[Alpine]

CHIP FIRM AMD said US federal specifications that specify brand names for microprocessors are costing taxpayers $563 million.

It commissioned a study from academics at the economics and management at the California Institute of Technology, and the thrust of its argument is clear. It doesn't want those specs to mention the word Intel.

AMD successfully argued in a number of major European countries that specifications for PCs shouldn't include the Intel name - it presumably wants the same thing to happen in the USA.

Nevertheless, it said that federal laws forbid the use of brand names under most circumstances and claims that a "brand name or equal clause" causes bias against its own product. It gave an example. Before 2005, AMD said, the USAF only bought Intel microprocesors and this requirement was included in all government materials. But the Air Force has changed this now to allow the buying of PCs with competing microprocessors.

The INQuirer