Mr. Prestowitz disclosed that I.B.M. had offered to supply chips to Digital Equipment, its leading competitor in the minicomputer market.

As the world's largest semiconductor foundry company - supplying chips under contract to other manufacturers - Taiwan Semiconductor is something of a bellwether for Asia's technology industry.

Moreover, even if Intel can supply enough chips, prices won't drop as fast as they would if there were competition.

Samsung, which supplies chips for a range of Apple products, is also the subject of a number of Apple disputes.

Several semiconductor companies that supply chips other than D-RAM's for personal computers have reported a slowdown in orders recently.

This would allow Intel to supply chips for the growing smartphone and tablet market.

Mr. Bryant did not provide analysts with details of Intel's flash memory business, which supplies chips used in cellular phones; that business was particularly weak in the last quarter.

The company, which recently sold off its large computer operations, is trying to expand once again into supplying circuit boards and computer systems rather than merely chips.

The technology business - mainly supplying chips and disk drives to other computer makers - fell with the slump in the personal computer business in particular.

If you want to play upstairs, the office can supply chips.