Intel also released a previously unannounced processor, the 3.20 GHz Pentium 4 processor Extreme Edition, which was designed for gaming desktops.
At a time when the technology sector is gearing up for an aggressive recovery from the ongoing slump by developing innovative and exciting products, Intel has set its sights beyond its business and enterprise niches by introducing digital devices and platforms for the home or consumer electronic markets.
Previewed during the conference, which was attended by some 4,000 delegates and developers, were Gateway’s upcoming LCD Media Center, an all-in-one digital entertainment device.
The LCD Media Center is powered by an Intel Pentium 4 processor with HT Technology2, which allows consumers to simultaneously run multiple programs on a PC smoothly and efficiently.
With the Media Center, consumers can record their favorite TV shows in the background while playing a 3D game in the foreground. This is made possible by the Hyper-Threading capabilities of Pentium 4 chips.
Also introduced was the Intel815 Digital Set Top Box Reference Design, a low-cost solution delivering video-on-demand over a broadband connection. One scenario for this is the instantaneous and secure delivery of content such as videos or first-run movies directly to someone’s TV set via secure broadband access.
The design can also be utilized for applications such as networked digital media recorders and personal video recorders using hard drives as storage.
Intel also showcased next-generation digital media adapters (DMAs), devices that wirelessly transfer personal digital video, photos and music from a PC to a TV set or a stereo. The DMAs include iCube’s Play@TV and Lenovo’s Media Link.
Also launched was the Intel Pentium 4 processor Extreme Edition 3.20 GHz which supports Hyper-Threading Technology1, with an additional two megabytes of cache. This new processor will be targeted at high-end gamers and computing power users.
"The addition of more than 76,000 wireless networking cards a day to the world’s computing infrastructure makes it clear that convergence is here to stay. And this isn’t just happening in the PC area. We’re estimating that by 2010, there will be more than 2.5 billion wireless handheld devices capable of providing communication functions combined with the processing power of today’s advanced PCs," he said.
While dramatic inroads were being made in the wireless connectivity area, Otellini said a lot of development has gone into security and encryption protocols that would ensure safer Wi-Fi communications standards in the future.
Aside from product- and application-based technologies, the Intel Developer Forum also highlighted future technologies that are two to three years away from being launched.
A technology codenamed "Vanderpool" was designed to enable multiple, independent software environments in a single PC – similar to the way mainframe class systems operate.
Vanderpool improves the end-user experience by increasing system reliability, flexibility and responsiveness, and making the recovery from computer crashes or sudden power outages faster.
During a demo, a Vanderpool-enabled PC prototype was unplugged and then restarted within seconds without needing to go through the long boot process.
In the security area, Intel’s LaGrande technology was designed to be a future enhancement to Intel processors, chipsets and platforms which, when combined with optimized software, would be protected against software-based attacks on computer systems, a much-needed reinforcement in this era of interminable server hacking episodes and the proliferation of worms and viruses.
By 2011, the company plans to develop semiconductors with circuitry 22-nm (nanometers) wide, with transistors smaller than a single DNA molecule. Otellini made the first public presentation of an Intel silicon wafer built on the next generation 65-nm manufacturing process.
"Intel is committed to bring to market technologies that end-users want and can use today," he said. "We will offer technologies such as Hyper-Threading for performance, enhanced wireless to enable true mobile computing, LaGrande for security, Vanderpool to improve reliability, flexibility and the overall computing experience, along with our core silicon expertise, which underpins our ability to enable these and other key capabilities."
The IDF is the technology industry’s premier event for hardware and software developers. Held worldwide throughout the year, it brings together key industry players to discuss cutting-edge technologies and products for PC, server, communications equipment and handheld clients.