support|support]] organization. This resulted in a $475 million charge against Intel's 1994 [[revenue]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trnicely.net/#PENT|title=Personal website of Dr. Nicely, who discovered the bug|last=Nicely|first=Thomas|access-date=April 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712050001/http://www.trnicely.net/#PENT|archive-date=July 12, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Nicely later learned that Intel had discovered the FDIV bug in its own testing a few months before him (but had decided not to inform customers).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trnicely.net/pentbug/pentbug.html|title="Pentium FDIV flaw" FAQ email from Dr. Nicely|last=Nicely|first=Thomas|access-date=May 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313230545/http://www.trnicely.net/pentbug/pentbug.html|archive-date=March 13, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The "Pentium flaw" incident, Intel's response to it, and the surrounding media coverage propelled Intel from being a technology supplier generally unknown to most computer users to a household name. Dovetailing with an uptick in the "Intel Inside" campaign, the episode is considered to have been a positive event for Intel, changing some of its business practices to be more end-user focused and generating substantial public awareness, while avoiding a lasting negative impression.<ref>Grove, Andrew and Burgleman, Robert; ''Strategy Is Destiny: How Strategy-Making Shapes a Company's Future'', 2001, Free Press<!--needs page number--></ref>