Don't Leave Two Tech Giants for Dead

This column was originally published on RealMoney on Oct. 31 at 12:00 p.m. EDT. It's being republished as a bonus for TheStreet.com readers.

The prospects for Intel(INTC Quote) and Microsoft(MSFT Quote) -- as stocks, mind you -- has never been lower and less top-of-mind. That's my take when I canvas the Street and ask people what they think of these two stocks.

Intel is perceived as a hopeless and poorly managed loser that has let AMD(AMD Quote) get the better of it. The fact that it reports 8 times a year and gives guidance each time has led people to believe that it has become a stock that no one will ever get an edge on, so who cares?

Microsoft is worse. Here's a company that is so consistent, it's viewed as being un-ownable. It's viewed as a piggy bank for Bill Gates, who seems to sell no matter what, making the stock an endless printing press that lacks a government bond's upside. ...