Intel Launches PC.com with Web Video Shows

With the official branding of Intel’s ultra-mobile processor (codenamed Silverthorne) being revealed on Monday, I figured it was a good time to corner Donald MacDonald (yes, that’s his real name), the company’s vice-president of sales and marketing for a quick interview. He was speaking at the Cinequest Film and Technology Forum in San Jose yesterday, on a panel titled “A Conclave of Maverick Minds Present the New TV” (with a title like that, how could I resist?).

Given that he’s in marketing, he did drift into corporate-speak, but in between the accolades he heaps his own company’s new mobile tech, he talked about the importance of web video to Intel, how the company is basically obliterating its traditional broadcast ad budget — MacDonald says 65 percent of Intel’s ad spend will be online in 2008 — and the new pc.com, which Intel quietly launched this week.

PC.com is supposed to be a helpful guide for people to get more out of their computers — a place where they can learn about RAM, uploading photos and what type of machine to get. But come on! It’s about moving Intel silicon. The site features a number of web video shows including Tech News (how many “Intel sucks” stories do you think it’ll run?), PC 101, PC Advisor and a hosted Q&A series. The site is brand new, so we’ll see what Intel does with it, but the shows are pretty dull, and with a lack of objectivity out of the gate, it seems doomed from the outset.