As I sat down in the large auditorium where the IDF keynotes are presented, surrounded by hundreds of people who make technology magic happen and those who support them, my first thought was that I really need a netbook. I lugged my MacBook Pro out of its giant bag, and watched others nimbly balancing their netbooks and tablets on their knees and armrests. I realized that a small form factor device is an essential tool for blogging at a conference, particularly the energy-efficient devices that Intel partners are building and improving upon using the Atom processor. Renee James reinforced this in her talk, referring to these as the “snack and go” devices. Mmmm tasty Web snacks.
IDF Beijing kicked off with two engaging keynote talks delivered to a large crowd, nearly filling the auditorium to capacity. Flashes filled the air as the entertainment started, with performers flipping lighted objects back and forth across the stage to high-energy music.
After the festive start, Ian Yang, President of Intel China, introduced David (Dadi) Perlmutter, EVP of the Intel Architecture Group, and Renee James, SVP of GM Software and Services Group. Renee, as always, was the voice of the developer and innovator, while Dadi took the business-leader track, with a talk heavy on stats and ROI.
Cloud computing and the data centers that support it were hot topics of Dadi’s talk, and at the heart of the conversation was the need to create a common ecosystem built on a common architecture–with uncommon performance. In March 2010, the amount of data transferred via the Internet was 21 exabytes (the one with eight zeros), and with less than half of the world’s population participating, we must continue to balance and improve performance, power, efficiency, and thermal issues in each successive generation of devices. It’s like applying Moore’s Law to more than just processor speed.
Dadi reminded us that Atom is not a single product–it is microprocessor microarchitecture, with the CPU and segment-specific IPs building whatever is needed at the right performance point using the right amount of power. It’s also the fastest growing category of processor in the history of Intel, with 45 million units sold since its release in 2008.
The demonstrations are a big part of what makes the keynotes so engaging. I was absolutely impressed by the demonstration on medical image processing that will help improve medical care by allowing doctors to evaluate information about their patients faster than ever. There are even bedside touch screens to keep patients informed, connected, and entertained while they are in the hospital.
One of my favorite Intel projects, the classmate PC, has a new member of the family–a convertible classmate PC with a netbook form factor. It’s loaded with eLearning applications, has a touch screen and an integrated camera, and can also be converted into a slate. Dadi also plugged the iWorld eLearning program that has built over 200 eClassrooms, bringing technology and knowledge to kids who otherwise wouldn’t have access.
There is a huge push for power management and efficiency, which was illustrated by the Moorestown processor infrared displaying max power consumption vs. the gated power state displaying the lowest power state possible. Speed and power are not forgotten, and the demo during Renee’s talk showing collaborative gaming with high-resolution graphics was impressive enough to make me consider getting back into PC gaming–now that a laptop can run graphics-heavy games without a specialized graphics card.
The Atom CE4100 underlies new smart TV experiences, and the easy-to-use interface integrates a wide variety of video, Internet, and personal content in one device. The user interface has a video wall of DVR content, and the “channel wheel” presents live video thumbnails to navigate broadcast and Web TV. This is way beyond picture in picture (remember when that was cool?). We are really setting the standards that will hopefully make life easier for consumers. Interaction designers have a huge opportunity here.
The future vision, maybe three years away, was demonstrated with a mother and son who came on stage and engaged with a variety of devices from TV to mobile to kiosk. This tight integration of experiences in a very natural way was a primary focus for Renee. During the demonstrations, it was easy to forget that the cloud, and thus the data center, is at the center of these experiences. The cloud is growing by double digits in China. Cloud Builder is a program that helps companies fully utilize the client server model. Using the Data Center Manager with Note Manager, you can independently monitor servers on a rack. One example showed 20% higher rack density with the same power and cooling footprints.
Of course, MeeGo came up during Renee’s talk. Having a unified developer platform spawns efficiency, and helps developers make money, particularly with the million-dollar investment in the Atom Developer Program. AppUp is a model that allows developers to create a single community of Atom applications targeted to different devices, and is embedded in a variety of store environments. UI, form factors, and power management are variables, but having a code base that lets you port an application to a variety of devices is a huge benefit.
The big job here is bringing all of the elements together, and Intel has a number of partners who are helping to drive the technology forward, and who are devoted to seeing these integrations and enhancements come together to, as Renee put it, “make the future a reality today.”
