Intel is now all but waving the white flag. CEO Bob Swan recently spent almost an hour discussing an idea that not long ago would get him burned at the stake: outsourcing production for core products. “To the extent that we need to use somebody else’s process technology, we’ll be prepared to do that,” Swan told analysts on a conference call. “That gives us much more optionality and flexibility. So in the event there is a process slip, we can try something rather than make it all ourselves.”

This is the first sign of hope for them. Let TSMC and other specialized firms worry about fabbing the chips, they should only concern themselves with making better processors.