“Affordable computing, if properly harnessed, can help in the delivery of public services and enable the people to participate in governance.” — Rick Bahague, Computer Professionals’ Union
By JOHN RIZLE L. SALIGUMBA
Davao Today
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Chip giant Intel launched its Third Generation Intel Core, the Ivy Bridge processors, calling it “A New Era of Computing” capable of the “most complete, most satisfying user experience.”
“We’re looking at responsiveness and we have to compare it with previous generations. (Comparing) Ivy Bridge to our Second Generation Intel Core processor called Sandy Bridge, it has 80% better performance, has 19 times better 3D graphics performance and three times better in multimedia processing performance. The latter’s total performance is 20% higher and its media and graphics performance two times higher than the First Generation Intel Core processor,” said Ricky Banaag, Country Manager for Intel Technology Philippines Inc.
Jimmy Ang, 35, an internet café owner, welcomed the advent of third generation Intel processor, although he is unsure if he can afford the new upgrade immediately. He has managed the business over the last five years, starting with only 28 units; it has since expanded to 78 computer units.
“I would have been out of the business had I not bought new units, considering that the hourly internet rate is so cheap at 10 pesos (USD 0.24) ,” said Ang.
His dilemma is explained by the Computer Professionals’ Union (CPU), a nongovernment organization concerned in technology issues. “The cost of technology upgrades is the usual barrier among local small and medium enterprises and home users. Most enterprises have yet to use technology in their operations,” said CPU’s Rick Bahague .
Bahague said that computers must be an investment to empower the people saying that “Affordable computing, if properly harnessed, can help in the delivery of public services and enable the people to participate in governance.”
Intel partnered with computer brands to put their Ivy Bridge processors into a new mobile computing category called “Ultrabooks” that are lighter. Consumers have seen that over the years, computers have become smaller, thinner and have become more powerful. A laptop’s thickness years ago measure to about 1.4 to 1.5 inches; it’s down to less than 18mm today.
“As (computer) users we really don’t want to wait. You want to use that notebook the moment you power it up. We don’t want to wait for that application to load, for that webpage to load, to wait for that video to render because we are excited to upload it to YouTube,” Banaag added.
He also predicted prices will eventually go down once the sales pick up.
“We will see the third generation core processors hit what we call mainstream price points. This is because Ivy bridge is not only available for ultrabooks but also for desktops, that are usually assembled by local manufacturers and are affordable for both small and medium businesses and individual owners,” Banaag noted.
Intel also eyes the sprouting of the Business Process Outsourcing or call-center industry as one of their targets markets.
Banaag said “All of them are actually purchasing locally because they would need the support for these (computer) units.” (John Rizle L. Saligumba/davaotoday.com)
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