Comdex: Intel shows 'Hannacroix' concept PC

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By Douglas F. Gray

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (IDG) -- Intel is showing its Hannacroix concept PC at the Comdex trade show here this week.

And although the concept PC will never make it to store shelves, Intel hopes to excite potential customers by loading the motherboard with all the new technology it can muster.

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At first glance, the technology in the PC can be a bit overwhelming, with 11 USB (Universal Serial Bus) Version 2.0 ports and three IEEE 1394 ports for high-speed data transfer. But the PC is actually meant to be a technology showcase.

"This won't come to market," said Dave Singh, strategic product marketing engineer at Intel. "But the different technologies will."

Hannacroix is meant to be an example of a legacy-free PC, but it is also meant to showcase emerging technologies and how they work with each other, Singh said. The PC does not have a PS2 serial port or a floppy drive; instead, it has a Smart Media Drive, which reads card media, including Compact Flash cards, and USB ports.

Inside the case, Intel even uses a USB 2.0 cable to connect the combination DVD and CD-RW drive to the motherboard. Intel also uses the Serial ATA interface to connect the hard drive to the board.

The PC also features an on-board LAN controller, Bluetooth connectivity, including an internal antenna, and a home gateway card with 802.11b and fast Ethernet support, Singh said.

The home gateway card also lets the PC act like a central server for a home network, for doing such things as sending video from a personal video recorder or audio from the hard drive to another PC in the house, Singh said.

Douglas F. Gray is a San Francisco correspondent for the IDG News Service, an InfoWorld affiliate. Ashlee Vance contributed to this report.