tech news
Intel Facing Antitrust Investigation
by editor ()First it was Microsoft, now it is Intel. The New York Times has reported today that "The Federal Trade Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation of Intel, the world’s largest maker of computer microprocessors, for anticompetitive conduct, government officials and lawyers involved in the proceeding said Friday".
Seems like AMD Intel's main competitor is having its way in hurting Intel successfully. Earlier this week South Korea ordered Intel to pay $25M in fines. Japan and Europe are also on Intel's case for the same reasons.
Online Personal Assistant secures $100 million
by editor ()Just a few years ago, having a web based personal assistant simply seemed to be a hype. But today one of them got $100 million in funding. The company called Rearden commerce has a product called The Rearden Personal Assistant which helps people find and purchase the services they need. These services include travel planning, dining reservations, package shipping, web conferencing, event tickets, and more. They also provides people with the tools they need to manage those services, like calendar and address book integration, email invites, and mobile alerts. The funding came from investors including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and American Express (NYSE: AXP) with participation from Oak Investment Partners and Foundation Capital.
Broadcom co-founder faces drug, securities charges
by editor ()Came across this rather interesting news about Broadcom CEO Henry T. Nicholas III. He has been indicted for drugging technology executives and customer service representatives. (see indictment docs). According the the story "Broadcom Corp. co-founder Henry T. Nicholas III was indicted on federal narcotics charges that include allegations he slipped ecstasy into the drinks of business associates, maintained a drug warehouse and concealed his illegal conduct with bribes and death threats."
So I decided to do some research on Mr. Nicholas's background. According to this page on Wikipedia, "Dr. Nicholas lived in Glendale, Ohio until he was 4 years old. His father was an attorney with the IRS and his mother was a teacher and later an administrator at the Princeton School district in theatre. At that time, his parents divorced and he moved with his mother (Marcella) and sister (Marsalee) to Los Angeles where his mother planned to get her Masters degree in drama from UCLA. It was at UCLA that she met Bob Leach, her second husband, and Nick’s “real dad.” Dr. Nicholas attended elementary schools in Malibu and Santa Monica High School."
"Dr. Nicholas received a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, after having attended the United States Air Force Academy previously and then both a Masters Degree and Ph.d. in Electrical Engineering from UCLA. It was at UCLA that Dr. Nicholas met Dr. Henry Samueli, his future partner".
So, what is really interesting here is that this guy's father was an attorney yet he didn't think that it was necessary to follow the law. Makes me wonder about the psychology when someone who is a billionaire gets involved into such illegal activities. Is it just the feeling of being invincible?
