ajayshah@almaak.usc.edu (Ajay Shah) (12/01/90)
I read recently of Intel threatening clone-makers to shut the tap
of chip supplies in case they dare buy chips from AMD and other
386 cloners.
Isn't this a gross violation of Anti-Trust laws?
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Ajay Shah, (213)734-3930, ajayshah@usc.edu
The more things change, the more they stay insane.
_______________________________________________________________________________rcd@ico.isc.com (Dick Dunn) (12/02/90)
ajayshah@almaak.usc.edu (Ajay Shah) writes: > I read recently of Intel threatening clone-makers to shut the tap > of chip supplies in case they dare buy chips from AMD and other > 386 cloners. The rumor has been circulating, but is there a reason to think it's more than a rumor (at this point)? > Isn't this a gross violation of Anti-Trust laws? Pardon me, I don't intend this as a flame, but did you sleep through the Reagan years? The US has essentially no anti-trust laws nowadays. They do exist (which is why your question is valid); they're just not much used. A company which commits a violation of anti-trust blatant and offensive enough to get prosecuted in today's climate probably isn't smart enough to stay in business anyway. Moreover, the likely trend in the near future is toward *less* prosecution, as the US dinosaur corporations whine that they're being run over by foreign competition because of restrictive US laws (instead of by their own inability to do anything in a timely, cost effective fashion). Since they wield enormous influence (i.e., $), legislators will listen; if they don't, litigation can be drawn out (with more $) to where it's moot. Sorry if that seems too cynical. This may or may not be relevant to intel; I'm just painting the backdrop against which an action potentially violating an anti-trust law would be seen and responded to. Suppose that intel puts the squeeze on; what does a small manufacturer do? Fight them with an anti-trust case? Hardly--that would probably dry up their chip supply completely, and it's unlikely they'd survive long enough to see the litigation to an end. So which large manufacturers would take on intel, and why would they do so? Although, as I said at the beginning, I don't know of anything more than rumor that intel might squeeze folks who buy from alternate sources (read: AMD), it seems they're in a good situation to do so if they want to. (Counterarguments welcome!) -- Dick Dunn rcd@ico.isc.com -or- ico!rcd Boulder, CO (303)449-2870 ...Mr. Natural says, "Use the right tool for the job."