Inside Intel: From Silicon to the World

Now on to products

While visiting Intel’s 15,000 person campus in Hillsboro we were also presented with some product demos.  There is a strong focus on networking and more specifically wireless networking at Intel.  Intel’s campus alone is entirely wired for wireless internet access for their employees. 

The most interesting networking demo we received was of the world’s first Universal Plug ‘n Play (UPnP) certified device – Intel’s AnyPoint Networking Gateway 1300. 

What makes this Internet Gateway any different from your conventional Cable/DSL router?  It is actually recognized as a device by Windows XP because of its UPnP support.  The Internet Gateway device will then be able to dynamically open and close ports depending on application requests instead of requiring you to do so manually.  Of course you’re able to limit how freely the gateway will behave but this is the first step in making dealing with file transfers and video conferencing much easier to use from behind routers. 

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There are security issues to be worried about but as with all innovations in technology that simplify things, they will be worked out as well as worked around.