Intel Developer Forum: Chip To The Web

Intel

Developer Forum: Chip To The Web

The

next challenge for Intel is to reach the 'outside' world of

a billion connected computers, millions of servers and trillions

of ecommerce dollars.

Computer.

The word reminds us of grayish-white rectan- gular pieces

of CPU, monitor, keyboard, and relentless amount of typing

and patience-testing start-up time. But imagine a computer

that boots up instantly with a remote control just like the

TV does. One that recognizes your voice and talks' to you,

obeys all your spoken commands-drafting a letter, slicing

and dicing data, projecting data on a pie-chart, animating

a cartoon caricature or taking print-outs. Interestingly,

while doing all this, the system might resemble a bunch of

multi-colored flowers on the table or a fancy tape recorder.

This is the future 'easy PC.' This is where imagination meets

reality. At least, this is how the microprocessor giant Intel

aims to make 'PCs that just work'. Sure enough the six models

on display at the Intel Showcase were enough proof of this.

In the

recently held Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in Taipei, Taiwan,

for the Asia Pacific (AP) region, Intel outlined its game

plans for the future PC and the internet-both of which are

strategic plans to increase PC usage and standardize the Intel

platform for the 'connected PCs' of tomorrow. Intel wants

to step outside its hardware limits and add more software

into the chips to make internet ready PCs. The accent is on

making PCs with the four Ss-speed, speech, security and style.

With 'Intel Inside' campaign being a big hit, the challenge

and the strategy ahead is to reach Intel outside 'the world

of the billion connected trusted computers, millions of servers

and trillions of e-commerce dollar transactions.' Amidst flashing

cameras and a 100-strong local and foreign press group, CEO

Craig Barrett opened his talk with the

Intel

Vision, to the 750 Intel developers from the AP region. And

he spoke of the mission he has set for himself and his company-to

be the number one computer platform everywhere on the internet.

The focus is on taking a significant share of the billion

connected PCs, millions of servers and trillions of ecommerce

transactions and use the Intel architecture to build One Virtual

Network. Just as Intel created the 'brains' of the PCs with

its microprocessors about two decades ago, now it wants to

extend 'veins' for the Net. A change in the business model

being brought about by the declining PC sales in the developed

markets and the way internet is driving all businesses. For

instance, look at the home segment. Earlier people with computers

at home, started using internet.

Now the

ISPs in the US are offering a free PC with every internet

subscription for a three month period! No wonder that Intel

is focusing all its energy and investment in the net horizon.

The ambitious internet strategy is to set up huge server farms

in different countries to host internet services. "We plan

to apply Intel's experience to provide a family of hosting

services, like web-hosting ecommerce services to large corporations

and companies," said Barrett. What the company aims to do

is to act as the back-end for portals, ISPs and corporations,

where Intel servers will be connected to the internet. The

idea is to segregate the market into desktop, workstation,

servers and mobile products to cater to all the requirements

of the net. The announcements made by Barrett and his crew

who came from the US for the event, were in line with the

internet strategy of the company. The effort and the impact,

at the three day event, was to make Intel synonymous with

Internet.

Applauding

Taiwan's evolution as a global leader in the design, manufacture

and supply of internet platforms and solutions, in his key

note address, Craig Barrett, spoke of the Asian regions' role

in the networked world as a manufacturing hub and an innovation

center. With a staggering PC sales and a saturated US market,

Intel's next opportunity for its existing business and contributions

to its future business for a futuristic computing world, will

come from the Asian region. Hence the importance.

The company's

mission, as declared at the IDF Taiwan is to promote development

in Asia as the world's manufacturing hub. Barrett spoke of

increased opportunities in assembly and testing of advanced

microprocessors, particularly for the mobile segment, computer

and networking boards, communications and memory products

in the AP region. Intel, internet and Asia Although the much-awaited

announcement of a manufacturing factory in the Asian region

was not made, Barrett spoke of the $3 billion investment earmarked

for the year 1999 toward making it a manufacturing hub of

the world. Identifying the strengths and contributions of

countries in the AP region, Barrett listed out opportunities

that lay ahead for several countries in the region. While

countries such as China and India are significant markets

for PC sales, with each of the markets having less than 1%

of its huge population, Intel is also looking at these two

countries as major contributors for internet solutions including

multimedia or content development for the internet.

Manufacturing

will continue to be the strength of Taiwan, Korea and China,

while Japan would play a unique role in 'styling' products,

he observed. Among all the six future PC models styled by

Japanese designers showcased in the IDF, the most popular

one was the 'Ekbhana' model resembling a flower arrangement.

Some of the recent investments Intel has made in the AP region

include setting up a design center in Penang, Malaysia; an

architecture development lab in Shanghai, China; an applied

research center in Beijing, China; and a technology center

in Bangalore. All this is undoubtedly indicative of the significance

of APAC's role in the years to come. The second commitment

that Intel has made to the region is to make AP an innovation

center of IT through venture capital funding activities. The

company has tied up with companies such as Red Hat, Rediff-on-the-Net,

and is for small, start-up companies with innovative ideas.

Yet another initiative for growth and development of the region

is through investments and technology sharing in the education

segment.

During

this visit, Barrett announced the establishment of two server

and workstation design laboratories at National Taiwan University

and National China Tung University. In all, the effort and

the impact was to present Intel as synonymous with internet

in the three day conference and get developers to tune themselves

to Intel's new target-the internet.

AKILA

SUBRAMANIAM



in Taipei,Taiwan