For those who think the investment Sony put into making the cell is a lot, it's not. $1.7 billion dollars to develop a new CPU isn't much at all, especially when it's designed for such broad application (it's used for far more than the PS3, and meant for even more than it's seeing use in currently). Then again, $1.7b was Sony's investment... who knows what IBM and Toshiba have put in.
For those who think Sony selling this factory is a bad sign, it's not. We all know Sony has been in trouble, and this just indicates that they know what steps to take to alleviate their troubles. This move will actually allow them to recouperate a lot of their initial costs AND it should end up making the Cell processors a little bit cheaper since it's indicated that Toshiba could retool the factory for less than what it'd cost Sony. That means 65nm should be cheaper than if Sony did it themselves, and the same would no doubt apply to the 45nm process that is currently in development.
You do not have the right to never be offended.
