Print - High Viiv: Intel Targets the Digital Home

At its annual developer conference yesterday, microprocessor giant Intel announced a new initiative to brand digital home-oriented PCs with dual-core processors, chipsets, networking features, and software. The new branding, called ViiV (pronounced "vive" and rhymes with "five") will identify these new machines, which will typically run Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and are designed to work with high-definition displays, surround sound systems, remote controls, and, optionally, TV tuner cards.

PC makers such as Dell, Gateway, and HP will offer Viiv PCs in the market starting in early 2006, which indicates that the products will likely be launched at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. The PCs will feature non-traditional form factors and will be designed to work in living rooms and other non-office scenarios.

Intel's use of the Viiv branding is an attempt to replicate the overwhelming success of its Centrino brand, which denotes mobile computers that utilize an Intel Pentium M microprocessor, a specially designed Intel chipset, and an Intel wireless solution. These three components work together to provide the best experience for mobile users, Intel says. With Viiv, Intel is providing a similar promise. But this time, it's for the digital home.

"Intel Viiv technology is our first platform designed from the ground up for the digital home, where consumers are passionate about the idea of accessing their content anytime, anywhere in their home on a number of devices," says Intel Digital Home head Don MacDonald. "We have to get it right."

If this sounds suspiciously like the mantra that Microsoft has been preaching for its Media Center systems for quite some time, you're not alone. "When Microsoft launched Windows XP Media Center Edition three years ago, we wanted to utilize the power of the PC to fundamentally change the way people experienced digital entertainment," says -Rick Thompson, the corporate vice president for the Windows Client Extended Platforms Division at Microsoft. "Now with millions sold, we're thrilled that Intel has made the decision to utilize Windows XP Media Center Edition as the default OS for Intel's new platform."

10 years later and it is still full of holes big enough to drive a care through. Check the facts: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4173218.stm "Security firm Sunbelt Software said it stumbled across a US-based server storing megabytes of data stolen from compromised computers while researching spyware infections. The server held passwords for online accounts from 50 banks, Ebay and Paypal logins, hundreds of credit card numbers and reams of personal data. The FBI has reportedly now started investigating the ring of ID thieves. Hidden data The bug that has stolen all the data is thought to be a variant of a family of trojans known as Dumaru or Nibu that exploit a vulnerability in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser. The trojan, a malicious piece of code, automatically downloaded itself on computers when people visited sites harbouring the program." According to Symantec, the Dumaru worm affects Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP while the Nibu trojan affects Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP. Macintosh users are unaffected.

"10 years later and it is still full of holes big enough to drive a care through. " Wrong article, Dork.

Today it's Viiv. 10 years ago, Intel was hard at work on a project it called Hood River. The company never got a good definition for that product idea, and besides, back then the technology just didn't exist to make it work right. Today is a different story. While XP MCE might be the most robust out of the box solution, there are some compelling Linux solutions, as well. The only bad thing about Linux is the lack of drivers for video cards supporting good high definition displays. But that is only a matter of time.

Are you guys so insecure that you need to post the exact same comments to every article that Paul posts? And concerning the "facts" in a BBC article. We are still talking about a ring of "thieves," which are criminals by nature, and therefore will attack whatever will give them the biggest bang for their buck, so to speak. When you are talking about a market of 90%+ of the world's computers, that is where you concentrate your efforts. Quote: "According to Symantec, the Dumaru worm affects Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP while the Nibu trojan affects Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP. Macintosh users are unaffected." Hmm, I love how you very subtedly make it seem that this text was part of the article, when it is not, check the link for yourselves folks. Sure, you didn't include it in quotes, but your intent is evident.

Note to mention that Dumaru etc are positively ancient, IE on XP SP 2 and Sever 2003 don't allow auto installs from web sites (assuming you're silly enough to still use IE).

"Thanks to Micro$oft, Windows 95 brought BSODs to the masses!!!" Still lacking any sort of clue. There is no reference to Windows 95 in this article. You are the pinnacle of brilliance, aren't you?

"Thanks to Micro$oft, Windows 95 brought BSODs to the masses!!! " Whereas OS X bought nothing to the masses as the masses prefer Windows.

"Whereas OS X bought nothing to the masses as the masses prefer Windows." Aww, don't beat up on them too much. They are so delusional with their 3% market share, pretty icons, and Photoshop (which was always benchmarked as being faster on a Mac, even though it was only that one app that was actually faster). What do you expect when you deal with people who worship Steve Jobs? People in reality, ie, Windows and Linux users, don't worship anyone. They just want to get the job done. Just think that your tax dollars go towards paying for overpriced white boxes with one button mice.

"Just think that your tax dollars go towards paying for overpriced white boxes with one button mice." Now that my school system replaced Macs with DELL boxes, my tax dollars go towards paying for overpriced IT guys and the attendant benefits that they suck up. All in all, it's costing more. But hey...those black DELL boxes shore are purdy. And cheap, too!

Nothing much on the Inte; site about wireless doorbells that can take video messages "while you were out" from the postman or lamps that go on or off at a clap of the hands. Still nice to see the digital home is taking off

Intel? Oh, yeah, they jumped ship for Apple. "Whereas OS X bought nothing to the masses as the masses prefer Windows." The masses don't prefer Windows, it's shoved down their throats by an illegal monopoly. OS X gave hardware-accelerated windows, now Vista is going to have it. OS X gave desktop search, now Vista is going to have it. It goes on and on and on. Hell, your recycle bin is a rip-off of Apple's trash can, your pulldown menus were stolen from MacOS, as were your mice, your icons, and your desktop metaphor. I could go on and on and on here. Give credit where credit's due. And since M$ sales are down while Apple's are skyrocketing, and with Intel-based Macs coming out next year that will dual-boot OS X and Windows, I have a feeling many of you Mac critics will be converts in 12 months. In fact, I guarantee it.

"The masses don't prefer Windows, it's shoved down their throats by an illegal monopoly." - MS didn't create monopoly - users did it for them by choosing to install Windows instead of the Mac. Illegal? There is no term as illegal monopoly only illegal monopolistic practices. "And since M$ sales are down while Apple's are skyrocketing" - where did you get that from? MS sales are only going in one direction - up. MAc sales, well the only reason why they are surviing today is because MS saved them from going bankrupt. As for their sales, majority comes from iPods and not Macs. Get your facts right. "your pulldown menus were stolen from MacOS" - int the world of IT, no one steals anything from anyone. Its just that if someone thinks he has seen something that might be nice to include in their product, they do it. All the Office variants you see these worlds are completely inspired by MS office. Their biggest feature is "Supports all MS office formats". As a developer you just do what you think is in demand. If MS doesn't give users tabbed browsing, everyone says why can't MS have it. If they do then they will hear from people such as yourself that it is a direct rip off from Firefox. Give it a break guys. We - the users want everything. And companies have to do it to survive. As for converts, let MAC first build a developer community such as MS and then we will think.

Windows worm halts production at 13 DaimlerChrysler U.S. plants: http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/6690/