E-mails released to WSJ expose memory cartel conspiracy

[timsullivan2003]

I'm sure we will have the Micron/Crucial pumpers such as George
McDonald claim that the following is legal.
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one Micron executive, in a June 2001 message,
responding to another message about lower DDR pricing. "We want DDR to
explode into the marketplace so have actually been requesting Infineon,
Samsung and Hynix to lower their DDR pricing to help it become a
standard (and drive Rambus away completely)."

 

[timsullivan2003]

For an article that doesn't require subscription and has more details:
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2006/tc20060601_714385.htm

E-MAIL TRAIL. One e-mail, dated June 5, 2001, from Micron
Vice-President Linda Turner to other Micron employees was in response
to worries about prices on DDR-DRAM that had been falling. "No
problem!," Turner wrote. "We want DDR to explode in the marketplace so
have actually been requesting Infineon, Samsung, and Hynix to lower
their DDR pricing to help it become a standard (and drive Rambus away
completely)."

An earlier e-mail, dated Feb. 16, 2000, from Micron sales
representative Tom Addie to a Micron sales manager identified as
"mgrant," suggests that Micron was worried about PC makers showing
strong interest in the Rambus-designed RDRAM memory chips, which were
being manufactured by Samsung.

Addie wrote in the e-mail that someone at Samsung had told him that
Compaq was "pressing hard for Rambus support" based on "success that
Dell was having" using the chips in its products. A later email to
Addie, dated May 22, from a Micron account manager named Bill Lauer
asks if Addie can "check in with your Sammy contacts," referring to
Samsung.

STRONG COUNTEROFFENSIVE. Yet another e-mail dated July 3, 2001, this
one between employees of Hynix, discusses setting up a meeting with
Micron Vice-President Mike Sadler "to discuss with us measures to
stabilize the market price.

 

[chrisv]

one Micron executive, in a June 2001 message,
responding to another message about lower DDR pricing. "We want DDR to
explode into the marketplace so have actually been requesting Infineon,
Samsung and Hynix to lower their DDR pricing to help it become a
standard (and drive Rambus away completely)."

Do you have the name of the above-referenced Micron executive, John?
I'd like to send him a "thank you" card. 8)