As Intel shuts down IDF until the summer 2005 edition, having outlined its dual-core processor strategy, it would be a shame to leave one very odd but largely unreported event that took place during Craig Barrett’s keynote address.It happened when he called Burt Rutan, head of Rutan Aircraft Factory up on stage. Rutan’s SpaceShip One was the winner of the $10 million Ansari X prize for first commercial flight into space. Rutan made his pitch for taking chances to the audience filled with high tech hardware and software engineers and he complained about the lack of innovation in space exploration. “For the last 30 years we have been boring our kids with no progress,” Rutan said. Rutan also called pronounced NASA, “naysay.”It was odd to hear Rutan’s complaints about NASA’s lack of guts in taking chances when you know the downside is usually fatal. But the analogy with the high tech industry is perhaps more appropriate than Rutan realized. After all, innovation is not really rewarded in high tech either. Rutan’s host, Intel, was burned when it innovated on the first 64-bit processors and had to back track in the face of the threat from AMD.The truth is, business buyers are not risk takers. There is too much at stake, from their own career path to the vitality of the company they work for.It’s not a coincidence that when you travel to a town that attracts a lot of tourists. San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf for example, you’ll find ten stores sometimes all in a row, selling the same darn T-shirts. Despite Rutan’s complaints, he sees commercial service to outer space kicking off in less than five years. And when that happens, I’m sure the passengers won’t want to be told that they are taking a chance. -Ephraim Schwartz Technology Industry