I couldn't help but recall Ruiz's comments again last week when I read about Intel's ongoing reorganization and layoffs, as it struggles to deal with sliding profits and loss of market share to AMD. Donald MacDonald, vice president of corporate brands and marketing, captured his company's corporate culture in remarks to the IDG News Service.

"We had become bloated. It's like middle-age spread," MacDonald said, patting his belly. "You don't know how it happens, but one day you look down and it's there." It's an interesting simile, considering that "middle-age spread" is a blessing that most of the world's population can only dream about.

Being fat and happy makes it easy to forget some things. Intel is boasting about its five-year, $1 billion initiative to promote the use of computers in developing countries, with a $400 laptop serving as the program's hallmark. It appears no one at Intel realizes that $400 is still far too unaffordable to do any real good.

Intel is a leader that's been doing a lot of following of late. But in this case, being a leader that follows isn't all that compelling.

Don Tennant is editor in chief of Computerworld. Contact him at don_tennant@computerworld.com.