Techaisle Blog

Intel today announced, Thunderbolt, a technology that allows a user to connect multiple devices with only one cable with a bi-directional transfer rate of 10 Gbps. Now, that is a massive speed and certainly takes the pain and guessing game away from finding the right cables to fit into their relevant slots acoss devices. Imagine a case where a PC is connected to a TV to a printer to a storage device to a phone - all with the same cable and with almost instantaneous data transfer.

It is certainly a very excitement development. However, I feel it is several years out in its full adoption, implementation and pervasiveness. In a world that is increasingly becoming wireless do we still need cables? Why would I want to stream my music or video to my TV through a cable? But no, no. I feel that wireless is becoming important but not all devices are suitable for wireless connections. Wireless transfer rates of 10 Gbps at consumer level are still far out. But would it not be nice. At my home, or even in the office, behind the TV stand or the desk are hiding plethoras of cables gathering dust. Such tangled cables are also known to be bad feng-shui.

If we understand correctly, using Thunderbolt, all the cables can be replaced in one uniform daisy chain. Would that not be nice? It would be.  But only now we are all learning the use of HDMI and probably USB 3.0 and not all devices have them. What about legacy systems that are still in use? And there are many and will remain so for many years. Especially, in the case of SMBs where devices and form factors get amassed organically with no one clear overhaul.

Nevertheless, I am rooting for the technology. However, Intel will have to move very fast to get device-makers on board. Granted it may be expensive to begin with but such pricing becomes secondary when wide adoption begins.

WiGig is also coming into play with data transfer rates of 7 Gbps and Intel is among its board members. To those who say that WiGig will win, I say, wait and watch, both Thunderbolt and WiGig will co-exist. With Apple taking the lead in the introduction of Thunderbolt it is definitely a defining moment which many will take note of, especially the eco-system that thrives around Apple.

Anurag Agrawal
Techaisle

Microsoft today announced that they were developing a new OS to be deployed on ARM based devices. This is the final acknowledgement that the world has moved past the Windows – Intel controlled computing sphere. Announced initially in June as Windows EC7, this has been on a steady development path leveraging earlier Win CE efforts that have been successfully deployed on ARM devices albeit as an embedded OS. The Company is not giving up on x86 development which will continue to dominate the PC computing market. It is however giving a nod to the fact that newer devices which are expected to drive additional volumes of web usage have different requirements from a hardware and software perspective. The key has been being able to balance battery power and performance requirements – something Intel’s Atom has not done very successfully leading to a huge opportunity for ARM.

What impact does this have on developers? Microsoft’s move to support ARM provides an incentive for developers to port mainstream apps to ARM. But ARM based development is not a new beast for developers to tackle. Those that have jumped into developing apps for Android and/or iOS are already familiar with developing for the ARM platform.  What developers need to focus on are the unique usability requirements related to consumption of apps on these various mobile devices.

Overall, the impact on existing Wintel market should be minimal but it seems that Intel will lose out on newer opportunities to come. You cannot count Intel out completely though for the company is fully capable of competing and “arm”-wrestle its way back into the game.

Abhijeet Rane

Microsoft released a new ad that has been making the rounds on various web video sites and on TV. The new ad shows a lady who states she is not too cool to afford a Mac. Clearly Microsoft is taking a swipe at the higher cost of Macs in a down economy. During  discussion last night with some friends, they all liked the ad (Disclosure: they all work at Microsoft. That said, they are generally pretty objective people). They liked the ad because they believed it was on target. I respectfully dissented and here's why -

1. Everyone knows that the Mac is more expensive. That fact does not need to be reinforced. If at all it should be reinforced in good times when people are spending freely. They are not.

2. Windows rules. And will for the foreseeable future. People don't buy PCs for low prices. They buy them because they are the standard. So what is the point of this ad?

3. Mac is a luxury brand and is consciously positioned as such. Luxury brands are forced to sustain their cache during rough economic times. That is the risk they take. You don't see Mercedes and BMW lowering their prices because their image is linked to those prices. And once you lower prices you can't bring them back up again. Occasional rebates, yes. Lower MSRP, no.

4. Finally, this approach can backfire. The PC ad indirectly heightens the "aspirational status" of the Mac. Like the guy who goes from driving a Honda Accord to driving a BMW, the current ads suggest that when times are better, it is OK to buy a Mac and indeed a consumer should aspire to do so but for now buy a PC.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIS6G-HvnkU]

The Microsoft ads that have "I am a PC and I am not alone" are therefore on target and beautifully made. The other set of "I am a PC" ads that show kids doing stuff are awesome. Perhaps the best tech ads I have ever seen. Both of the above evoke a strong sensory reaction. Exactly what is needed to counter Mac ads that have done this so effectively on the past.

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