It's been frustrating as a gamer to have seen such little innovation from Intel the last few years. Then the chip shortage started happening, and I'm seeing the whole world become dependent on 3rd party fabs in parts of the world that have become security concerns, I'm seeing the car market fluctuate in ways it never has, delays of new product releases, cuts in production, and losses of jobs across the entire economy. This whole situation has gotten way out of hand, and my humble little PC concerns are the least of the global problem now.
It may seem unfair to lay the entire chip shortage and corresponding market disruption, the massive inflation and booming of the scalper market, squarely on Intel's shoulder. Yet, had they had enough foresight (or atleast as much as the Asian fabs did), and took time to stop spending their executive bonuses, they should have seen this rabid need for silicon coming. And their responsibility wasn't just to fill their greedy corporate pockets, but provide a secure, reliable, and plentiful North American source for silicon.
So this contract, and whatever flawed attempts Intel makes to catch up, are both pitiful and also absolutely necessary. I have been taking every verbal or written shot I could at Intel the last few years. But for the sake of economic stability and security we should all be rooting for their fabs.