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posted by n1 on Thursday June 05 2014, @04:07AM   Printer-friendly
from the nostalgia-for-physical-connections dept.

From Computer World:

Intel wants to completely eliminate wires from computers, and is working on a series of wireless technologies to make that a reality in the coming years.

PCs are on the way to a "true no-wire" experience, and Intel is working on technologies to remove the clutter of power cords, display connectors and peripheral cables, said Kirk Skaugen, senior vice president, and general manager of the PC Client Group at Intel, during a speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei.

Intel is working on new wireless charging, docking, display and data transfer technologies. Skaugen shared details of the new wireless technologies and provided demonstrations of how they would work during the keynote.

Intel's hoping for a completely wire-free PC by 2016. The company will deliver a reference design of a Core processor code-named Skylake which will succeed the next generation Broadwell chip that will enable wireless docking, charging, display and data transfers.

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Asking Permission: Running piWik To Get An Idea About Our Usage 83 comments
So, right now, I'm currently sitting with mrcoolbp and martyb in meatspace working out the finer points of incorporation, and the future needs of SoylentNews. One thing that has come up is we really don't have a great idea of our actual usage numbers are. Slashcode has decent internal numbers which give us some rough numbers, but they're only really valid for logged-in users (which bypass the varnish cache), and we're not 100% sure they're accurate anyway. According to slash, we're averaging approximately 50-60k page views per day (I've included the statistics email below), but it doesn't help us in knowing what AC usage look like. According to varnish, we average roughly 400-500k connections per day, but that number is inflated since we're not using keep-alive or HTTP pipelining as of yet.

Furthermore, since we don't log IP addresses in access.log, and IP's run through Slash are turned into IPIDs, its hard to get an idea of where our userbase is (the general feeling is the vast majority of us are based in the United States, but even then, that's more because our peak hours of traffic are between 4 and 10 PM EST). We've wanted to get a better idea of what our traffic and userbase are, so we're asking permission from the community to install piWik, and embed its javascript tag in the footer of each page, which will give us a wide berth of solid information to work from.
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by EvilJim on Thursday June 05 2014, @04:11AM

    by EvilJim (2501) on Thursday June 05 2014, @04:11AM (#51478) Journal

    Great! more RF noise from inside your PC, dont forget higher power usage from inefficient wireless charging pads used to power your MBoard. If you've built your own wooden case, don't bother sidegrading to this until you have lined the inside with tinfoil... please! for the love of anything analogue!

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by c0lo on Thursday June 05 2014, @04:21AM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday June 05 2014, @04:21AM (#51482) Journal
      Well, you can always put in some EM guides between the components to increase the power transfer efficiency and remove EM leakage.
      (grin)
      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 2) by EvilJim on Thursday June 05 2014, @06:20AM

        by EvilJim (2501) on Thursday June 05 2014, @06:20AM (#51516) Journal

        but that would add like...$0.40 to the price of motherboard manufacture... that equates to about an extra $200 to the chump who buys it retail... sigh.

        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday June 05 2014, @06:36AM

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday June 05 2014, @06:36AM (#51518) Journal

          but that would add like...$0.40 to the price of motherboard manufacture...

          $0.40? I just can't believe how expensive some wires are these days!

          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Techlectica on Thursday June 05 2014, @06:46AM

      by Techlectica (2126) on Thursday June 05 2014, @06:46AM (#51521)

      Also will probably make it easier for someone to snoop remotely on what you are typing and displaying on your computer. I guess when somebody told them they should make Tempest obsolete they misunderstood.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by evilviper on Thursday June 05 2014, @07:07AM

      by evilviper (1760) on Thursday June 05 2014, @07:07AM (#51529) Homepage Journal

      Great! more RF noise from inside your PC

      Meh, your monitor emits so damn much RF out the existing wires already, this is not necessarily going to be an increase.

      Obviously, Intel is just trying to find a market for their stillborn WiDi chips. Personally, I do not want it... It minimally works, but picture quality is reduced, latency is increased, and I'm just simply quite happy with HDMI.

      higher power usage from inefficient wireless charging pads

      Not necessarily... They could use the bumper cars or subway model... A pad with several flat metal contacts on the surface, could provide "wireless" electricity on contact, at no more loss than regular wires. It could even be supplemented with smarts, to only even turn-on a non-trivial amount of power to the two necessary contacts, when your computer sends a wireless or optical signal telling it to do so.

      --
      Hydrogen cyanide is a delicious and necessary part of the human diet.
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by LoRdTAW on Thursday June 05 2014, @01:55PM

      by LoRdTAW (3755) on Thursday June 05 2014, @01:55PM (#51672) Journal

      Don't forget that all of that wire clutter turns into wireless clutter. Hooray! More useless RF to spew around.

      I would rather see more signals shoved down a display cable. AMD's lightning port is competing with Intel's thunderbolt port. AMD is combining USB 3.0 (hooray! actual interrupts, no polling), Display Port and *power* down a single cable. That I what I want, a single cable to my monitor(s). I can then hide my audio, mouse charge cable behind the monitor and directly plug disks and USB sticks right into my monitor. My PC would only have 3 wires: Power, Ethernet and a Lightning Cable. The monitor would have only one cable running to it. That sounds awesome as long as monitors have at least 8 USB ports scattered around.

      • (Score: 1) by Urlax on Friday June 06 2014, @01:26PM

        by Urlax (3027) on Friday June 06 2014, @01:26PM (#52227)

        I never heard of it, but it looks great!

        the only problem is that the name "lightning bolt" is too similar to apple's lightning port. it will be confusing to say the least.

        also, another problem is that USB3 will do 4 watts. that means a power budget is needed of 32Watts for the USB ports alone. my 24" monitor does 25Watts (no hub included). so you'll be needing a larger power conversion board, which is less efficient. (constantly running 50% load)

        this will increase the supply demands, so i'm affraid 4 port hubs will be the norm for years to come.

    • (Score: 1) by outlier on Thursday June 05 2014, @01:59PM

      by outlier (1709) on Thursday June 05 2014, @01:59PM (#51675)

      Efficiency aside, the reliability question concerns me the most. Around my house I'm actually moving in the opposite direction by trying to find ways to run wired network connections to the few devices that don't have them already. I've seen too many dropped network connections during backups or large file transfers and can't imagine the trouble that would come from making every component wireless.

      • (Score: 2) by tibman on Thursday June 05 2014, @03:10PM

        by tibman (134) Subscriber Badge on Thursday June 05 2014, @03:10PM (#51730)

        I'm the same way, i treat my wireless devices as existing outside my typical network. Currently using a 16 port gigabit switch to connect all the computers and devices together. There are a few coiled cat6e cords under couches if someone with a laptop would like to get onto the gigabit instead of wireless. Phones & tablets just have to deal with less access.

        --
        SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
  • (Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 05 2014, @04:25AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 05 2014, @04:25AM (#51485)

    I think we need to throw "Intel" into the summary a few dozen more times, just to make sure.

    • (Score: 0, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Thursday June 05 2014, @04:46AM

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Thursday June 05 2014, @04:46AM (#51496) Homepage

      We need to link the word "Intel" to the phrase "Strong Israeli R&D component" phrase. The bigger the monolith chips, the harder they will be to reverse-engineer.

      Filter Error: You're an anti-Semite

      Yeah, yeah. I worked in wirebonding once, with the bunny-suits and all that. I guess I'll just have to keep buying old-school hardware like hipsters, actually fastening the chip with a ZIF socket or, worse, blow-drying it BGA-style. It'll be like the Cyrix days all over again. Hell, I might have to buy AMD. But the sad truth is that residential computing has already advanced so far enough that there is no need to make it "better" unless a reason to make it "better" is invented.

      And game studios are fresh out of ideas, and the graphics card I jacked from a trashed box at work is already good enough to run Solidworks on dual monitors.

      Ooooh-oooh -- terrorism! You have to throw away your computer because of terrorism, and buy a new and more expensive one!

      Damn I'm good. Jews, pay me now.

      • (Score: 1, Troll) by jasassin on Thursday June 05 2014, @04:51AM

        by jasassin (3566) <jasassin@gmail.com> on Thursday June 05 2014, @04:51AM (#51498) Homepage Journal

        I was gonna respond to the article, but you said it all. You said it all, more and better than I would have. Mod up.

        --
        jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0xE6462C68A9A3DB5A
      • (Score: 2) by EvilJim on Thursday June 05 2014, @10:59AM

        by EvilJim (2501) on Thursday June 05 2014, @10:59AM (#51575) Journal

        damn the fucking wanker who's modding you down. Fuck you wanker down-modder!

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 05 2014, @05:12AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 05 2014, @05:12AM (#51505)

      Throw Intel into what?

      Summary Judgement?

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by aristarchus on Thursday June 05 2014, @06:18AM

    by aristarchus (2645) on Thursday June 05 2014, @06:18AM (#51515) Journal

    I want no Intel. No intel that transmits a serial number to TLAs. No Intel that is in bed with someone who either would seek to screw over education globally or would try to by a racist NBA team. No Intel that is, Intel. That about covers it. I have no interest in what they do. I have not bought one of their chips since 1994. Srsly. And Really.

    • (Score: 2, Interesting) by radu on Thursday June 05 2014, @08:40AM

      by radu (1919) on Thursday June 05 2014, @08:40AM (#51550)

      Seems all the fancy stuff isn't possible without Intel, because:

      > the next generation Broadwell chip that will enable wireless docking, charging, display and data transfers

      Not only will you need Intel, it will have to be the next generation Broadwell. Without the next generation Broadwell you can forget wireless docking (whatever that means), charging and all the other stuff because the electromagnetic waves just won't play nice if they don't detect a next generation Broadwell chip in their field. Not long now before the microwave in your kitchen stops working because the lack of a Intel next generation Broadwell in your office.

    • (Score: 1) by logan on Thursday June 05 2014, @04:25PM

      by logan (3020) on Thursday June 05 2014, @04:25PM (#51776)

      would try to by a racist NBA team

      Sorry for getting off-topic, but it was not the team that was racist. It was one of its owners who outed himself as a primitive racist bigot.

      • (Score: 1) by Angry Jesus on Thursday June 05 2014, @08:08PM

        by Angry Jesus (182) on Thursday June 05 2014, @08:08PM (#51882)

        On the other hand, are there any teams that are owned by the players? I don't think so, at least not according to wikipedia. [wikipedia.org] Maybe the NBA system itself is racist. (that's a cue for some shallow thinker to come along and say nuh-uh because Michael Jordon owns a team, as if the existence of some freemen meant slavery didn't exist)

  • (Score: 1) by jasassin on Thursday June 05 2014, @11:19AM

    by jasassin (3566) <jasassin@gmail.com> on Thursday June 05 2014, @11:19AM (#51583) Homepage Journal

    Intel wants.

    Really? Really. Realllly?

    --
    jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0xE6462C68A9A3DB5A
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by kaszz on Thursday June 05 2014, @12:55PM

    by kaszz (4211) on Thursday June 05 2014, @12:55PM (#51639) Journal

    All these insecure RF transmitters will tell and cheat on your privacy. The other part is lag and driver hell. Start looking for alternatives!

    Intel gave us USB.. which is an electrical and protocol wise mud puddle.

    NO THANKS!

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 05 2014, @03:09PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 05 2014, @03:09PM (#51729)

    NS4: I HUNGER!
    OEMs: Look, no wires!
    NS4: (chomping sounds)
    OEMs: What are you eating?
    NS4: YOUR SOULS!

  • (Score: 2) by Geezer on Thursday June 05 2014, @03:44PM

    by Geezer (511) on Thursday June 05 2014, @03:44PM (#51748)

    So does Intel want to cede the engineering simulation workstation and high-end gaming markets to AMD? Sure sounds like it.

    • (Score: 1) by Hawkwind on Thursday June 05 2014, @08:42PM

      by Hawkwind (3531) on Thursday June 05 2014, @08:42PM (#51899)

      Mod up. This sounds like the C*Os are listening to the marketing department. All Intel needs to do is persuade the masses that THIS is what they need.

    • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday June 06 2014, @12:29AM

      by kaszz (4211) on Friday June 06 2014, @12:29AM (#51986) Journal

      When AMD put some serious L1/L2-cache on their CPU:s Intel may make friends with department of seriously red sales figures..

  • (Score: 1) by FlatPepsi on Friday June 06 2014, @12:24AM

    by FlatPepsi (3546) on Friday June 06 2014, @12:24AM (#51983)

    The only way around true "no wires" is batteries. Batteries everywhere. Dead batteries. Batteries that won't hold a charge. Trash cans full of batteries.

    Do not want.

    Cords are reliable, and work all the time.

    • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday June 06 2014, @12:32AM

      by kaszz (4211) on Friday June 06 2014, @12:32AM (#51987) Journal

      Cords = Less RF for snoops and no lag.