Intel Developer Forum 2005 - Kick Off

  Leave a comment      Email this to a friend TrustedReviews Newsletters

It was also highlighted that Intel isn’t only concentrating on the personal computer, and that the goal was to see Intel technology used in a multitude of new and exciting ways. To reinforce this ideal, a couple of guys from West Coast Customs (the company that fixes up all the old cars in MTV’s Pimp My Ride) took to the stage.

Mike Martin and Mike Megdal showed off how they had used Intel technology in the custom vehicle they had brought with them. With a Centrino based notebook mounted under the driver’s seat, it was possible to stream audio and video files, as well as surf the Internet and use email via a hotspot. Stick a data card in the notebook and you’d be able to get online even if there wasn’t a hotspot handy.

The system was also configured so that it could be controlled via a PDA wirelessly, and the webcam mounted above the windscreen lets the owner keep an eye on the car while he/she isn’t in it. OK, so this was just a bit of showbiz that Intel threw into the opening keynote to grab some attention, but it did at least show the technology being used in a more innovative way.

And it was innovation that Craig Barrett was trying to convey with his speech – constant innovation to drive the development of “cool” and “interesting” technology and to really hammer home the concept of innovation Burt Rutan took to the stage.

Although Rutan had nothing whatsoever to say about Intel, his brief appearance will probably be the highlight of the whole event. Who can possibly know more about innovation than a man who has pushed the concept of commercial space travel further forward than NASA has in its entire history?

Burt wasn’t shy with his comments, and openly accused NASA of being too “safe” and “boring” with its space programme. But don’t think that Rutan wants to take civilians up into space without taking safety into account – when he talked about NASA being too safe, he was indicating that the space agency was too conservative and as such innovation has suffered.

Rutan claimed that commercial space travel (a trip up to the black stuff with zero gravity) could be as close as four or five years away, but of course the cost would be (excuse the pun) astronomical. However, he was also brave enough to predict that in 10 years time we could see that price drop to around $30,000 – not a huge price to pay for physically leaving the planet, even for a moment.

The point that Intel was trying to make by bringing Rutan on stage, was that technology needs to be exciting and not utilitarian. People need to know how new technology is going to make their lives better and more enjoyable, not just how many more clock cycles the latest chip can muster.

Ultimately, Intel’s vision of the future was summed up in Barret’s final statement “Let’s create technology that won’t bore our kids”, and I for one, hope that Intel lives up to his words.

Add your comment