Intel To Ship Xeons With 64-Bit Extensions In 2Q

Barrett said "the next generation of Xeon processor, introduced next quarter" would have the extensions that would permit developers to build 64-bit applications on Intel's 32-bit Xeon processors. Those applications would then be able to work with Intel's 64-bit.

Intel executives previously have said that the performance of 32-bit applications on Itanium processors would begin to match or better performance on Xeon as early as next year. The 64-bit extensions for new Xeon processors would, ostensibly, give developers lead time in porting software from one platform to the next. Earlier this year, Intel released 32-bit emulation capability for its Itanium 2 platform.

Barrett's keynote kicked off the Intel Developer Forum at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. About 5,000 developers and analysts from 50 different countries are attending the conference.

The extensions, which Intel developed with Microsoft, would provide similar functionality to Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices' Opteron chips, which began shipping last April. Intel first began shipping its Itanium processors three years ago.

Barrett, in his speech, said Intel had passed the point of shipping technology into a market that wasn't ready for it as a whole.

"The silicon has to be there, the designs have to be there, the operating systems and the tools have to be there, the compilers, the performance tools have to be there, the applications have to be there and the entire ecosystem of customer demand has to be there," Barrett said. "Today, when you introduce new technology, it's very, very important the whole system is ready for it."

Speaking to the Intel Developer Forum via video, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said his company was "super excited" about the development, adding the software giant had already shipped to nearly 5,000 developers "the latest build of Windows that include the extensions that are compatible with Xeon."

The Redmond, Wash., company said its four versions of Windows for 64-bit Extended Systems -- Windows XP and the standard, enterprise and datacenter extended editions of Windows Server 2003 -- will be available the second half of 2004. Microsoft currently offers Windows 64-bit Edition for Intel Itanium and Windows Server 2003 for 64-bit Itanium-based servers.

Barrett's keynote also touched on his company's efforts with digital convergence, and he and an Intel engineer provided a demonstration of an all-in-one, next-generation cell phone with 802.11x and Bluetooth connectivity. The device could play streaming, over-the-Web music, in addition to providing PDA functionality.

The speech also provided a look at a "concept" notebook, designed by Intel engineers, which would combine a traditional notebook with integrated camera, array microphones, and 802.11x, Bluetooth and GPRS connectivity.

Barrett also said Intel would spend $5 billion on R&D this year, evenly split between communications and computing. As part of a long-term project aimed at bringing high-power optical transmission technology to personal computing, Barrett also demonstrated Silicon Photonics Vision, which is a modulator, photodetector and other features on a single chip that combines optics and silicon.

Paula Rooney contributed to this article.