12,000 chopped: Intel finds its inner paranoid

Only the Paranoid Survive, or so former Intel chief executive Andy Grove once wrote. And it seems that, faced with the demise of the PC market, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich has found his inner Andy Grove. Grove, who died last month aged 79, left both an awesome business record and some great quotes behind him. While Intel co- …

[m0rt]

Citation needed

"Already, this technology is making jet travel safer, it’s transforming the auto industry, and it is further automating manufacturing. The question, for Intel, is how this Internet of Things can become an Internet of Systems, and what kinds of user interfaces will allow people to make use of this capability in their daily lives."

Genuinely not being funny, but I was specifically interested to know what was transformed in the auto industry?

[Doctor Syntax]

Re: Citation needed

"I was specifically interested to know what was transformed in the auto industry"

Replace simple contact breaker & carburettor by ECU?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Citation needed

Thus proving that 'transformation' ≠ 'improvement' - those who don't believe this have, more than likely, never wasted a fuck-ton of time and money trying to pin down electrical gremlins in a modern car.

[Mage]

Re: Citation needed

ECU isn't IoT, nor new, maybe more than 15 years old?

[herman]

Re: Citation needed

The way to make something successful, is to rename something old. Therefore embedded systems^W^W IoT, will be very successful.

[nkuk]

Re: Citation needed

I'd say things like ABS, cruise control, climate control, GPS/sat nav, tyre pressure sensors and other monitoring, engine management systems, auto-parking, auto-driving, etc, etc.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Citation needed

@nkuk,

Apart from ABS are any of the others really necessary or worth the effort, after all the problems we hear about?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Citation needed

Recently attended a talk on securing embedded systems. Speaker had the following on one slide on S-class Mercedes:

100M loc,

100 ECUs,

3 km of cable,

5 networks,

10+ OS.

[anonymous boring coward]

Re: Citation needed

Has nothing to do with the IoT.

The main benefactor of all this is the Dealer/Stealer who is the only one able to (and "allowed") fix the problem when something goes wrong. Monopoly -> Very large bills.

The proprietary nature of all these systems don't benefit the end user.

IoT is a security nightmare. If all eggs are in that basket.. Good luck...

[CadentOrange]

Re: Citation needed

Don't forget traction and stability control. They are so effective in preventing serious accidents that they were made mandatory on new cars in the EU.

[Gray]

Re: Citation needed

Descending the "Grapevine," a steep, downhill series of switchback curves north of Los Angeles on Interstate Highway 5, driving an 80,000-lb gross weight load behind a "Century" class Freightliner tractor, the engine compression braking system cutting in and out due to an intermittent fault in the computer-control circuitry. That's thrill enough for a lifetime, and my near-religious re-dedication to the principle of KISS* and mechanical/analog control systems where safety of life is concerned.

*KISS=>Keep It Simple, Stupid!

[Doctor Syntax]

Always on

If something is always on I expect it to use a much more frugal CPU then x86 and its descendants. Maybe this is part of the problem.

[gv]

I'm quite happy not having my fridge or toaster connected to the Internet, thanks.

[Anonymous Coward]

luddite

So you'd rather manually tweet when your toast is ready? Are you Amish or something?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: luddite

Worse than luddite, he's a fascist. Imagine, denying your toast the right to self-expression on social media!! I bet he dresses his cereal boxes in burkas...

/sarcasm off

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: luddite

AUM SHINRIK-IOT!

[Anonymous Coward]

That's not what they say

My toaster sent me an email saying you're a Luddite.

And I think it's been spying on me for the Feds.

[SirWired 1]

Minor correction needed

Robert Noyce did not win a Nobel Prize. At the time it was awarded to Jack Kilby (of Texas Instruments) Noyce had passed away. (If he had been alive at the time the prize was awarded, he probably WOULD have been a co-recipient...)

[Hero Protagonist]

CFO's role

"CFO Stacy Smith is walking the plank into sales for not anticipating the market shift"

Anticipating market shifts is the CFO's job??

[Sgt_Oddball]

Sooooo

If the 'wintel' dominance is on the wane and they've started to look at IoT and other mobile platforms does that mean that phones running Atoms are Paranoid androids?

Mines the one with a towel and e-reader stating "Don't Panic"....

[Destroy All Monsters]

"It looks from here like a software question, not a hardware question."

No, it looks like a design and a "do you REALLY want to have this? Are you REALLY CERTAIN?" question.

Intel is not in this game.

[Mage]

this technology is making jet travel safer

ZERO to do with the evil that is IoT.

Embedded CPUs are around since the 4004. 1971. wasn't it used in Minuteman Missile program as well as calculators?

Anyway Intel has been making chips NOT for servers or PCs for 45 years. They even had a few successful CPUs that were not x86. 8051, i960 and they didn't sell ALL the ARM SoC to Marvell (acquired from DEC).

[Destroy All Monsters]

Re: this technology is making jet travel safer

No, the Minuteman 1 had a specially designed discrete-element computer, not anything off-the-shelf (with "TRUE" at -10V... damn)

Let's get the camera in here

D-17B computer, complete with instruction set! (That is what should have been scrolling in Terminatorvision™!)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: this technology is making jet travel safer

Citation welcome.

Stuff actually on aircraft (rather than on the ground in a PC doing support work, or in an equivalent role on a development aircraft) is typically required to have qualities which the x86 family have never been known for, such as product longevity, power efficiency (low power consumption = low heat load), not to mention mil-spec temperature range and mechanical robustness, and resistance to silicon breakdown due to cosmic ray effects etc.

I've been working in safety critical computers that fly, for almost three decades (even unto the Texas SBP9900). I've seen flying AMD Z8002 (mistake but still flying), M68000 family (still around for new designs), and various flavours of RISC. I expect there are ARMs out there somewhere though I haven't seen them yet.

Can you tell me where I should look to find an x86 that flies and does safety critical stuff, 'cos I ain't ever seen one.

[ToddR]

Re: this technology is making jet travel safer

Your statement is just plain silly.

All Intel's CPUs, since the 70s, will have had milSpec variants and you can still buy 8086s but, it will cost you.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: this technology is making jet travel safer

"All Intel's CPUs, since the 70s, will have had milSpec variants"

There are specific physical reasons why CMOS with modern line widths doesn't work safely in aircraft-style environments. If you're not aware of them, ask someone with a clue, as you're clearly not willing to take my word for it.

"you can still buy 8086s but, it will cost you."

Maybe so. Can you name a supplier? I *should* be able to (Radisys?), but Friday pm brain fade has kicked in. Anyway they'll run worse than a Z8002 or a M68K doing the same workload.

Meanwhile here's an article from 2002 that says obsolete 8086 are so hard to get hold of that NASA are asking the public if they have any hanging around:

http://www.geek.com/chips/nasa-needs-8086-chips-549867/

Have a lovely old-school weekend.

[Snow Wombat]

Stage 1 Diversity cancer....

They spent 300 Mil of "Diversity" programs to attract more rainbow haired Social Justice minded feminists to Intel.

Glad to see that working out for them.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Stage 1 Diversity cancer....

How mean!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Stage 1 Diversity cancer....

Diverseticulitis = Pain In The Arse

[Anonymous Coward]

The refrigerator knows when the yoghurt goes bad.

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[Destroy All Monsters]

Re: The refrigerator knows when the yoghurt goes bad.

Billy Mays in your "Thing"?

It is more likely than you think!

[EveryTime]

Wait... "cauterizing the PC wound"?

Perhaps you actually haven't looked at Intel's results.

They are still making money hand-over-fist.

Yes, the PC market is declining. It's been declining for quite a while. Intel responded long ago by moving more of the system revenue into their pocket.

The only place where Intel has been bleeding money is where they have leveraged their extremely profitable market domination to enter other areas. Tablets and phones have both been money-losers. They continue to stick with both, including cellular modems that can't be making much. Why aren't you suggesting that they 'cauterize those wounds'?

Laying off 10% of your workforce while raking in money is not a "bold vision". It's the opposite. Those employees got you to the top of the heap, and you are still at the top of the heap.

[a_yank_lurker]

Re: Wait... "cauterizing the PC wound"?

Chipzilla, like many others, are in trouble because they did not anticipate the market would change. When the change occurred, they were caught flat-footed. And like many they were slow to react to the change mostly by ignoring it. Either Jobs or Cook said that a company must be willing to cannibalize itself to stay in business because they will be cannibalized by someone.

[Mikel]

Stack ranking

Didn't Intel have the old "Rank and Yank" for the longest time? What's the status on that?

[FelinoErse]

Ethics and Intel

Intel is a cycle of life that sometimes is call winter. Intel has never been a company without ethics