Continued:

As far as the processor market is concerned, I certainly believe this complaint has merit. It definitely has far reaching potential to impact technological advancements and pricing that will be of benefit to the end-user. Those of you that have been following the latest developments in the microprocessor market know that AMD has earned its chance to compete in a fair marketplace, unimpeded by Intel’s behind the scene meddling. I’m not playing favorites here, but I’m only giving credit where it’s due. Ever since Intel first launched its Prescott microprocessor, the company has been on a downhill slide in relation to AMD, but you would never know that Intel is concerned except for its nearly non-existent enthusiast market share. Intel knows it doesn’t need to develop architecturally superior chips in order to stay competitive, thanks to its "exclusive deals" and downright monopolistic business propositions. AMD, however, has revolutionized the industry with its 64-bit chips, and independent industry analysts and publication reports have proven this over and again.

I certainly believe this to be a logical complaint that favors not only AMD, but the industry and consumers as well. Let’s assume that the court rules in favor of AMD, it would certainly wake up Intel and force it to conduct fair business practices. Furthermore, possibly Dell, HP and Sony may become strong partners with AMD and offer consumers solutions based on its chips. Since competition always leads to better products and competitive pricing, Intel wouldn’t be able to control the market with its mediocre processor architecture (for the time being at least), which would hopefully lead Intel to develop products that are actually beneficial to the advancement of the industry. Fierce competition from Intel would keep AMD on its tiptoes and vice versa. But most importantly, neither one of the companies would be able to control the pricing model; we have a good example of that with AMD’s recently launched FX-57 microprocessor that costs upwards of $1000.00. We have anti-monopoly laws in the United States for a reason, and they need to be strongly enforced equally in all areas of enterprise.

I personally don’t care if AMD benefits financially from the complaint, but it would certainly limit, if not end, Intel’s reign of monopolistic power and control over industry standards and offerings. Until the complaint is settled, all we can do is watch and see how things work out. As far as the current situation is concerned, let’s just say it will be a long road to a final decision. I do wonder on a few things, however; Will Intel’s business practices change before this goes to trial? Might Intel just give in and settle with AMD in a similar fashion to what it has done with the JFTC in Japan? Your guess is as good as mine, so get ready as the drama has just begun…