Will Intel scratchcards unlock a new business model?

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

Yesterday I returned from the Intel Developer Forum to be greeted by some interesting news that definitely wasn’t mentioned at IDF. In case you missed it, the CPU Goliath has started selling upgrades to its low-end Pentium CPUs in the form of scratch-cards – in the US, at least.

It’s a simple idea. The processor ships at a low price with some of its capabilities disabled, and these cards – which sell for $50 – reveal a code to download a software tool that unlocks those extra capabilities.

Not everyone approves. Some commenters (on more hysterical forums than ours) see this as an outrageous way to treat customers. “They’re selling deliberately crippled parts!” they cry. “They want to charge you twice for the same thing!” And, to an extent, they have a point. (more…)

Another Intel security lapse at IDF 2010

Monday, September 13th, 2010

The 2010 Intel Developer Forum opens today in San Francisco, and yesteday my colleagues and I went through the registration process. That’s a simple matter of filling in a web form on one of the provided laptops, and at first glance it looks the same as it did last year — when (as I blogged at the time) it ended up revealing visitors’ personal information to all and sundry.

As I entered my details this year I was pleased to notice that that particular data leak has been plugged. The information fields no longer support autocomplete, making it impossible to browse previously-entered information. A step up, surely, in security.

Sadly, the process remains fantastically insecure for other reasons. The computers themselves are regular Windows 7 laptops with full internet access – and they’re positioned facing away from the registration staff. So while it may no longer be possible to get information out of them directly, it’s a breeze to to download and install any software you wish (such as a keylogger or database scraper) without anyone being any the wiser. Indeed, since the registration machines are in a public lobby, you can just walk in off the street and start tampering with them.

Is this a serious problem? Admittedly, there’s probably a limit to how much havoc you can wreak on an IDF registration laptop. But if someone were to install an aggressive worm on one of these machines, it could easily spread to more sensitive systems, especially if the hardware ends up going back to Intel HQ. Good security practice means anticipating and eliminating risks like that.

Fundamentally, the lesson is the same as last time: when you build on an existing platform, your system inherits all the complexities and vulnerabilities of that platform. And, once again, this demonstration of that fact comes, poetically enough, from one of the pre-eminent producers of platform technology.

IDF graffiti: best of the boards

Sunday, September 27th, 2009

As I mentioned in my last post, the venue for last week’s Intel Developer Forum was dotted around with whiteboards, on which delegates were invited to share their visions of the future. This may have seemed like an invitation to disaster, but by the end of the conference there were some quite entertaining (and occasionally insightful) contributions on display.

Here – with apologies for the ropey photography – are some of my favourites…

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Gelsinger’s ghost hovers over IDF

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

The European anti-trust case isn’t the only controversy hanging over this year’s IDF. The sudden departure of well-liked senior VP Pat Gelsinger last week, after 30 years with Intel and with no real explanation, has been the subject of much gossip among delegates – and a grassroots graffiti campaign.

Now, before you imagine that IDF has been overrun by vandals, let me explain that Intel has installed whiteboards all around the conference centre, and has invited attendees to use them to share their visions of the future. It’s on these boards that the graffiti have been appearing. Some visitors have obligingly written up their hopes for new technology: a few arty types have even provided illustrations. (more…)

Intel kicks off IDF with an own goal

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Greetings from San Francisco! Back in the UK, I know most of you are probably gearing up to go home for the day; but out here it’s 8.15 in the morning and the Intel Developer Forum starts in 45 minutes. Over the next three days we’ll be learning more about 32nm CPUs, scoping out the successor (already) to Nehalem and – inevitably – enjoying more talk about Larrabee, Intel’s multi-core x86-based graphic system, now coming up to a glorious three years of development with no release in sight.

Still, leaving that aside, Intel’s doing pretty well right now. With Lynnfield barely out of the traps and a die-shrink already rumoured before Christmas, it’s clear that the company is, right now, at the top of its game in terms of innovation and engineering.

Which is why I was amused this morning when my very first interaction with IDF – the registration process – exposed a glaring security slip.

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