I have traveled to more than 30 countries over the past year, and everywhere I go, people recognize that to be successful going forward, they must have access to and be able to understand technology. Because of that—despite the negative impact that the global economic downturn had on our revenue in the fourth quarter of 2008—I remain optimistic about Intel's future.

Intel is part of a unique industry that gives people the ability to do more with less—an advantage that is particularly relevant in tight economic times. With our world-class engineering, design, and manufacturing capabilities, Intel leads the industry in advancing technology so we can deliver more and more computing power at lower cost over time.

Our current product portfolio and our roadmap of future products and technologies are perhaps the strongest in Intel's 40-year history— the result of our strategy to continually invest in innovation, even during economic downturns.

Our global presence and reputation as a technology innovator have earned us a unique role as a trusted advisor to industries and governments worldwide. We are at the forefront of broad efforts to apply technology to address huge challenges, such as lack of access to affordable healthcare and inadequate or non-existent educational opportunities.

The Magellan Initiative, launched by the Portuguese government in 2008, is an example of a holistic approach to improving lives through technology. Portugal aims to deliver 500,000 computers based on the low-cost, Intel-designed, and Intel-powered classmate PC to school children throughout the country. The program includes teacher training, high-speed Internet connectivity, and rich online content—in Portuguese—in math, science, history, language, and art. The program is also an economic driver for the country, as the PC assembly and servicing will be done in Portugal.

Intel is involved in numerous other technology initiatives, ranging from delivering modern medicine to rural parts of the world via PCs and WiMAX Internet access, to educating youth in Africa about HIV/AIDS prevention through an interactive computer activity, to helping Kenyan farmers use PCs as part of a project designed to combat crop disease.

I am retiring from my role as Intel's Chairman and member of its Board of Directors in May 2009. Jane Shaw, who joined the board in 1993, has been elected non-executive Chairman. I'm honored to have worked with the tens of thousands of dedicated employees at Intel over the last 35 years. Technology is just beginning to empower billions of people throughout the world for the first time, and I am confident that Intel will continue to play a leading role in that transformation.

Craig R. Barrett, Chairman of the Board