Anti-Intel Association

Please note: I created this site in 1997, and stopped major work on it in 1999. The information is well out-of-date, and in many cases does not reflect my current views. With that disclaimer in mind, I leave it up for those who are interested to browse.

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What's wrong with Intel?

Although not as bad as Microsoft is, Intel is gradually becoming less of a technological innovator and more of a corporation bent on squeezing every dollar out of consumers -- sometimes in ways which are very anticompetitive.

The purpose of this web page is not to "destroy" Intel, but to alert consumers that there are options other than Intel which are usually just as good or better. Intel owns a huge chunk of the microprocessor market. I just hope that doesn't turn into a monopoly due to consumer inaction and Intel's huge marketing power.

Intel also has an undeserved status in history as the inventor of the first microprocessor. I even gave them credit here before I found out that this isn't true.

Intel's Questionable Practices

Because of the air of paranoia surrouding the employees at Intel, they feel the need to do whatever it takes to expand their market share, at the expense of the market itself.

Advertising - Intel everywhere is blinding the masses.
Invasion of Privacy - Each Pentium III includes a unique ID to track your activities.
Locking Out Competitors - The Pentium II uses a new kind of socket, and Intel has threatened to sue any chip maker that makes a chip for that socket, effectively locking them out of the market, and depriving consumers of choice.
Monopoly Leverage - By leveraging its monopoly, Intel punishes companies that refuse to do its bidding.
Overpriced Chips - Intel's near monopoly allows them to charge hyper-inflated prices.
Patent Infringement - Intel may have stolen technology from Digital's Alpha chip.

"[Intel is] locking out a lot of competition and that's just bad for the market."

-PETER GLASKOWSKY, Chip Analyst

"Are we doing this as an exercise to improve our position in the market place, and achieve the recognition we deserve? Or are we doing this to fucking kill Motorola? ... We have to kill Motorola, that's the name of the game. We have to crush the fucking bastards. We're gonna roll over Motorola and make sure they don't come back again."

-JIM LALLY, Former Executive, Intel, on Operation Crush

Your Choices

Alpha - The speed demon from Digital.
Celeron - Intel's half-hearted attempt at a chip for sub-$1,000 computers.
K6 - AMD's chip reaches speeds near to that of the fastest Pentium II, but at a lower cost.
M2 - This microprocessor from Cyrix has a very low cost and rivals the speed of the P2.
MIPS R10000 - The 64-but workhorse by Silicon Graphics.
Merced - Intel's expensive Pentium replacement that will finally incorporate today's technology.
Pentium II & III - The overpriced, overhyped, underpowered, energy-hungry processors from Intel.
PowerPC G3 - The really fast, energy-efficient Macintosh chip by IBM and Motorola.
Sparc - Sun's 64-bit screamer, at a competitive price.
and more! - These chips are by no means the only ones. Be sure to check out all of your options before jumping into a purchase.

"Historically, Intel has this remarkable ability to charge a factor of eight for a performance boost of two in microprocessors."

-PETER CHRISTY, Industry Analyst

"I don't see Merced appearing on a mainstream desktop inside of a decade."

-ANDY GROVE, Ex-CEO, Intel (New York Times, 5 April 98)

"The value of Intel Inside has been vastly overrated. [You] can buy a PC today that can do everything you need to do today and tomorrow by buying a processor other than Intel's -- and that won't be a problem."

-STEVE TOBAK, VP of corporate marketing and communications, Cyrix

Related Web Sites

AlphaNT Source - The place for users of Windows NT on Alpha computers.
Anti-Microsoft Association - What's wrong with Microsoft and what you can do.
Boycott Intel! - Privacy concerns, as well as statements from Intel.
Intel Consumer Opinion - Yahoo!'s listing.
Intel Secrets - What Intel doesn't want you to know.
Wintel World - Your complete anti-PC resource.

Related Books

Inside Intel - Andy Grove and the Rise of the World's Most Powerful Chip Company
Only the Paranoid Survive - How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company and Career

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