Intel Has Multicores Inside

Aside from unveiling its chip architecture plans and discussing its progress in multicore processors, Intel will offer up details on its product platforms and its business groups—it will discuss its efforts in the health care market for the first time—as well as show off some of its research projects.

Forum attendees will receive updates on Intels plans for its desktop, notebook and server platforms. Earlier this year, the company reorganized itself around the new strategy, which focuses on offering its hardware in a package thats tuned for a specific job, versus selling it piece by piece.

Sean Maloney, general manager of Intels Mobility Group, will use his keynote address to offer an update on Napa, the chipmakers latest notebook platform. Napa, which represents the third generation of Intels notebook platform, also known by the Centrino brand name, will incorporate Yonah, a dual-core version of the Pentium M that is due out in notebooks next year. Intel will also add a new chipset along with wireless networking capabilities and additional features such as the ability to support virtualization, or partitioning of a computer.

Maloney will also touch on the companys plans for wireless networking, including Wi-Fi, WiMAX, and UWB or Ultra Wideband formats.

Intel may also discuss a project called Low Power Intel Architecture, designed to bring its x86 chips to devices such as ultra-small notebooks and cellular phones.

Intel will also update its desktop and server platform plans, giving details on the platforms that will ship along with its dual-core Xeon chips later this year. Server platforms, such as Truland, will support the Xeons by helping to packaging new chipsets with features such as virtualization, I/O acceleration and Intels Active Management Technology for helping track hardware and diagnose problems.

Click here to read more about how server makers reacted to Intel shifting its Xeon plans.

Intel has also said it will start deliveries of a dual-core Itanium 2 chip later this year.

Intels desktop disclosures will include details on its plans for the Digital Office—which includes things such as its Business Desktop Platform, a bundle of chips for corporate desktop machines.

The chip maker is also likely to discuss its plans to deliver Sossaman, a low-power server chip thats based on Yonah, in 2006.

Aside from elaborating on processors and platforms, Intel will also discuss new business ventures, along with some of its research.

Intel will detail its "Platform 2015 vision," in which it predicts computing platforms will be self aware and able to self manage.

The chip maker will also, for the first time, unveil its plans for the health care market. The company, which reorganized itself around product platforms in January 2005, made health care one of its priorities.

Click here to read more about how Intel researchers are evaluating using carbon nanotubes to build transistors.

Intel wont be the only company making announcements at its developer forum, however. A number of companies will join the chip maker at the event. Numerous companies will show off their wares at an IDF technology showcase. Adaptec Inc., for one, will show off its Serial Attached SCSI products, while UltraCell Corp. will show off fuel cell technology and Xensource Inc. will provide updates on its virtualization software.

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