News Intel Announces $100 Million Academic Investment

Intel has announced a $100 million investment to create Intel Centres in US universities.

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/bits/2011/01/27/intel-announces-academic-investment/1

 

But what of the patents?

 

I imagine they routinely spend a great deal of money on research, as we all rely on our processors getting ever faster. I can't tell whether this is a particularly big deal, or whether it's just a case of a whole load of money being announced at once.

 

more money doesnt buy you specific new tech. but getting people motivated and somewhat funded to invent something (what they want to do) can be extremely rewarding for society (or it might lead to nothing - no guarantees)

imagine trying to pay a group of scientists in 1890 to go to their lab and invent the tech to capture your image, transmit it through the air, and then display it again. no way, but fund them to come up with something new in the field of electrics and optics and you'll get something back.

A significant unknown is what intel defines as "fields which we are interested in" how narrow is that? cant just be "physics"

 

the term "intellectual rights" comes to mind. No idea is your own!!!

 

...either that or they're hoping someone's got a great idea for a 16 core Atom processor they can nab