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FTC files antitrust lawsuit against Intel
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has filed an antitrust-related lawsuit against Intel, charging the world’s largest computer chip maker with illegally using its dominant market position to stifle competition and strengthen its monopoly for a decade. The FTC alleged that Intel has waged a “systematic campaign” to cut off rivals’ access to the marketplace. Intel deprived consumers of choice and innovation in the microchip industry, the FTC alleged. In response, Intel senior vice president and general counsel Doug Melamed said the FTC’s complaint is an effort to create “new rules for regulating and micro-managing business conduct.”
European Commission ends Microsoft antitrust investigation
Microsoft’s promise to allow Windows users to choose which Internet browser they use has been accepted by the European Commission, ending its antitrust investigation of the company’s position in the browser market. The company will offer users of Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 a choice screen through which they can pick the browsers they want to install on their PC. The screen will be offered to users in the European Union and some neighboring countries for the next five years via the Windows Update mechanism. In addition, PC manufacturers will be allowed to ship computers with competing Web browsers, as well as or instead of Internet Explorer.
Nvidia ready to launch Tegra chips
Nvidia is set to launch its new Tegra chips that should go into devices like netbooks and smartphones early next year. The company will make a “major announcement” around the Tegra family of chips, said Michael Hara, senior vice president of investor relations at Nvidia at the Barclays Capital Global Technology conference last week. The company is also launching the next-generation Ion graphics chip in the first half of next year, which pairs Intel’s Atom chip with a GeForce graphics core to deliver full 1080p graphics capabilities in netbooks.
Google Books sued by Chinese author
A Chinese author has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Google over its book-scanning program, adding to opposition the project has faced in China. Well-known author Mian Mian is demanding compensation of 60,000 yuan (US$8,770) from Google for scanning one of her books and showing portions of it online, the state-run newspaper China Daily said Wednesday. The suit is the first brought against Google by an individual in China, the report cited Mian’s lawyer as saying. Google is scanning hundreds of thousands of books for its Google Books service, often without advance permission from copyright owners, so users can search out and preview the works online.
