IBM has pulled back on its work tuning the Linux operating system for Intel's Itanium processor, in a move that possibly points to a larger shift away from the fledgling processor, according to an analyst.

IBM has transferred a handful of developers who had worked to make Linux perform well on Itanium to the task of tying the OS to its own Power processor, said Ron Favali, a spokesman for IBM. This transition away from Itanium came as a result of slow market adoption of the chip thus far, according to Favali, and could signal a growing feud between IBM and Intel.

"IBM doesn't have anyone dedicated to working with Linux on Itanium," Favali said. "Our view right now is that Itanium is like a science project. There's not a market for it."

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