Otellini: It's time the internet got personal

 

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Posted on 8 Jan 2008 at 02:34

The internet should come to us and not the other way round, according to Intel president and CEO Paul Otellini.

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The Intel chief, giving his keynote speech at CES 2008, said people shouldn't have to hunt for information on search engines, but let it come to them when relevant.

"Today we live in an era of go-to internet," said Otellini. "The next evolution of the internet changes that model. Instead of going to the internet, the internet comes to us."

Otellini used a number of on-stage demonstrations to illustrate his vision of the "personal internet". The first used a mobile internet device to provide on-the-fly translation of Chinese street signs and restaurant menus. He then went one step further, and used the device to provide speech translation with a Chinese assistant.

"What you saw was real," claimed Otellini, although he admitted that the handheld device was using cycles from Core 2 Duo machines. "Doing things like real-time translation will require exponentially more powerful processors - that's exactly what Intel's going to do in the next three to five years," he added.

Obstacles in the way

Otellini echoed Bill Gates's keynote speech by claiming there were a number of obstacles to overcome before such devices became prevalent. They include raw silicon power, ubiquitous wireless internet and the development of natural user interfaces.

Otellini restated Intel's commitment to Wimax as the company's preferred mode of wireless internet, although stopped short of making any new product announcements.

He did, however, give the audience a glimpse of a prototype Toshiba mobile internet device built on Intel's Menlo platform. The device looked like a squared iPhone, but Otellini claimed it was capable of running Windows Vista and sophisticated internet applications built on Adobe's AIR platform.

Beyond social networking

Otellini wrapped up his presentation with an elaborate demonstration of how social networking will evolve. "On social networking sites today, you don't really get the sense of personal interaction," he claimed.

So to illustrate how the internet can enable greater interaction he ran a demonstration of software called E-Jamming, which allowed the lead singer of the band Smashmouth to perform live on stage, while his three other band members joined him from separate venues across Las Vegas.

Smashmouth's Steve Harwell was then turned into a 3D avatar by software from an internet start-up called Big Stage, before undertaking a virtual performance with the rest of his band, thanks to an advanced motion capture rig from Organic Motion.

"The PC experience improved and evolved over its 30-year history," Otellini concluded. "The personal internet will follow the same path."

Click here for our full coverage from CES 2008

Author: Barry Collins in Las Vegas