IDF: Bringing together the best of technological advancements

With the ISV community looking up to Intel for innovation and cutting edge technologies, Intel's Developer Event, or IDF as it is called, was the place where the company showcased some of the latest technological advancements with a peek into the future as well. 



At this San Francisco event, Intel was showing off prototypes and early versions of tomorrow's technology, aimed at the broad developer and the ISV community. This is where dreamers among the developer community would be prompted to work around cutting edge technological advancements in areas like digital home, wireless devices. They could also use the future highlights to create new uses and applications around these technological advancements.



The event was well attended by over 5,000 technology enthusiasts with about 10% comprising media people and analysts. Over 170 companies participated in the technology showcase category, showcasing what the future held in store. 



“In all the IDFs, our primary objective has always been to provide the latest information and technological update for the developer and the ISV community. This is to ensure that when they go back, they can built different solutions and design applications around these technological advancements. This IDF is special as we have introduced the core micro-architecture and the advantages of efficient energy management. So I sincerely believe that the ISV community will take home a lot from this event,” explained Justin Rattner, Intel Senior Fellow and Chief Technology Officer at Intel.



With an aim to deliver improved performance for the end-user community, the event showcased mobility, small and better form factor and wireless capabilities for different devices. The idealogy was that devices like laptops and cell phones are very ingrained in our daily lives. As a result, a road warrior is going to find laptops with articulating screens designed smaller to fit in easy to carry bags. 



“This will have different aspects attached to it. With more energy efficient micro-architecture, the microchips inside are going to be more efficient to extend the life of batteries in devices like laptops and cell phones. And wireless Internet connections will cover wider areas and will be more reliable,” Jusitn added. 



According to Sean Maloney, Intel's Executive VP, the industry needs devices that boot rapidly and customers want less time for activities like booting. “So as we move along, the overall ecosystem with Intel would work towards delivering these capabilities,” he said.



WiMax in scooters!

Here is one for the WiMax takers. At the forum, Intel showcased a battery-powered scooter equipped with a WiMax connected laptop. WiMax is the next generation of wireless Internet that has a greater range as compared to WiFi. 



The scooter in this case has a screen that can display live images from the Internet. So as you move around in the vehicle, a camera can send live video to your personal website, instantly sharing your travel experiences in the form of pictures with your friends. Interesting!



Intel with its all technological advancements is engaged towards floating ideas like this in front of its ISV or solution developer community in order to inspire innovation. The company is already involved in setting standards for the WiMax arena and is working closely with the various stakeholders in order to deliver better WiMax capabilities globally.



Digital home — a seamless vision

It was Intel's Digital Home Executive Don McDonald who delivered the keynote speech about possibilities in the digital home segment at IDF. He had a quick demonstration of how quick and easy it is to set up a networked Intel Viiv PC. This was followed by an exchange with a voice-sensitive remote control.



He also showcased how a future Viiv user could order his or her TV to record shows without pushing a button. But the combination microphone/remote control might need to go back to the lab for some adjustment before the next
IDF.



With technology evolving fast, more and more technological advancements are being thrown at the end customer community. Intel with the help of its researcher community is trying to inject intelligence while deciding on designing device principles.



“When it comes to areas like digital home, it is very important for a company like Intel to know what people think about technology. How do they perceive better technology and what are the deciding factors involved in this process? We have a global team of 10 researchers whose job is to look around for answers to some of these questions,” explains Genevieve Bell, Director, User Experience at Intel.