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Intel Looks Beyond the Microchip
Dr Occult writes "BBC reports about upcoming major changes in Intel in 2006. The current Intel core, the Pentium, is on its way out and is to be replaced by a new chip called 'Core'. These new Core chips come in two flavours. Solo Core is a single core processor, and Duo Core is a dual core processor. Intel has also announced the Viiv standard. Viiv is less technology and more a shopping list of technologies. Aimed at the home entertainment market, it defines the latest generation of media centres that are capable of playing anything from MP3 songs to high-definition films."
"The current Intel core, the Pentium, is on its way out and is to be replaced by a new chip called 'Core'. These new Core chips come in two flavours. Solo Core is a single core processor, and Duo Core is a dual core processor."
How the hell did this make the front page? "Core Solo|Duo" is just what Intel calls their single, dual core processors now (remember, generic names are not worth anything to them, they must have a brand name). But is it news for nerds? Hardly.
"All microprocessor chips have a core. The current Intel core, the Pentium, is on its way out, to be replaced by a new core, called "Core".
It all sounds a bit like Intel's hijacking a technical term and trying to turn it into a brand name."
I've never really thought about this, but could it lead to confusion and/or lawsuits with regards to the AMD multi-core chips? I certainly wouldn't put such a hope past Intel.
Although the moon is smaller than the earth, it is farther away.
Therefore sure it should be impossible to have a valid trademark? Remember the reasoning behind "Pentium" rather than "586"?
So what is the "TM" doing on it?
It could also be that the PC market is saturating. There is no new "killer app" so to speak, on the horizon(with the possible exceptions of Vista and Duke Nukem Forever), so people who buy a new computer today should be able to do everything they want with it(email, web, and word processing) years from now.
Intel was buoyed for a while by laptops that are sanely priced and reasonably powerful, but even they are become saturated too(esp. in the Western world). So how can Intel sell more chips? Open up new markets. It's grow or die in this market...
Monstar L
I've got a dual G5 and it's 64bit... I'm not aware of a single application, for a regular person, that even uses the '64 bit-ness' much less requires it. Come to think of it I can count on one hand the number of applications, that are useful to normal people and are not games, I've found that use any of the advanced features of the G5: the 64 bit addressed memory, the 64 bit instructions, and the Alti-vec unit.
Don't get me wrong... I'm not an Intel fan and I'm generally disappointed by the whole MacIntel debacle... but then again I don't do the whole portable thing very much.
I'm just saying that between OS X and Linux normal users probably wouldn't notice much of a difference a similarly clocked 486 and single core 64bit Intel machine unless they were gaming.
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
It's probably just a way to try to regain market that AMD has taken away from them. Intel for the most part dominates the notebook processor business, but over the past couple years has lost a sizeable amout of market in the desktop industry to AMD. Intel is probably trying to start fresh so to speak. The Pentium chip has been around for 10+ years now, and the Pentium 4 chip has also been around for a couple years. Some people, more the "not so computer people" could equate that length of time with obsolete, although that is not entirely true. While I'm sure Intel could use a better naming sense, I'm not suprised that they're trying to reshape their image. I switched to AMD when I built my desktop computer last April and I'm happy I did. In my opinion, AMD is better designed and performs better for my needs. If more people follow suit and see the things the way I do, which seems to be the way things are heading, Intel could be in some trouble. This is probably just Intel's way of fighting back to regain the market for desktop processors again.
What's the matter, James? No glib remark? No pithy comeback?
And what will they do with all of this new found processor goodness without: A compiler, an OS, and applications that actually will these features?
Is there a completely 64 bit Linux? I *know* OS X isn't completely 64bit.
Is there a commonly available compiler that can *really* automatically compile C/C++ code such that it is optimized to use the vector extensions?
Is there a Java virtual machine that uses any advanced processor feature?
That's my point... with the exception of Games and Video applications what applications do regular users use and what will they use that demands 64 bitness? It's not web browsing, or E-mail, or IM, or VOIP, or even that "Web 2.0" crap. I'll tell you now that the existence of the VLC media player and Handbrake don't really justify the expense of 64bit machines. And I'll also bet you that the vast majority of users seldom use any of these processor features.
The hardware is here and it's been here for ages... I've been using various 64bit processors for at least 10 years. What isn't here and I don't seeing coming, except for games and scientific applications, is a real need for the average person. What the point of having a general purpose computer with that kind of performance if the *only* application is gaming, when you can go out and buy a special purpose console for considerably less money?
Given that reality a fast 32bit processor will be just as good to the average user for a long time to come.
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
Wow... Lots of bitter people in here... The article doesn't help much, as it gives practically no interesting details.
The Core chips are Yonah. Frankly, they're one of the more interesting products to come out of Intel. Lets face it, the P4 core was.... Hot? Heheheh. Yonah is based off the M chips. They're fast, efficient, and low power. Expect multiple cores to be the future. As we all know, it's getting harder to get more computing power from pure speed. Tacking on "cores" is the wave of the future. Both Intel and AMD have already stated they'll be making 4 core chips... This is a Good Thing for us consumers!
Centrino is/was a great success for the company. VIIV is an attempt to repeat this. VIIV is, like Centrino, a whole package (chip+chipset with features). VIIV actually has some interesting bits to it. It's got an instant on/off feature. It's got decent onboard sound with composite out for connection to your stereo. It's low power, especially when compared to a P4 system. Throw wireless in there, all the bells and whistles, and you've got a chipset and chip made for quietly sitting in the living room.
I don't know about you, but i'm a silence freak. This fills me with an enthusiasm I haven't had in a while.
To top that off, Intel went and made deals with Media Folk to get content to send to the VIIV computers. I'm fairly certain they left the DRM up to MS. This also excites me. Not for the content. I don't watch TV, and could care less about it on my computer. However, someone needed to beat the media people over the head. Intel is doing that, and they deserve some props for that. No one else was doing it....
In Summary... I'm excited. You're all bitter. That article sucked.