CES 2010: Otellini declares new era of personal computing

Paul Otellini: We are on the cusp of a new era of computing

LAS VEGAS: Intel chief executive Paul Otellini used his keynote address at CES to proclaim a new, third era for computing.

After the era of the mainframe and the PC, the industry is now undergoing a third evolution into the age of personal computing, where individuals use multiple, interconnected, personalised, online computing devices.

"I believe we are on the cusp of a new era of computing: personal computing, " he told delegates.

"It is an era of many devices per person and will change our lives. We want seamless personal devices that work anywhere and are customised to us. We want to make computing personal."

Otellini said that Intel is introducing new technologies to make this happen, including new processors, and wired and wireless standards.

On the processor side Intel is bringing the Turbo Boost technology that it uses in its server chips to the consumer market. Turbo Boost manages the cores of the processor to save power by shutting down unnecessary cores or ramping them up to full capacity if needed.

The new chipsets will also be able to use a new wireless technology which Intel calls Wireless Display, or WiDi for short. This consists of a $100 (£62) add-on box which can be retrofitted to existing televisions to allow computer files to be viewed directly on screen via wireless link up.

For wired connections Intel will next year begin shipping a new connection cable called Light Peak. This fibre optic cabling will be able to handle upload and downloads at 10GBp/s and will replace HDMI and other cables which need high capacity.

Otellini also announced plans to move aggressively into the embedded processor market with the goal of putting a chip in every electronic device. Currently there are around 10 billion embedded chips in electrical devices, but about half of these are very primitive and more could be done.

"Our goal is to have our architecture to provide the brains for anything with a power source," he said. "Every electrical device will connect to the internet. It means you will have better interactions with them."

Otellini showed off one example, a clear glass display to be used in clothing stores which uses sensors to recognise the sex and build of a customer and then displays suitable clothes and highlights where in the shop they are.

Other systems will include billboards which are customisable to individuals, and Otellini said that Intel had had over 2,500 design wins in the embedded field.