Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) has made what many will consider a strange move by acquiring Wind River Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: WIND). But there is more to this than meets the eye and it will give Intel higher sales with high margins.

The processing giant will acquire Wind River in an all-cash buyout valued at $11.50 per share. This comes to $884 million. There is already some hope here for a higher purchase price.

Embedded systems and mobile devices are essentially new growth avenues for Intel, even if you include a recent announcement of a memorandum of understanding between Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TSM) for systems on a chip.

While most of the world is hoping to see oil dependence decrease over the next couple of decades, Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) has taken the position that alternative fuels will play only a small role in energy consumption through the year 2030.

The company announced today that it is estimating that fossil fuels will continue to dominate the world's energy supply, and believe that 80% of energy demand will come from fossil fuels in 2030. Wind and solar power is expected to increase sharply, but, according to chairman and production director of Exxon Mobil International Ltd., Robert C. Olsen, this growth will only lift the demand up to around 1%.

If you read enough about oil, you are bound to have encountered the theory that the world is rapidly running out of fossil fuels. Exxon looks to debunk that theory, stating that there are 3 trillion barrels of conventional, recoverable oil across the globe, three times as much as the 1 trillion barrels that have been produced over the past 100 years. Of course... we are using a great deal more of the precious crude now than we were 100 years ago!

In another part of his statement, Olsen did reiterate Exxon's newly taken stance that global warming has been taking place, and that fossil fuel burning has been a contributing factor in the rise of global temperatures. A good sign from world's biggest oil company that up until recently was one of the biggest opponents to the argument that fossil fuels contributed to global warming.

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last two years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer. DISCLOSURE: Mr. Fowlkes owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that include holdings in XOM.

The next company in my ongoing series of the top 25 stocks for the NEXT 25 years is Wind River Systems (NASDAQ: WIND). Wind river is headquartered in Alameda, California, and has a market capitalization of $925 million. Wind River Systems is a technology company that virtually touches our daily lives, and yet 99% of us have no clue what Wind River does or how it affects us!

Wind River offers a suite of technical products, primarily software based, that allow software developers and electrical engineers to laser-beam focus the functionality of a semi-conductor chip. Wind's tools are employed to optimize the functionality and the speed of a device. So, in English what does all this mean? Well, for example,the air-bags in an automobile serve a singular, powerful function -- deploying in the event of an accident. Wind River Systems product suite for the automotive industry facilitates the semi-conductor chip that governs the air-bag's "brain center." Does the force or the angle of the impact merit deployment of the air-bag? The decision by the embedded chip is figured out in miliseconds. Wind River's software developed for the chip enables that specific functionality in an instant. It's a single purpose, real-time operating system designed specifically for that application. There, easy right?

Wind River sells its suite of products to the avionics industry, automotive, digital imaging manufacturers, internet router makers, medical device companies, mobile and handset makers. Wind River has established strategic relationships and partnerships with IBM, Intel, Texas Instruments, Motorola, Toshiba MIPS, and many more. Wind's suite of software development, debugging, and testing products are the industry standard for reliability and accuracy. Wind River sells its products worldwide, employing a direct sales and technical force. The complexity of customer projects requires Wind River to be available for training and complex technical support.

Please pardon me while I get a bit whimsical here. I get a prose bug from time to time. You must forgive me if this is light duty reading for such a well read crowd but I'm just having fun!
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If I had bet upon the game and chance did let me win, let's say my take was twenty grand and now let us begin. I'd take ten grand right off the top and invest in GE (General Electric Company (NYSE:GE)). A stalwart and diverse keystone is paramount to me.

I'd next place 4k in the hands of Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD) for care. It's hard to take a loss, my friend, in sexy underwear. And candles bright and fragrances and things the ladies like, assure me that our LTD is on an upward hike.

Two grand I'd sure send Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.'s (NYSE:WMT) way, though kicked around a lot. I just can't seem to shake the truth they'd be a safer spot.