Millions of people got a taste of life without Google on Thursday after its search engine, e-mail and other products slowed or became inaccessible because of a glitch.
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//
The outage, which lasted nearly two hours, prompted a wave of distress and frustration among users, highlighting just how dependent they are on the Internet giant's ubiquitous services.
It was also an embarrassing failure for Google, which casts itself as a technological dynamo and markets many of its products for their dependability. The failure, combined with previous ones this year, prompted some people to reconsider relying on just one company for so much of their online activity.
Google said the problems started at 7:48 a.m., when a systems error caused a portion of its online traffic to be rerouted through Asia. The snafu prompted an online traffic jam, slowing or interrupting service for 14 percent of Google users globally.
Urs Hoelzle, senior vice president of operations, likened the problem in a blog post to airplanes being rerouted to a different airport and forced to wait in a holding pattern before landing.
"We've been working hard to make our services ultra-fast and 'always on,' so it's especially embarrassing when a glitch like this one happens," he said.
Panic set in with some users, who discovered they couldn't get access to their e-mails, fearful that urgent messages were being missed. Companies that store their documents online with Google suddenly found they couldn't access them, raising fears their work was lost.
Francisco Lopez, an administrative assistant for a public relations company in Redwood City, said he came into work in the morning and was unable to log in to his Google e-mail, after fruitlessly trying four or five times. The delay lasted about an hour, he said, leaving him scrambling to do his job.
Meanwhile, Lopez said he tried to use Google to find images and company addresses for his boss, who was similarly sidelined from Google. Frustrated with the slowness, Lopez surrendered and gave a Google rival a try.
"We were worried, and I said, 'Let's try Yahoo' - and it worked," he said.
Google's troubles got a big airing online as users vented. The topic was among the most popular on Twitter, the micro-blogging service, where people posted things like "Google's down and the world stops ... Scary" and "Uh oh, Google is having issues. Let Internet calamity ensue."
Google is the most dominant Internet company, with a 63.7 percent U.S. search market share, according to comScore Inc. Its success has drawn the attention of federal regulators, who have looked at the company on several fronts.
Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a digital rights group that has long said Google needs more antitrust scrutiny, said Thursday's outage and the inconveniences it caused to users underscore that the company is "the leading digital public utility" and that it "behooves policy-makers to look more intensively into its operations."
Google suffered two other high-profile outages this year, including one in which all search results were inaccessible for an hour because they were misidentified as sources of computer viruses. In another instance, Google's e-mail was inaccessible for 2 1/2 hours because of a problem with a data center.
In recent years, Google has marketed to companies the use of its online products, such as e-mail and documents, as an alternative to desktop software. But these outages could persuade potential customers to keep the technology in-house rather than paying Google to take care of it.
Andrew Kovacs, a Google spokesman, acknowledged outages like Thursday's attract a lot of attention. However, "cloud computing," as the online software is generically known, is more reliable than companies operating their own data centers.
Ken Godskind, chief strategy officer for AlertSite, a Fort Lauderdale software company that helps customers keep their Web sites online, said he was using the paid corporate version of Google's e-mail and calender when the outage hit, raising his frustrations. He ended up spending an hour to do three minutes of work, he said.
Still, Godskind said he will continue to pay for Google's products. Because of the nature of technology, whether it's Google's or someone else's, he said, "You're going to get bitten by the beast."
E-mail Verne Kopytoff at vkopytoff@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
sfgate_get_fprefs();
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2329780200400202691
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Powell aide says torture helped build Iraq war case
(CNN) -- Finding a "smoking gun" linking Iraq and al Qaeda became the main purpose of the abusive interrogation program the Bush administration authorized in 2002, a former State Department official told CNN on Thursday.
Dick Cheney's office ordered use of "alternative" techniques against CIA's recommendations, aide says.
The allegation was included in an online broadside aimed at former Vice President Dick Cheney by Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff for then-Secretary of State Colin Powell. In it, Wilkerson wrote that the interrogation program began in April and May of 2002, and then-Vice President Cheney's office kept close tabs on the questioning.
"Its principal priority for intelligence was not aimed at preempting another terrorist attack on the U.S. but discovering a smoking gun linking Iraq and al Qaeda," Wilkerson wrote in The Washington Note, an online political journal.
Wilkerson, a retired Army colonel, said his accusation is based on information from current and former officials. He said he has been "relentlessly digging" since 2004, when Powell asked him to look into the scandal surrounding the treatment of prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
"I couldn't walk into a courtroom and prove this to anybody, but I'm pretty sure it's fairly accurate," he told CNN.
Most of Wilkerson's online essay criticizes Cheney's recent defense of the "alternative" interrogation techniques the Bush administration authorized for use against suspected terrorists. Cheney has argued the interrogation program was legal and effective in preventing further attacks on Americans.
Critics say the tactics amounted to the illegal torture of prisoners in U.S. custody and have called for investigations of those who authorized them.
Representatives of the former vice president declined comment on Wilkerson's allegations. But Wilkerson told CNN that by early 2002, U.S. officials had decided that "we had al Qaeda pretty much on the run."
"The priority had turned to other purposes, and one of those purposes was to find substantial contacts between al Qaeda and Baghdad," he said.
Don't Miss
CIA denies Cheney request on interrogations
'Enhanced interrogations' don't work, ex-FBI agent says
The argument that Iraq could have provided weapons of mass destruction to terrorists such as al Qaeda was a key element of the Bush administration's case for the March 2003 invasion. But after the invasion, Iraq was found to have dismantled its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs, and the independent commission that investigated the 2001 attacks found no evidence of a collaborative relationship between the two entities.
Wilkerson wrote that in one case, the CIA told Cheney's office that a prisoner under its interrogation program was now "compliant," meaning agents recommended the use of "alternative" techniques should stop.
At that point, "The VP's office ordered them to continue the enhanced methods," Wilkerson wrote.
"The detainee had not revealed any al Qaeda-Baghdad contacts yet. This ceased only after Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, under waterboarding in Egypt, 'revealed' such contacts."
Al-Libi's claim that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's government had trained al Qaeda operatives in producing chemical and biological weapons appeared in the October 2002 speech then-President Bush gave when pushing Congress to authorize military action against Iraq. It also was part of Powell's February 2003 presentation to the United Nations on the case for war, a speech Powell has called a "blot" on his record.
Al-Libi later recanted the claim, saying it was made under torture by Egyptian intelligence agents, a claim Egypt denies. He died last week in a Libyan prison, reportedly a suicide, Human Rights Watch reported.
Stacy Sullivan, a counterterrorism adviser for the U.S.-based group, called al-Libi's allegation "pivotal" to the Bush administration's case for war, as it connected Baghdad to the terrorist organization behind the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
And an Army psychiatrist assigned to support questioning of suspected terrorists at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba told the service's inspector-general that interrogators there were trying to connect al Qaeda and Iraq.
"This is my opinion," Maj. Paul Burney told the inspector-general's office. "Even though they were giving information and some of it was useful, while we were there a large part of the time we were focused on trying to establish a link between aI Qaeda and Iraq and we were not being successful in establishing a link between aI Qaeda and Iraq. The more frustrated people got in not being able to establish this link ... there was more and more pressure to resort to measures that might produce more immediate results."
Burney's account was included in a Senate Armed Services Committee report released in April. Other interrogators reported pressure to produce intelligence "but did not recall pressure to identify links between Iraq and al Qaeda," the Senate report states.
Cheney criticized Powell during a television interview over the weekend, saying he no longer considers Powell a fellow Republican after his former colleague endorsed Democratic candidate Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.
Wilkerson said he is not speaking for his former boss and does not know whether Powell shares his views.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/14/iraq.torture/
Dick Cheney's office ordered use of "alternative" techniques against CIA's recommendations, aide says.
The allegation was included in an online broadside aimed at former Vice President Dick Cheney by Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff for then-Secretary of State Colin Powell. In it, Wilkerson wrote that the interrogation program began in April and May of 2002, and then-Vice President Cheney's office kept close tabs on the questioning.
"Its principal priority for intelligence was not aimed at preempting another terrorist attack on the U.S. but discovering a smoking gun linking Iraq and al Qaeda," Wilkerson wrote in The Washington Note, an online political journal.
Wilkerson, a retired Army colonel, said his accusation is based on information from current and former officials. He said he has been "relentlessly digging" since 2004, when Powell asked him to look into the scandal surrounding the treatment of prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
"I couldn't walk into a courtroom and prove this to anybody, but I'm pretty sure it's fairly accurate," he told CNN.
Most of Wilkerson's online essay criticizes Cheney's recent defense of the "alternative" interrogation techniques the Bush administration authorized for use against suspected terrorists. Cheney has argued the interrogation program was legal and effective in preventing further attacks on Americans.
Critics say the tactics amounted to the illegal torture of prisoners in U.S. custody and have called for investigations of those who authorized them.
Representatives of the former vice president declined comment on Wilkerson's allegations. But Wilkerson told CNN that by early 2002, U.S. officials had decided that "we had al Qaeda pretty much on the run."
"The priority had turned to other purposes, and one of those purposes was to find substantial contacts between al Qaeda and Baghdad," he said.
Don't Miss
CIA denies Cheney request on interrogations
'Enhanced interrogations' don't work, ex-FBI agent says
The argument that Iraq could have provided weapons of mass destruction to terrorists such as al Qaeda was a key element of the Bush administration's case for the March 2003 invasion. But after the invasion, Iraq was found to have dismantled its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs, and the independent commission that investigated the 2001 attacks found no evidence of a collaborative relationship between the two entities.
Wilkerson wrote that in one case, the CIA told Cheney's office that a prisoner under its interrogation program was now "compliant," meaning agents recommended the use of "alternative" techniques should stop.
At that point, "The VP's office ordered them to continue the enhanced methods," Wilkerson wrote.
"The detainee had not revealed any al Qaeda-Baghdad contacts yet. This ceased only after Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, under waterboarding in Egypt, 'revealed' such contacts."
Al-Libi's claim that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's government had trained al Qaeda operatives in producing chemical and biological weapons appeared in the October 2002 speech then-President Bush gave when pushing Congress to authorize military action against Iraq. It also was part of Powell's February 2003 presentation to the United Nations on the case for war, a speech Powell has called a "blot" on his record.
Al-Libi later recanted the claim, saying it was made under torture by Egyptian intelligence agents, a claim Egypt denies. He died last week in a Libyan prison, reportedly a suicide, Human Rights Watch reported.
Stacy Sullivan, a counterterrorism adviser for the U.S.-based group, called al-Libi's allegation "pivotal" to the Bush administration's case for war, as it connected Baghdad to the terrorist organization behind the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
And an Army psychiatrist assigned to support questioning of suspected terrorists at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba told the service's inspector-general that interrogators there were trying to connect al Qaeda and Iraq.
"This is my opinion," Maj. Paul Burney told the inspector-general's office. "Even though they were giving information and some of it was useful, while we were there a large part of the time we were focused on trying to establish a link between aI Qaeda and Iraq and we were not being successful in establishing a link between aI Qaeda and Iraq. The more frustrated people got in not being able to establish this link ... there was more and more pressure to resort to measures that might produce more immediate results."
Burney's account was included in a Senate Armed Services Committee report released in April. Other interrogators reported pressure to produce intelligence "but did not recall pressure to identify links between Iraq and al Qaeda," the Senate report states.
Cheney criticized Powell during a television interview over the weekend, saying he no longer considers Powell a fellow Republican after his former colleague endorsed Democratic candidate Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.
Wilkerson said he is not speaking for his former boss and does not know whether Powell shares his views.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/14/iraq.torture/
How owners of GM, Chrysler vehicles could be affected
"When all of these relationships are disrupted, you can't help but have some elements of chaos, and some practical problems occur," said Aaron H. Jacoby, a Los Angeles lawyer who represents car dealers.Here are some issues GM and Chrysler customers may face:Manufacturer warranties: These are the warranties that are included in the price of a vehicle and cover specified repairs for a specific period of time -- three years or 36,000 miles, for instance. They're backed by the manufacturer, not the dealer, and are good at any of the manufacturer-licensed dealers.
GM and Chrysler have both pledged to stand behind their warranties.But consumers still could face a long drive to the nearest authorized dealer. And customers who have a long-standing relationship with a particular customer service manager may find themselves at the mercy of one who is less attuned to their interests, notes Philip Reed, senior consumer advice editor at auto website Edmunds.com.Warranty complaints should be directed to the manufacturer or the state New Motor Vehicle Board.Extended service agreements: These go by many names, often vehicle service contracts or extended warranties, but the bottom line is generally the same: For an additional charge, the contract pays if certain things go wrong with the vehicle for a set period of time -- usually after the manufacturer's warranty runs out.These contracts typically are backed by a third party -- known as a vehicle service contract provider -- or by the manufacturer. If backed by Chrysler, the automaker said, its other dealers will honor the contract. If backed by a contract provider, Chrysler said, the vehicle owner should check the contract for information on where to go for repairs.California law requires that such contracts include an insurance policy. If problems arise over the contract, car owners should contact the insurer. Written complaints also can be sent to the state Department of Insurance.Unpaid liens on trade-ins: When a car buyer trades in a vehicle with an outstanding loan balance, the dealer is supposed to pay off the loan as part of the transaction. But as dealerships have closed during the recent collapse in auto sales, many of them didn't pay off the loans.In these cases, consumers are still liable for the original loan and can end up with two monthly payments -- one on the car just bought and a second on the car traded in. And if the trade-in vehicle is resold before the loan is paid off, the new owner of the used car won't be able to get a title from the state -- and, legally, won't be able to drive the vehicle.A 2007 state law authorized a $5-million fund to reimburse victims of unpaid car liens, as well as license and registration fees paid but never forwarded to the state.Most franchised new-car dealers that go out of business don't have this problem. But the Consumer Motor Vehicle Recovery Corp., the nonprofit agency that oversees the fund, is bracing for an influx of claims as dozens of Chrysler and GM dealerships close in California.The fund just got off the ground this year, and Ron Reiter and his fellow board members are scrambling to hire staff and administrators. That may create delays in clearing claims, Reiter said, and may also cause payments to be held up if the fund is depleted and has to be replenished. It's funded by assessments on car dealers.The agency doesn't have a website yet, but claims can be filed by filling out and mailing a form on the Department of Motor Vehicles’ website.Vehicle repair history: Failing to perform recommended service can invalidate a warranty -- and lacking the records to prove the services were performed can have the same result.Maintenance records should be transferred when a dealership closes, but don't count on it. Car owners who haven't kept their own vehicle repair records should get copies while their dealer's doors are still open, said Pat Goss of Carchex, a provider of consumer automotive services."Paperwork can easily fall through the cracks," Goss said. "Even one item missing or one page corrupted could be serious trouble in trying to prove a warranty claim in the future."Financing: Financing arrangements should not be affected by the dealer closings.Sales perks: If a dealer promised a special incentive -- such as a year's worth of free car washes -- and then closed its doors before fulfilling the bargain, other dealers aren't obligated to provide the service.Buying a new car from a dealer that's going out of business: Because Chrysler and GM have pledged to stand behind their warranties, it could be a good time to hunt for bargains as dealers try to unload inventory. The vehicle can be taken to another dealer for warranty repairs if necessary.But experts note that prices already have been slashed to the bone to cope with the current sales slump, so some dealers may be unwilling to cut prices as much as some buyers expect."You should be able to get a good car at a damn good price," Reed of Edmunds.com said. "But you can't just pick a number out of a hat and expect them to take it."In addition, with sticker prices already low, buyers need to be wary of aggressive attempts to get them to buy pricey add-ons, such as extended warranties or fabric protection, he said. And with so much unsold inventory sitting on dealer lots, buyers need to make sure that the car they think is a 2009 model isn't actually a leftover 2008, Reed said.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-consumer-dealers15-2009may15,0,7204536.story
GM and Chrysler have both pledged to stand behind their warranties.But consumers still could face a long drive to the nearest authorized dealer. And customers who have a long-standing relationship with a particular customer service manager may find themselves at the mercy of one who is less attuned to their interests, notes Philip Reed, senior consumer advice editor at auto website Edmunds.com.Warranty complaints should be directed to the manufacturer or the state New Motor Vehicle Board.Extended service agreements: These go by many names, often vehicle service contracts or extended warranties, but the bottom line is generally the same: For an additional charge, the contract pays if certain things go wrong with the vehicle for a set period of time -- usually after the manufacturer's warranty runs out.These contracts typically are backed by a third party -- known as a vehicle service contract provider -- or by the manufacturer. If backed by Chrysler, the automaker said, its other dealers will honor the contract. If backed by a contract provider, Chrysler said, the vehicle owner should check the contract for information on where to go for repairs.California law requires that such contracts include an insurance policy. If problems arise over the contract, car owners should contact the insurer. Written complaints also can be sent to the state Department of Insurance.Unpaid liens on trade-ins: When a car buyer trades in a vehicle with an outstanding loan balance, the dealer is supposed to pay off the loan as part of the transaction. But as dealerships have closed during the recent collapse in auto sales, many of them didn't pay off the loans.In these cases, consumers are still liable for the original loan and can end up with two monthly payments -- one on the car just bought and a second on the car traded in. And if the trade-in vehicle is resold before the loan is paid off, the new owner of the used car won't be able to get a title from the state -- and, legally, won't be able to drive the vehicle.A 2007 state law authorized a $5-million fund to reimburse victims of unpaid car liens, as well as license and registration fees paid but never forwarded to the state.Most franchised new-car dealers that go out of business don't have this problem. But the Consumer Motor Vehicle Recovery Corp., the nonprofit agency that oversees the fund, is bracing for an influx of claims as dozens of Chrysler and GM dealerships close in California.The fund just got off the ground this year, and Ron Reiter and his fellow board members are scrambling to hire staff and administrators. That may create delays in clearing claims, Reiter said, and may also cause payments to be held up if the fund is depleted and has to be replenished. It's funded by assessments on car dealers.The agency doesn't have a website yet, but claims can be filed by filling out and mailing a form on the Department of Motor Vehicles’ website.Vehicle repair history: Failing to perform recommended service can invalidate a warranty -- and lacking the records to prove the services were performed can have the same result.Maintenance records should be transferred when a dealership closes, but don't count on it. Car owners who haven't kept their own vehicle repair records should get copies while their dealer's doors are still open, said Pat Goss of Carchex, a provider of consumer automotive services."Paperwork can easily fall through the cracks," Goss said. "Even one item missing or one page corrupted could be serious trouble in trying to prove a warranty claim in the future."Financing: Financing arrangements should not be affected by the dealer closings.Sales perks: If a dealer promised a special incentive -- such as a year's worth of free car washes -- and then closed its doors before fulfilling the bargain, other dealers aren't obligated to provide the service.Buying a new car from a dealer that's going out of business: Because Chrysler and GM have pledged to stand behind their warranties, it could be a good time to hunt for bargains as dealers try to unload inventory. The vehicle can be taken to another dealer for warranty repairs if necessary.But experts note that prices already have been slashed to the bone to cope with the current sales slump, so some dealers may be unwilling to cut prices as much as some buyers expect."You should be able to get a good car at a damn good price," Reed of Edmunds.com said. "But you can't just pick a number out of a hat and expect them to take it."In addition, with sticker prices already low, buyers need to be wary of aggressive attempts to get them to buy pricey add-ons, such as extended warranties or fabric protection, he said. And with so much unsold inventory sitting on dealer lots, buyers need to make sure that the car they think is a 2009 model isn't actually a leftover 2008, Reed said.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-consumer-dealers15-2009may15,0,7204536.story
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
UPDATE 3-Intel sees order and margin improvement, shares up
CEO: Q2 orders, billing patterns better than expected
* CEO: Q2 depends on June but 'so far, so good'
* Shares up 2.8 pct to $15.64 in extended trading (Adds details on gross margins, new products, analyst comment)
By Clare Baldwin and Alexei Oreskovic
SANTA CLARA, California, May 12 (Reuters) - Intel Corp's (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) orders and billing patterns so far in the second quarter have been slightly better than expected, the chief executive of the world's largest chip maker said on Tuesday.
Paul Otellini told investors second-quarter sales depend on how they fare in June but "so far, so good" -- in remarks that sent Intel's shares up as much as 4 percent in extended trading.
"We are halfway through Q2," he said. "In terms of our order pattern and our billing pattern, it's a little better than expected."
Intel, which controls 80 percent of the microprocessor market, is seen as a bellwether for the personal computer and technology industry. But it has struggled in the economic downturn, shutting plants and trimming 1,400 jobs since the fourth quarter.
Intel executives also said on Tuesday gross profit margins should return to "normal" levels, which it defined as between 50 percent and 60 percent, in the next several quarters.
Margins for the Atom chips used in a new generation of low-priced netbook computers, will be above 50 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, the company said.
In the first quarter, Intel's overall gross margin dipped to 45.6 percent, from 53.1 percent in the fourth quarter, and investors have been worried the popularity of low-cost Atom-based notebooks could squeeze the company's profit margins.
Doug Freedman, an analyst with Broadpoint AmTech, said the details on margin expectations were a relief to investors.
Otellini would not comment on the pending European Union antitrust investigation, which is expected to issue a ruling against Intel on Wednesday. [ID:nLA487575]
"On the EU rumors, they're just that, rumors," Otellini said in response to a question.
"When they are anything but a rumor, I can assure you we will comment."
Last month, Otellini said the worst was over for the battered tech sector as Intel reported its first-quarter earnings, but its shares slid as executives said economic uncertainty prevented them from giving a detailed outlook.
Otellini said on Tuesday Intel should end the year with around 78,000 employees, down about 25 percent from a peak of 103,000 in 2006.
Intel has said it expects second-quarter revenue to be flat with the $7.1 billion reported in the first quarter. But some analysts said the outlook was conservative, and Reuters Estimates showed analysts expecting a slight increase in each quarter for a year-end total of $30.3 billion.
But that would still be more than $7 billion less than last year's revenue, with earnings per share seen falling more than 40 percent to 53 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Shares in the Santa Clara, California-based Intel rose to $15.64 in extended trading, up 2.8 percent from their Nasdaq close of $15.21.
UTILISATION RATES
Analysts say Intel's biggest concern is filling its factories. About 6 percentage points of the gross margin drop that Intel experienced in the first quarter came from factory under-utilization charges, Intel has said.
But research from iSuppli last week showed demand for portable phones and computers may cause factories to run closer to capacity. Chip plants, which ran at less than half their capacity in the first quarter of 2009, should operate at three-quarter capacity by the fourth quarter, iSuppli said.
Intel's finance chief said on Tuesday factory utilization hit an all-time low of 40 percent in the first quarter, but should return to normal levels in the second half of the year.
Intel said corporate demand for PCs remains weak, but consumer demand is holding up, and executives said they expected a "seasonal" second half of the year.
Sales chief Sean Maloney said a new generation of processors designed for ultra-thin notebook PCs, and the upcoming release of the Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Windows 7 operating system, would boost demand for new PCs.
Intel did not talk much about its forthcoming graphics chip, dubbed Larabee, though Otellini said the product will "not ship for sale to an end user this year." (Reporting by Clare Baldwin and Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Steve Orlofsky, Richard Chang)
* CEO: Q2 depends on June but 'so far, so good'
* Shares up 2.8 pct to $15.64 in extended trading (Adds details on gross margins, new products, analyst comment)
By Clare Baldwin and Alexei Oreskovic
SANTA CLARA, California, May 12 (Reuters) - Intel Corp's (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) orders and billing patterns so far in the second quarter have been slightly better than expected, the chief executive of the world's largest chip maker said on Tuesday.
Paul Otellini told investors second-quarter sales depend on how they fare in June but "so far, so good" -- in remarks that sent Intel's shares up as much as 4 percent in extended trading.
"We are halfway through Q2," he said. "In terms of our order pattern and our billing pattern, it's a little better than expected."
Intel, which controls 80 percent of the microprocessor market, is seen as a bellwether for the personal computer and technology industry. But it has struggled in the economic downturn, shutting plants and trimming 1,400 jobs since the fourth quarter.
Intel executives also said on Tuesday gross profit margins should return to "normal" levels, which it defined as between 50 percent and 60 percent, in the next several quarters.
Margins for the Atom chips used in a new generation of low-priced netbook computers, will be above 50 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, the company said.
In the first quarter, Intel's overall gross margin dipped to 45.6 percent, from 53.1 percent in the fourth quarter, and investors have been worried the popularity of low-cost Atom-based notebooks could squeeze the company's profit margins.
Doug Freedman, an analyst with Broadpoint AmTech, said the details on margin expectations were a relief to investors.
Otellini would not comment on the pending European Union antitrust investigation, which is expected to issue a ruling against Intel on Wednesday. [ID:nLA487575]
"On the EU rumors, they're just that, rumors," Otellini said in response to a question.
"When they are anything but a rumor, I can assure you we will comment."
Last month, Otellini said the worst was over for the battered tech sector as Intel reported its first-quarter earnings, but its shares slid as executives said economic uncertainty prevented them from giving a detailed outlook.
Otellini said on Tuesday Intel should end the year with around 78,000 employees, down about 25 percent from a peak of 103,000 in 2006.
Intel has said it expects second-quarter revenue to be flat with the $7.1 billion reported in the first quarter. But some analysts said the outlook was conservative, and Reuters Estimates showed analysts expecting a slight increase in each quarter for a year-end total of $30.3 billion.
But that would still be more than $7 billion less than last year's revenue, with earnings per share seen falling more than 40 percent to 53 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Shares in the Santa Clara, California-based Intel rose to $15.64 in extended trading, up 2.8 percent from their Nasdaq close of $15.21.
UTILISATION RATES
Analysts say Intel's biggest concern is filling its factories. About 6 percentage points of the gross margin drop that Intel experienced in the first quarter came from factory under-utilization charges, Intel has said.
But research from iSuppli last week showed demand for portable phones and computers may cause factories to run closer to capacity. Chip plants, which ran at less than half their capacity in the first quarter of 2009, should operate at three-quarter capacity by the fourth quarter, iSuppli said.
Intel's finance chief said on Tuesday factory utilization hit an all-time low of 40 percent in the first quarter, but should return to normal levels in the second half of the year.
Intel said corporate demand for PCs remains weak, but consumer demand is holding up, and executives said they expected a "seasonal" second half of the year.
Sales chief Sean Maloney said a new generation of processors designed for ultra-thin notebook PCs, and the upcoming release of the Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Windows 7 operating system, would boost demand for new PCs.
Intel did not talk much about its forthcoming graphics chip, dubbed Larabee, though Otellini said the product will "not ship for sale to an end user this year." (Reporting by Clare Baldwin and Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Steve Orlofsky, Richard Chang)
'Global Warming' No Longer Part of President Obama's Agenda?
This is a rush transcript from "Glenn Beck," May 11, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
GLENN BECK, HOST: So I'm a complete — I mean, you might have noticed this — I am complete and total rookie at this whole TV thing. And I went down to the White House Correspondents' Dinner Saturday I couldn't — I felt like I had to shower afterwards. I've got get clean. I just can't get clean.
Anyway, you know, it made me think over the weekend — gosh, you know, the president has made all kinds of promises. And they have come true, almost every single one of them — hope and change. Yes. Watch this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I don't think that engaging in constant partisan bickering solves our problems.
OBAMA: We're up against decades of bitter partisanship.
OBAMA: Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECK: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WANDA SYKES, COMEDIAN: I think maybe Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker but he was so strung out on OxyContin he missed his flight.
SYKES: "I hope the country fails" — I hope his kidneys fail, how about that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECK: I have to tell you, you know, there is one thing to say something on television or whatever — I mean, that's just what comedians do. I have to tell you, sitting in the room with the president of the United States — I mean, I didn't — I told you last week I would wear these shoes, you know, these ones — and I didn't. And the reason I didn't — I could blame it on my wife and my wife said, "You're not wearing those shoes."
Video: Watch Beck's interview
The reason why I didn't is because he is the president of the United States. And there is some kind of decorum that happens.
The things that even he said and Wanda Sykes said might be funny in some scenarios — not that. It kind of sounded like bitter partisanship to me.
But there is one thing that is changing and that is global warming. We may see the end of global warming, you know. I mean, not global warming is not going to end, there's still going — but the phrase "global warming" is.
President Obama's Council on Environmental Quality is reportedly meeting with a marketing group today, a group that says phrases like "global warming" and "cap and trade" are just not effective. Change the language. Don't actually change anything. Just say you're going to change things. Those words are too politicized. They conjure up images of Al Gore.
Last week we talked about the Republican listening tour and I told you we are being focus grouped to death. Stop. Both parties, stop it. Just say what you mean and mean what you say. Well, now the L.A. Times reports the pollster, the Mellon Group, recently shared a survey with the White House that says people are interested in curbing global warming if it creates jobs.
Sound familiar?
Do you remember this from the election:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: If I'm president, I will invest $15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy. We will create 5 million new clean energy jobs over the next decade —
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Jobs that pay well. Jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced. We're going to open up those closed factories, those factories that used to make steel — they are going to make wind turbines. Auto factories — they're going to make solar panels.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECK: Solar panels that are poisoning people now in China and wind turbines — oh, my gosh — wind turbines sold by General Electric — weird.
Anyway, global warming is not the only change Washington — has become a war of words now. All this week, we are doing an Inconvenient Segment, talking about real solutions to some of the world's biggest problems from an inconvenient book, now available in paperback.
I have to tell you, political correctness could be the biggest problem this country is facing, because we are not talking to each other anymore and actually speaking frankly. And that's what needs to happen. For more answers on the real solution, get the book.
But for now, we have Andrew Breitbart. He is the publisher of Big Hollywood and a columnist with The Washington Times.
Andrew, I can't take the changing of the language anymore. This is craziness.
ANDREW BREITBART, COLUMNIST, THE WASHINGTON TIMES: Well, I'm so glad that you are noticing that this is the big issue of the Obama administration. Obama is the graduate of the George Lakoff School of Word Maneuvering — he's the professor from Berkeley.
And he is just like Frank Luntz, and God bless Frank Luntz. He's a friend of mine, but I think that the American people, at a time of tumult, of economic crisis, want straight language from people and the propaganda that comes from the administration and is pushed off by MSNBC, CNN, The New York Times before we even have a lexicon of what these words mean. They're just mind numbing.
BECK: OK. Here is the real problem as I see — it's causing us not to deal with actual issues. You want to talk about global warming? Great, let's talk about global warming. But now, they're not. Now, because we know that's bull crap — now we're going into creating new clean — not green — clean jobs, which has that nice fuzzy sound to it, but isn't the same issue. We're no longer even talking about the same issue. And there is another thing. Have you read "Animal Spirits" yet?
BREITBART: I'm reading it right now. Books on tape. Right in my ear.
BECK: Can you — I mean, we'll have the authors of "Animal Spirits" on the program later on this week. When you are listening to it or reading it, Andrew, are you saying, "Oh, my gosh. I see exactly what they're doing right now"?
BREITBART: Well, they can only get away with it if the media lets them get away with it. And that's the huge problem — is that at the same time that they're changing language and they're playing off of our fear, the mainstream media is letting them get along with it. And for a very brief period —
BECK: Go ahead. Go ahead. I don't mean to interrupt.
BREITBART: No. I mean, you just saw — you saw that. You played the segment with Wanda Sykes. Who dictated that Rush Limbaugh have a target on his head? But Rush Limbaugh — the first week of this administration, these people — when Obama says jump, the media says, "How high?"
And they have targeted the people who would question this language and say that we're enemies of the state. So while they're creating euphemisms to make our real enemies in the world — like terrorists— seem like they're mollified, decent people, they're isolating ex-vets, Rush Limbaugh and elevating the language. It is an anti-euphemism. They're making —
BECK: How long does this last, Andrew? I mean, at some point, you run out of words. I mean, look, global warming is global warming. I mean, it could — a wheel is a wheel because we call it a wheel. You can call it a horn, but it eventually becomes a wheel.
So is a lie is a lie is a lie.
At what point do we go, "Wait a minute. This is — you've changed this word. It's the same meaning from like three different things. You just keep changing the word."
BECK: Well, thank you for what you are doing, because from the word "go," it has been political correctness. And I can't even talk about the stimulus and my problems with it, because the language is framed by people who have changed words.
BECK: Yes.
BREITBART: And the average person at a cocktail party doesn't even know what TARP is or knows what stimulus is versus taxation or investment being taxation. It will probably be six months and all of the spending out before people actually understand the issues that were just played out.
BECK: Yes. OK, Andrew, thank you so much. I appreciate it. We will talk again.
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