Re: How many times?
Amazon is trying to monetize every last pixel out of their website. Literally almost everything they're about is selling stuff.
Intel's website has a broader purpose - information, developers, OEMs, products, support. It is clear that there are various things they want to improve about their site and doubtless some of those involve measuring who is clicking on feature stories, promotions etc. It is also clear that it is in everyone's interest to make it easy to navigate and find information on their site for people who visit with a purpose. The same goes for MANY companies.
So it's kind of absurd to suggest it's never about user experience. Of course it is. And even if we're talking about the Amazon's of the world I'm sure everyone has been to a site where they've added something to a basket but something has screwed up and they've given up. e.g. the site forgot their order, or forced them to create an account to order, or dragged them through too many pages, or whatever. Analytics can help there. The site gets a sale and the customer isn't annoyed. It's not all either/or.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
