Each of the non-employee directors qualifies as "independent" in accordance with the published listing requirements of NASDAQ: Ambassador Barshefsky, Ms. Decker, Mr. Donahoe, Mr. Hundt, Dr. Plummer, Mr. Pottruck, Dr. Shaw, Mr. Thornton, Mr. Yeary, and Dr. Yoffie. Because Mr. Otellini is employed by Intel, he does not qualify as independent.

The NASDAQ rules have objective tests and a subjective test for determining who is an "independent director." Under the objective tests, a director cannot be considered independent if he or she:

• is an employee of the company; or
• is a partner in, or an executive officer of, an entity to which the company made, or from which the company received, payments in the current or any of the past three fiscal years that exceed 5% of the recipient's consolidated gross revenue for that year.

The subjective test states that an independent director must be a person who lacks a relationship that, in the opinion of the Board, would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. The Board has not established categorical standards or guidelines to make these subjective determinations, but considers all relevant facts and circumstances.

In addition to the Board-level standards for director independence, the directors who serve on the Audit Committee each satisfy standards established by the SEC providing that to qualify as "independent" for the purposes of membership on that committee, members of audit committees may not accept directly or indirectly any consulting, advisory, or other compensatory fee from the company other than their director compensation.