Friday, July 27th 2007
EU Charges Intel with Monopoly Abuse
EU regulators said Friday they have charged Intel Corp. with monopoly abuse for blocking rival computer chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s access to customers. The European Commission claimed that Intel gave "substantial rebates" to computer makers for buying most of their x86 computer processing units, or CPUs, from Intel; that it made payments to manufacturers to get them to delay or cancel product lines using AMD chips; and that it sold its own chips below cost on average to strategic server customers on bids against AMD products to try to muscle into that business. Intel has a chance to defend itself before the EU's executive arm takes a final decision that could order the company to stop abusive behavior or charge the company with millions of dollars fine.
Source:
washingtonpost.com
45 Comments on EU Charges Intel with Monopoly Abuse
Or if not saying it, offering big price cuts to people who were 'exclusive' - legal in a way, but it really hurt those who sold AMD/via stuff as well.
It also doesn't help that their production costs per processor has usually been higher than Intel's, thanks to Intel almost always being a manufacturing process ahead, either.
If you want to compete then sell your processor at a lower price, if you can't do that because your production costs are too high because you refuse to move to better manufacturing processes that isn't the fault of your competition.
When they were in the lead they jacked up their prices on their processors. Processors that cost under $100 today were selling for $600 a year ago. Are they selling those processors at a loss today? NO, they aren't, they were just way to greedy a year ago and wanted to make huge profits instead of trying to better establish themselves in the market. If $100 makes them a profit today it would have made them a profit a year ago and it would have also made a lot more people rush to buy their processors.
AMD is in the possition they are in because of their mistakes and their mistakes alone, now they are just trying to sue their way out of it. You know the saying: "If you can't beat them, sue them".
AMDs problems now are more they rested on their laurels of A64 instead of reinventing or making better changes to the core architecture.
The ATI buy, in my eyes, is one of their best deals. Not only do they get a graphics power house, but also, chipset sales, tv reception sales, etc.
It just takes time to make money is all. Also, Intel used dirty underhanded techniques for years...Its shoddy and shady, and also, it was brilliant. Only now, they have to live with the consequences.
off topic..
I watched topgear when they went to the usa, they gave away a car to a family from a town where tornadoes had ripped everything apart and that family no longer had a working car
Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson got a visit from a lawyer, and guess what?
The family was suing them for giving a car to them for free that was a slightly diff model to the one they said it was.. ffs...