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RE: If this is what it takes, so be it.
By Reclaimer77 on 6/8/2008 9:05:14 PM , Rating: -1
Your whole argument is speculative. Sure, you can blame Intel for some of that. But you guys claiming Intel is entirely responsible for AMD's position are spewing FUD and you know it. Worst, if the situations were reversed and AMD did the same thing, you would be all for it wouldn't you ? Cheers for the little guy !!

Most "joe smoes buying a Dell or Gateway" didn't know what Intel was either, just that the sales guy on the floor says Intel > AMD because that is what he has been instructed to do.

Bullcrap. You know how much Intel advertised. Everyone knows who they are.

By danrien on 6/8/2008 9:57:14 PM , Rating: 5
When a company pays another company whom buys products from them to not advertise their competitor's products, that's not competing in a free market, but instead closing a market out so your competitor can effectively not compete. Thus, as US law has held for many years, it is violating the rules that apply to a monopoly.

In effect it's like you paying the ref at the basketball game so your team wins. On one side, you could argue that you were just "competing" differently to win the game, but on the other hand, the other team never even stood a chance, and thus the fans (the customers) lost the chance to see a good game.

Basically, AMD has been trying to play catch-up to Intel for a few decades now, and everything they have attempted - having better products, doing large marketing campaigns, etc., have not worked. The question that AMD is asking, entering their fourth decade of existence, is why? And in the end, the talent at AMD doesn't lose, there are plenty of experienced, intelligent individuals there who will find jobs elsewhere; instead it is us, the customers, who lose, from price rigging and unfair market manipulation.

By BansheeX on 6/9/08, Rating: 0
By adiposity on 6/9/2008 11:56:07 AM , Rating: 4
What's absolutely hilarious about this analogy is how wrong it is, and how I keep getting rated down trying to explain to people the difference. The referee has powers that a player doesn't. The government has powers that the private industry doesn't. He can eject players, he can deny points, he can give points, and he can also be bribed. The referee is the government, but Intel never colluded with government. They made a legitimate contract with several OEMs, who took a calculated risk to gain more from a payout than prospective losses to other OEMs offering purportedly good AMD chips. In no way could Intel prevent customers from choosing AMD, only under certain brands. It would literally take an infinite amount of capital to not only buy out existing OEMs, but suppress prospective startups.

You're right, a better analogy would be if the Lakers stood outside the Celtics' stadium all next year and paid people not to go in. And continued this practice for a decade until the Celtics were so poor they could only afford d-league players. And then claimed they were beating the Celtics because they had better coaching.


By Reclaimer77 on 6/9/2008 12:13:03 AM , Rating: 2
I don't need you to explain the situation to me, thank you. But people are trying to make this bigger than it is. Why do you think the fines have been so low ? 25mil is peanuts.

You can hold Intel accountable for unfair practices. What I'm saying however, is that you cannot heap AMD's current situation and problems on Intel.


This perfectly illustrates what I'm saying. Intel has NOT been " cheating " AMD for decades. And you are only listing the things AMD has done right. I notice you left everything they have done WRONG off your list.

Hold Intel accountable, fine. Blaming them for AMD's problems in the market is just petty. The simple fact is the better product does not always win in a free market.

Bose is a perfect example. Their speakers, especially their all in one stereos are pure garbage. Yet they have a huge market share with massive customer retention and loyalty. Why ? The consumer doesn't know any better. Bose has marketed themselves masterfully. Just like Intel marketed the Pentium 4. Do you think the majority of the consumer base knew it was " inferior " to AMD ?

