Intel antitrust investigation officially launched by FTC
By Paul Miller 
posted June 6th 2008 1:56PM
posted June 6th 2008 1:56PM
posted June 6th 2008 1:56PM
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And cooler toys.
will you guys stop talking and choose a piece already.
i call number 1
intel FTW!!
3 - Sammy
Go!
As big a fan of AMD I am, after reading the article, I can't really see what the big deal is. All companies do this in one way or another. It's called business.
If things had been different, AMD would be in this same situation.
Its hard to see the big deal because the article points vage assertions of Intel's conduct.
In the US - it is not illegal to be a monopoly. But if you are a monopoly, your actions are more limited than if you weren't a monopoly. The US likes competition, so monopolies cannot interfere with competition, but non-monopolies can - the reason being there is someone bigger out there. May the best product/service win without cheating or rigging the game. There is a line between being a more efficient corporation and cheating/bullying. The fact that AMD had a better product for a few years yet showed no respective profit - points more to cheating/bullying that it does efficiency. This doesn't mean thats what Intel did - just something doesnt smell right. It could also be that AMD is an inefficient business - which developments as of late, seems more plausible now. I wouldn't easily dismiss either point - that Intel abused its monopoly power or that AMD just doesn't know how to run a business well. But I do think that this fight needs to be fought.
Great post larcen007!!
The fact Intel makes a better product NOW is not the reason they are on top and not the reason they have all these antitrust allegations....it is because they have been telling companies like Dell and the like that if they use anything besides Intel in their systems that Intel will penalize them....they might lose discounts or they might not get first dibs on the first runs of a new processor...
It is not that they make a better product now...it is the fact they bullied OEM's into using their product and no one else's...
(I am not a fanboy for either side....I run with whoever is on top at the time....my current system is actually a Core2Duo E8400 overclocked to 4.3GHz)
If they really did that, then they DESERVE this investigation!
Intel bullied Dell? The government is doing the bullying here.
That is what AMD stated the last time they made allegations against Intel about monopolistic practices....They seemed to have solid evidence and testimony to back it up too...
I like how when 'evil corporations' like Microsoft or Verizon conduct potentially anti-trust business practices, everyone on here is like 'go, go, get them bastards, make them pain for their heinous crimes!'
But when every fanboy's favorite Intel faces the same allegations, it's more like 'oh, this is a bunch of crap, it's not their fault they make a better product, so just leave them alone, cause my C2D is suuuwwweeett'
Intel can charge whatever they want, it's their product. They built the labs that made the chips. They hired the engineers. They successfully marketed their product. AMD has failed and now its running to the gubbment for halp. As a result we'll get an inferior product from AMD just because they're a lousy competitor.
It's not what they charge...
I believe that Intel fans have finally got their revenge on AMD because a year or two back all their friends would laugh when they hear they still using Intel P3 and P4 while everyone is going for an AMD Athlon 64. I used both processors and listened to a lot of debates about this endless topic. Both companies SUCK, Intel for bullying other companies like HP and DELL while focusing on eating up the market to be a Monopoly and AMD for not making great process for the high end market and telling on Intel. Although they both made great processors in the past and still do, they both have to focus on one thing, (competition) so we users can get the most out of their products. That would be a happy ending for everyone.
Engadget's piece is LAME and UNINFORMATIVE, and is probably the reason why there are so many silly comments here about the FTC bullying Intel or Intel having the right to define its pricing policy.
THE FTC ISN'T GOING AFTER INTEL'S PRICING POLICY. It's going after a distribution scheme where Intel's clients only get rebates or get bigger rebates ONLY IF THEY DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH AMD. Read the piece in nytimes, it says so much more clearly.
As many have posted here, this practice gave Intel an unfair advantage and managed to get it through the heat back when AMD was biting its heels with better and cheaper CPUs without much trouble. Sure Intel has better products now - but if AMD goes belly-up I so does Intel's incentive to innovate. Which is all the worse if it could have been prevented by the FTC and they didn't act.
I don't know American law very well but I'd assume that it's the FTC who must prove that Intel's conduct was unlawful. So if Intel does get fined I for one don't believe it will be because of a whim by the folks at the FTC, but because they managed to prove that Intel broke the law, the same law that applies to any other company in the same situation.
Just my USD$.02