Personally, I don't see a problem with this. Of course Intel is here to make money. What they are doing with this idea is completely legal. Most of the people commenting on this article aren't going to buy these chips anyway, so I pose a question to all of them... what's the big deal?
The idea for these upgrade cards is not "lets suck as much money out of our customers as possible"... well, that is certainly part of it, but a company that doesn't think that way usually isn't in business long. The idea is, "lets target the specific segment of our customers who don't know anything about computer hardware, and give them an easier option to upgrade their processor without ever having to open open their PC". The people falling into this category are the older generations, and the younger people who have no interest in learning about their computers. These people simply want a tool to use to do a certain job, and then they go do something else. The majority of the posters here on Tom's Hardware are much more technically savvy than the average computer user.
All of the people whining on this thread about how the evil Intel is intentionally retarding their products and then telling their customers to give them more money for more performance are at the very least very uninformed, as others have already said. This is actually a clever idea from Intel on how to make it easier for their customers to "upgrade" their processors without having to void their warranty by opening their computers up. With that idea comes the opportunity for more profit.
Intel is a very large company, and as far as large companies go, they aren't going to give you something without wanting something in return (i.e. money). Again, companies that give away something for nothing - when it's not used as a marketing tool - usually don't stay in business too long.
That all being said, I should point out that I am not employed by, or affiliated in any way with Intel. For those viewing this on the forum, the Core logo from Intel in my avatar is simply me saying I like the company.
Now then, can we get back to having a civilized discussion? If not, the comments thread for this article will be closed.