Life gets interactive for Intel as it turns 40

Chip giant has plans for a brave new world of parallel computing, but needs developer support

Pat Gelsinger of Intel believes user interfaces are the key innovation area

Intel will use its forthcoming 40th anniversary on 18 July to outline expectations for a fresh wave of computer innovation.

“Two things will emerge: the visual computing experience increasing interactivity with the PC, and embedded computing whereby the internet is embedded into the infrastructure of everything we do,” said Intel general manager Pat Gelsinger.

Gelsinger cited as examples power delivery systems, rooms that change temperature as needed, and personal healthcare devices connected to the internet.

Intel’s multi-core chips and parallel computing will give software developers the additional processing power they need to develop sophisticated applications, he added.

“If programmers can take advantage of parallelism and deliver many threads of performance on a single client, it will drive innovation around the user interface,” said Gelsinger.

Microsoft is preparing Windows 7, with the release expected late next year, while Apple may deliver the next version of Mac OS X even earlier. Both look set to have a user interface based on touch-screen technology.

Speech recognition rather than keyboard input may also play an important part in the development of computer interfaces, although accuracy will have to improve.

On its 30th anniversary, Intel predicted the rise of flash memory, embedded controller chips in home appliances, and computers that boot in five seconds.
Flash memory supporting fast boot times has populated a multitude of mobile devices, but is only just starting to make its way into notebook PCs.