Intel's Chairman Calls On Developers To Use Their Technology Expertise To Promote Social, Economic Growth Worldwide

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Aug. 19, 2008 - During the Intel Developer Forum's opening keynote, Intel Corporation Chairman Craig Barrett applauded the developer community for technology innovations that have contributed to unimagined advances in entertainment and business productivity during the past 40 years. He said the impact of their work is borderless and challenged them to collaborate and use their technology expertise to inspire and empower the billions of people who have recently joined the world's free economic system.

"Technology is a tool to address some of the world's most pressing challenges related to health care, education, economic development and the environment," said Barrett, who also chairs a United Nations initiative on technology in the developing world. "No nations or individuals are untouched by these issues. Get involved. Be part of the solution."

Barrett also announced that Intel will award four $100,000 prizes to the most innovative ideas for applying technology to meet unmet needs related to education, health care, economic development and the environment. Ideas will be evaluated primarily for sustainability and innovativeness of the solution. More details on the INSPIRE*EMPOWER Challenge are available at www.intelchallenge.com.

Intel's chairman also highlighted how technology is addressing real-world challenges.

Education: The Foundation for Innovation

Barrett said that education is the foundation for innovation and that 85 percent of the world's 15- to 24-year-old youth live in developing countries United Nations Population Fund, World Youth Report 2005. He said that many of the 30-some countries he visits each year are investing in technology to create new, improved models for learning.

Johnny Lee, who recently earned his Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie-Mellon University, joined Barrett onstage. Lee described what inspired him to take a fresh approach to two existing technologies - interactive classroom whiteboards and the Nintendo* Wii remote control - and develop a solution that delivers the functionality of existing digital whiteboards at a price point many times less expensive. Because a Wiimote tracks sources of infrared light, they can track digital pens that have an infrared LED in the tip. Lee demonstrated how educators could create a low-cost interactive white board by pointing a Wiimote at a projection screen or LCD display to track signals from up to four digital pens. Lee's whiteboard software code has been downloaded more than 600,000 times since December and inspired other developers to create their own Wiimote innovations. For more information, go to www.johnnylee.net.

Driving Economic Development

Barrett also highlighted how technology is being used to create global entrepreneurs and drive economic development. He said numerous organizations are using technology to provide budding businesspeople with access to expertise, resources and funds.

Matt Flannery, CEO of Kiva.org*, joined Barrett to discuss what inspired him to establish the Web site and the impact it's having on the world. Kiva.org is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending Web site, empowering individuals to lend to an entrepreneur in the developing world. More than 54,000 entrepreneurs in 42 developing countries have received loans from Kiva's 300,000 lenders. For more information, go to www.kiva.org.

Transforming Healthcare

Barrett said technology has the potential to transform health care in mature and developing economies.

Dr. Miguel Angarita, a practicing radiologist and director of Mobile, Health and Learning at a Colombian technology company called Groove Media and Technologies* (GMT), joined Barrett onstage. Angarita is focused on finding new ways for technology to be a tool in closing information gaps for patients worldwide. He demonstrated how a cell phone with a built-in camera and special software could read the bar code on a health ID card. The cell phone could quickly and accurately communicate essential medical history information to primary care physicians worldwide with a new notification message system to avoid preventable medical errors. For more information, go to www.gmt.com.co.

Driving Energy Savings

Barrett also described how technology can help address climate change. He said that the technology sector only accounts for 2 percent of the global carbon dioxide footprint. He said there are many ways to creatively use technology to reduce the remaining 98 percent of emissions. For example, UPS* uses GPS technology and special scheduling software that saved delivery trucks 3 million miles in a single month.

Brian McCarthy, the third-place winner of the 2008 Intel Science Talent Search, joined Barrett. The 18-year-old described what inspired him to look for new or improved plastic materials for less expensive kinds of solar cell technology. McCarthy and Barrett also discussed how schools could get more students involved in tackling similar kinds of scientific challenges in the future.

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Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and at blogs.intel.com.

Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.

* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

Released Aug 19, 2008 • 12:00 AM EDT