It's been quite a stretch since the Federal Trade Commission first investigated and then ultimately sued Intel for alleged anticompetitive conduct, but the saga has now come to a close -- the two parties today announced a settlement of the charges. While that's no doubt better than some of the alternatives for Intel, it's hardly getting off easy -- the settlement prohibits Intel from paying computer makers to buy its chips exclusively or to refuse to buy chips from others, and bans it from retaliating against other c
