Otellini spies the 'Halley's Comet of rumors'

Paul Otellini, the newly crowned CEO of Intel, has waded into renewed speculation that Apple Computer is considering dumping IBM as its Mac chip supplier in favor of Intel.

Speaking Tuesday at the Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad, Calif., Otellini said he could not confirm or deny a report in the Journal's "Heard on the Street" column that Apple was in talks with Intel about a possible switch.

But Otellini did note that reports of Apple's interest in Intel are not new. "This is the Halley's Comet of rumors...comes around every five years or so," he said.

For the record, Halley's Comet is due to visit Earth again in 2061, long enough for the speculation about Apple's favored chip vendor to surface many more times.