7 Glimpses Of The Future From Intel's Developer Forum

IDF Brings Everyone Together

The 2010 Intel Developer Forum taking place this week brought a whole range of emerging technologies and avid participants to the West end of San Francisco's Moscone Center. Those who roamed the exhibit floor got a first taste of advances in network, server and storage hosted by the world's leading semiconductor manufacturer's partners.

Metaio Showcases Unifeye

Augmented reality software was on display throughout the exhibit floor, including Unifeye, developed by Munich, Germany-based Metaio, which provides a virtual perspective of physical, real-world environments. IDF attendees were invited to try out Unifeye, among other augmented reality offerings, in individual booth displays.

The Lounge Of Tomorrow

The sleek design and bright white light of IDF's open spaces was vaguely reminiscent of the space station in "2001: A Space Odyssey," allowing audience members to sit back, relax and check e-mail between sessions.

Intel incorporated its big blue banners into even the least functional spaces and seemed interested in offering comfort and style along with information and vision. Case in point: Massage chairs by the press room were available to those enduring an especially long day.

Too Many Rhetorical Questions? Maybe.

Everyone at IDF knows this is an exciting event for the industry -- some of this stuff has been in the research phase for decades, and we're still learning what it can do -- but that doesn't mean Intel won't remind you. Intel's iconic colors, fonts and composite dots are familiar even to laymen thanks to extensive television advertising. But at IDF, it wants you to literally feel the ground trembling underfoot.

Upping The App Store Ante

In the middle of the showroom floor, amid small startups and companies with a vision but not necessarily a share of the market, Intel presented its response to the Apple App store, called AppUp, which was unveiled on Tuesday. In this presentation, an Adobe representative talks about his company's partnership with Intel, which enables developers to sell Adobe AIR apps and games through AppUp.

Just A Little Bit of Razzle Dazzle

Hanging low above the showroom floor at IDF 2010 were a bunch of striking, colorful silicon wafers. So it isn't Vegas. But San Francisco can sure put on a spectacle, although you might not notice with everything else on display.

The New Neuro-Pyrotechnics

You could in fact almost hear the synapses firing -- although the ongoing electronic chamber music might have droned them out.

The reception booth at IDF (this was pretty much the first thing you saw coming in) characterized the tone of the event: We're really smart, you're not so bad yourself, now let's get excited about it. Although, given what we heard from Intel CTO Justin Rattner's keynote, we may soon be able to see the synapses firing -- and have our handhelds tell us why.

You're Always A Day Away

Let's face it, we all want to step into this booth, which allows IDF attendees to record video clips and send them to themselves via e-mail.

As for this messaging, Intel knows that asking the same question a few different ways will only re-enforce the challenge. It also knows that without "you" -- the developer, the specialist, the enthusiast, the dreamer -- there wouldn't be much point in anything it does.