SE: The rumor mill has been turning again this week and it seems as though the general consensus is that NVIDIA has little intention of doing Voodoo "branded/based" products. Instead this is a slightly cheaper alternative to ending those pesky lawsuits and patent infringement disputes. Any truth to that?

Brian Burke: One benefit of the deal is that the lawsuit will go away after the merger. There is no denying that. But the 3dfx technology is some of the best around. Their Voodoo brand is very, very strong and has a lot of consumer recognition. We have not determined exactly what our plans are for that brand, but we feel it was one of their strongest assets.

SE: Now that you work for a company that owns the patents for 3dfx' core technology can you tell us why Rampage got delayed? What is going to happen to it, Sage, Fear and Spectre?

Brian Burke: I am not sure it would be right for me to discuss the troubles that led 3dfx to where they are today. We have not determined what we will do with the technology we have just acquired.

SE: Do you know what is going to happen to the staff at 3dfx and what about the founders Gary Tarolli and Scott Sellers, for example? It would seem unlikely that they would end up working at NVIDIA but then, stranger things have happened. Things have changed since the "happy days" of everyone working under one big SGI roof.

Brian Burke: We are in the process of meeting with the key technical talent of 3dfx and will have extended over 100 offers by the end of today. We are confident that a large number of those offers will be accepted. We are thrilled about the much-needed influx of world-class engineering talent. I do not know the specifics on individuals.

SE: Will NVIDIA's core logic for Xbox change in any way? It was rumored that Gigapixel was a dark horse runner for Microsoft's X-box. Will NVIDIA use any of Gigapixel's technology for X-box?

Brian Burke: The technology 3dfx acquired from Gigapixel is part of the assets we have acquired. We have not determined what we will do with that technology and are not announcing any changes to the XGPU at this time.

SE: What will become of the licensing agreement with Quantum3D for the Voodoo5 6000 technology?

Brian Burke: That is up to the remaining 3dfx entity.

SE: Some of our readers have expressed concerns about future support for 3dfx products. Is that an NVIDIA or 3dfx issue?

Brian Burke: We are not purchasing any of their current products. We are purchasing parts of their core graphics technology. The responsibility for support falls to the remaining 3dfx entity.