David Shapshak
The 3D Internet dream is getting a little closer to reality with the launch of a new generation of Pentium chips from microprocessor manufacturer Intel.
The Pentium III is the latest in Intel’s processors that enhance computers’ multi- media functions, but is primarily aimed at improving the way 3D and video content is viewed on the World Wide Web.
The Internet is big business and e-commerce is the way the world will increasingly do its business. So while the software manufacturers compete for the world’s eyeballs with their browsers, Intel is staking its claim for the processing power that underpins the Net. Video streaming and 3D animations on websites are the next “next big things” in technical and Web design terms.
“Best viewed” notices on Web pages suggesting which browser version you should be using to view a site could be replaced with “best viewed with a Pentium III”.
Intel will also launch a website, dubbed the Intel Web Outfitter, which will draw together all the applications and plug-ins to effectively use 3D Web pages, that users will be able to download easily, conceivably taking any extra hassle out of viewing these pages.
Search engine Excite plans to demonstrate a 3D browsing service called Excitextreme, and is itself hoping to revolutionise searching the mire of information that the World Wide Web is by making searching a more 3D experience.
“This is going to redefine the future of search. The Pentium III enables the three- dimensional spatial design of the Web service,” Excite CEO George Bell has said.
The chip will be Intel’s fastest, running at 450 megahertz and 500 megahertz. It contains 70 new instructions said to enhance its multimedia processing and video streaming.
But some analysts are downplaying the advances of the chip, saying there’s not much of a leap in performance – compared to the jump from Pentium to Pentium MMX, and then to Pentium II – apart from a faster clock speed. The chip-maker will be releasing chips of up to 800 megahertz later this year.
Intel has already run into difficulties over the controversial processor serial number which could seriously invade people’s privacy, American civil liberties groups have argued. The serial number was designed to identify users in online financial transactions, but Intel has backtracked and will offer a software “patch” to disable the feature.
Most consumers won’t see a major difference when running the Pentium III, analysts argue, as it will take time for software and hardware subsystems to be optimised for the new chip.