Skype & Intel

This is crap:

Intel's mantra: Let's make a deal (via)

Last week, Intel cut a deal with voice over Internet Protocol provider Skype that calls for the VoIP company to provide advanced conference-calling features exclusively on PCs that run Intel chips. As long as the deal is in place, it could effectively keep customers who want to take advantage of multiperson conference calls from going with AMD-based machines.

[...]

The Skype software has been preset to only accept Intel's chips as having the performance necessary to host conference calls of more than five people, the representative said.

This is one of those situations where there's no reason for this other than pure, unadulterated greed. There is absolutely no technical reason why running Skype on an Intel chip is any different than running it on an AMD chip. The main problems with internet-based VOIP stem from bandwidth and latency issues, not the CPU. This is an entirely arbitrary restriction.

Obviously, companies are motivated purely by greed, but typically, they at least attempt to show that a certain action has benefits for the consumer. With this deal, both Intel and Skype have stated forcefully that they could care less.

It's stuff like this that makes me appreciate Free/Open Source software.