Intel's Paul Otellini Sounds Off

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Otellini mentions a recent poll in the San Jose Mercury News, in which people were asked what they wanted for Christmas.

"PCs trumped happiness and peace. That's good news for us."

On the effect of the housing slump in the U.S., which is dragging down Intel's important customers in the finance industry:

"In the last couple of economic dips, IT spending accelerated." (He says the dot-com bust was an exception.) "This is particularly true in the finance industry, where they run on powerful servers and trading algorithms. As before, they'll use this period to get an edge on their competitors." He adds that Intel sold a record number of server chips in the third quarter. "And consumers don't buy server chips."

On the sky-high valuations for Internet companies:

"As a board member of Google (GOOG), part of me likes that. But when you hear of a Facebook valuation at $15 billion, you wonder how you monetize that. There are a few apps [on Facebook] that have a lot of stickiness, and there's nothing after that.…If Google launches a site tomorrow, what happens to their valuation? The interesting thing about social networks is that one friend leaves and the others follow."

On Intel's push to move more advertising for itself and its partners from traditional media to the Web:

"We're shifting to the Web. It's going to be substantial. It has to do with the way people buy PCs in mature markets. Here, and in Japan and in Western Europe, no one is buying their first PC anymore. They virtually do all their research online. We want to own that space." He refers to "third-party review sites," as well as sites for computer makers and big-box retailers, "where people do comparison shopping."

On Apple's knack for selling top-dollar merchandise:

"My wife and I both have iPhones. My wife came in with a jacket for her phone. She was all excited. It's a flimsy little thing. It cost $39. It probably cost 6¢ to make." He adds that he uses a ThinkPad for work and a MacBook Pro for his personal life, including his personal photos and music.

On the competitive importance of math and science education in the U.S.:

"We have to improve math and science. We finally got Congress to pass the America Competes Act. They passed the law, and now they won't give it any money. You go nuts when you go to Washington on this stuff. Every other country says that this is a No. 1 priority."