Interesting interview with Intel CEO Paul Otellini

check it out. Some of the stuff that caught my eye: He’s not a fan of the X86 nomenclature.

PCWORLD: Where does the x86 microprocessor architecture used in our laptops and desktops fit in to consumers’ lives today? Otellini: First off, we call it “Intel architecture” and not “x86.” There is a difference. Things have evolved from the 286, 386 days. Our view is that Intel architecture is the world’s most popular computing architecture in terms of the install base and the number of applications designed for it. It’s a very scalable architecture. It’s one that can go from the highest supercomputers, to the consumer PC, and now embedded into phones as we scale it down.

The Desktop is still very popular worldwide.

PCW: I’m thinking of consumer desktop PCs. Is this a form factor that you see sort of evolving in that same way? Otellini: Yes, I mean—it depends on where you are. The desktop business is still significant. It’s a multi-billion-dollar business for us. But it’s not growing very much. Most of the sales are offshore in emerging markets where the desktop provides the best bang for the buck. A desktop PC allows a multiple-family-member household to share the PC. Desktops offer people the ability to upgrade and expand systems. For first-time buyers, consumers, and small businesses, the desktop is still a major deal.

He’s not a fan of ARM comparisons

PCW: You are working with Motorola Mobility and Lenovo smartphones today. When will we see Intel inside more tablets—maybe even a Google or Apple tablet? Where does Intel hope to be in five years with an ARM strategy? Otellini: We don’t have an ARM strategy. We’re selling Intel architecture chips into mobile markets—and that continues to be a major plus. But I’ve described our work with mobile device makers as a marathon not a sprint. You don’t enter these markets and become an overnight success. It’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of time, just as it did with PCs and servers. You’ll see Intel move into the mobile market, as we move through the Moore’s Law generations of products. Mobile devices [powered by Intel] will get better and better and ultimately we’ll have the best machines on the market.

And finally, some interesting observations about PC cognitive recognition.

…So in near terms the computers are going to get smarter and smaller and faster, right? What’s next is changing the user interface. The big change we’ll see is adding voice and gesture and cognitive recognition to computing devices. Those kinds of things are going revolutionize the way we interface with machines. Changing the user interface is particularly useful with smaller devices that don’t have a keyboard. PCW: What is cognitive recognition? Otellini: When the machine understands your needs. Think about the evolution of a phone, where the phone knows who you are, knows where you are because it accessed your calendar; it knows your preferences because it’s seen your pattern of use; it has your financial information; it’s got a whole bunch of things that it knows about you. So now, rather than asking your phone to do this and do that for you, we get to the point where machines are doing things for you on a proactive basis. So the machine knows, has an understanding of your needs, and takes actions for you.

It’s a good read.]]>