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Link to Intel Web Tablet development team names and photo
ITO Management TeamAndre Wolper Administrative SupportBetty Johnson ArchitectureDavid Sandage Build and IntegrationChris Schiltzkus Business DevelopmentDeana Woodward ContentDave Torres Content QABrad Hanel Embedded SoftwareMike Lane FinanceAlan Chou Hardware EngineeringGreg Martin Host PC SoftwareBen Wymore Host PC Software QAAngie Burk Human Factors EngineeringAlyson Miller Legal SupportDan Christensen ManufacturingJoe Fuller MarketingAlan Johnson OperationsEd McMullin Program ManagerMark Crump Software Team ManagersMark Porter Tablet Application SoftwareAndy Idsinga Tablet Software QAAlexander Kalashnikov
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PDF USERS GUIDE FOR INTEL TABLET PC |
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Intel: The PC Ain't Dead Yet ( from PC WORLD
Gadgets may be popular, but the PC is still the center of the digital
universe.
Ashlee Vance, IDG News Service
Monday, January 08, 2001
LAS VEGAS -- If you think the PC era is over, Craig Barrett wants you to think again. In his action-packed keynote address here at the Consumer Electronics Show Friday evening, Intel's president and chief executive officer insisted that the PC is still alive and well. Barrett even called on some star-studded help to usher in what he called the "extended PC era." Barrett used the speech to highlight an army of digital devices. Shown on stage were Intel's new digital Pocket Concert Audio Player, and prototypes of a mobile phone-based personal digital assistant and a wireless Web tablet. While the products would appear far from the chip giant's usual forte, Barrett insisted that they serve only to compliment the PC and make it more useful to end-users.
At the Center
"If you look at the center of the digital universe, the core is really the PC," he said. "What we are seeing today is more and more devices being attached to the PC and extending its influence. The key to all of these devices is to have a very powerful central processing unit." The products on display here this week might seem to contradict Barrett's faith in the longevity of the PC. The showroom floor is lined with a myriad of Web-enabled devices that pack increasingly large amounts of memory and processing power in small form factors. Barrett, however, believes that the added processing power offered by Intel's recently launched Pentium 4 chip will give users reason to embrace the PC as a means of complimenting these varying devices. For instance, Barrett showed what could happen when a digital camera combines with peer-to-peer networking and a Pentium 4 computer. A user could take a digital video of a wedding in Hawaii, load it on his or her PC, and then send it instantly to friends. "The Pentium 4 increases the number of people who can view the video at the same time and how fast it runs," he said. "The PC really acts as the central nervous system for entertainment in the home."
Intel Inside
To help make his point, Barrett brought the performance art trio the Blue Man Group on stage for several music-backed interludes between the displays of Intel's technology. The Blue Man Group is featured in a number of Pentium III television advertisements and is a popular attraction for visitors here. After splattering paint across the stage and shooting confetti into the audience, the troop pinned Barrett down and seemingly ran a small camera down his throat and into his stomach. The CES crowd watched the camera make its way down Barrett's esophagus and into his belly, only to receive a comic surprise when the "Intel Inside" logo appeared on giant screens lining the conference room hall. In addition to the audio player announced earlier this week and shown here Friday night, Intel makes a number of PC-complementing devices. Barrett's staff brought out digital cameras, music players, a line of high-tech children's toys, and other concept devices. In most cases a user can store data on the device and then use a PC to transfer the information to friends and colleagues around the globe. With intensive multimedia applications also on the rise, it may indeed be premature to count the PC out just yet. At a press conference after his keynote, Barrett said the company's goal is not to become a significant player in the consumer electronics industry. "I think the future of the PC is very bright," he said. "Although some people write about the death of the PC, the fact is that we continue to sell more PCs each year, and we increase the value of the PC by adding devices." The Web tablet shown during the keynote was only a prototype, he stressed, and Intel is evaluating whether or not to release the product commercially. (James Niccolai of IDG News Service's San Francisco bureau contributed to this report.)
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Intel Drops Consumer Electronics Division From PC
WORLD
Company will sell remaining digital cameras, MP3 players, and other
gadgets, but won't make any more.
Joris Evers, IDG News Service
Friday, October 19, 2001
Intel will stop selling digital cameras, media players, and Intel Play PC toys next year because sales didn't meet the company's expectations, Intel confirmed on Friday.
The chip maker says it is "winding down" its Connected Products Division, the part of the company that makes the consumer electronics products. "We had some success in these product categories, but business overall did not meet our long-term growth requirements. Our intent is to sell through the remaining inventory until the first quarter of 2002 and then quit the business," says Gillian Murphy, a Germany-based Intel spokesperson. Intel won't disclose the size or location of the remaining inventory, but most products are sold worldwide. One of the products about to be discontinued, the Personal Audio Player 3000, was introduced earlier this month in the U.S. Customer support will be available for "a period" beyond when a product is for sale, Murphy says. In addition to discontinuing the consumer products already on the market, Intel has also decided not to sell a Web tablet Internet appliance touted by President and Chief Executive Officer Craig Barrett at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. "We worked on the concept of a Web tablet device, but decided not to bring it out as a branded product," Murphy says. Intel's venture into the consumer electronics area was in part an effort to extend the company's brand beyond chips. The slogan on the front page of the company's Web site says: "Music, Pictures, Video. Intel takes technology beyond the processor." "Content on the Web site will be updated, but for the moment we are still supporting those products. Extending the Intel brand to consumers will continue. The AnyPoint home networking products remain and the Pentium 4 is also a consumer product," says Murphy.
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Intel Web Tablet (from ECRM.COM)Intel's Web Tablet is a wireless device that allows users to surf the Web and send E-Mail from any point in their home over their existing Internet access point. The device is able to share both the Internet access and the printer of a centralized PC, while providing its own Web browser and functionality (so both the tablet and the main PC can surf simultaneously). The device will be based on the Intel StrongARM SA-1110 processor, and will contain software components specifically tuned to Internet appliances from Wind River (WindStorm, VxWorks, and Personal Jworks), Espial (Escape Web browser and Espresso GUI tool kit), and BeComm (Strings audio software). The diskless tablet will store both its application code and data using Intel StrataFlash memory. The Intel Web Tablet connects wirelessly to an existing PC (or PC Network) in the home and is therefore able to share the Internet access and printer available to that PC. The wireless connectivity is made possible through the use of Intel's AnyPoint Wireless Networking hardware on the Master PC. The AnyPoint system allows for the wireless connection of PCs in a home network (or in this case, the connection of the Web Tablet to the PC) within a 150 foot range. The Intel Web Tablet is expected to be available "later this
year." Contact Intel Corporation for further details.
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10/22/01EH
Network Santa Clara, CA—The world’s largest chipmaker, Intel Corp., is discontinuing its consumer electronics business, which it started in 1998, due to a lack of profitability and a desire to focus on its core business. While some of the Intel-branded products, such as its PC-connected camera and digital audio player, were successful and well-reviewed, Intel pulled the plug on consumer electronics, adding it to other peripheral businesses that it has abandoned recently as unrelated to its core microprocessor business. "We had some success in some of these product categories," an Intel spokesman said on Friday. "However, looking at the long term, it doesn’t meet our requirements for long-term growth." He declined to comment on the unit’s annual sales. The unit, however, is lumped into the "all other" category on Intel’s income statement, which amounted to $63 million in third-quarter sales and an operating loss of $662 million. Santa Clara, California-based Intel will continue to sell the products until the existing inventory is finished, probably early next year. It will not manufacture any more of the products, which also include a digital microscope, the Pocket Concern Audio Player and the Intel Pocket PC Camera. Also scrapped is a Web tablet that can access the Internet, a prototype of which was shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, and the Dot.Station, an Internet appliance. Intel will continue, however, to manufacture and sell its AnyPoint Wireless home network devices, produced by another division, the spokesman said. Intel will also continue to sell its StrongARM processor to vendors who want to make such devices, he said. "That’s not to say other companies won’t be successful there," the spokesman said. "We’ll still provide the building blocks, we just won’t build them (the devices) ourselves." Initially, Intel founded the unit, called the connected products division, to help boost the overall personal computer market, and to bring new users to PCs who would use them in ever-broadening ways. Intel employees who work for the connected products group will be given the opportunity to apply for other jobs within Intel, or can accept a severance package, the company said.
With PC sales slowing, computer companies have seen the future, and it lies in simple, consumer electronics-like devices. The big question: Can companies such as Intel and Microsoft compete in the very different world of consumer electronics? For many, the idea of having their television or VCR run Windows is still enough to make their hair stand on end (even Josh's, and he doesn't have much left). Despite the odds, Intel and Microsoft made a strong argument in their opening keynote sessions here that their core products -- the desktop PC and the software that runs on it -- will continue to play a pivotal role in this future. Specifically, both talked up the concept of the "extended PC" that will serve as the digital brains behind entertainment applications distributed to a wide array of consumer peripherals via new wired and wireless networking. After jumping out of a box topped by a large Jell-O mold -- don't ask -- Intel CEO Craig Barrett cracked that he was looking in the box for "the last living human who wants a PC." Not surprisingly, he focused much of his presentation on peripherals such as digital cameras, MP3 players, digital video camcorders, e-book readers and PDAs that interact with PCs. Highlights included the just-announced Intel Pocket Concert portable MP3 player, a Chat Pad for wireless instant messaging and a Web Tablet using the company's AnyPoint HomeRF wireless networking. If you're wondering what all this has to do with selling processors -- and especially the fastest processors such as Pentium 4 that seem to be overkill for today's applications -- Intel had an answer. The company made perhaps the strongest case to date for P4 by showing a long sequence of consumer apps that could benefit from this power, including faster MP3 encoding, digital video editing, higher-quality streaming video and better 3D graphics and textures. Similarly, Bill Gates argued that as the PC moves beyond productivity apps to consumer ones -- think digital photography, music, video, games -- the need for a common, easy-to-use software interface will grow increasingly important. Microsoft showed a long -- and we mean long -- series of demonstrations of these emerging applications. But easily the two most exciting were UltimateTV and the eagerly anticipated Xbox gaming console. A competitor to TiVo, UltimateTV is Microsoft's service for digital video recorders (DVRs). Like some existing DVRs, UltimateTV receivers will be paired with DirecTV satellite receivers for digital audio and video. But the most attractive feature is the addition of a second TV tuner that lets you record two shows simultaneously, or record a show while watching another one. For the first time, Microsoft publicly unveiled the final Xbox design and, while it certainly looks cool, the most innovative aspects are inside the box. According to Microsoft, Xbox will boast three times the graphics capability of the best gaming consoles on the market today. All that was evident in the amazing gaming demonstrations. We're not big gamers -- ZIO Golf on the Pocket PC is about our speed -- but even we can't wait to get our hands on this thing.
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Web Digest > IT Corner
Intel's Web Tablet
Wireless Device Extends Internet Reach In The Home
Intel's Web Tablet is a wireless device that allows
users to surf The device will be based on the Intel StrongARM SA-1110 processor, and will contain software components specifically tuned to Internet appliances from Wind River (WindStorm, VxWorks, and Personal Jworks), Espial (Escape Web browser and Espresso GUI tool kit), and BeComm (Strings audio software). The diskless tablet will store both its application code and data using Intel StrataFlash memory. The Intel Web Tablet connects wirelessly to an existing
PC (or PC Network) in the home and is therefore able to share the Internet
access and printer available to that PC. The Intel Web Tablet is expected to be available "later this year."  October 19, 2001 Intel Saying Goodbye To IntelPlay Intel (Quote, Chart) is joining the ranks of many other companies who have failed in the consumer electronics, PC peripherals and Internet appliance sector. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip making giant Friday says it is phasing out its IntelPlay line of PC-connected digital cameras, digital-audio players and toys. Soon to be history is Intel's PC-connected cameras, digital audio players as well as its toys: IntelPlay Digital Movie Creator, IntelPlay QX3+ Computer Microscope, IntelPlay Computer Sound Morpher and the IntelPlay Virtual Me2Cam Game System. "This is a gradual wind-down of our operations of the Connect Product Division. So we do plan to sell the existing inventory," says Intel spokesperson Linda Bonniksen. "This particular business did not meet our requirements for long-term growth." Bonniksen says Intel also plans to phase out its Dot.Station Internet appliance and has put StrongArm-powered wireless Internet "Web Tablet" on indefinite hold. The prototype made its debut in January at the Consumer Electronics Show. IntelPlay's closure is just the latest in series of items that Intel is dumped from its lineup. Earlier this year, the company halted production on the Personal Audio Player 3000, the IntelPlay Digital Movie Creato, its line of Pocket Digital PC cameras and its wireless keyboard and mouse. But, Intel is not the first major player to tryout Internet-connected appliances and fail. Netpliance gave up on its i-opener terminal in January. After a terrible slump in sales Santa Clara, Calif.-based 3Com Corp. (Quote, Chart) killed its Audrey Web surfing appliance and Kerbango Internet radio in March 2001. Wind River Technology and Services Deployed in Wireless Intel® Web Tablet for Consumers
***Wind River Technology and Services Deployed in Wireless Intel Web Tablet for Consumers (February 26) Wind River Systems, a provider of software and services for smart devices, has announced that Intel developed its wireless Internet device, the Intel Web Tablet, using a suite of Wind River software and services. The concept of the Intel Web Tablet shares the home PC's Internet connection, processing power and printer to let consumers access the web from anywhere in the home. The value of Wind River's TIA is found in its variety of development components for connected smart devices and Internet appliances. The Intel Web Tablet houses several of the TIA components including, Wind River's VxWorks, Personal JWorks, and Windstorm. VxWorks is the run-time component of the TIA platform and is a widely adopted RTOS in the embedded industry. VxWorks is flexible, scalable, reliable, and available on most CPU platforms. Personal JWorks combines the advantages of PersonalJava technology write once, run anywhere capability, Internet readiness, security, extensibility, and upgradeability. Personal JWorks software implements Sun Microsystems PersonalJava 3.1 reference implementation and is certified for full compatibility with the PersonalJava specification version 1.2. This assures that any PersonalJava-compatible application will run without modification on Personal JWorks. The WindStorm component provides a client/server Java technology- based architecture for development, deployment, and content management of Internet devices. WindStorm offers a suite of standard and customizable device centric plug-ins as well as host development tools like the WindStorm Simulation Environment. The WindStorm tools enabled the developers of the Intel Web Tablet to work within this simulation environment gaining an easier, more manageable integration of software to the device. Wave
Issue 0112 3/2/01 Article 2-02 ***Wind
River Technology and Services Deployed in Wireless Intel Web Tablet for
Consumers (February
26) Wind
River Systems, a provider of software and services for smart devices, has
announced that Intel developed its wireless Internet device, the Intel Web
Tablet, using a suite of Wind River software and services. The concept of
the Intel Web Tablet shares the home PC’s Internet connection,
processing power and printer to let consumers access the web from anywhere
in the home. The
value of Wind River’s TIA is found in its variety of development
components for connected smart devices and Internet appliances. The Intel
Web Tablet houses several of the TIA components including, Wind River’s
VxWorks, Personal JWorks, and Windstorm. VxWorks
is the run-time component of the TIA platform and is a widely adopted RTOS
in the embedded industry. VxWorks is flexible, scalable, reliable, and
available on most CPU platforms. Personal
JWorks combines the advantages of PersonalJava technology write once, run
anywhere capability, Internet readiness, security, extensibility, and
upgradeability. Personal JWorks software implements Sun Microsystems
PersonalJava 3.1 reference implementation and is certified for full
compatibility with the PersonalJava specification version 1.2. This
assures that any PersonalJava-compatible application will run without
modification on Personal JWorks. The
WindStorm component provides a client/server Java technology-based
architecture for development, deployment, and content management of
Internet devices. WindStorm offers a suite of
standard and customizable device centric plug-ins as well as host
development tools like the WindStorm Simulation Environment. The WindStorm
tools enabled the developers of the Intel Web Tablet to work within this
simulation environment gaining an easier, more manageable integration of
software to the device.
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Intel CEO looks outside with PC peripherals
Published: January 5, 2001, 11:10 PM PST
video LAS VEGAS--The best way to sell more PCs, according to Intel CEO Craig Barrett, is to sell a lot of stuff besides PCs.
Formally unveiling a new portable digital audio player and showing prototypes of several other electronics devices, including a wireless Web tablet and a wireless chat device, Barrett said the common denominator is that they enhance and expand the PC. "It's really a big, digital universe," Barrett said in his address, "and if you look at the center of that universe, it's the PC." For example, Intel's new Pocket Concert audio player, first reported by News.com, comes with 128MB of non-removable flash memory, requiring a fairly well-equipped PC to manage music files. "The PC is there for encoding the music tracks...and for uploading and organizing and storing the content for these devices," Barrett said. And Intel's Pocket PC Camera, introduced late last year, promotes the use of hardware-intensive video and photo-editing software--precisely the kind of capabilities built into the chip giant's new Pentium 4 line of processors. "The Pentium 4 was not created to run (Microsoft) Word faster or do Excel spreadsheets...it was created to run rich, multimedia content faster," Barrett told News.com. "Whether that comes over the Internet, through editing digital video, through interaction with a peripheral device like this...you want to...have a high-performance processor to handle those kind of demands. "Obviously our intent is to move the whole computer business forward. All of these things translate into processing power." The low-resolution Intel camera and the audio player are not cutting-edge products, but Barrett said the company has no desire to have a range of devices in such categories. Instead, the chip giant will offer solid, middle-of-the-road approaches to PC add-ons that, combined with Intel's name recognition, could attract masses of new consumers for activities such as digital imaging. "I look more at the concept of new uses, new users in bulk," he told News.com. "You're really interested in the markets that are tens of millions of users. You're not going to target the professional user--you're going to be targeting the hobbyist, the home marketplace." Along with the camera and audio player, Barrett showed prototypes of several Internet appliances that connect wirelessly with a PC. The small Chatpad runs instant messaging software, while an as-yet unnamed Web tablet uses a larger screen to display Web content and access PC functions such as printing. Both differ from the current crop of Internet appliances--none of which have gained significant market acceptance--by relying on an existing PC's Internet connection rather than requiring a separate hook-up. While the Web devices appeared to be fairly far along in the development cycle, Barrett also showed a more experimental prototype of a home "media center" appliance that would juggle digital photos, DVD and downloaded movies, digital audio files and other content for display through various devices connected to a home network. "The message we're trying to get across here is that the personal computer is really at the center of all these advances," Barrett said. "We're really trying to put more processing power into these PCs for a purpose." "The value of the PC increases exponentially as we have more functionality attached to it." It's not entirely coincidence, either, that these PC-promoting devices are coming out at a time when domestic PC sales have hit a lull. "Clearly the U.S. rate of growth (in PC sales) is lower," Paul Otellini, general manager of the Intel Architecture Group, said in an interview with News.com. "I happen to think that's partly because we haven't offered the compelling set of features and functions that's going to drive the next wave of buying activity." Barrett said forays beyond the chip business are nothing new for Intel--they've been selling home networking kits and cameras for several years--but acknowledged his first-ever appearance at CES shows a deeper interest in the market. As did the normally reserved CEO's on-stage antics with experimental theater outfit the Blue Man Group. Barrett, never known as the high-tech equivalent of the "Crododile Hunter," allowed the painted performers to shove a digital camera down his throat, smear a Jell-O-like substance on his head and shove him into a small, wooden box. "The only thing that got me inside that box is that they told me the last person in the U.S. who wanted to buy a PC was in there," he quipped. Intel to use StrongARM in Web Tablet
Published: February 26, 2001, 11:20 AM PST
Intel on Monday announced that its Web Tablet will depend upon a StrongARM processor, rather than a member of its Celeron family. The Tablet, which will come out later this year, is a portable, wireless Internet-surfing device that looks like a laptop's screen. The StrongARM chip, which Intel also makes, is more battery-friendly than Celerons. Hewlett-Packard and Compaq Computer use a StrongARM in their Pocket PC based handhelds. As reported earlier, Intel will show off the Tablet at its developer forum this week in San Jose, Calif. The Tablet also contains the Windstorm operating system from Wind River, the Espial Escape Browser and audio software from BeComm
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Fleetwood’s "Smart Coach" Relies on
LonWorks Networks The open road. The pleasures of an RV: the freedom, the sights, the sounds... the complexity. Unfortunately, the very technology that makes personal motor coaches more convenient and comfortable also makes them more challenging to manage. Fleetwood, the Nation’s leading manufacturer of RVs, recognizes this challenge and recently unveiled a new generation RV at the Family Motor Coach Association’s 38th Annual Summer Grand International Convention. It relies on Echelon’s LonWorks technology as the brains in its “Mobile RV Information System.” Designed in conjunction with Intel® Solution Services, the pre-production home on wheels networks a variety of devices inside and outside the RV to provide users with enhanced comfort, safety features, and impressive functionality with fewer headaches in managing multiple vehicle systems.
LonWorks Solutions–Quick and Flexible Charles Baron, Project Engineer from Intel, also feels LonWorks technology was essential for the project. "LonWorks really enabled Fleetwood to meet their requirements. It helped take specific devices, put them on a common network and provide us with an API we could use from our computer. " The hand-held mobile user interface was developed by Intel. The Intel Web Tablet™ prototype provides wireless computing, Internet access and control of the coach devices. LonWorks technology not only delivered control, but also meshed flawlessly with the Intel solution. RVs–LonWorks Style
The Intel web tablet prototype communicates with an Intel Pentium® 4 processor based PC in the coach via RF through an Intel Anypoint™ network. The PC is operating on the Windows® 2000 advanced server platform. It is running LonWorks LNS™ 3.02 and LonMaker™ 3.02 with LNS APIs delivering the interface to the control network. "LNS was very easy to work with," says Baron. The PC connects to the 78 kbps LonWorks network through a PCLTA-20/FTT-10A PCI interface and then over a thick twisted pair cable. Echelon DIO-10Modules connect the two air-conditioning units (one module each), the electric awning (one module) and the exterior wall expansion, slide-out rooms (one for the living room and one for the bedroom). Moreover, one AI-10 Module links the air-conditioning system in order to monitor room temperatures, and two AO-10 Modules connect with the Surf Networks lighting control nodes, enabling the creation of lighting control scenes. As part of the Echelon LonPoint system, the DIO, AI and AO Modules enable integration with digital and analog actuators and sensors. Seven Echelon 1D DIN Base Plates made module wiring quick, reliable and easy. “The generic function blocks in the LonPoint system allowed custom programming and were the best solution, given the short project time-frame,” says Rob Guzikowski, the Senior Network Specialist at Echelon Looking Down the Road The project was a complete success, according to Jones. "The reliability of LonWorks surprised all of us. We thought there would be issues because we were developing in such a short time frame with complex devices. But, once we had it running, it stayed that way." And, that’s just what owners expect from a Fleetwood motor coach. Key Benefits
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STC Willamette Valley Chapter
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Intel Web Tablet Posted by Vangie "Aurora" Beal: February 27th  Intel recently announced key technical features of the wireless Intel Web Tablet, a unique Internet device that shares the home PC's Internet connection, processing power and printer to allow consumers to access the Web from anywhere in the home. Previewed at the 2001 International Consumer Electronics Show as a concept product that extends the value of the home PC, the Intel Web Tablet is based on the Intel StrongARM SA-1110 processor and Intel StrataFlash memory; Wind River's WindStorm, VxWorks real-time operating system and Personal Jworks; the Espial Escape embedded browser and Espial Espresso Graphical User Interface (GUI) component tool kit; and BeComm's Strings software for rich audio. The Intel SA-1110 is a highly integrated 32-bit Intel StrongARM
processor that incorporates Intel design and process technology along with
the power efficiency of the ARM architecture. To satisfy ever-increasing
customer demands to communicate and access information anytime, anywhere,
the Intel SA-1110 delivers high-performance, robust functionality and
versatility while meeting the small-size and low-power restrictions of
portable, battery-operated products. This ability enables portable devices
based upon the Intel SA-1110 to provide greater functionality and deliver
a richer Internet experience to mobile devices such as the Intel Web
Tablet.
A Web appliance by any other name is still...a PC? Web appliances are going after two groups of people that both want to browse the Web and send e-mail. But one group loves technology, and the other barely tolerates it. Can you build a device that appeals to both markets?
Type www.webpc.com into your Web browser, and it will take you to a Dell Web site, telling you that you have requested a page that does not exist—sort of like Dell's WebPC itself. Dell pulled the plug on its first attempt at a Web appliance, introduced in 1999, after only six months. Last year 3Com, Compaq, and Gateway all introduced their own interpretations of a Web appliance. But, according to Cahners In-Stat Group, 2000 was a bad year for these devices, too. In fact, 3Com announced in March that it is discountinuing its Audrey Web appliance for business reasons. Despite this bad news, Sony and Intel will both this year introduce their versions of Web appliances. Just because a product flops the first few times doesn't mean it's a bad idea. PDAs (personal digital assistants) are good examples. After Apple embarrassed itself with the Newton, Palm refined the concept into the successful Pilot. Web-appliance companies hope to find the sweet spot in features and price to create a compelling product. The market will determine whether any of them succeed, but you may until then find it interesting to see what engineering trade-offs these companies are facing and what they think is the right answer. Before peeking behind the bezel of a Web appliance, it's helpful to understand what market these devices address. In-Stat believes that they address both the tech-savy and the techno-phobe markets. The tech-savvymarket includes people who own PCs; they understand technology and aren't afraid of it. The technophobemarket includes people who find PCs intimidating but are intrigued by the idea of sending e-mail and exploring the Web. The early adopters will be the tech-savvy PC owners who want access to the Web and their e-mail in a convenient location, such as the kitchen counter or coffee table. But In-Stat believes that the technophobe market has the most potential. You can tell they're related Web appliances and PCs are architecturally related, but they have differences (Figure 1). One of these differences is their requirements for processing power. Because you might use a PC for anything from simulating a supersonic gas-flow- dynamics problem to balancing your checkbook, manufacturers put the highest frequency processor they can afford in a PC of a given price range. But if you know the most demanding application you will ever run is a Web browser, then you can get by with considerably fewer megahertz and save some money. In fact, National Semiconductor's Geode integrated processors take advantage of this characteristic by sacrificing a high clock rate for a high level of integration, yet they deliver Web-browsing performance comparable with microprocessors running at a much faster clock rate. The 233-MHz Geode SC3200 integrates an MMX-compatible x86 processor with a memory controller, a 2-D graphics accelerator, a video processor, a PCI-bus controller, an audio interface, and three USB ports (Figure 2). Several Web appliances, including 3Com's Audrey (Figure 3), use National's integrated x86 processors. It's no coincidence that the CPU in most Web appliances is an x86 processor. By using an x86, you can leverage the millions of lines of code written for it, plus take advantage of the tools, support, and experience base that the processor enjoys. The most popular Web browsers and browser plug-ins are written for the x86. Using the x86 almost guarantees that your browser will support the media formats available on the Web, including formats you haven't yet heard of. National's x86 chips also show up in Honeywell's WebPAD and Qubit's Orbit Web Tablet. But National isn't the only low-cost-x86 manufacturer. The Compaq iPaq IA-1 and IA-2 use AMD's K6-2 processor, and Gateway's Connected Touch Pad uses Transmeta's TM3200 chip. Ironically, one of the only companies bucking the trend to use Intel x86-compatible processors is Intel. The company previewed its ARM-powered Web Tablet at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in January. The Web Tablet uses Intel's 32-bit StrongARM SA-1110 integrated processor running Wind River's VxWorks RTOS. Using a low-power processor in a battery-powered Web appliance, such as the WebPAD and the Web Tablets, seems obvious enough, but line-powered Web appliances also use them. The reason is twofold. First, the manufacturers can eliminate some cost by obviating the need for a cooling fan. More important, eliminating the fan eliminates noise. If Web appliances are going to live with us in our living rooms and kitchens, they must blend in with our surroundings and not give off that constant drone we've become accustomed to with desktop PCs. The biggest trade-off Web-appliance engineers face in their designs is the display. Their choices are the LCD and the CRT. LCDs offer low power, light weight, and compact size but are relatively expensive. LCD prices have recently been falling, but they still account for one-third to one-half of the total bill-of-materials cost. Among LCD technologies, TFT (thin-film-transistor) LCDs offer superior low-light performance over DSTN (double-layer supertwist-nematic) LCDs. Most vendors have settled on the 10-in. LCD as a good compromise between cost and readability. CRTs, on the other hand, are much less expensive for a given screen size. However, they consume more power, dissipate more heat, and outweigh equivalent LCDs. Almost all Web appliances use LCD screens. One exception is Compaq's iPaq IA-2, which comes with a 15-in. color CRT display. As a comparison, the iPaq IA-1 costs $100 more than the IA-2, but its LCD screen measures only 10 in. diagonally. Choosing an OS Diversity among Web appliances appears in an area that their users will probably never notice: the operating system. Intel's Web Tablet runs VxWorks from Wind River. Compaq and Honeywell chose to go with Microsoft's WinCE. Sony's eVilla and Qubit's Orbit are running BeIA from Be. QNX powers 3Com's Audrey, and Gateway bases its Connected Touch Pad on a version of Linux that Transmeta developed. Because choosing a Microsoft operating system for your platform isn't the automatic decision it may be for PCs, you need to consider the pros and cons of the alternatives. As with the x86 architecture, a Windows-based OS has definite advantages. Windows CE has a familiar look and feel, but that feature may be irrelevant if you want to create your own graphical-user-interface experience. CE also has all the standard applications and plug-ins for your browser, but, if you want enhancements and customizations, consider the effort you'll face in negotiating these changes with Microsoft versus a smaller company, such as Be or QNX. Also, these smaller companies have a lot riding on getting their OSs into your platform. Check to see which ones support the features and browser plug-ins you want and which companies are willing to add it. If customization and control over your OS is critical, then Linux should be at the top of your list. Linux lets you tweak the code to your heart's content, and its price is right, too. Another issue to consider is the amount of memory the OS requires—not just for the OS but for any applications you want to run. A common configuration is 32 Mbytes of SDRAM and 16 Mbytes of flash memory. Also, think about how you will update the software running on your appliance. And don't forget about one of the more annoying aspects of your PC's OS: its boot time. A true appliance suggests that it's instantly available. How many of us would put up with a microwave oven that required waiting a minute or two before you could punch in 15 seconds on the keypad to heat your blueberry muffin? Bandwidth is another trade-off that Web-appliance designers face. Most vendors include at least a modem port to access the Internet. Even at 56 kbps, modems make a lot of sense because practically every home, apartment, office, and hotel room has a phone jack. But if your market is the tech-savvy crowd, it most likely has broadband Internet access and may not even consider your product if an Ethernet port isn't at least an option. Because phone jacks and network hubs are less common than AC wall outlets, Honeywell's WebPAD and Intel's and Qubit's Web Tablets give you wireless Web access. The downside to eliminating cables is adding the cost of radio transceivers in both the handheld device and the base station. No cables also means no line power, so you must add either rechargeable batteries and a recharging dock or use disposable batteries. Whether to provide for expansion is another issue to consider. By including a PC Card slot, for example, you allow your customer to add features later. Expandability is also a way to reduce the initial purchase price because the basic configuration need not include a lot of features. Of course, any provision for expansion adds to the cost in connectors and support circuitry. By making a Web appliance expandable, however, you begin to cross that threshold to PCs. One reason that PCs are unreliable is that users can add third-party software and hardware to them. It does make sense, however, to allow a user to print a Web page or an e-mail. Most Web appliances come with at least one USB port so that you can connect a printer, but these appliances usually support only one or two models of printers. If they are not standard, some of the appliances can also accommodate an optional USB keyboard or mouse. What you can throw away As for adding or upgrading software, Web-appliance vendors are relying on the device's Internet connection. Some of the appliances can download patches and upgrades under the direction of their vendor or Internet-service provider, making it much easier to control what software is on the system. Installing upgrades in this way also eliminates the need for a floppy-disk or CD-ROM drive. Doing away with a removable-media drive not only reduces cost but also prevents users from installing unsupported software. Keeping user-installed software off Web appliances increases reliability and reduces the chances of a virus' finding its way onto the system. Web appliances lack not only floppy-disk and CD-ROM drives, but also hard-disk drives. Using an efficient OS and only a few basic applications allows Web-appliance designers to get by with a 16-Mbyte flash chip. Another trick engineers use to reduce the amount of persistent storage is to compress the OS and applications while they reside on flash. By eliminating the hard drive, manufacturers reduce costs and eliminate another source of noise. For those of you who are not into designing a Web appliance from scratch, some companies will sell you the guts and let you add your own customization and value. One example is the Philips Net Display Module (Figure 4). Philips believes that the Web-appliance market needs an economy of scale to succeed and drive down LCD prices. By providing 80% of the functions of a Web appliance, Philips hopes its Net Display Module will attract enough customers to get the volumes that lead to lower costs. Philips offers the module in the lower cost S10LP-NG version, which uses National's SC3200 system chip, and the higher performance S10LP-TC version, which features the Transmeta TM3400 processor. Both support wireless-Internet access and have 10.4-in., thin-film-transistor LCDs. The Net Display Module integrates the motherboard in the LCD panel, yielding a relatively thin assembly and lower overall cost. The jury is still out on whether Web appliances are the future or a fad. Most tethered appliances retail for around $500, which is close to what a low end desktop PC with a CRT monitor costs. If your company sells both products, you may not care which one sells the most. But if you are betting your company or division on a Web appliance, you need to offer the consumer a compelling reason to buy one instead of a cheap PC. LCD prices are keeping the cost of a Web appliance too close to the low end of the PC market. Even if LCD prices drop drastically, the cost of manufacturing a low end PC may sympathetically drop. Web appliances need a convincing answer to the question, 'Why not a PC?'
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Advanced Tests
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the
Web and send E-Mail from any point in their home over their existing
Internet access point. The device is able to share both the Internet
access and the printer of a centralized PC, while providing its own Web
browser and functionality (so both the tablet and the main PC can surf
simultaneously).
The
wireless connectivity is made possible through the use of Intel's AnyPoint
Wireless Networking hardware on the Master PC. The AnyPoint system allows
for the wireless connection of PCs in a home network (or in this case, the
connection of the Web Tablet to the PC) within a 150 foot range.
Craig
Barrett focuses on electronics
Web
appliances are trying to fit into both the tech-savvy
and the technophobe markets, and neither has proved
viable.
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| Intel’s Web tablet prototype provides “always-on” access. |
Soon newspapers will be designing content for hoards of sexy, handheld Internet appliances. Only one minor question remains—just what will those appliances look like?
The interface of the future may well be the Web tablet, a handheld device developed by Intel. Based on an experiment conducted with Newhouse-owned Advance Internet, the tablet solves concerns about content presentation, convenience—and, most importantly, newspapers’ involvement in the next generation of publishing platforms.
Intel executives asked themselves a tough question about three years ago—why families weren’t using home computers more often. Based on a technique called ethnography, Intel’s research indicated that families gather most often in their kitchens and family rooms. After analyzing the findings, the company set out to create a device suited to family gathering spots, with a usage model different than that of a typical PC.
“People use a handheld appliance many times throughout the day, but in short bursts,” said David Preston, new-business director at Intel Architecture Labs in Hillsboro, Ore., during his presentation at an NAA-sponsored wireless summit.
Intel’s first prototype was a machine attached to a refrigerator. Further experimentation yielded a tablet connected to a PC not by wires, but radio waves. Engineers in the company’s Oregon lab built a prototype larger than a Palm Pilot, but smaller than a weekly newsmagazine. Intel then teamed with Advance Internet to test the theory
that by making the Internet instantly accessible, portable, easy to use and personal, more consumers will go online more often.
From Advance’s standpoint, preparing content for consumers in their kitchens or living rooms requires more than a straight dump of the morning’s paper, according to Executive Producer Joe Territo. Advance added a thin layer of customized content to Oregon Live, the Web partner of the Portland test market’s local paper, The Oregonian. Each member of the 10 participating families received a personal icon leading them to a unique opening page. If a participant indicated a preference for sports, they received sports news from The Oregonian and The Associated Press. Cooking enthusiasts found articles from Conde-Net, another Advance site.
Offering relevant material drove the content side of the project, and Advance Internet made some assumptions about participants’ news habits. “We assumed people wanted the top news of the day,” Territo said. The company hired a stringer to file local stories five days per week.
Compared to their regular PC use, test families interacted with the tablet more frequently throughout the day, and the vast majority found Advance’s content satisfying.
The downside? The computer and Internet connection must be on at all times to afford instant access. For advertising, the biggest perceived advantage plays to a marketer’s core goal: brand placement directly in front of the consumer at the time of purchase.
Intel’s decision to reach out to Advance Internet delivered a message that newspaper publishers—harangued for their slow adoption of new technologies—may have a place on the wireless frontier after all.
Runett is NAA’s manager of new media analysis. E-mail, runer@naa.org. To order NAA’s white paper, Newspapers Everywhere—A Menu for the Mobile Millennium, call (800) 651-4NAA and ask for item 50205.
For Online Ads,
a Home-Grown Perl
by Christopher J. Feola
Ah, those smells of the back shop, those memories—the hot lead, the cold type, the sizzling Perl...
What was that last one again?
Perl is sort of the copy desk of the Internet world—something utterly unknown to outsiders, yet responsible for much of the work. More precisely, Perl is a programming language that has been pressed into service driving the World Wide Web.
Out in Oregon, for instance, David Merrill has used it to build a banner-advertising system for the state press association. “We have been gearing up to sell banners for Northwest newspaper sites,” says the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association computer specialist. “The ability to provide site-usage data to advertisers improves our ability to market that service.”
But systems that handle online advertising and metrics are fairly expensive. So Merrill...well, let him tell the story.
“The script is an adaptation of an existing Perl application, which I downloaded for $49 from www.cgitoolbox.com. That application, called The Ultimate Ad Tracker, provided the basic data-collection and display engine that I was looking for.” (Other would-be Perl jockeys can download a demo from the cgitoolbox site.)
Merrill then “altered the access quite heavily to allow the kind of administration and online-advertiser access that we needed, and added the link-code-generation facility,” he says.
Merrill’s creation is used to serve online ads to ONPA member sites and provide usage statistics to advertisers. Sites link to the ads, and the link code addresses the tracking script directly to record the access. A separate script displays usage data in numeric and graphical form. Advertisers view this display by entering a unique account ID in an online form. Each ad has two tracking accounts, one for “hits” and one for click-throughs, and the displays are viewed separately.
Here’s the geek bit: The scripts are written in Perl 5 for Linux running Apache Web-server software—a setup that’s as close as you get to a standard on the Web.
As you might expect, this is not Merrill’s first trip down programming lane. He’s written a Perl script that drives online conference-registration forms, computes fees and accepts payment, plus a database-driven advertising-cost calculator (see www.nwnn.com). He’s also developing a browser-based intranet/Internet database-management system for maintaining ONPA’s membership database, currently available only on static HTML pages that are a bear to maintain. On the back burner is an online “clipping service” that would search Oregon newspaper sites and e-mail subscribers URLs containing matches to their search criteria.
A fairly busy guy. And while this may sound like a lot of arcane stuff, it’s a lot like all the arcane stuff going on at your copy desk—vitally important to your operation.
Feola is chief of technology for Belo Interactive. E-mail, cfeola@belo.com.
TechNews Volume 6, Number 3: May/June 2000
| Wind River Technology and Services Deployed in Wireless Intel Web Tablet for Consumers | ||||||||||
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SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 26, 2001--INTEL DEVELOPER FORUM -- Wind River Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:WIND), a leading provider of software and services for smart devices in the Internet age, today announced that Intel Corporation developed its new wireless Internet device, the Intel(R) Web Tablet, using a suite of Wind River software and services. The concept of the Intel(R) Web Tablet shares the home PC's Internet connection, processing power and printer to let consumers access the web from anywhere in the home. The software in the Intel(R) Web Tablet was designed using components of Tornado for Internet Appliances(TM), (TIA), a suite of Wind River's embedded software technology, and its real-time operating system, (RTOS), VxWorks(R). Wind River's embedded software is designed for the development, deployment, and in-field management of Internet appliances and smart consumer devices. The Intel(R) Web Tablet is a perfect example of how Wind River's software, from real-time operating systems, to design and development tools, allows its customers to make the best use of their own development resources, and customize their own design specifications. In addition to using the components of TIA, and Wind River's VxWorks, Intel used Wind River's development services to implement, test and consult throughout all phases of the development cycle from discovery through deployment. Wind River's services group simulated the Intel(R) Web Tablet customizing, configuring, and testing it under real-world conditions, increasing efficiencies in Intel's design and development process. "Wind River's portfolio included the technologies we needed for a reliable and functional product concept design," said Mike Reed, director of marketing, Internet Tablet Operation, Intel. "Wind River's service organization is like a virtual research and development team, working with us every step of the way to create an innovative device that extends the value of the PC." "Companies have been very receptive to Wind River's end-to-end solutions for innovative, smart, connected devices such as the Intel(R) Web Tablet," said J.C. Sarner, vice president and general manager of Wind River's Consumer business unit. "We aim to provide building blocks - from OS to wireless protocols to Internet applications - that enable our customers to create connected smart devices. The Intel(R) Web Tablet utilizes components of our complete solution for the embedded consumer market." Wind River - an End to End Solution The value of Wind River's TIA is found in its wide variety of development components for connected smart devices and Internet appliances. The Intel(R) Web Tablet houses several of the TIA components including, Wind River's VxWorks, Personal JWorks, and Windstorm. VxWorks is the fundamental run-time component of the TIA platform and is the most widely adopted RTOS in the embedded industry. VxWorks is flexible, scalable, reliable, and available on all popular CPU platforms. Personal JWorks combines the advantages of PersonalJava technology write once, run anywhere capability, Internet readiness, security, extensibility, and upgradeability. Personal JWorks software implements Sun Microsystems' PersonalJava 3.1 reference implementation and is certified for full compatibility with the PersonalJava specification version 1.2. This assures that any PersonalJava-compatible application will run without modification on Personal JWorks. The WindStorm component provides a first-of-its-kind client/server Java technology-based architecture for development, deployment, and content management of Internet devices. WindStorm offers a suite of standard and customizable device centric plug-ins as well as host development tools like the WindStorm Simulation Environment. The WindStorm tools enabled the developers of the Intel(R) Web Tablet to work within this simulation environment gaining an easier, more manageable integration of software to the device. Wind River development services offers customer education, consulting expertise and Doctor Design(TM) services - premium engineering design services and project management to help your innovative products from concept to deployment. For a live technology demonstration, please visit the Wind River booth, No. 422 at the Intel Developers Forum, San Jose Convention Center, February 27th through March 1st. About Wind River Wind River, www.windriver.com, is a worldwide leader in embedded software and services for creating connected smart devices. Wind River provides software development tools, real-time operating systems, and advanced connectivity for use in products throughout the Internet, telecommunications and data communications, digital imaging, digital consumer electronics, networking, medical, computer peripherals, automotive, industrial automation and control, and aerospace/defense markets. Wind River is how smart things think. Founded in 1983, Wind River is headquartered in Alameda, California, with operations in sixteen countries worldwide. Wind River Systems, the Wind River Systems logo, VxWorks, and Tornado are registered trademarks of Wind River Systems, Inc. All other names mentioned are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective companies.
|
Intel strings together peer-to-peer plans
| By Nicolas
Mokhoff EE Times March 08, 2001 (6:19 PM EST) |
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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Intel Corp. appears to be working full-throttle to tackle the challenges of both Internet devices and the Internet infrastructure, as demonstrated by two developments detailed at the Intel Developer Forum last week. The wireless Web Tablet extends the PC's domain into the living room or elsewhere in a home; Intel separately described its attempt to establish standard operating procedures for global peer-to-peer computing. Placed together, these two developments provide a recipe for the continuing sale of the chips dear to Intel's heart.
By working with partners to build PC-extendible Internet appliances and fostering a newly formed Peer-to-Peer Working Group, Intel is methodically working to make the Internet its next bastion with a focus on PC-centric communications extensions.
As detailed at IDF, the Web Tablet which shares a home PC's Internet connection, processing power and printer to allow consumers to access the Web from anywhere in the home.
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Also at IDF, Pat Gelsinger, vice president and chief technology officer of the Intel Architecture Group, boldly predicted that "half of broadband homes will be engaged in peer-to-peer photo/calendar sharing by 2004". Gelsinger said he believes peer-to-peer distributed computing will take off like wildfire, with appliances like the Web Tablet serving as the edge connections.
The Web Tablet is based on Intel's StrongARM SA-1110 processor and uses Intel's StrataFlash memory. It also features Wind River's VxWorks real-time operating system and Personal Jworks; Espial's Escape embedded browser and Espresso graphical user interface component; and BeComm's Strings software.
Intel intends to introduce the tablet in North America later this year. One technology that will make the Web Tablet stand out among other Internet appliances is BeComm's Strings. And by extension, Strings could weave disparate distributed appliances into a global peer-to-peer communications architecture.
BeComm Corp. has been in stealth mode for over four years, and Strings represents over 50 work-years of development effort.
Bead-dazzled
While the Strings core has many similarities to traditional operating systems, it is also significantly different. Strings defines a new middleware layer of software focused on delivering digital media to end users, rather than relying on hardware or networks to deliver that media. To address the fluid nature of Internet appliances, every Strings-based appliance is able to dynamically generate the feature set needed to enable instant access to content. Strings achieves this by leveraging highly discrete software objects called Beads. Any Strings-enabled appliance can instantly string together a series of Beads to dynamically enable the required functionality. Since an appliance can string Beads together across a network of appliances, the functionality required to manage any given type of media can be distributed across a network.
Strings provides an environment where users have instant access to any type of content from any appliance. For example, a handheld device with a screen, speaker and microphone could provide access any content that can be rendered in audio or video formats. This handheld could morph into an MP3 player, serve as an Internet telephone, or function as a universal remote control. That requires managing not only the appliance's user interface, but also its interface to multimedia content as well, and to the appliance's interface to the network.
Complete infrastructure
To make this possible, Strings leverages a patented technology that allows Beads to be strung together on the fly to provide the precise functionality required by the end user. Since Beads can encapsulate everything from device drivers and user interface components to multimedia codecs and network protocols, Strings is able to provide a complete infrastructure for intelligent appliances.
With Strings, a user would be able to use a cellular phone to tune in a television show, or use a wireless tablet to access Web content while displaying video content on a television. These features are seamlessly enabled without additional application software, since the fundamental ability to access and share content is built into every Strings-enabled appliance.
New functionality can be made available by developing a new Bead, a chore presently handled by BeComm but which could eventually be opened up to the developer community, BeComm said. When new Beads are introduced, they will be downloadable from BeComm's online services.
Strings lets appliances share resources, processing power and software, and makes every appliance as powerful as its attached network. OEMs and service providers can update Strings-enabled appliances over a network, and BeComm's software delivery service can optimize Beads for a target appliance.
Strings has currently been ported to Posix-compliant platforms, including Linux, Unix, VxWorks, QNX, and Windows 98, NT, CE and Windows 2000.
BeComm is working on an interface design that will provide users with a single, consistent interface for interacting with multimedia regardless of its type or source. This interface will give service providers a delivery mechanism to build value-added services into their offerings, and will likewise provide users with an intuitive and easy way to interact with these services.
Beads can be developed in C, C++, Java and Strings Script — BeComm's Java-script-like language. Strings achieves platform-independence by ensuring that Beads are always available in native form for any given processor.
Peer-to-peer computing essentially turns clients into servers, and could potentially return the Internet to its earlier conception before it became mostly a read-only medium. P2P computing has been called the only workable architecture in a world with billions of devices connected to networks.
Gartner Dataquest (San Jose, Calif.) estimates that P2P content networks will become prevalent within the next five years. Half of today's server-based content management vendors will add data-centered P2P functionality to their product offerings by 2005, the market research firm said.
Distributed architectures
Other companies are working on similar distributed software architectures. Swedish software maker Pocit Labs this month announced file-swapping software for mobile devices using Bluetooth technology.
Called BlueTalk, the software will let up to about 50 people at a time trade files, play the same games, or use any of 50 other proposed software applications on wireless devices. And Endeavors Technology (Irvine, Calif.) has tested a wireless peer-to-peer application on Compaq Computer's iPaq handheld device.
Scientific research firms have also begun using peer-to-peer as a way for colleagues in different parts of the world to collaborate. A high-speed computer network in Europe will link research computers in four countries. The European Data Grid, developed by the European Laboratory for Particle Physics in Switzerland (CERN), has computing power of 20 teraflops and will be able to analyze more data than any computing system yet devised. The grid will be formed by PCs whose powers are morphed into one appliance featuring the power of a supercomputer, saving billions of dollars.
Representatives from software makers and other companies working on grid technologies recently met with some 400 scientists in Amsterdam at the first Global Grid Forum. Delegates hope to clarify, among other issues, standards and protocols for grid projects
The NIEMEYER REVIEW is a free weekly newsletter on interactive TV and enhanced TV. Each week's newsletter features an article focusing on a specific subject, emphasizing analysis and including insights from key industry participants. To subscribe, unsubscribe or modify your subscription, click here.
Intel Seeks a Two Screen ITV Catalyst with the Launch of the 2nd Screen Promoter's Group
by Bill Niemeyer
The deployment of two-screen interactive television (typically for simultaneous online PC and TV use) has been driven by great perceived potential and several standout successes (see the sidebar - "Is There Really A Two-Screen Market?"). It's also been hindered by a lack of consumer awareness, wide sponsor interest and consistently reported results.
To accelerate two-screen ITV development, Intel has started a new initiative called the 2nd Screen Promoter's Group. It will be a broadly based industry group that seeks to be a catalyst for two-screen interactive television by raising viewer awareness, advancing cooperation within the TV industry and promoting voluntary standards.
While the specific members of the Promoter's Group won't be announced until the formal launch (tentatively set for April at NAB ), it's set to include major TV networks, program guide companies, sponsors, ad agencies, ITV technology/content developers and newspaper editors. The editors' contribution would be providing two-screen show information in the Sunday paper TV listings (PC, TV, Sunday paper and brunch - a four media app?) and via their paper's web sites, as well as editorial support to promote awareness.
And in the best "just do it" spirit, Intel is not waiting for the formal launch in April to start moving forward. They and some early members of the group are partnering in a one-month trial of the initiative in Chicago whose first elements have just launched.
Paul Pilat, Business Development Manager with Corporate Technology Group Marketing of Intel Labs is coordinating the two-screen ITV program. Pilat says they are looking to "get the first screw turned, where we're getting some motion in the forward direction."
A primary objective is to promote viewer awareness and improve ease of access of two-screen enabled TV shows. This includes developing, testing and agreeing on a standard icon to identify TV shows with two-screen content, so it's easier for consumers to recognize which programs have interactivity, and to provide simple "click to" web access. An easily identified icon deployed consistently across print, electronic program guides and TV networks could be very effective in driving two-screen ITV use.
It's important to note that the Producer's Group defines "two-screen" broadly to encompass a wide range of web accessible devices including PCs, laptops, PDAs and web tablets. "Intel also wants to bring in device manufacturers, including possibly identifying products as "two-screen ready" with included support for the icon system," said Pilat.
The first public step in the group's development was this month in the Intel booth at CES, with ITV technology developer Spiderdance showing its PC/TV Weakest Link interactive application, currently deployed by NBC ( http://www.weakestlink.com/ ), on Wireless Home networked laptops.
Just started is the next step, a one-month trial in selected media markets. The key goal of the trial is to test the use of a two-screen ITV icon and what it does for consumer awareness and ease of access. This will provide data at the formal launch of the Promoter's Group to back up the value of the icon.
The trial is being offered via selected local online TV listings by a major provider of television programming data for print, cable and Internet distribution. Currently a pop-up asks users to participate in a survey about the Internet, TV and two-screen ITV, to provide a pre-icon baseline for later comparison.
The icon-enabled listings are set to be launched February 3 (Super Bowl Sunday). Listings users will see an icon (with attached URL) that they can click for a direct link to two-screen enabled shows. The listings provider and Intel are working with TV networks to develop a simple online means of reporting information for their two-screen ITV shows for inclusion in the guide.
Final step in the trial will be to survey listings users once the icons have been launched, to quantify how much the icons have increased their awareness of two-screen ITV and their participation in it.
Trial results will then be shared with the Promoter's Group. Intel is also looking to present the results at a supersession at NAB, where it will formally announce creation of the group and showcase what Spiderdance and other two screen developers have been doing to stimulate interest among sponsors and networks.
Intel has already shared usage studies for the Intel wireless web tablet that almost was (First shown at 2001 CES, it was intended for a Q4 2001 launch but fell victim to Intel's October closing of the Connected Products Group). This includes data that shows that interest level in two-screen ITV participation increases "significantly" with tablet ownership and how this enhances opinions about the tablet. Intel has also provided prototype tablets to the group so they can experience these next-gen devices and demonstrate them to their top execs to inform the planning process
Pilat realizes there will be challenges in moving the group's agenda forward. They include "what is considered two-screen interactivity, what icon to use, how to show it and competition with other on-screen elements. Also, how do you best create awareness of what the icon means?" Another challenge is that some of the key experience is "being held close to the vest by the networks - particularly what is the balance between enhancing and distracting from the TV experience?"
(If you knew the formula of mating sponsors to two-screen ITV content would you give it away? Hopefully a spirit of cooperation will dominate, so the various TV and ITV players can work together to engender a two-screen market with sizeable revenues, at which point they can switch to being fiercely competitive.)
And what is stimulating the interest in two-screen ITV for Intel? Shareholders will be glad to know it's a very understandable one - driving chip sales. As Pilat says, a key mission for Intel Labs is to "try to look for new usage models that consumers can use to enjoy their PC purchase. How do PCs and laptops garner more of the consumer experience? There's lots of time spent with PC and TV - how do we start merging those experiences?" They also plan to work internally with Intel product groups such as the laptop group to look at what consumer-driven form factors may be required and how to promote two-screen ITV support at the retail level.
For more information see http://developer.intel.com/ial/home/connected/index.htm
| ::INVESTMENT
electronic news.net
Intel coughs up for the 'Digital Home' |
in
association with Click to join the fast lane |
| Chip maker Intel will bestow USD200 million on companies creating technologies to digitise the home, the company said Tuesday. | |
|
A long time proponent of the so-called "Digital Home," the announcement comes on the eve of the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, at which Intel and Microsoft are expected to launch new technologies and initiatives that will make the PC the centre of home entertainment. The move is the first step in what some regard as the future of home entertainment, whereby TV, stereos, portable music players, DVD players and perhaps even household appliances will all be linked -- with wireless connections -- and managed through the home PC.
Already talk has begun to spread that Intel, as well as rival chipmaker Motorola, is looking to make microchips to run high-definition digital TVs, and other video devices that would be dependant on a high-speed data network. More details about the strategy are expected to be part of Intel president and COO Paul Otellini's presentation at the CES.
Meanwhile, Dell and other hardware makes have already begun to manufacture and sell TVs that double as computer monitors, and last year the Texas based company launched a portable music player and software to manage audio and video content. HP, Gateway and a slew of other traditional computer makers have, over the last several months, been moving deeper into the consumer electronics (CE) business.
But Intel, the clear leader in the PC microprocessor market, has struggled in other areas, most notably communications. In December the firm said that it anticipated a USD600 million goodwill impairment charge in Q4 2003 relating to its Wireless Communications and Computing Group. That group is also set to merge with Intel Communications Group, the company said in December.
Other black spots for Intel have included the so-called Intel "Web Tablet," its failed Home RF initiative, a wireless networking protocol, as well as its entire Connected Products Division, which specialised in digital cameras, digital-audio players and toys. These technologies were launched during the technology boom amidst earlier hype surrounding the impending digital home. But some analysts argue that many components, including wireless networking gear, data storage devices, chips and video screens have become cheap enough to finally allow for the advent of the digital home.
Still, the likes of Intel and it partner Microsoft will face substantial opposition from companies like Philips, Panasonic (Matsushita) and most notably Sony, which launched its own all-in-one home entertainment hub called the PSX, allowing users to run and store video, audio digital images, as well as play Playstation games.
What's more, consumer electronics companies have long had control over the design of their CE devices, as well as the chips these products use. Ascendancy by Intel into the sector would shift the balance of power and could put one-time behemoths like Sony and Philips in the back seat. |
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Intel to Close Consumer Products Business
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel (nasdaq: INTC) did not disclose sales
figures for the business, instead reporting the unit under the "all
other" category on its business statements. Intel reported a
third-quarter operating loss of $662 million on sales of $63 million for
this category. "We had some success with some of these product categories. But
overall, looking at the business as a whole, it did not meet our
requirements for long-term growth," the spokesman said. "It
doesn't mean we won't continue to invest in other areas, but they will
have to have a significant potential for greater long-term return on
investment." The gradual phase out of the business will leave an undisclosed number
of Intel employees without jobs. Employees of the Connected Products
division will be given the option to apply for other jobs within Intel,
the spokesman said. Severance packages would be available for all
employees laid off. "(We) recognize in this current environment the chance of every
employee finding a position within Intel is not likely," the
spokesman said. Despite good reviews for the Intel-branded products, including a
best-selling PC-connected digital camera, the consumer line was not
generating the desired revenues. Prototype products demonstrated at this
year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, including a Web tablet,
have been scrapped. Intel's Bluetooth products are unaffected as are
Intel's AnyPoint Wireless home network devices, which are produced by
another division. The Connected Products division did not manufacture its consumer
devices; it only designed and marketed them. Manufacturing was left to an
outside source, the spokesman said.
If poor sales weren't enough, the shaky economy was the clincher that led
Intel Corp. to the decision to KO its Consumer Electronics business by the
end of the first quarter of 2002. A spokesman for the company said the
Connected Products division was not meeting the company's requirements for
long-term growth.
Some of the products
from Intel’s Connected Products division
Intel To Close Consumer Electronics Business
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel Corp. today said it plans to phase out its consumer electronics business by the end of the first quarter of 2002. A spokesman for the company said the connected products division was not meeting the company's requirements for long-term growth. The current economic downturn was also a contributing factor to the decision.
Intel (nasdaq: INTC) does not disclose sales figures for the business, reporting the unit under the "all other" category on its business statements. Earlier this week, Intel reported a third quarter operating loss of $662 million on sales of $63 million for this category.
"We had some success with some of these product categories. But overall, looking at the business as a whole, it did not meet our requirements for long-term growth," the spokesman said. "It doesn't mean we won't continue to invest in other areas, but they will have to have a significant potential for greater long-term return on investment."
The gradual phase out of the business will leave an undisclosed number of Intel employees without jobs. Employees of the connected products division would be given the option to apply for other jobs within Intel, said the spokesman. Severance packages would be available for all employees laid off.
"(We) recognize in this current environment, the chances of every employee finding a position within Intel is not likely," the spokesman said.
Intel's spokesman said the company would continue to sell its StrongARM processor, to vendors of PDAs and such peripherals, as well as develop and sell flash memory technology.
Despite good reviews for the Intel-branded products, including the best selling PC-connected digital camera, the consumer line was not generating the desired revenues. Prototype products demonstrated at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, including a web tablet, have been scrapped. Intel's Bluetooth products are unaffected. Intel's AnyPoint Wireless home network devices are produced by another division.
The connected products division did not manufacture its consumer devices, it only designed and marketed them. Manufacturing was left to an outside source, the spokesman said.
"We started out in 1997 with a small digital camera, primarily to stimulate this new category and to give people more reasons to buy a PC or upgrade," the spokesman said. "Digital photography and digital video cameras are MIPS sucking applications that require more power and provide people better uses of the PC."
Intel axes its consumer electronics unit
By Michael Kanellos CNET News.com October 18, 2001, 6:10 PM PTIntel is winding down its consumer electronics division as the company continues its return to its core chip business.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker Thursday confirmed that its Connected Products Division, which specializes in digital cameras, digital-audio players and toys, is in the process of being phased out. The company will sell the existing inventory of these products, which should last through the first part of 2002. But further manufacturing will cease.
"The business didn't meet our requirements for long-term growth potential," an Intel spokesman said.
In addition, Intel will not come out with its Web Tablet Internet accessory, a prototype of which was shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Similarly, the Dot.Station, a countertop Internet appliance, will fade out. The company shipped 250,000 of the devices to AOL Avant, an America Online joint venture in Spain, but there are no plans to manufacture more.
The representative, however, emphasized that Intel would continue to manufacture and sell its home networking products, which come out of a different division.
Consumer electronics is one in a series of Intel projects shut down this year. Starting in 1998, the company launched an ambitious program to create new businesses that would bring in revenue beyond PC processors.
Although some of these new efforts--such as Intel's push to sell more chips into the handheld computer market--have seen some success, many have not. In August, the company discontinued Rex, a personal organizer it acquired when it bought Xircom.
In February, the company shut down Intel Media Services, which planned to host streaming video events. Roughly 200 employees were redeployed after it was closed. Icat, an e-commerce hosting service, was also closed in February.
The company has also pared back investments and laid off employees in Intel Online Services, a Web services company that competes against Exodus Communications.
The employees from the Connected Products Division will be placed in the redeployment program. Under this program, the affected workers have an opportunity to seek new jobs within the company within a specified time period. If nothing turns up at the end of the period, severance packages are offered.
The division was meant to serve two purposes. It was supposed to eventually turn a profit and to develop products that would encourage consumers to think of the PC as a nerve center for digital entertainment.
Last year, companies such as Gateway and Compaq Computer, in coordination with Intel and Microsoft, began a push into consumer electronics. With music and video moving to digital formats, these companies believed that an opportunity existed for PC makers to develop products that would act almost like PC peripherals.
To date, the push hasn't met with expectations. Gateway has greatly pared back its efforts, while analysts report that the music players from PC manufacturers haven't been huge hits.
"Compaq has come out with its iPaq Music Center, and (Hewlett-Packard) has announced its digital living room, with all sorts of bells and whistles combined in their hard drives and the ability to upload and download MP3s," Stephen Baker, an analyst with NPD Intelect, said earlier this week. "Fact is, those haven't shown up at retail in significant numbers."
Dell Computer, which released a digital-audio player for the home, periodically gives the device away or offers it at a severe discount to consumers buying new PCs.
Meanwhile, Apple Computer plans to unveil a digital music player Tuesday, according to sources.
Among the products to be discontinued are the Intel wireless keyboard
and mouse, the Personal Audio Player 3000, the IntelPlay Digital Movie
Creator and its line of Pocket Digital PC cameras.
One is the ® . Earlier this year, announced key technical features of the Tablet, an Internet device that shares the home PC's Internet connection, processing power and printer to let consumers access the web from anywhere in the home.
At the July - August 2001 NW Natural* Street of Dreams*, presented by and RE/MAX*, is highlighting a host of its products that reinforce the Connected Home life style, Intel's vision for connecting families in the home, in the community and with loved ones around the world. A broadband connection with structured wiring standards for homebuilders and a computer are at the heart of this vision. The show is expected: to promote architecture as the key to the extended PC in the home and stimulate consumer investments in residential technologies, including broadband and home networking.
Visitors to the 2001 Street of Dreams will have an opportunity to experience a variety of products originating in Oregon: video cameras, ® Play™ toys, such as the QX3™ Computer Microscope, designed at Intel's Smart Toy Lab in Portland, the ® Pocket Digital Audio Player, the ® Pocket PC Camera, and the ® Wireless Series, a family of wireless PC peripherals, including base station, game pad, mouse and keyboard.
As prepares for the new century there will be even more excitement to come out of Oregon. Stay tuned.
*"Stories of Change: Industry Clusters in the Metropolitan
Portland Economy; Final Report of the Regional Connections Project,
Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies, College of Urban and Public
Affairs, Portland State University, July 2000. Report
summary and copy available.
Bill MacKenzie is Communications Manager for
Oregon. He previously worked as a Business and Politics reporter for The
Oregonian*, professional staff on a committee of the U.S. House of
Representatives* and a Foreign Affairs Officer and Senior Policy Analyst
with the U.S. Department of Commerce*.
| FRIDAY IN FOCUS
The head of the digital household |
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| In less than a decade, televisions, DVD players, stereos and just about every other home entertainment device will be wirelessly linked to a PC, as the so-called Digital Home comes to pass. | |
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"It all makes perfect sense," explains Forrester senior analyst Paul Jackson. "Everything is digital now, it's just a question of how much data it is." Jackson refers to the fact that digital TV has made significant inroads, while still pictures, music and movies are already delivered in digital formats on CDs and DVDs, or in computer files with monikers like MP3, JPEG, Windows Media or MPEG, to name but a few. The transition to digital means that computers can read, save, process and redirect films and music in the same way they would with e-mail or Word documents.
More significantly, the all-important technology that can link disparate devices has arrived in the form of Wi-Fi, or 802.11, which has been widely deployed in offices for networking and in public "hotspots" for fast Internet access. It's widely supported, inexpensive and, best of all, it's wireless, making it a snap to roll out.
So, where is Microsoft's place in the Digital Home? Unsurprisingly, it's right in the centre. At the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the company launched its new Windows Media Center Connect technology and its Windows Media Center Extender technology, which serve as the cerebral cortex of the digital home. Meanwhile, partners like HP and Gateway have come on board to provide the Microsoft-powered TVs needed for the mix.
The fact is, most other one-time computer-centric firms see the future in much the same way. Intel, for example, has put up some hard cash to help make the Digital Home vision a reality, promising USD200 million in venture capital over the next three years for start-ups developing Digital Home technologies. Dell, meanwhile, has launched its own flat-screen TVs, portable music players and music-managing software, while Motorola has also has lent its name to a new TV.
Still have your doubts? It's worth bearing in mind that the list members of the Digital Home Working Group, an industry body, reads like a who's who of the computer industry. Microsoft, Intel, HP, Gateway, Fujitsu, IBM, NEC and STMicroelectronics are all members, as are traditional CE companies like Sony, Philips, Kenwood, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp and Thomson.
But there are potential roadblocks. Some experts have forecast a battle between the likes of Philips and Sony on one side, and Microsoft and Intel on the other, with both groups fighting to determine what will be core to the Digital Home -- a PC, or the CE devices themselves. However, IDC analyst Armitage says that the existence of the Digital Home Working Group is itself testament to the fact that all the companies have the same ultimate goal. A bigger problem is the lack of standards, particularly networking standards, to make all the devices work together.
Currently, there are three separate and competing Wi-Fi standards that aren't entirely interoperable. But even if your TV and Hi-Fi can talk, they'll need to speak the same language and so software conflicts will need to be resolved as well. It would seem that putting the same software in everything would solve the issue, but many are frightened by the prospect of all CE devices running on the same code, probably Microsoft's. Armitage, however, doesn't see this as a real threat, at least not in the short term, noting that "Microsoft still has a long way to go."
"People also don't upgrade their TVs or Hi-Fis that often, maybe every 10 years," adds Forrester's Jackson. "They need a good reason to get a new one, and Wi-Fi won't be enough." That's a major contrast to the three- to five-year upgrade cycle in the computer industry, and it is something that Intel, Microsoft & co will have to come to grips with. It's also important to remember that earlier Digital Home predictions never panned out. Intel's "Web Tablet" and its Home RF wireless networking protocol, as well as its entire Connected Products Division, were consigned to history by 2002 and Microsoft, for its part, largely failed in its effort to turn WebTV into a bankable product.
Still, even Jackson estimates that mass-market uptake of the Digital Home will arrive by 2008 or 2009 in Europe, and much sooner in America. Who will be the head of the digital household is anyone's guess, however.
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Are you interested in learning about the history of the Intel(R) Web Tablet and how it can expand the value of your home PC?
Read about how it has been in development for several years. New
information was posted today at
http://intel.com/home/webtablet/think_frwd.htm. Feel free to
email questions to webtablet.information@intel.com.
Thanks
Kendra
