Intel Unveils Digg-like Clone. Why?

The folks at Intel do a lot right for us tech-loving folk. They offer more powerful chipsets with ever increasing efficiency, allowing us to enjoy our Web apps and high-def Web video with greater speed and for longer stretches of time each and every year. It’s really a pretty great arrangement, if you ask me. Though they don’t get much time in the limelight, their work is certainly very much appreciated.

That said, they’re capable of mistakes. Their latest involves, surprisingly enough, the development of a website.

The website in profile is called Cool Software (all little stale, would you agree?), and is a Digg-like “online community” created by the company for the purpose of sharing “information about new up-and-coming applications and (software) companies.” Hmm. Am I mistaken, or does Digg have such a category of its own?

Furthermore, if Digg does indeed have a place for such finds to be shared with the greater social-news-loving world, why would Intel opt to create a duplicate?

Beats me. Intel, a crucial piece of the silicon era for decades already, has specialized in hardware and hardware only for nearly its entire tenure. Why try to break the mold now? And more so, why do it with the debut of a Digg clone? Seems ridiculous, does it not?

Look, I’m sure their intentions were good, and hey, the company hasn’t dug itself any kind of hole with this project. The whole thing allegedly cost ‘em $40k to develop, and that’s chump change for the chipmaker. Less than chump change. It’s a mite atom in the company’s bucket of stones and boulders.

Nonetheless, it seems a complete waste of time, considering it’s bringing almost nothing inherently new to the table. If anything, the company should’ve just given Digg a decent infusion to have it expand on its own aggregator, put out a press release on the matter, have a post published on the Digg Blog, and be done with it. That would’ve been a far better use of the company’s cash, I think.

I’ll tell you this. I’ll be mighty shocked if this Cool Software site turns out to be a big hit. It’s got as much a chance of going huge as AMD does of subverting its dominant position in the chip world. That’s right. No chance. No chance at all.

Sorry, Intel. Had to say it.