Barrett still has some fight in him

ORLANDO, Fla.--Intel's chief executive Craig Barrett may be set to retire soon, but he's going out fighting.

Speaking to more than 6,500 technology executives at an industry conference sponsored by market researcher Gartner, Barrett addressed everything from Intel's missteps with its chip rollouts to the impact of U.S. economic policy.

Craig Barrett: "We've changed our direction"

Asked why Intel last week canceled plans to release a 4GHz Pentium processor, Barrett admitted that the company "missed a commitment to its customers, and we ate crow."

"I would have preferred to not have missed that commitment," Barrett said, bending down on one knee and facing the audience. "Forgive us."

He said the change in plans points to the choices Intel must make between building faster or more powerful processors. "It's an indication of what the industry was facing in terms of a power challenge. We can run transistors faster. Or we can use them to do something else, like increase performance."

Intel's move to go to multicore processors "is precisely what we have to do to prevent that power challenge," he said. "Give users benefits, not just a brighter light bulb."

Barrett, an outspoken critic of government policy on education and research funding, didn't give any hints about his own plans.

"I don?t intend to abandon high tech after I step down?from CEO. I hope to stay involved with Intel and the industry in some capacity," said Intel's chief executive, who will be succeeded by company president Paul Otellini in May.

He says he will be content to stay on the political sidelines. There will be "no government role" for him, he said. "I've been involved with Intel and the industry for 30 years. It continues to enthrall me. Leaving the business is always a challenge."

Still, Barrett took the opportunity to decry the lack of U.S. funding for science education and research.

"The worldwide environment and other factors are challenging. That's what you don?t see debated in the presidential elections," Barrett said. "There are a lot of well-educated people providing competition for U.S. jobs, but we're not debating that. We're debating how to protect textile workers. We're debating how to protect pillow case workers."

ie8 fix

What's Hot

Discussions

Shared

1. Meet the tireless entrepreneur who squatted at AOL
2. Here comes Yahoo's own Web browser -- Axis
3. Apple's next invention: The iPen?
4. FBI quietly forms secretive Net-surveillance unit
5. Hewlett-Packard just whacked the wrong executive
6. Facebook, Zuckerberg sued over IPO

1. Browser choice: A thing of the past?

   104 comments

2. Here comes Yahoo's own Web browser -- Axis

   98 comments

3. Why Apple needs to settle its e-book suits

   90 comments

4. FBI quietly forms secretive Net-surveillance unit

   89 comments

5. Facebook, Zuckerberg sued over IPO

   85 comments

RSS Feeds

Add headlines from CNET News to your homepage or feedreader.

• RSS

  Subscribe

• my Yahoo

  Add this Feed

• Google

  Add this Feed

• MSN

  Add this Feed

ie8 fix