Intel sees green shoots of recovery

CHIPZILLA is telling the world plus dog that they need to invest their way out of the downturn over the next two years.

It says punters can more than make their money back if they invest in some nice new PC's, we guess ones with Intel inside.

According to the Financial Times, Intel is pushing a study by Wipro which claims that outfits investing in new PCs are expecting them to be more secure and cheaper to run. As a result, the PCs will pay for themselves with energy and other savings in a matter of months, as the story goes.

Rob Crooke, head of Intel's Business Client Group, told a press briefing that, while it was tough economically, those IT departments who can are continuing to refresh their hardware bases because they are worried about security and newer PCs can reduce their operational costs.

It seems that figures released by Mercury Reseach on microprocessors sold in the first quarter indicate that things are bottoming out for Intel and AMD. Unit sales fell 8.3 per cent on the fourth quarter and 9.1 per cent compared to a year ago, but this is better compared to an 18 per cent drop in the fourth quarter, so things seem to be looking up. µ