AMD's Ruiz has "felt the pain of Chipzilla running amok"

You will probably not be surprised that he hit out at Intel. He said in the keynote at the annual event that Google, Microsoft, HP and Dell all owe their existence "to the simple fact that competition replaced forced exclusivity" and allowed a variety of players to compete and succeed.

But, he said, HP and Dell are Chipzilla victims with Intel being "another monopoly that is systematically raising prices and slowing innovation and has done so unchecked for years. It's an old story by now, but still a dangerous one."

He said: "Intel uses illegal tactics explicity aimed at preventing customers from doing business with AMD." He cited the Japanese case, competition investigations by South Korea and the EU, and its own lawsuit in the States.

He said: "The IT industry is being held hostage by Intel - a fact that has detrimental effects across the board, and it has gone on for too long." Customers get hit by less choice and PC manufacturers depend on rebates and "must sacrifice their brand in favour of promoting Intel."

He alleged that tactics Chipzilla is using against the OLPC are "unethical" with Intel being "a monopolist wholly focused on protecting its market position regardless of the expense or harm to consumers."

Ruiz described himself as a businessman "who has seen and felt the pain of a monopoly run amok first hand." µ