Intel Unveils New Technologies for PCs of Tomorrow - Company Business and Marketing

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, Feb 21, 2000

Intel Corporation Tuesday showed a combination of technologies and initiatives designed to help fuel a new generation of business and consumer PCs.

Tuesday's activities included the unveiling of concept PCs that "fit easily into your hand," the first-ever demonstration of a USB 2.0 product and an effort to advance PC graphics capabilities through the "Beyond AGP4x Initiative."

"The PC is evolving rapidly, not only in speed, but also in simplicity and style," said Pat Gelsinger, vice president, Intel Desktop Products Group. "Intel is working with the industry to deliver a wide range of new PCs for a new generation of Internet computing."

Gelsinger revealed the new PC technologies and initiatives in his joint keynote address with Intel Senior Vice President Albert Yu at the semi-annual Intel Developer Forum, the industry's premier technical event attended by more than 2000 developers from around the world.

Technologies for a New Era of Desktop Computing Tuesday's announcements are the latest steps in a new generation of PC design, one rich with advanced PC capabilities, features and content. Specific technologies and initiatives shown Tuesday include:

-- New concept PCs that "fit easily into your hand." - The PCs demonstrated Tuesday are proof-of-concept vehicles showing the possibilities of Intel Architecture processors in concept PCs, and they include new characteristics such as the first demonstrations of low-profile PCI and AGP cards. Intel believes the PC architecture will continue to evolve into more uses and more styles, and Tuesday's demonstrations show how Intel can help enable its customers to continue evolving the PC platform. Concept PCs are part of the ongoing Intel Ease of Use initiative, a multi-year effort established to be a driving force in the industry to develop PCs that are easier to use and more innovative in their design. Many PCs based on this initiative are now available.

-- The world's first public demonstration of a product based on the USB 2.0 specification. - USB technology is a fast, no-hassle technology that allows PC users to simply plug-in devices to their computers. It helps replace the old practice of opening PCs and adding hardware components in order to engage each new device that is connected to a PC. When introduced into the marketplace in the second half of 2000, USB 2.0-compliant products will provide up to 40 times the bandwidth of current USB 1.1-compliant products. This increased speed opens the door for more functionality and better performance for PC peripherals including next-generation printers, higher resolution video cameras and fast external storage units. Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Lucent, Microsoft, NEC and Philips are leading the development of the USB 2.0 specification.

-- The first announcement of the "Beyond AGP4x Initiative." - Intel is engaging with top graphics controller vendors and major computer manufacturers to advance industry graphics past the current AGP4x levels, with a new industry specification expected to be announced at IDF Fall 2000. A key part of the new initiative includes advancing the graphics bus of today's computers. Advancements such as this are designed to meet the needs of increasingly sophisticated Internet, multimedia and graphics applications.

-- The unveiling of Serial ATA development. - This technology specification will enable smaller, sleeker PC designs by replacing today's bulky ribbon cables inside computers with very thin cables that can quickly transfer large amounts of information. The cables and connectors that make up Serial ATA connect storage devices such as hard disks to motherboards within PCs, and they will replace today's products based on the Parallel ATA storage interface. Serial ATA will enable future growth and stability of computers while maintaining compatibility with today's software base. The specification working group includes APT Technologies, Dell, IBM, Intel, Maxtor, Quantum and Seagate, and the specification is expected to be released in the second half of 2000.

The Intel Developer Forum is Intel's premier technical forum comprising nearly 150 sessions and hands-on labs and more than 100 demonstrations of cutting-edge products and technologies. IDF attracts over 2,000 hardware and software developers from around the world, of whom nearly 30 percent are focused on software. Now in its third year, the semi-annual conference provides hardware OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), IHVs (independent hardware vendors), and ISVs (independent software vendors) with in-depth information on Intel technologies and initiatives. More information on the Intel Developer Forum can be found at http://developer.intel.com/design/idf. Updated information is available between Intel Developer Forums by subscribing to the Intel Developer Update Magazine at http://developer.intel.com/update.>

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