Developers urged to port apps to Willamette

Intel will this week begin to outline to software developers the reasons why they should start to take advantage of the additional multimedia/internet extensions in the next generation of its IA-32 processor, Willamette. At the same time, the company will provide software developers with a number of tools and algorithms to optimise existing applications for the chips, which some say will debut on the 1st of October this year. Developers are being advised to use the Fortran, C, and C++ compilers, said Kea Grilley, director of platform marketing of Intel's desktop products group, today. Not all applications will benefit from the additional instruction set, and developers are being advised to use the Vtune analyser 4.5 to convert device drivers for Willamette, which is expected to sample in July of this year, using a .18 micron process. From other content presented this morning, it is evident that Intel is positioning the additional instructions as an aid to developing 3D solutions on Web sites. Grilley also said that Intel, with the aid of Cadence, will advise designers on the challenges posed by 1GHz plus technology. Those problems include signal integrity challenges, electro-magnetic interference and so-called "thermal" issues. Intel will, this week, also roll out details of its future graphics bus, dubbed Beyond4X. This is being developed in cooperation with a number of third parties including Diamond, Nvidia, S3, 3DFX, and Intense 3D, she said. ®