14 DAY TRIAL // The IT industry can be home to lots of strange things, despite how straightforward some may think it is. One example is what happened in Intel's media business division the other day.
Intel, being the world-class business conglomerate that it is, is composed of a whole bunch of sub-divisions.
The CPU company is the main one of course, but the SSD and media divisions have been gaining ground as well.
Intel Media is the one causing a stir now. The company is going to launch a pay-TV service several months from now.
Obviously, this requires good management on all levels of the company, and stability can't hurt.
Sadly, stability took a hit the other day when Jim Baldwin, the vice president of engineering, decided to leave the company for unknown reasons.
The company's official stance is that “Baldwin left Intel Media to pursue opportunities outside the company.”
“He will be missed, but we have a very strong engineering organization in place with a deep leadership bench,” said a spokesman for Intel.
Intel's pay-TV service will rely on a set-top box powered by an Intel chip specially designed for the task. It may or may not bear the Atom brand.
Live television, a collection of programs and TV-shows aired in the past, and video rental services will all be part of the package.
Even a camera will be built into the STB, or shipped alongside it, to recognize the user and provide them with relevant services and programs.
The major advantage Intel is banking on is compatibility with mobile devices. While a STB will sell, Intel will also provide software for phones and tablets, bringing the TV service to those platforms. On that vein, PCs (desktops/laptops) should have access too. If Intel can be bothered to make TV Service apps for Android, it should have an easy time making one or two for Windows.