There is an Intel forum next month, sounds like more RMBS news then...
MileHigh
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Intel plans PC overhaul in 1999
By Lisa DiCarlo, PC Week Online
August 28, 1998 5:45 pm ET
Intel boosts Celeron speed
PC Magazine: The Best Processors
Intel inside? Business buyers don't really care
Several advanced technologies under development at Intel Corp. are shaping up to make next year's desktops seem like distant cousins of today's PCs.
At its Developer Forum next month, Intel (INTC) will discuss complete system redesigns in 1999 based on its 450MHz Katmai processor and Katmai New Instructions, which will improve three-dimensional and floating-point-intensive applications such as spreadsheets and object-oriented databases.
But Intel and PC makers will be hard-pressed to convince corporate buyers and users increasingly shy about buying into the higher-priced, state-of-the-art hardware. The trend toward lower-cost systems, longer replacement cycles and lack of new software will make new architectures a tough sell.
"New hardware is not as important to businesses as standardization of business applications,'' said Brian Gabbard, program manager at Pillsbury Co., in Minneapolis.
At the forum, Intel will discuss publicly, for the first time, ways to implement electronic commerce security features, such as authentication and encryption, into silicon.
"The conference provides tools and information to make fundamental design changes for mid-1999 systems,'' said Jim Pappas, director of technology initiatives at Intel, in Santa Clara, Calif.
For example, Intel is calling for new systems to require a faster, more expandable memory type known as Direct RDRAM (Rambus dynamic RAM), developed by Rambus Inc. with input by Intel. Direct RDRAM is the successor to 100MHz SDRAM (synchronous DRAM) memory, which is used in today's higher performance PCs.
Intel's new 440JX chip set, due in the second quarter of 1999, will support Direct RDRAM, sources said. It is unclear whether the chip set will support both Direct RDRAM and today's SDRAM.
The forthcoming chip set, also known by the code name Camino, will also support 4X AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port), which will improve performance by providing a fatter pipe to the 3-D graphics controller.
Intel will also introduce Version 1.0 of the Intelligent Platform Management Interface, a hardware-based framework encompassing Desktop Management Interface, Common Information Model and SNMP standards, which enables cross-platform server management.
For low-cost PCs, Intel will provide details about specifications for smaller-form-factor desktops based on the Celeron processor, Pappas said. Specifically, the elimination of an ISA interface will result in slimmer systems.
Additionally, Intel will provide information on implementing software-based DVD (digital versatile disk) and audio, which also cut costs. These technologies should show up in systems next year.
Although Pappas said that the IEEE 1394 specification for a high-speed digital bus is a critical element to completing external plug-and-play capabilities, Intel canceled plans to support it in a more extensive version of its 440BX chip set due late this year, due to lack of demand and high cost.
Officials at two Top 10 PC makers said they talked Intel out of including 1394. It currently costs OEMs between $10 and $20 to support the specification.
Pappas said Intel will support 1394 in its products at a later date.
Other tools on tap from Intel include Dquik, which tests interaction between software-based DVD and graphics controllers.
A third tool, called I/O Mon, measures and characterizes data flow and performance of drivers under the Windows Driver Model, which unifies Windows 95 drivers with Windows NT drivers.
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