Users can easily overcome restrictions based on Mtops measurements by combining computers or using available software, said Jennifer Greeson, a spokeswoman for the Computer Coalition for Responsible Exports, whose members also include IBM, Apple Computer Inc, Compaq Computer Corp, Dell Computer Corp and Hewlett-Packard Co.
The existing rules allow computers to be exported to US allies such as the EU and Japan.
Exports of the most powerful computers are prohibited to countries like China and Russia without a specific export license.
And sales are prohibited altogether to seven "rogue states" including North Korea, Iraq, Libya, Cuba and Sudan.
The government currently approves most export applications involving the middle-tier countries, although only after expensive and time-consuming individual reviews, Greeson said.
The new proposals also reduce limits on the export of products that are widely available overseas, she said. And they increase penalties for export rules violations, since inflation during the past 21 years has eroded the threat to companies from the existing schedule of fines, she said.
If the current Mtops standard isn't replaced, the new high-speed Itanium processor developed by Intel will force almost all new computers shipped to China to face months of additional paperwork delays, Hoydysh of Unisys said.
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