From the looks of it, this case will mirror the European Commission's case almost exactly:

"Rather than compete fairly, Intel used bribery and coercion to maintain a stranglehold on the market," Mr. Cuomo said in a statement. "Intel's actions not only unfairly restricted potential competitors, but also hurt average consumers who were robbed of better products and lower prices."

The AG even echoes some of the same cases used in the EC's investigation, like the time Intel allegedly paid $130 million to keep IBM from selling AMD-based servers, which IBM execs considered as much a business deal as a way to avoid incurring the "wrath of Intel." I too avoid the wrath of Intel, by using AMD chips. Bam! Also: no. But still, dick move!

Cuomo is working with the same body of evidence that the European Commission was, and probably quite a bit more—the FTC's been breathing down their necks for over a year now—so I'd expect this to get pretty uncomfortable for Intel. And by uncomfortable, of course, I mean very, very expensive. [NYT]

Each player starts with $3 million. They can buy any street in the world to erect houses, stadiums and even skyscapers allowing them to collect more and more daily rent (ranging from $50,000 to $100 million per property). The goal? "Play to beat your friends and the world to become the richest property magnate in existence."

Streets will vary in cost, of course, with the White House's Pennsylvania Ave. listed at $2 million, while Downing Street (London's home to the senior British cabinet) goes for just $231,000. (America, fuck yeah.)

If anyone sees a spot to register, please say so in the comments. So far we've only tracked down the game's official site and blog. And if we don't start playing right when this game starts, we'll lose out on another rare opportunity to be financially humbled by the real estate market. [Monopoly City Streets via Daily Mail via DVICE]

"For me, Microsoft is so last century. They are not the problem," said Christine A. Varney, Obama's pick to head the U.S. government's antitrust division (ouch!). To which I say, has she seen those cute new Windows "I'm a PC" ads with the toddlers? If anything, Microsoft is adorable these days.

"[The U.S. economy will] continually see a problem — potentially with Google [because it already] has acquired a monopoly in Internet online advertising," she said.

The comments were made all the way back in June during a panel discussion sponsored by the American Antitrust Institute, but we're only hearing of them now, most likely because Varney is set to be confirmed by the Senate very soon.

But even as Varney was stretching her legs with lofty antitrust rhetoric last year, she was also praising the Google for being a "spectacular innovator" that dominated the industry with "terrific work" and that obtained its monopoly through lawful business practice. They were the kind of comments that inevitably set up a "but..." statement, and lo and behold, here it is:

"[Google is] quickly gathering market power in what I would call an online computing environment in the clouds. When all our enterprises move to computing in the clouds and there is a single firm that is offering a comprehensive solution, you are going to see the same repeat of Microsoft," she said.

Related to all this is an article I keep thinking about as I learn more about the all-but-confirmed legal onslaught that's growing larger in Google's HUD. In Wired's current 3mm thin issue, there's an article called "The Plot to Kill Google," which starts off with Google lawyers preparing to enter the U.S. Department of Justice antitrust wing, of all places. The discussion was about, wait for it, online advertising. This time with Yahoo. The Wired story took place in October, so the legal wrangling has actually already begun.

Google, for its part, has already started preparing a defense. Bloomberg reports Google spokesman Adam Kovacevich said in an email response that stiff competition "is literally one click away" on the Internet. Customers are also free to search the internet using any engine they wish, he said, and nothing Google does prevents that from happening. "Cloud computing is really in its infancy," he said. "There's going to be rich competition in that space for a long time to come."

My personal thought on all this? It's what happens when your sea floor mapping platform discovers Atlantis. [Bloomberg via ComputerWorld]

"Ignoring fundamental principles of antitrust law, and the realities of the marketplace, Psystar contends that Apple has unlawfully monopolized an alleged market that consists of only one product, the Macintosh® computer."

It's doubtful that Psystar has the grounds to win or even the money to fight this case, but the stated principle here is kind of weird. The whole line of Macintosh computers is one product? Hardware that could run Mac OS comprises an "alleged market?" It's hard to quite make sense of what they mean other than "PLEASE DIE." We'll see what happens in court on November 3rd, when Apple passes that sentiment on to Psystar's face(s). [The Register, with full filing at ZDNet]

LOS ANGELES, Calif., – September 5, 2008 – EA Mobile™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS), today announced that Spore™ Origins, an original game for the iPhone™ and iPod® touch, will be available this month. The game takes full advantage of the devices’ built-in accelerometer as players tilt, turn and twist their way through a world made of primordial ooze. In conjunction with the launch of Spore Origins, EA Mobile also announces a list of nine games in development for both the iPhone and iPod Touch platforms.

Eat-or-be-eaten in Spore Origins! Designed specifically for the iPhone and iPod touch, Spore Origins uses the platforms’ motion-sensing technology to let gamers navigate a primordial tidepool on a quest to evolve. Feast on the weak and flee from the strong through two exciting modes and 35 challenging levels. Pinch, pull, and poke your creation in the Creature Editor, customizing the texture, shape and body parts to improve your offense, defense, perception and movement as you evolve over millions of years.

““We’re really excited to bring Spore Origins to the iPhone and iPod touch,” said Travis Boatman, Vice President Worldwide Studios at EA Mobile. “By leveraging the unique capabilities of these devices, players can customize their own creatures and shape their destiny in an exciting evolutionary journey. ”

EA Mobile today also announced nine titles in development for the iPhone and iPod touch, pending regional availability. This list includes YAHTZEE Adventures, EA Mini Golf, Lemonade Tycoon™, Mahjong, MONOPOLY: Here & Now The World Edition, SimCity, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09, Need for Speed™ Undercover, and The Sims™ 3.

Spore Origins will be available globally from the Apple App Store on iPhone and iPod touch, or by simply visiting www.eamobile.com from an iPhone. Additional versions of Spore Origins are also available for the iPod, as well as other mobile devices. All iPod games are available for the third-generation iPod nano, iPod classic and fifth-generation iPod and can be sent as a gift using the iTunes gifting feature (www.itunes.com).

They also told Information Week that they weren't breaking any laws, and that they were going to continue to sell this system no matter what Apple says. Another example the employee gave was this: "What if Honda said that, after you buy their car, you could only drive it on the roads they said you could?" Even if Psystar's machines aren't anything spectacular, if they can set a legal precedent for third-party manufacturers selling OS X-bundled machines, that would be a win for everybody. [InformationWeek - Thanks Achal!]

Complete with Donkey Kong's barrel, Link's Shield, Princess Peach's barf bag and Mario's girdle, Nintendo Monopoly is definitely in the top five themed Monopoly editions we've seen. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Amazon via Uncrate via Madewise]

Mayfair? Put It On The Card [Sky via Geekologie]