[bloomer]

The alternative would be a "gentleman's agreement"? An NDA would seem to be much more transparent with everyone understanding what was agreed to rather than something agreed upon over cigars and cognac. Refusing to sign NDAs as a matter of principal doesn't seem like a very mature way to conduct business.

[dsymonds]

It doesn't have to be a handshake and a nod. Things can still be clearly written down. But formal contracts with consequences take it up a notch. And this isn't about how you "conduct business"; that's a very business-oriented view of what's going on.

[cperciva]

To be clear, we do routinely operate on the basis of "gentlemen's agreements"... but Intel is a corporation full of lawyers, so I would be astonished if they were willing to work on that basis.