I ran across this today, gave some hope for innovation in a bleak fiscal environment.

Intel chief: Recession can't halt innovation

There is a light at the end of the financial tunnel, Intel president and chief executive Paul Otellini said onstage at the Web 2.0 Summit on Thursday morning. "All the smart people I've talked to in this area suggest that the U.S. is in a two- to three-quarter recession," Otellini said, although he added that the current economic slowdown is "the deepest one I've seen in my lifetime" and predicted that morale may stay low for longer because unemployment may remain high even after growth has resumed. The point of his talk, however, was to focus on the innovation that will still be on the way regardless of how far the markets fall. "I like coming here," Otellini said of the Web 2.0 Summit. "It's a respite from...watching the stock market crash every day, and [a chance to] think about what the future is going to hold for us." Otellini showed off two projects that Intel is working on internally. One of them is a business-networking software product that Otellini said will make a big difference to how employees of large corporations socialize and network with one another, learn more about the company and collaborate on products.