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A Legacy of Continuing Innovation: Fall 2006 IDF Roundup
Overview: Fall 2006 IDF and Beyond
The Fall 2006 Intel Developer Forum (IDF) may be over, but its influence continues to be felt. Focusing on the breakthrough energy-efficient performance of the Intel® Core™ microarchitecture as well as innovations in software, silicon, architecture, and platforms, the sessions and presentations offered at Fall 2006 IDF were designed to inspire your company to take its next technology leap. Now Intel is helping you catch up on all the sessions you didn’t have time to attend through video and audio content, transcripts, and slides of the sessions and tracks of Fall 2006 IDF.
But the innovation doesn’t stop there—Intel thought leaders and industry experts are already building on the technology developments introduced and discussed at September’s IDF.
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Intel thought leaders and industry experts are already building on the technology developments introduced and discussed at September’s IDF. |
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Catch Up on What IDF Had to Offer
Held September 26–28, 2006, in San Francisco, California, the U.S. event featured over 150 sessions on topics ranging from the new Intel Core microarchitecture to healthcare technology and energy-efficient performance. Every IDF features a broad range of introductory, intermediate, and advanced sessions led by top engineers from Intel and throughout the technology industry. The following resources will help you catch up with what you may have missed at IDF:
Keynotes and Technology Insights
At Fall 2006 IDF, Intel President and Chief Executive Officer Paul S. Otellini and several Intel senior executives delivered visionary keynotes and a roadmap of the future. Technology topics included advancements in energy-efficient performance, as well as the latest innovations in Intel® platforms, software, architecture, and silicon. In the Technology Insights sessions, Intel Senior Fellows and Fellows shared a vision of technology direction along with a detailed review of the underlying technology foundations. Topics included high-performance computing, software threading, and Intel® Viiv™ technology.
Among the most talked-about events at the conference were the stunning demonstration of the Alan Wake* computer game on an Intel® Core™2 Quad-Core system, and the Intel® Core™ Processor Challenge—a PC system design challenge intended to accelerate the availability of small, stylish PCs for consumers' homes. As part of the Intel Core Processor Challenge, Intel will award up to US$1 million in prizes to the PC OEMs or ODMs that create and build the most innovative system designs featuring Intel Core 2 Duo processors in an Intel Viiv technology–based PC.
To learn more about the future technology initiatives discussed in these sessions, visit the IDF Web site for webcasts, transcripts, podcasts, and more.
Technical Sessions
At more than 150 technical sessions and labs, attendees gained access to more Intel and industry experts than ever, including the Intel Fellows Shop Talk—sharing insights that will continue to drive innovation in the coming year. Topics ranged from tera-scale computing and the Intel Viiv platform to virtualization, security, wireless technologies, and more.
To find out more about sessions you couldn’t attend, visit the IDF Content Catalog Web site to access slides from all technical sessions at Fall 2006 IDF (when prompted, type in username = idf and password = fall2006).
You can also visit the Professional Development Center for slides with accompanying audio recordings from most of the 150+ sessions (free registration required, then add Access Code: IDFUSFALL2006 into page 2 of your profile preferences).
Intel Continues to Innovate
Since the conclusion of Fall 2006 IDF, Intel has made several announcements that build on the topics of the sessions most popular with attendees.
Quad-Core Launch
Intel is now shipping the Intel® Xeon® 5300 processor series and the Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad-Core processor, as announced by Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini in his keynote at the Fall 2006 IDF. These quad-core microprocessors are intended for use in dual-processor servers and high-end desktop PCs and will take advantage of highly threaded software applications within these market segments. They can operate more smoothly when multiple applications are running, such as writing e-mails while downloading music or videos and conducting a virus scan. These quad-core processors also improve tasks such as playing high-definition video, protecting the PC and its assets during e-commerce transactions, and enabling improved battery life for sleeker, lighter notebooks.
To learn more about Intel’s new quad-core processors, read Intel® Multi-Core Processors: Making the Move to Quad-Core and Beyond in this issue of Technology@Intel magazine.
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Intel is now shipping the Intel® Xeon® 5300 processor series and the Intel® Core™2 Extreme Quad-Core processor, as announced by Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini in his keynote at the Fall 2006 IDF. |
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New Energy Efficiency Measures
Building on the energy efficiency theme of Fall 2006 IDF and highlighting a long history of delivering innovative energy-saving technologies and products, Intel has announced its support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) newly announced ENERGY STAR* computer specifications. These specifications are intended to continue to differentiate the market for energy-efficient computers and accelerate the market penetration of energy-efficient technologies. Intel plans to deliver processors and other system components that will help enable PC and laptop suppliers to deliver ENERGY STAR–qualified systems when these new specifications go into effect in mid-2007.
Intel will work jointly with the EPA to provide energy efficiency design expertise to smaller system vendors, collectively referred to as the “channel,” to help enable their targeted offerings to meet the specifications. For more information, visit the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Web site.
High-Performance Computing
The High-Performance Computing track was among the most highly attended at the San Francisco Fall 2006 IDF. Of particular interest were sessions discussing the challenges of parallel programming—challenges Intel continues to address. In addition to the first industry-standard quad-core server processors for dual-processor systems mentioned above, new software development tools that make it easier to create, debug, and optimize parallel applications for server clusters have been made available. The new Intel® Cluster Toolkit combines multiple products into one software bundle that includes new releases of the Intel® MPI Library, Intel® Math Kernel Library Cluster Edition, and Intel® Trace Analyzer and Collector. The Cluster OpenMP* for Intel compilers is a new offering that extends OpenMP to be applicable to distributed memory clusters, helping OpenMP become a programming method that works well for dual-core and quad-core processors as well as clusters. For more information, go to the Intel® Software Web site.
Intel is also working to develop building blocks that will help power the next generation of supercomputing clusters, including:
Intel® S3000PT. This powerful, energy-efficient board is compatible with the quad-core processor and is well suited for personal clusters for individuals and workgroups as well as high-density data centers such as those designed for ISPs and Web hosting. For more information, go to the Intel High-Performance Computing Web site.
Atoka. Supermicro, Intel, and Mellanox have developed the world's first high-volume compact server board for high-end dual-processor servers. A key advantage of this new form factor is the flexibility to configure twin boards with quad-core processors in a 1U configuration, which essentially quadruples (16 cores) computing density. For more information, visit the Supermicro Web site.
Typhoon 600. Tyan, Intel, Mellanox, and Microsoft have developed the next-generation personal supercomputer, Typhoon 600, based on the Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor 5300 series. Typhoon 600 is a turnkey system that delivers 256 gigaflops of performance and only requires a 110V/15 amp standard wall outlet. The system is designed for engineers and scientists who need the computational horsepower of a supercomputer in a form factor the size of a PC. For more information, visit the Tyan Web site.
Expanding Gaming to Intel® Viiv™ Technology
At IDF, attendees witnessed breathtaking gaming demos and attended several sessions on the Intel® Viiv™ platform, including an in-depth look at Intel Viiv technology with Intel Fellow Brandon Traw. Continuing adoption of the Intel Viiv platform now sees Verizon and Intel Corporation collaborating to enable consumers to play popular PC games on their television sets through Intel® Viiv™ technology–based PCs. The companies will also market a version of PlayLinc*, a new game messenger that provides a faster and more entertaining way to enjoy multiplayer games online.
The Verizon Games on Demand* service enables popular PC games to be played on TVs through Intel Viiv technology–based PCs, allowing users to simplify, share, and control their games, music, and movies with the energy-efficient performance delivered by the Intel Core 2 Duo processor.1 Intel Viiv technology is widely supported by a number of PC and consumer electronics manufacturers, as well as content and service providers such as Verizon.
For more on the Intel Viiv technology platform, visit the Intel Web site.
Summary
Each IDF offers the opportunity to attend technical sessions, participate in demonstrations of the latest technologies, and get unmatched access to Intel and industry leaders and companies that can help grow your career. To see firsthand what Intel has planned for the future and meet the visionaries who are bringing technology from the lab to your customers’ homes, keep an eye on the IDF Web site for more information, including event and registration information for the next scheduled IDF as it becomes available.
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