Technology@Intel

WiMAX History in the Making

2008-05-07T11:44:00Z

If you haven’t heard the news yet, check out the press release that Clearwire and Sprint issued bright and early this morning (I was wide awake at 3 a.m. when the news hit). The two companies entered into an agreement to combine their WiMAX wireless broadband businesses to form a new wireless communications company to be named Clearwire. They also announced that Intel Capital, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Google and Bright House Networks invested a combined $3.2 billion in the new company.

Why is this history in the making?

]]> First, Intel Capital alone is investing $1 billion in the new Clearwire, making it the largest investment ever by Intel’s global investment organization, and its third investment in Clearwire (previous investments were made in 2004 and 2006).

Secondly and most importantly, this new company is going to focus on accelerating the deployment of the first nationwide mobile WiMAX network in the U.S. And the other companies making investments in the new Clearwire signal the growing, broad cross-industry support for mobile WiMAX. Check out Google’s blog about the news, too.

Hear all about the significance of the new Clearwire and WiMAX deployment in the U.S.and around the world straight from the mouth of Intel’s very own WiMAX guru — Intel VP Sriram Viswanathan — in this video interview.

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Voices Carry -- Soundbites and Photo Slideshow from IDF Shanghai

2008-04-09T02:17:14Z

http://www.podtech.net/home/5084/voices-of-shanghai-idf-2008

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World Exclusive: I got to play with the Lenovo and Aigo Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) at Intel Shanghai

2008-04-08T18:48:46Z

This entry was originally posted by Josh Bancroft on the Intel Software Network blogs.

There are only about 20 Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) existent in the world. Most of them were in Shanghai last week for the Intel Developer Forum (IDF). 10 of them were in the Mobility Software Enabling Lab at Intel Shanghai, where I got special access today to shoot photos and videos, as well as some hands on time to play, with the Lenovo Ideapad U8 MID and the Aigo MID. They also had some other devices around for comparison - an old prototype UMPC with a pivot screen, a Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium UMPC, and a Fujitsu Lifebook UMPC. And I threw my iPhone in a few of the photos for size/comparison’s sake.

]]> I’ll post a more detailed writeup of my impressions of the devices soon, as well as the video of the time I had with them (summary: the Lenovo Ideapad U8 looks and feels wonderful in my hands - I WANT one!). I spent several minutes on video with each device, examining the hardware and UI/software features. Right now, thought, it’s almost 1 AM, and I need to get up early to do a blogging training with the Intel Shanghai software guys. But I wanted to get these photos up and available as soon as possible.

Please post any comments or questions you have either in this post, or on the photo’s page on Flickr. I want to answer all of your questions, but I’m going to sleep for a few hours, and don’t want to miss any of them. Please be patient, and I promise I’ll answer all questions. :-)

The entire set of 33 photos is available in this photoset on Flickr. Feel free to browse through all of the photos (bonus photos: some shots of the Intel Shanghai sales offices, which occupy floors 22-24 of the ShanghaiMart tower). Click here to view as a slideshow, and you can see full size/resolution versions of every photo on Flickr by clicking “All Sizes” on the photo’s page.

And now, the photos! Here are some that I think turned out best - be sure to check out all 33 photos in the Flickr set!

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IDF Shanghai Photo Slideshow

2008-04-07T08:09:40Z

My Intel pal Bob Duffy shared the code for this IDF eyecandy photo collection created on Widgipedia.

]]> If anyone else has photos from IDF Shanghai, please add them to our “IntelIDF” Flickr Group, or upload them to the Intel Developer Group or IDF Page in Facebook.

If you haven’t seen them, here are some photos and one of several Shanghai video adventures from our own Josh Bancroft — this one shows his first test drive of an MID with the help our Intel Atom champion and new Mobility@Intel blogger Holly Bourne.

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VIDEO: Levitating Sights & Sounds from IDF Shanghai

2008-04-05T00:28:14Z

http://www.podtech.net/home/5072/idf-shanghai-sights-and-sounds

]]> Severed soundbites, chaos and colors of the host city’s culture, bustling streets, people enthralled and eager to grab hold of the day, then carry the best parts into tomorrow. We just keep zooming ahead to our next reality.

For me, this Intel Developer Forum sights and sounds video strikes a deeper heart string and awakens a sense of connectedness.

This is a springboard story that levitates seconds of the day and lets our imagination leap through them in slow motion. A few seemingly familiar flashes crack open my mind’s eye and trigger spontaneous “that’s it!” reactions.

These are the parts that lit me up:

Intel making us monkey kings — Pat Gelsinger’s analogy of an Intel chip being like the folkloric golden stick, empowering us to be big, small or do almost anything at all
The architecture for life — an chip is the genius that can help connect us to meaningful things in our lives
Unleashing the Internet and putting it in your pocket — well, now we can run with that!

If you like the sights and sounds stories as much as I do, then please

let me know how this one hits you
share a springboard story of your own
check out last year’s sights and sounds video from IDF 2007 in Bejing

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VIDEO: Show Me The New Reality

2008-04-04T23:28:28Z

http://www.podtech.net/home/5071/idf-shanghai-keynote-demos-showcase-mobility-innovation

]]> Typically, an Intel Developer Forum keynote is JAM packed with information. Sometimes too much information, but just grabbing what’s meaningful sends your mind whizzing ahead. The demos put words into action. They’re the show part of the show.

I went WOW! watching the “software unlocks the power of hardware” digital camera demo by Dr. Ren Ng, president and CEO of Refocus Imaging. His camera records the full light field then by “turning camera hardware into software” you can change the auto focus of a snapshot so that one, a few or all of the objects in a photo can be focal points!

Of course, many of us inside Intel love hearing: this can “bring the economics and power of Moore’s Law to the camera system.” See for yourself in the video and check out photos touched by the technology.

Other demos you’ll see in the video:

New netbook and mobile Internet Device (MID) designs
Dr. Mendel Rosenblum, co-founder and chief scientist at VMware demonstrates a flex migration across four generations of hardware
Classmate PC — the new, second generation featuring a 9-inch LCD screen, 6-cell battery, 512MB memory, a 30GB hard disk drive and a built-in webcam
Tukwila Itanium processor built with two billion transistors
Montevina — the next generation mobile platform that’s aiming to provide twice the 3D processing power of integrated solutions for laptops available today.

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A Wireless World Away from IDF…WiMAXing @ CTIA in Las Vegas

2008-04-03T20:51:56Z

If you’ve been reading all of the Intel blogs lately, you’d think nothing else was going on in the world outside of the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai this week. But… there was. The CTIA Wireless show took over Las Vegas this week and there was a lot of buzz around WiMAX.

]]> I had a bit of a different view of CTIA than most, primarily because I spent most of my time outside in the sun in a parking lot across the street from the convention center. That’s where Intel and its partners Clearwire, Motorola and Sprint showcased several WiMAX-enabled cars and segways and offered demo rides to customers, partners, the media and analysts.

We did very similar demos at CES and Mobile World Congress this year and given the great response and reaction from anyone who took a ride, we brought the demo to CTIA. Even CrunchGear took a joy ride in the WiMAXed SUV. And this year the team added a smart car called “smart fortwo” to the mix. It was my particular favorite.

We also showed off notebooks and mobile devices inside the cars that took advantage of the demo WiMAX network that we and our partners set up in Vegas. The full Internet was right at our fingertips at the kinds of speeds that I’m used to getting at home or in the office. We listened to streaming music that sounded just like we were playing a CD in the car, watched streaming TV shows on demand just as though we were in front of the TV at home, and we used a really cool navigation application that showed the route we were driving real time, streaming from the Internet. But this wasn’t all…

The Nokia N810 Internet Tablet WiMAX Edition was launched this week and they were on display all over the place at CTIA. We managed to get our hands on a couple of them to show off in our WiMAX enabled cars. It’s a great little pocket-sized device with a touch screen and slide-out keyboard. Web surfing was pretty easy, too, as I was able to get on my Facebook page and also check out some videos on YouTube. The best part, though, is that the “WiMAX Edition” in the name of the product means it can access the WiMAX networks that will be up and running in the U.S. later this year. This is, in part, thanks to Intel’s WiMAX silicon inside Nokia’s N810 tablet.

Intel and Nokia announced at WiMAX World Chicago last September that the Nokia Nseries tablets would be the one of the first to use the Intel WiMAX Connection 2400 silicon (previously called Baxter Peak) for mobile Internet and CE devices with low power consumption. Nokia said the N810 Internet Tablet WiMAX Edition is expected to be available in the U.S. this summer in areas where WiMAX connectivity is available from the Sprint Xohm network and will allow users to easily and quickly access all of their favorite Internet services beyond local area hot spots. With devices like these and notebooks with embedded WiMAX coming later this year, I can’t wait for WiMAX!

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VIDEO: IDF Shanghai Keynote Mashup - Chips Power Down, Performance Up

2008-04-03T19:27:39Z

]]> Like getting to the point? Seeing is believing? This video summary is for you!

Intel execs take the stage at IDF and share key technology announcements, provide first time demonstrations and share how new technologies are shaping up for the future.

In this highlight video, Pat Gelsinger hits on “Nehalem” and “Dunnington”; Dadi Perlmutter talks about solid state disks & a common chip architecture; and Anand Chandrasekhar shows a tiny “Mooretown” part, the new heart for mobile internet devices using the tiny Intel Atom processor.

See the full versions of the keynotes here.

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Intel a services company? Sizzling announcement coming to you from IDF!

2008-04-03T06:11:58Z

Do not attempt to adjust your screen. And since April Fool’s Day is over, this is not a silly prank to see if you are paying attention. No, this is a real and true report coming to you straight from the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai, China, where today Intel announced it would begin offering software testing and validation services to members of the Intel Software Partner Program.

Did I say services? From a hardware company? What’s up with that?

Well, Intel has entered into a key partnership with SpikeSource, a software validation solution provider. The deal is that software companies, many of whom are medium in size or who develop open source solutions, can now receive Intel certification that ensures their solutions meet “rigorous standards for security, interoperability and maintainability, and are optimized for Intel technologies.” (I took that directly from the release).

I sat down for a brief conversation with SpikeSource CEO Kim Polese to get her perspective on this new service and how it will benefit both the software community and the end customers who rely on software in their everyday jobs and lives. (You all remember Kim, right? Think Java.).

Wow, maybe it’s the coffee here (I’ve made it no secret how I feel about it) but once again I’m a little giddy with the important implications of this announcement. Intel’s partner program reaches over 8,000 independent software vendors (ISVs) and I can see this service being a major benefit to developers so they can focus what they do best: developing cool software.

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Awesome Power Saver Demonstration in Chien's Keynote

2008-04-03T03:00:04Z

Among a number of very cool items on the subject of “Digital Transformation,” in his keynote today, Andrew A. Chien, Vice President, Corporate Technology Group, hosted an awesome demonstration showing a 30-35% system power consumption savings.

By synchronization system events at the hardware level--as opposed to allowing asynchronous calls for power--baseline system power consumption can be reduced dramatically. The demonstration showed that, under normal conditions, the system can't really ever “go to sleep” resulting in a steady level of power consumption. If, however, system events are syncghronized the system only needs to wake up once in a while.

Very cool to see such dramatic power drops in practice and to hear that a 50% reductions are the goal for 2010.

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Withdrawals and my addiction to speed

2008-04-02T19:06:40Z

It’s 2:37am as I’m writing this blog. No, I’m not under the influence of some illicit drug that’s keeping me up all night, just suffering from jet lag as I’m adjusting to the local time here in Shanghai where Intel is holding IDF this week.

In my last blog, I shared my frustrations with the experience of my IT laptop and I mentioned that I have been particularly frustrated lately. So why am I particularly frustrated any more than usual, and why lately?

Flash back to a couple weeks ago. In order to collect some real-world usage information and gain additional experience with the technology in an IT setting, I played the part of Guinea Pig and had one of our pre-production solid state drives (SSD) installed in my IT laptop (my IT guys will flip when they read this).

]]> Although I was quite familiar with its capabilities from all the performance characterization data, I was unprepared for the powerful instant high it gave my system. It was such a dramatic difference in how my system responded that I found myself uninhibited in doing things that I previously would have shied away from.

I no longer aborted our backup client software whenever it launched itself (which is still at the most inopportune time possible, like when you’re in the middle of a presentation, since the ability of the IT software to detect the most inconvenient times to do things still appears to work perfectly), nor did I need to go for coffee while it ran. I actually continued working while it was running. I even ran it intentionally a couple times for fun to prove to myself that I wasn’t just imagining the fact that it had no noticeable impact on my system responsiveness. I no longer launched IE to do some surfing while Outlook loaded up in the morning (which of course only makes Outlook load even more slowly). This threatened to mess up my entire routine, not to mention my relationships with colleagues who I had been going to coffee with each morning while our systems struggle to make themselves useful.

I quickly got used to this new way of doing things and after a short while I started to think that this was normal. Then the day came that my SSD was retrieved for data mining (that was the whole idea behind the trial) and my original hard-disk was put back into my laptop. There’s no way to feel the pain quite as intensely as having to go back – and that is why I’m particularly frustrated more than usual and why I’m so frustrated lately.

So a word of warning to those that might be considering dabbling with the use of our new SSD technology. It can give you quite a rush, and once you have enjoyed its effects, it can be quite difficult to ever go back.

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SSG Software & Solutions Group --> Day 1 and Things Are Going Well!

2008-04-02T07:38:32Z

So here we are nearing the end … of day 1. Busy doesn’t describe how active the software area was in the Century Hall. Ok, one of the most popular entries was the real-time gaming but the rest of the pavillion was incredibly busy as well. SSG is also hosting 3 hands-on labs today focused on Virtualization (overview and hands-on) AND a Software Tools lab. All three are standing-room-only indicating how popular these topics are. Yeah I know the rooms are hot but there’s little we can do beside turn on the AC and open the doors. Aside from that the content seems to be right on track and many attendees satisfied with their learnings. PS: Don’t forget to pick up the SSG T-shirt and CD. Lot’s of great content on from each software division can be found there as well as on-line at: www.intel.com/go/software

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I want my M.I.D!

2008-04-02T05:23:27Z

As I sat through the marathon keynote sessions in this morning’s kickoff of IDF, I tried to Twitter to provide you all some colorful realtime observations from the dark auditorium. About halfway through my Blackberry lost the ability to access the internet and thus…my voice was silenced, albeit briefly.

As I powered my way through my local grocery store last week—which I often do to grab the week’s meal supplies, each time trying to beat my previous record (so far I’m still trying to beat my record in-and-out time of 7 minutes), I realized I had forgotten to write down the ingredients I needed to make one of my succulent meals. Stomping my feet in disgust, I pined for some quick and easy way to jump on the internet right there in the produce aisle to look up the recipe and ensure I brought home all the requisite ingredients.

Both of these scenerios demonstrate my own personal longing for immediate and uncomplicated access to the internet; anytime, anywhere. And I don’t think I’m alone in this desire. As I learned at IDF today, I’m happy to report that Intel is on it!

The three opening keynotes, delivered by Pat Gelsinger, Dadi Perlmutter, and Anand Chandrasekher respectively, all talked of innovative breakthroughs in technology and visions on how the future was going to be overwhelmingly different. But the topic on most everyone’s lips was the exciting new mobile internet devices (MIDs) finally coming to market in the next several months.

It is easy to see why there is all this fuss about MIDs when: - 60% of internet users in China play online games - 3 billion minutes are spent everyday on social networking worldwide - 88% of Japanese phone customers are dissatisfied with their access to the internet from their phones

Combine all this data with the recent announcement of the Intel Atom processor and you have one perfect storm of mind-blowing proportion. And with all the awesome different MIDs that were on display today at IDF, I can easily see this anticipation grow into a consumer-covetous frenzy.

Ok, perhaps I’m a bit too hyped up on caffeine to stave off my jetlag. But this is exciting stuff! And I for one am thrilled Intel and our partners are working hard to, as Mr. Chandrasekher so eloquently put it, “unleash the internet.”

So stay tuned for more of my observations from IDF. As long as the coffee keeps coming, I’ll keep writing (I LOVE the coffee here!).

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Intel SSDs, Ultrathin Laptops, Mobile Internet

2008-04-02T03:54:00Z

In his keynote this morning at IDF Shanghai, Dadi Perlmutter announced a lot of good geek fodder, but a few of the items that stuck with me were:

Intel's solid state hard drives are on the way(!)--they're fast, light, small, and low power.

More super, ultrathin laptops--Dadi showed off the MacBook Air along with the new Ultrathin from Lenovo.

More mobile internet on the way with Wimax deployments this year in Korea and early 2009 in Tokyo.

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Deciphering Intel codewords for Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs)

2008-04-02T02:10:28Z

This entry was first posted by Jeff Moriarty in the Intel Software Network Blogs.

With the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) kicking off this week in Shanghai there’s going to be a mini-avalanche of MID, Atom, and Moblin related announcements coming out. I’ll try to publish a few digests here of anything I find interesting, like this video fellow Intellian Ken Kaplan shot about some of the MID devices from the Consumer Electronics Show. I’m looking forward to finally getting some of this hardware in my own hands to play with!

In my ongoing self-education on this topic, there was a valuable post on our intranet that was billed as “Atom 101”. See, even Intel employees can’t keep all our kooky code names and chipsets straight! Anyway, the author, Walden Kirsch, gave me the green light to post it externally so I hope it is of help to others.

Intel® Atom™ processor. The brand name for a family of low- power processors designed for a range of new market segments including mobile Internet devices and simple, low-cost Internet-focused machines such as netbooks and nettops (see definitions below). The Intel Atom processor will also be used in embedded and consumer electronics. The initial versions of the Intel Atom processor are code named “Silverthorne” and “Diamondville” (see below). The Intel Atom processor family is based on the core code named “Bonnell.” The Intel Atom processor is Intel’s smallest chip, built with the world’s smallest transistors. Contains 47 million transistors.

]]> Silverthorne. The code name for one version of the Intel Atom processor, optimized first for low-power then for low-cost. Silverthorne is targeted for use in mobile Internet devices. Manufactured on Intel’s 45nm process technology.

Diamondville. The code name for another version of the Intel Atom processor, optimized first for low-cost then for low-power. Slightly larger packaging than Silverthorne so it can be used on less expensive 4-layer motherboards. Diamondville is targeted for low-cost platforms including nettops and netbooks. Manufactured on Intel’s 45nm process technology.

Mobile Internet device (MID). A small mobile device that delivers the full Internet in your pocket. Powered by the Intel Atom processor. The best Internet experience in your pocket is enabled by Intel® Centrino® Atom™ processor technology.

Intel Centrino Atom processor technology. The brand name for a low-power platform designed for mobile Internet devices. Intel Centrino Atom processor technology includes the Intel Atom processor, a low-power companion chip with integrated graphics, a wireless radio, and other features.

Menlow. Code name for the Intel Centrino Atom processor technology platform. Menlow includes the Silverthorne processor and the Poulsbo chipset.

Poulsbo. Code name for low-power chipset for mobile Internet devices. Used with Silverthorne in Intel Centrino Atom processor technology based machines. Part of the Menlow platform. Poulsbo includes 3D graphics, HD video playback (720p and 1080i content) and the memory controller.

Embedded Menlow. Similar to Menlow with the Silverthorne processor and the Poulsbo chipset, but runs embedded operating systems and includes embedded lifecycle support of at least seven years.

Moorestown. Code name for successor to the Menlow platform, scheduled for late 2009 or early 2010. For mobile Internet devices. Intel has publicly committed that Moorestown will have at least 10 times less idle power consumption than the previous-generation Menlow platform.

Netbook. A small, low-cost, mobile computing device designed for consuming content, rather than creating new content.

Nettop. A desktop version of the netbook.

Sodaville. Codename for System on a Chip (SoC) product for consumer electronics devices, arriving in 2009. Sodaville will be used in non-battery CE devices used for digital entertainment in the home. Sodaville will be based on the same low-power core found in Intel Atom processors.

That’s the list. If there is anything missing, let me know!

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