Live from the Intel keynote at CES 2009

By Jacqueline Emigh | Published January 9, 2009, 4:02 PM

Banner: Live Commentary

It's not necessarily the PC processor company any more, as Intel's Atom processor for netbooks, and its media processors for CE media equipment, take more of a starring role at CES.

1:58pm PT: Two singers -- Adam Levine and the lead singer of Counting Crows -- both come to the stage, endorsing Intel's new program. Barrett encourages audience members to visit the new site and help fund technology programs for emerging nations.

1:56pm PT: Barrett announces a new program which folds into Kiva.org and another Intel program. Through the new program, Intel will fund programs in third-world counties, also contributing some matching funds.

1:52pm PT: Barrett conducts a live interview with the Indian doctor in India who is managing the program. The doctor says the program is going well, and it's just about to add 17 new buses. It's also now managing a program that teaches computer skills to women in India. Barrett uses Google Earth to show the location of the Indian doctor to the audience.

1:45pm PT: In India, "Digital Villages" have been created through funding from investors. The way this is done is by putting computers on a school bus which travels from vilage to village. (The idea sounds a little bit like the older concept of the traveling library.) One little girl -- when asked to identify her favorite subject in school -- said simply "Tuesday," because Tuesday is when the computer bus comes to her community.

1:41pm PT: In Sierra Leone, the organization has made it possible to provide funding to a clothing business employing the disabled and "changing their lives."

1:39pm PT: He shows a video about the impact Kiva can have on a country like Sierra Leone.

1:38pm PT: An organization called Kiva.org is dealing with this by putting ideas on its Web site so that investors can see those ideas.

1:37pm PT: There are additional challenges if you are someone from an emerging nation and you have a good idea. How do you get funding for it?

1:36pm PT: Now the Intel CEO turns to the topic of Intel's annual science fair competition. Last year, he says, a contestant from India came up with an application to help paralyzed people communicate with each other. Now, Hunnewell has picked up that application for inclusion in its avionics program.

1:34pm PT: In developing nations, 3G and 4G wireless can help nations to leapfrog in technology,

1:31pm PT: Vanderbilt University, he says, has been working on a health monitoring application that gives doctors and nurses immediate access to a patient's vital signs. It is also video-enabled to let remote doctors assist with treatment of people in rural areas.

1:29pm PT: Up to five people at a time can play. Behavioral psychologists at Emory University are monitoring it to see how well it works.

1:28pm PT: Now Barrett talks about how Warner has developed an AIDS prevention game for children in Kenya, which is geared to being relevant to Kenyan culture. He shows an animtation of the game.

1:25pm PT: Intel CEO Craig Barrett has taken to the stage. He has brought two teachers to the stage who are working withe the Intel Classmate, in Bangladesh and in Kenya. A fer minutes earlier, Barrett discussed what he's learned in his work with the UN about needs for technology in emerging nations. Education is paramount, he said.

Intel's billboard outside CES 2009

View comments by with a score of at least

Google Chrome 4: Yes, it's fast, but is it usable?

As Betanews readers have responded to our stories about Chrome's JavaScript superiority...Does that mean we'd actually use this browser? Well...

Video: Netflix on PlayStation 3

Netflix has come to the PlayStation 3 via Blu-ray and BD-Live.

Verizon Wireless launches new Android, Chocolate, and ruggedized phones

The lower-priced Eris joins the Droid, while the Chocolate gets a touchscreen and more music playback.

Early sales figures for Windows 7 nicely high, but do we know why?

Fans of triple-digit surges in figures quoted by Betanews will love this one, as it appears Microsoft rediscovered how to pull off a software launch.

Myka announces its latest Linux-based 'net top box'

Myka's ION brings Boxee, XMBC, and much more to HDTVs.

What hath Mac wrought? A remembrance after a quarter-century

The reason there's a Macintosh today is not because of some brilliant flash of engineering genius, but because Apple had the audacity to learn from its mistakes.

Early build of Moblin 2.1 improves connectivity, but not device support

The Linux Foundation's Atom-centric OS yesterday received a major overhaul with the project release of Moblin 2.1 for netbooks and nettops.

The iPhone's China syndrome: Sales of 5,000 and climbing

There's actually a country where Apple's device is not a godsend, where sales can be measured in the dozens.

New European counterpart to FCC will ensure 'a more neutral net'

Late Thursday night, the ruling telecom administrators of the EU's member nations signed away their final authority to a new entity overseen by the EC.

Sophos study suggests Windows 7 UAC's default setting is self-defeating

Without any anti-virus installed, a Sophos test showed, User Account Control was only capable of thwarting just one malware package out of ten samples chosen.

Indiscreet tweet trips awareness of Web SSL vulnerability

A group of high-level security engineers had been making progress on thwarting a low-level threat to the Web, until somebody blurted it all out on Twitter.