AMD boasts of an Apple future, gripes about Intel

Now that AMD has managed to be more than just a thorn in Intel's side, and instead a valid and increasingly threatening competitor, we figured they'd lay off the immature Intel bashing, but AMD's CEO, Hector Ruiz, got a bit whiny the other day during a speech to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. He seemed to think an inclusion of AMD chips is an inevitable for Apple, since "Everybody wants choice." We can't really recall Apple ever being much into this "choice" thing of which he speaks, but he went on to decry Intel's practices as having stifled growth in the PC industry, and then went in for some rhetorical action: "Knowing Apple, why would they want to be held hostage like everyone else has been?" From the way things sounded, AMD probably isn't even in serious talks with Apple yet, and Apple sure seemed pretty set on Intel when they announced their move last year. Apple, of course, has other considerations than pure specs when it comes to their processor decision, such as branding and bulk prices, but we're sure if AMD manages to best Intel on price, power management and benchmarks -- which looks to be a struggle currently -- Steve Jobs and co. might at least be willing to talk.

[Via The Inquirer]