Intel Sees Web Buckling, Invests in New Systems
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Intel Corp. (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Thursday outlined its vision of the Internet of the future, one in which millions of computer servers would analyze and direct network
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(InfoWorld) - When Intel looks to the next few years of computing, the dollar signs look a lot better in three dimensions, full motion, and high definition. The rise of what Intel calls the 3-D Web will transform the way people use the Internet with a far richer experience, exemplified today by Second Life but turning more realistic and being deployed in medicine and business, CTO Justin Rattner said in a last-day keynote address at theÂ Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco. The best news for the chip giant, however, is how much computing power all this will take. "This may be the killer app of killer apps," Rattner told reporters after they keynote. "As people demand a more immersive, a more realistic experience, they're just going to push the computing demands to unprecedented levels." The pressure on central and graphics processors has already soared as Internet use expands from traditional Web pages to applications like Google Maps, Google Earth, multiplayer online role-playing games, and Second Life. Going from surfing the traditional Web to traversing Second Life can increase CPU load by three times and graphics processing load by 20 times, he said. Servers need to work harder, too. A server that could support 2,500 concurrent players of the online game World of Warcraft, for example, could only support 160 Second Life participants, Rattner said. Rattner's keynote was colorful and entertaining for an IDF presentation, full of animation and simulations, but he outlined how much farther this richer experience has to go. For example, the kind of realism people expect from movies requires shadows and reflections that move with objects in a scene, he said. Daniel Pohl, a research scientist at Intel, demonstrated high-definition environments in the game Quake that included those elements and others. They demanded nearly all the processing power of a server with dual quad-core Intel x5365 chips. In medicine, doctors are aiming to allow surgery on virtual patients. With current technology, they can simulate cutting a rectangular patch of skin and opening it up in real time, but it would take far more processing power to do the same with a curved piece of skin or something like a cleft palate, according to Joseph Teran, a UCLA assistant professor who participated in the keynote. Other challenges for making the 3-D Web a reality include user interface and standardization, Rattner said. Tasks that take computer artists hours, such as creating shadows or reflections, need to be automated so that the average person can create user-generated content in an elaborate online world. Humans also need a better interface with the online world, Rattner said. He demonstrated the SpaceNavigator from Logitech's 3DConnexion division, which can be pushed and pulled to interact with a virtual environment, and the Novint Falcon, a three-dimensional game controller with force feedback. In addition, the mostly proprietary world of virtual worlds needs to embrace common standards so that, for example, avatars from one world can enter another, Rattner said.
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InfoWorld - Preaching mobility to an audience teeming with cell-phone and laptop users, Intel CEO Paul Otellini looked into the crystal ball and predicted that Internet search will approach users instead of users approaching search.
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Intel Corp. later this year will help server network interfaces take advantage of the major recent advances in data centers: multiprocessor systems, multicore processors and virtualization.
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The next several weeks could dictate whether significant changes are required to get the company back on track and well positioned against Intel.
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Intel Corp., which has led the charge in the gigahertz race, is expected to change its tune at this week&#39;s developer forum in San Francisco by focusing on improving chip performance by adding more cores to the microprocessor.
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The CEO of the world's largest chipmaker wants hardware developers thinking about graphics, low-power applications, and Intel's determination not to let AMD get the best of it again.
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Intel Corporation has touted what it says are significant changes that need to be made to the Internet&#39;s architecture to make it safer, more useful, reliable and accessible.
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Company will break its promise to deliver a speedier chip, shifts focus to dual-core designs. Intel has confirmed its near-term plans for its desktop processors before it reaches the multicore era.
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In a boost to the future of high-speed wireless Internet service, Intel Corp. said Monday it&#39;s putting its money and its technology behind a closely watched company that&#39;s trying to roll out the service around the globe.
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Beleaguered server firm is working on a series of higher-performance processors it hopes will get profits back on track.
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Intel Corp  said on  Tuesday it would be able to mass-produce computer processors  with features one-third smaller than the current cutting edge  within two years, placing it well at the front of the  semiconductor industry.
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InfoWorld - Later this year, Intel will help server network interfaces take advantage of the major recent advances in datacenters: multiprocessor systems, multicore processors, and virtualization.
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Intel Corp. will shift to a second-generation strained-silicon technique within its forthcoming 65-nanometer process technology, the company will announce on Monday.
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Intel's CEO predicts massive changes in the consumer electronics industry as the Internet becomes even more pervasive.
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This week, chip giant Intel is hosting its twice-a-year Intel Developer Forum, where PC hardware and software developers will hear the company&#39;s plans for future products.
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By MATTHEW FORDAHL    SAN JOSE, Calif.  -- In the latest change to its product lineup, Intel Corp...