Intel CEO talks up Windows 8, claims the “evolution of the PC has been retarded”

Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini talked up the prospects of Windows 8 on Intel chips on Friday but claimed the evolution of the PC has been “retarded” over the last few years.

Speaking at Dell World 2011, Otellini told an audience of industry executives that Intel loves PCs. “I suspect Steve Ballmer said the same thing this morning and I know that our partner Dell absolutely loves PCs,” said Otellini. He continued to say that Intel and Microsoft have built a “wonderful industry” and that he believes PCs are now being taken for granted because they’re so useful. “To some extent the evolution of the PC has been retarded I think in the last few years so as we look forward in terms of where the PC has to continue to grow…it has to get more and more consumer friendly.” Intel plans to solve the problem with Ultrabooks. “We want to make sure that these devices are portable, user friendly, but also have the capability to do the high capacity creative work that all of our workers do day in day out,” said Otellini.

Intel’s work on Ultrabooks has been geared towards Windows 8 admitted Otellini.”Windows 8 and its early development was something we were working with them very closely on,” he said. “We think that Windows 8 on Intel architecture, particularly in Ultrabook form factors, will give you the ultimate experience for both consumer and IT workers.” Otellini praised Microsoft for its work on Windows 8, claiming that one of the advantages of the new operating system is that the same software and legacy capabilities will work on PCs and tablets. Otellini advised the audience to consider Intel for Windows 8. “It’s important to consider, when you think about Windows 8, Intel architecture or let me make it broader, the X86 architecture.” His reasoning for adopting Intel with Windows 8? “Those [legacy] applications are only going to run in a legacy mode on x86 machines.”

Intel senior vice president Renee James detailed a number of Windows 8 changes earlier this year, well before Microsoft had disclosed its ARM and x86 strategy. James’ comments forced Microsoft to brand Intel’s claims as “factually inaccurate and unfortunately misleading,” at the time. James claimed that Intel’s competitors ”will not be running legacy applications. Not now. Not ever.” Steven Sinofsky, chief of Windows and Windows Live, was forced to admit to financial analysts in September that typical x86 legacy desktop applications will not run on Windows 8 ARM. Sinofsky said the choice was to ensure the experience of battery life and other ARM benefits are fully supported in Windows 8. Microsoft also wants to shift ARM forwards to be Metro only and avoid some of the pitfalls of the x86 experience of Windows, viruses and malware. Sinofsky explained the decision to push Metro on ARM to media and analysts. “We haven’t made any product announcements,” said Sinofsky, referring to Microsoft’s desktop app demo of Office 2010 on Windows 8 ARM in January. “The previous demonstrations were always technology demonstrations of the underlying architecture,” he said. “All of the apps for ARM are going to come through the store which means they’re all going to be metro style.”