Rockin' Debut For Intel's Umixit

Entertainment and technology came together in a very literal way Thursday when Intel's CEO Craig Barrett joined Aerosmith's Steven Tyler in singing the band's hit "Walk This Way" as a means of demonstrating a new software product that allows consumers to add their own touches to professionally recorded music.

UmixIt software has been developed in conjunction with music technology company Cakewalk and lets consumers take certain professionally recorded songs and remix the individual tracks from the original recording sessions, even adding their own vocals or instrumentals if they wish.

"If the Domino's guy comes, you don't have to tip him," Tyler said. "Just let him play cowbell."

UmixIt is available free as a bonus audio CD with Aerosmith's "You Gotta Move" DVD and is supported by most computers currently in use.

Barrett used that unusual duet during his keynote speech at the 2005 International Consumer Electronics Show, in which he elaborated on the new forms of entertainment that technology was making possible.

In particular, Barrett said Intel is working with Robert Redford to use the Sundance Film Festival as the scene of the first movie to be delivered to an audience over WiMAX, an emerging wireless technology that is faster and works over longer distances than the system primarily uses today. Barrett brought Redford onstage to discuss how technology could assist filmmakers.

"One of the great pluses is what (technology) has done for the democratization of film," Redford said.

This development could extend wireless connectivity throughout an entire city, Barrett said, making it possible to devise new ways of distributing content and relating to audiences. He envisioned consumers simultaneously streaming an Internet radio station while playing a graphics-rich game, or multiple users sharing a PC to send entertainment throughout the home and onto portable devices.

Wireless can make the remote control redundant, he suggested. This was demonstrated by selecting a movie and starting it to play by gesturing toward the computer screen but not touching it.

Another innovation Barrett discussed was by Mediabolic. This software lets the PC monitor any activity and alert the consumer "if something happens," which could be anything from getting outbid on an eBay auction to someone ringing the doorbell.