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This week, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranked Intel first on its Green Power Partnership Rankings list, which showcases the annual green power purchases of leading organizations in the United States and across individual industry sectors. Previously, Intel was named the EPA Partner of the Year in 2008, 2009 and 2011, and received the EPA Green Power Leadership Award in 2010. Learn more about Intel’s environment initiatives.

At its annual Financial Analyst Day, AMD (NYSE: AMD) detailed a new “ambidextrous” strategy that builds on the company’s long history of x86 and graphics innovation while embracing other technologies and intellectual property to deliver differentiated products.

AMD is adopting an SoC-centric roadmap desi...

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So I’ll let you all draw your own conclusions; but I’ve been mulling over a few articles released earlier this month around the piracy statistics released via TorrentFreak. The first article I read was Tom’s article on Gamasutra titled “Report: Crysis 2 named most-pirated game of 2011”. That article led me to the link he posted that takes you to Ernesto’s article posted up on TorrentFreak titled “The Most Pirated Games of 2011”. They’re both great reads and for those interested in the topic of Piracy I recommend reading through them both; the posted comments are always good to scan as well. However; I think both articles lead me towards wanting to scrutinize these claims in FAR more depth.

Links to both articles here:
Gamasutra: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/39461/Report_Crysis_2_named_mostpirated_game_of_2011.php
TorrentFreak: http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirated-games-of-2011-111230/

Here’s a screen capture from the latter site that I’ll be discussing: (Attributes/Thanks to TorrentFreak & Ernesto)

So let’s dissect this & put things in more context. Besides the obvious exclusion of PS3 data – what stands out to you all? …………………………. Give up? Here are the things that stand out the most to me.

1) Does anyone see any Games here that lean on Free to Play/Freemium? (w/Micro-transactions)
2) Does anyone see any MMO, or Subscriptions based Games here?
3) Does it strike anyone else that these games all appear to originate in the Western Hemisphere?
4) Aren’t most of these games still leaning heavily on the Retail fire & forget release model?
5) Most of the games listed also stand out as those that are candidates for Secondary Sales.

Ok… yes…. Before I get flamed I do realize that a few of these are dabbling in things like Online Pass, & some platform specific exclusives, Co-Op modes that lean on a great multi-player experience etc., and so forth. However; I really believe that what we’re seeing occur in Piracy is largely (but not always) a function of these ‘Pirated’ games perhaps not taking, or leveraging more fully, the full tool-set of Business Model Options, Game Design Choices, & or Current Technology that can help reduce, or even in some cases eliminate Piracy outright. I honestly don’t get it. That said, not every game might be a good candidate for say the Freemium/Free-to-Play model, or warrants a subscription; however, it seems like the Western Hemisphere’s Game ISVs – could at least consider some form of a hybrid approach to implement at least (1) of these new trends or technologies to tackle Piracy issues. The alternative is to continue to blame the PC for being a bad platform to publish your game on. However; I don’t hear this kind of story coming out of Eastern Hemisphere Games Companies such as: Nexon, TenCent, Shanda, Netease, etc. So again… I’m at a loss as to why. Also; is the PC really that bad to publish on after all? I believe the PC as a platform to bring your games to is far superior as long as one's willing to tap into some of those relatively newer game design choices, business, and distribution models; but it's going to require some changes in our thinking and playing some catch up to other parts of the world. (Note: Worth adding that localizing your content on day 1 release as globally as possible is also extremely important - especially if you want to reduce Piracy)

Last but not least we have to ask ourselves the following question. When looking at the links or the posted pic we see that PC is leading piracy rates, then it’s the Wii, then it’s the Xbox 360. Interestingly enough though, how much of this is due to the active install base of players on those respective platforms? It’s interesting to note that the higher the Install base, the higher the Piracy rates. Mere coincidence? I doubt it. Bear in mind, the volume of GPU capable PC Gamers over say the Xbox 360 platform is at least 4:1. (~250mu to ~60mu). The Wii has to be somewhere in the neighborhood of at least ~85-90mu or ~3:1 PC to Wii Gamers. Which is an extremely conservative estimate by the way for PC Gaming but I digress. So I’ll leave you with this thought. What would the Piracy rates be on the 360, Wii, or even the PS3 *if* the Active User Install base were at least comparable to that of the PC global install base? Sadly… I think what you’d see is comparable rates of Piracy; regardless of what platform a Publisher chooses. The net is this – and in my opinion it appears that: One: Consoles have failed to truly curb Piracy, and Two: As a result we’ve ended up with an experiment in Consoles that have unfortunately held back gaming and left us with sub-par gaming experiences.

Perhaps it’s time to break those shackles?!

For many years I have been buying my personal computers from the large companies. While I have always been happy with the computers I bought I thought that this time around I would try something different.   I had a job to do that was going to demand a lot of computing power.  So I decided I would try to get a computer that was more customized to my particular needs.  A friend highly recommended Alex Watson to me as the person who could build me a great computer system.  I was impressed with Alex from the first moment we met and  I am very happy with the computer he built for me.  I also found him to be a well spring of information on the hardware for assembling PCs.  I had originally planned on doing  do some speed tests comparing my new and old Intel chip sets but there were too many other differences between my new and old computer to make it a viable comparison.  I did think that Alex has some interesting info and insights to share so below is my  interview with him.

1. I know that besides building computers you are an actor. How did it happen that an actor started building custom computers? Tell me a little about yourself and what brought you to be interested in building custom computers for people.

Well, I came out to Los Angeles to do entertainment and I have done pretty well, but there is a lot of down time. So I started my company Mobile Mac LA.  At first I was just doing the repair thing, viruses,  iPhones, stuff like that,  then started doing upgrades.  I started noticing that not only did people have old hardware they had the wrong hardware.  I also noticed that a lot of people especially in entertainment had both PC’s and MAC’s.  They loved their MAC’s but there are some programs that wouldn’t run on them.  So I went about building a machine that could, if the client wanted to install it,  run all operating systems available today.  That’s pretty much how I started.

2. What advantages does having a custom computer built have over getting a customized computer from Dell,  HP or getting an Apple,  which I know can't be customized?

That is a great question and one I get all the time.  The custom computers I build have just as much to do with the software you are using as the hardware in your system.  When I meet a client for a custom build the first thing I do is get a list of programs or games they want to use and the priority in which they use them.  Not all hardware will play well or sometimes even be tolerable with some software.  I will give you a gaming and Pro Application example.  If you use your computer to play lets say World of Warcraft then getting the most expensive fastest 1 gigabyte graphics card wont run nearly as well as the cheapest 2 gigabyte card you can get. This is because that particular game relies heavily on memory rather then processing power. If you were however going with the game Crises the situation would be reversed.  On the application side using Adobe’s Premier Pro you could get the best top of the line AMD card and it would run horrible compared to a mid level NVidia.  This is because PP uses CUDA technology heavily and AMD doesn’t have that.  Those are just a few examples of hardware playing well with software and trust me when I say it encompasses the whole system not just the graphics card.  My aim is that the custom system is built specifically and primarily for the main use of the computer but also will perform very, very well with all programs the client uses.  I would also like to point out that a lot of times the client ends up saving money because they are not getting overpowered components that they would see no benefit from.

3.  I know you specialize in building multi operation system computers. What are the difficulties you run into setting up these multi platform computers?

Getting a computer that can run ALL operating systems available today can be a little bit tricky.  Many of the operating systems out there will run on PC hardware quite easily given the right drivers. Some are more difficult to set up but once you get them running correctly they are all incredibly stable.  I would say most difficult aspect is getting the right equipment and then telling the operating system what that equipment is even if its not initially designed to support it. Having it be friendly to the end user is also very important. Almost all of the systems I build I use a third party boot loader. This allows you at boot up time to choose what operating system you want to use. You can set a default OS and then if you want to switch you restart your computer and at the prompt choose whichever one you would like.  It can take some time in the set up of the system but once it is done it is pretty seamless to the client.

4. I know you use Intel chip sets in the machines you build. Why is that? How would you compare the new Intel chips that are coming out to the old ones?

Intel is just the best.  I hate to sound like an ad but its true.  It works without problems on all operating systems, they will run forever if you treat them well, and in my opinion introduce more innovative technology then anyone else.

I am very excited to get my hands on the new Ivy Bridge chipset.  The smaller size 22nm means less power, less heat.  The new architecture will give a performance boost at clock to clock speeds, its backward compatible to the 1155 Sandy Bridge boards and that’s not even what I am excited about.  For the past 5 years or so when a new chip comes out it’s not just about speed anymore it has become about functionality.  It used to seem like they would build the chip for the motherboard and now it’s seems its the other way around.  First it was the dual core processor then it was the quad core then it was hyper theading and now in addition to all of that its graphics and video encoding.  I think the new chips are going to be well worth the upgrade and I really love that they made it backwards compatible so you can just replace the chip and depending on your motherboard get most if not all of the new features.

5. What recommendations would you make about hardware to someone putting together a system now, especially someone looking for a lot of power and speed, say someone like me who is going to be doing a lot of 3D and multi media work versus someone who just wants to read email, go on the internet and play games on their computer?

Well there are so many choices out there and you really have to do your research. First off when your building your system, whether its high end like yours or just to surf the internet, to me you have to start with a great power supply.  It’s the foundation. I like to use Corsair myself but there are many great ones out there. Make sure you have the right amount of power and that its going to the right place. Second of course is the motherboard. Now this decision can be a tricky one, other of course then brands I like, Intel, Gigabyte and Asus. Once again there are many great manufactures out there these are just my preference. Back to what I was saying before, it can be tricky. You don’t want to get a board that won't do what you need but then again you don’t want to spend a bunch of money on features you won't use.  A good way to go about doing your whole system is think not only do you want it for now but also a year from now.  A great example would be graphics.  Lets say you want to build a system for gaming but you are about to drop a bunch of cash on the system and can't afford the 2 graphics cards you want. You have to make sure that when you do get the cash for the second card that the motherboard can do the crossfire or sli at the speeds you will want.  It’s much cheaper to spend an extra 20 bucks now on a nicer board then having to replace the whole thing in a year.  Now graphics is the most obvious but it applies to all features of the board i.e. max ram, SATA ports, I/O ports to name a few.  So make a list of what you want and need now and what you will want and need in a year. This is where research really comes in handy. Before you know what you need, you need to know what the programs you use need.  Most programs have a supported hardware list but that doesn’t mean that is the only hardware that will work with the program. Check the discussion boards on your programs, I guarantee there will be many topics on what hardware works and what won’t. In the end doing the research will save you time and money in the long run.

6.  What do you envision is the future of the PC?

This question is almost to vast to answer.  A lot of people think PC’s are going the way of the dodo,  but its not. It will be more of a transformation then extinction. I will sum it up with one word. Integration.  I think we are moving to the place where the home PC will be more of centralized system for data then a box with a monitor and keyboard. Science fact is starting to catch up to science fiction.  I am guessing that within the next 5 years whether you have one device or 5 they will all have the same information at your disposal instantaneously.  Computers are getting faster, smaller and more universally connected.  Some of the technology is here and some is right around the corner.  The PC used to be for education and business. Then came games, and it was also for entertainment.  Then the Internet was born and it became an instant information resource.  Now it is becoming your own little personal hub of you, all your work, all your movies, all your music, all your communication. Soon whether you need milk or not, gas or not, what time you want your lights turned on and at what level, auto scheduling your appointments. Voice commands and hand gestures will become more of the norm.  (Basically, the Jetson’s without the flying car and robot maid).  Most of what I have mentioned is already in use today in some form and is slowly starting to trickle down to the average consumer.  Now it’s just about linking them all together. We have cars that can park themselves, video games that use your body motions to play, and Siri.  Hey there you go, strap an iPhone to a Roomba and there’s that robot maid.

One of my performance focus areas for this year is vectorization. I am excited to start creating more content and spreading the message about this technology, as it has been a little bit underappreciated in the past. So to kick things off, I am going to launch a blog series and a 1-hour overview webinar.

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First, information about the webinar. I will be hosting this with my colleague Wendy Doerner on Feb 15th at 9AM PST. We will cover how to get started with vectorization, including examples and resources. To register or view the abstract, click this link:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/761784545
If you attend the event live, you will also have the opportunity to request a followup from one of our vectorization experts!

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For the blog series I will answer 3 questions:
What is Vectorization?
Who Can Use It?
What Are the Benefits?

Today I will start with the first question: What is Vectorization?

Vectorization is a method for achieving parallelism inside a single processor core. Vectorizing is done by using special instructions called SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data) operations. SIMD instructions, and the hardware that goes along with them, have been present in Intel processors for over a decade. (Remember those commercials in the mid-90s with people dancing in bunny suits promoting MMX™ Technology? MMX was a set of SIMD instructions). The way that SIMD instructions work is that they operate on several pieces of data in parallel.
In the typical (non-vectorized) case, when you add together 2 variables, they will each be stored in their own CPU register. If you perform an operation on them, such as addition, the 2 register quantities are added and the result stored back into a register. Using a SIMD instruction, you can fill a register with multiple variables to be added, which is called "packing" the register. With the most recent SIMD instruction set, Intel® Advanced Vector Instructions (Intel® AVX), which are available on Intel® Microarchitecture Codename Sandy Bridge processors, you can pack up to 32 data elements into one register. The number of elements allowed depends on the size of the element - in Intel® AVX, for example, registers are 256 bytes wide, so each can hold 32 8-byte integers, or 8 32-byte floats, or 4 64-byte floats, etc. These data elements can all be combined with another packed register full of elements, allowing you to perform multiple operations on multiple pieces of data at once. For instance, adding 2 packed SIMD registers would produce multiple results, which would be stored into a packed register as well. Being able to do these operations at once rather than one right after the other can result in significant performance gains for the right type of code.

And addition is not the only operation possible on a packed register! Each set of SIMD instructions includes many different operations, with more being added in upcoming processor generations.

But that takes us to the next topic, Who can use vectorization, which we'll cover in the next blog. Feel free to ask questions in the comments of this blog series too, I might turn the questions into future entries. Thanks for reading!

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 31, 2012 – Intel Corporation today announced that its board of directors has promoted Mooly Eden and Richard Taylor to the position of senior vice president.  The promotions recognize outstanding performance.
Eden, 60, is senior vice president and was recently named president and general manager of Intel Israel. In this role, Eden is responsible for Intel Israel’s operations and strategy, including the Israel Development Centers and Intel’s Fab 28 manufacturing facility. In his 30 years at Intel, Eden has held many management and technical positions in microprocessor design, including the Intel® Pentium® processor with MMX™ technology. He also was responsible for the development of Intel’s mobile PC microprocessors and chipsets, including Intel® Centrino® Processor Technology, which included a low-power processor and bundle of chips that offered WiFi. This product helped make WiFi a standard, integrated feature on laptops worldwide and is considered a key driver of the mobile revolution. Eden most recently led the PC Client Group, Intel’s largest product group.
Taylor, 57, is senior vice president and director, Human Resources. In this role, he oversees all human resources policies and programs for Intel worldwide. Taylor joined Intel’s European operations in 1986. He has held a number of geography-specific positions, including director of operations in Europe, and finance roles including corporate controller. Taylor has led Intel’s Human Resources organization since 1999.
About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.
Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.
* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

The Open Data Center Alliance (ODCA) will host Forecast 2012: Shaping the Future of Cloud Computing, on June 12 in New York City. The event, held in conjunction with the 10th Annual International Cloud Expo, will be open to Alliance members, partner organizations and companies interested in addressing the most pressing challenges associated with cloud computing. Tracks at Forecast 2012 will include security in the cloud, cloud standardization, and simplified cloud management, and panels will focus on the ODCA usage models,  including the latest publications from the Alliance. Intel is technical advisor to the Alliance. Get information on registration and sponsorship opportunities at Forecast 2012.

The Creators Project - San Francisco 2012

In its third year, The Creators Project – an ongoing global initiative by Intel and VICE dedicated to supporting artists in realizing their creative visions through technology – will kick off 2012 with its first-ever San Francisco event. With towering multimedia art installations, live music performances, film screenings, and interactive panels, the event will be held Mar. 17-18 at the historic Fort Mason in the world’s epicenter of technology and innovation. Installations will include Origin, a striking 40-foot by 40-foot audiovisual installation by United Visual Artists, as well as many other art installations, bands, films, and workshops produced by The Studio, The Creators Project’s content-creation studio. The full line-up and schedule will be released in the coming weeks.

AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced worldwide availability of the AMD Radeon™ HD 7950 graphics card for desktop computers. This launch brings to market the second graphics card based on the cutting-edge 28nm process technology first introduced with the AMD Radeon™ HD 7970 graphics card – recognized for its excellenc...

Help your education apps reach more users by targeting the Ultrabooks™. Join us for a webinar to learn more about how you can port your existing apps or create new apps for Ultrabooks using the Intel AppUp™ encapsulator tool. Tap into a new class of consumers through the Intel AppUp℠ center, and sell your education apps to PC, Netbook and Ultrabook™ users across the globe.

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Help your education apps reach more users by targeting the Ultrabooks™. Join us for a webinar to learn more about how you can port your existing apps or create new apps for Ultrabooks using the Intel AppUp™ encapsulator tool. Tap into a new class of consumers through the Intel AppUp℠ center, and sell your education apps to PC, Netbook and Ultrabook™ users across the globe.

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You can now take your games to a new class of users by targeting the Ultrabooks™. Join us for a webinar to learn more about how you can port your existing games or create new games for Ultrabooks using HTML5.

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You can now take your games to a new class of users by targeting the Ultrabooks™. Join us for a webinar to learn more about how you can port your existing games or create new games for Ultrabooks using HTML5.

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You can now take your games to a new class of users by targeting the Ultrabooks™. Join us for a webinar to learn more about how you can port your existing games or create new games for Ultrabooks using HTML5.

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Beating out nearly 80,000 entries from across the country, Diane Scher, a technology assistant at North Myrtle Beach Primary School, won the “Catch Me Being Curious” national sweepstakes and the prize of an all-expenses-paid family vacation to Yellowstone National Park. “Catch Me Being Curious” is a part of Curiosity in the Classroom, an interactive, science-based educational tool from Discovery Education and Intel Corporation that brings concepts from Discovery Channel’s “Curiosity” series to life. Learn more about Intel’s commitments to education.