Is It Possible? A Bum Chip From Intel?

Intel Corp. isn't used to flops. Sure, not all of its chips have been as popular as the Pentium, which has sold 180 million units since its introduction in 1993. But for the past two decades, Intel has mostly rolled out new PC processors to market acclaim--and then reeled in juicy profits from buyers ravenous for more PC power.

Until now, that is. The company's new low-cost Celeron chip, set to be introduced on Apr. 15, is already the butt of jokes. Online message boards are clogged with mocking references to the "Celery" chip. When an advance look at a Celeron PC by PC World magazine revealed sluggish performance, gleeful taunts flew around the Internet within hours--and since the news, Intel's stock has dropped 7%. Even Brian L. Halla, chief executive of rival National Semiconductor Corp., has nicknamed the chip "Deceleron."