Intel puts foot down on the virtual desktop

Intel will this year begin to implement technology that will let a user run two operating systems on the same PC, an acceleration of the timetable that better matches its chip plans.

Vanderpool essentially divides the resources inside a single PC or server so that it can function like two or more independent machines. Virtualisation technology like this is already common in the server market, and Intel had plans to bring it to its Itanium chip this year.

Initially, Vanderpool wasn't slated to come to desktops until 2006. Now, it will come out in desktop chipsets and processors in 2005. The company also released a preliminary specification on Thursday.

Intel will also release dual-core processors later this year. Vanderpool dovetails with these types of chips. Dual-core processors are made to perform two separate functions at once: Virtualisation software can help balance the computing needs of each processing core with the software and other hardware inside the box.

Vanderpool is part of a family of enhancements Intel has been adding to its chips to improve overall computing performance or versatility without necessarily increasing power consumption.

Hyperthreading, the first in the series of improvements, allows a chip to handle multiple functions at once. Another coming in the near future, called Active Management Technology, or AMT, will enable an administrator to shut down a PC remotely if it is spitting out viruses.

Michael Kanellos writes for CNET News.com.