In case anyone over the last year (2004) wondered why RAM prices seemed well kinda high well heres a lil article that could shed some light to that particular question:
Hynix fined $185 million over memory cartel
DRAMurai pleads guilty. Samsung remains
By INQUIRER staff: Friday 22 April 2005, 09:45
KOREAN MEMORY maker Hynix will pay a $185 million penalty and plead guilty to being a member of a shady cartel which fixed prices on DRAM.
And, said the Wall Street Journal, giant chip maker Samsung Electronics will also face criminal charges as part of a Department of Justice (DoJ) investigation.
The DoJ said that victims of the memory cartel were Dell, Apple, HP - unlikely victims, we'll sure you agree. But other victims included the rest of us which had to pay higher prices for DRAM.
Infineon admitted it was apart of the cartel last year while Micron, also under investigation, was granted an amnesty because it has cooperated with the DoJ.
Only the most absurdly cynical would say that Micron got off because it is the only of the major DRAMurai that is US based. The Journal said Micron has supplied the DoJ with a number of documents that helped the government department build its case.
It got an amnesty from prosecution because it took the US equivalent of Queen's Evidence.
Samsung has put aside a sum of cash in case it's forced to pay a big criminal fine for alleged irregularities. But all of the DRAMurai, including Micron, could face civil charges as well as legal penalties.
Some staff from Germany memory maker Infineon were sent to clink as part of an earlier agreement.
