When Paul Otellini was named the CEO of Intel last year, he promised major changes.

As the first non-engineer to rise to the top at the chipmaker, he said he would push platforms, and communications, and low power, and change the corporate culture. He would also push more product internationally, and put consumer products (not just ingredients) under the Intel brand.

Whether he is moving rapidly enough remains an open question.

There are enormous claims of movement this week at CES, where Intel built a booth that would have made its former Comdex managers blush, and changed its slogan besides. But is Intel really leading? Or is it following?

• What's with this getting in bed with Microsoft on a Media PC? Don't they know those things don't sell? Microsoft does.
  
• Is there anything real in its new chip announcements, or is Intel just placing new labels on old merchandise, and old ways of doing things?
  
• Why is Intel continuing its campaign to pollute the developing world (this time Vietnam) rather than deal with the pollution problems caused by semiconductor manufacture?
  
• Notice a lack of cellular technology at the Intel booth?
  

Intel needs to be defining new platforms, based on families of chips. This week, all it's doing is the same-old same-old.

Oh, and word to the media.

Intel Inside wasn't Intel's logo. It was its "ingredient brand," under which payments were made to PC makers who included the logo on their advertising. Intel paid part of the PC industry's ad budget in order to get its name on the ads. That program is ending, to be replaced by a pure corporate ad campaign under the "Leap Ahead" tagline.

Now is when Intel should be coming forward with a unified vision. Otellini's speech should have gotten the headlines Gates got. Instead, it was second best. That's not good.

But we'll see. Jury's still out. Otellini has done some smart things, like bring Eric Kim over from Samsung as chief marketing officer. Intel is also a huge company. Much of the work Intel needs to do is in Washington, and in other world capitals, freeing up spectrum for Wi-Fi, WiMax, and other new communication technologies. It will take real innovation to bust that logjam. Maybe Otellini has it.

I hope so.