The EC fine
Moving on to business in general at AMD, we asked Buxton how things are going in these challenging times. "We had a good Q1 and, while Q2 is the toughest season of the year, I don't see it being massively different from previous Q2s," he said.
Buxton reiterated a familiar claim from AMD these days: the importance of the channel. "I do see the channel itself reacting quickly - the enthusiast channel is still pretty strong," he said. "We're trying to provide a stable environment and add value to our channel programmes. It's down to us to keep being the channel's friend."
We couldn't let Buxton go without asking him his thoughts on the recent fine handed out to Intel, which originated from AMD complaints. "This is about consumers and they're the people who have won in this by getting greater choice, innovation and value," said Buxton, with commendable restraint.
"All AMD ever wanted was a level playing field," he concluded. "The Intel salespeople will have to bear in mind that coercion is no longer possible and they can't do illegal things."
We're sure they will.
