Is this something we need to worry about?
"Intel is also exploring other functions which may be done through software, such as hard drive controllers, thereby eliminating associated hardware costs, Gelsinger said."
Intel Sounds Off On Industry Issues
By Kelly Spang
San Jose, Calif.
10:15 p.m. EST Thur., Feb. 19, 1998
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Intel Corp. put its stamp on a number of technology initiatives, declaring its stance on several hotly-debated areas.
In his Thursday morning keynote, Pat Gelsinger, vice president and general manager of Intel's Business Desktop Products Group, presented Intel's position on a variety of hotly debated industry issues, including the transition of memory technology, the evolution of hard drive interfaces, and protection of DVD content.
"Fundamentally our industry is built upon common standards that we need to build around, support, and deliver to our customers," Gelsinger said at the Intel Developer Forum held here. "Fundamentally that's the only way our industry works. If we stop having these common industry standards, our industry stops in its tracks. We can't afford that."
On the DVD battle, Intel is teaming up with Hitachi, Matsushita Electric , the parent company of Panasonic, Sony and Toshiba on a proposal to protect digital video and audio during transmission using an encryption method.
To further cut costs for the sub-$1,000 PC, Gelsinger announced Intel's support for "soft migration" where system functions currently done through hardware, including audio, modem and DVD applications, are done via software in an effort to "drive cost out of the platform."
While software-based products in these three areas are emerging, Gelsinger said he expects these applications will be broadly available in 1999. Cost savings could be as high as $50 for DVD and $12 for modem by eliminating hardware and performing these functions through software, relying on the power of the microprocessor.
Intel is also exploring other functions which may be done through software, such as hard drive controllers, thereby eliminating associated hardware costs, Gelsinger said.
For the migration of the hard drive interface, Intel announced today its support for the ATA/66 standard proposed by Quantum Corp. which doubles the current throughput of the ATA/33 interface.
"We're doubling the data rate from 33 to 66 Mbytes (per second throughput), but the real tangible benefit is the robustness of the signal and enhancing the data integrity," said Steve Wilkins, manager of desktop product planning for Milpitas, Calif.-based Quantum.
Drives based on the ATA/66 interface will be available in the channel in the first half of 1999 and are not expected to carry a price premium, Wilkins said. Quantum will offer a free license so the industry may standardize on this new interface as a transitional step towards the ultimate interface of 1394, Wilkins said.
On the issue of memory technology transition, Intel is supporting an intermediate step between Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) currently used and Direct Rambus DRAM (RDRAM) which Intel has endorsed as the next generation memory technology. This intermediate step is intended to minimize the cost, capital and availability issues which may face the industry during the transition to Direct RDRAM, based on an interface which is developed by Rambus Inc.
The proposal is for a "S-RIMM," a connection which will allow SDRAM modules or Direct RDRAM modules (known as RIMMs) to plug into the same memory sockets aided by an interface chip, a move which Intel hopes will help accelerate the transition to the Rambus technology, Gelsinger said.
The transition to Direct RDRAM will begin next year at the desktop, followed six to nine months later by the mobile segment. Finally by the year 2001, servers will have made the transition as well, Gelsinger predicted. |
