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In his inaugural
speech to the CES 2008 show in Las Vegas earlier this month, Paul
Otellini, CEO of Intel, shared his vision for the future of the
Internet. His predictions were generally in tune with those made by
Bill Gates the day before, as he described a world of interconnected
digital devices and, in particular, a more personalised and
interactive Internet experience.
According to the Intel boss, the Internet today can prove to be
frustrating for the user. Taking the example of a simple Internet
search, Otellini described a long process involving the boot up of a
PC, navigation to a search engine and then trawling through the
pages of results.
But he predicted that this process is changing, stating: “Rather
than us go to the Internet, the Internet’s going to come to us”. He
described the next generation of the web as being “proactive,
predictive and context aware.”
This evolution will be possible thanks to three key developments.
Newer interfaces that allow more natural user interaction (Otellini
cited the example of the Nintendo Wii), devices connected via Wimax
(a new wireless communications system that Intel is helping to
deliver) and improved search facilities, which the Intel boss says
need to progress from simple push services to intelligent engines
that can anticipate needs by interacting with stored user data and
social networking sites.
Canmore: the all-in-one chip for mobile multimedia devices
Naturally, these new applications and interfaces will require
improved processors to function and Otellini was ready to provide a
demonstration of the Intel Canmore chip, a SOC (system on a chip)
which is due for release in late 2008.
SOCs are designed to combine the power and performance of a computer
processor with improved multimedia processing power. Targeted for
use in consumer electronics such as personal media players, set-top
boxes and televisions, the Canmore chip will support integrated 3D
graphics with full 1080p video output video and integrated 7.1
surround sound.
Otellini commented: "Packaging several important functions such as
computing, graphics and audio-video processing into a single chip
will help devices do more while taking up less space and energy."
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