AMD subpoenas PC vendors for Intel email

THE POOR HACKS in Silicon Valley were summoned into an AMD conference in Pacific Time first thing. We're listening to it. They can't be as tired as we are, having covered this all day.

AMD said it wasn't a whiney competitor but wants to break Intel's monopoly, and is making serious allegations, although it didn't talk to Chipzilla about what it was doing, beforehand. No surprise there, then.

A man called Chuck Diamond, who appears to be an AMD legal spinner, said: "We see treble damages for the losses and it would be irresponsible for us not to seek damages. But this is not about money. This is about Intel releasing its iron grip. We want fair competition."

AMD, he added, wanted journalists to know about this. Well, we do, we do.

Diamond AMD Geezer said: "The next step is discovery. We have asked 40 major industry players worldwide to release their emails. We expect to go pedal to the metal. We expect Intel to drag its feet. The government got the MS case to trial in 18 months. We want to get this trial going in 06."

AMD had already issued those subpoenas to many PC vendors. Sony was successful selling PCs in Europe based on both AMD and Intel tech. But Intel went to Japan and pressured Sony, AMD alleged. "Intel will huff and puff but will not blow the house down," said Diamond. The OEM market is hostage to Intel, he added. AMD is trying to drive the "cost of solutions down". That may well be, but what the heck is the $1,031 price tag on the latest FX-57? AMD claims it has forced Intel to its knees. We're still awaiting Intel's response. µ

* AMD LAWYERS had better not try and subpoena INQ journalists. We will fight that tooth and nail, and there will be blood, we assure you, if it tries.