Intel Remote Wake to Catch VoIP Calls

By Geoff Duncan August 14, 2008

Intel Remote Wake to Catch VoIP Calls

Chipmaker Intel is getting ready to release new motherboard designs featuring a "Remote Wake" feature that will enable desktop PCs connected to the Internet via Ethernet to power up when they detect an incoming VoIP call. Although the technology will initially only be available on selected Intel-designed motherboards, the company is reported working with OEMs who do their own motherboard designs—like Dell and Hewlett-Packard—to integrate the technology into their offerings. Intel motherboards with Remote Wake capability will be available to PC makers next month.

The capability will initially only be available in desktop PCs connected to the Internet via an Ethernet connection, since powered-down or sleeping PCs and notebooks don’t leave Wi-Fi connectivity enabled.

The first company to capitalize on the technology will be Mountain-View-based VoIP provider Jajah. Jajah handles connecting Yahoo Messenger to the standard phone system, and is working on remote waking capabilities tied to instant messaging programs like Google Talk and Windows Live Messenger.

"Intel and Jajah have a common objective to deploy technology building blocks that deliver a richer communication experience for consumers," said Intel’s director of consumer product marketing Joe Van De Water, in a statement. "The combination of our technologies enables added convenience and energy efficiency for consumers who want the PC to be a genuine two-way communication platform for their IP-based telephony services."

In addition to giving consumers the option to power down PCs and still be able to receive VoIP calls, the Remote Wake capability also potentially gives consumers a way to turn on their PCs remotely with a phone call, perhaps so they can connect back to their PCs to retrieve crucial documents…or just fetch that cute weekend photo. Reportedly, the Remote Wake capability can be configured so the system will only wake up to calls from user-selected VoIP services.

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Computing

The HP Victus gaming PC with RTX 3060 has a $550 discount

The HP Victus 15L gaming PC in white.

Gamers don't need to spend more than $1,000 if they want to buy a new gaming PC because there are affordable options like the HP Victus 15L gaming desktop. From its original price of $1,400, you can get it for just $850 as HP has applied a $550 discount on this machine. However, you shouldn't delay your purchase because there's no assurance that the gaming PC will still be 39% off tomorrow. If you want to make sure that you get it for less than $1,000, you're going to have to complete the transaction for it within the day.

Why you should buy the HP Victus 15L gaming desktop
You shouldn't expect the HP Victus 15L gaming desktop to match the performance of the top-of-the-line models of the best gaming PCs, but it's surprisingly powerful for its cost. Inside it are the 13th-generation Intel Core i7 processor and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, with 16GB of RAM that our guide on how much RAM do you need says is the best place to start for gaming. It's enough to play today's best PC games without any issues, and it may even be capable of running the upcoming PC games of the next few years if you're willing to dial down the settings for the more demanding titles.

Computing

This 17-inch HP laptop is on sale for just $300 — but hurry!

The HP 17t-cn300 17.3-inch laptop against a white background.

If you want to buy a laptop with a relatively large screen, the good news is that you don't have to break the bank with your purchase because you can get the HP Laptop 17t for a very affordable $300. It's on sale from HP with a $200 discount on its original price of $500, but there's no telling how much time is remaining before this offer expires. We don't think it will stay available for long because laptop deals like this almost always get sold out quickly, so complete the transaction as soon as possible to make sure that you don't miss out on the savings.

Why you should buy the HP Laptop 17t
With the 17.3-inch display of the HP Laptop 17t, you'll have a lot of screen real estate to work on your projects and watch streaming shows. It's pretty affordable for a laptop with this large screen, which offers HD+ resolution for sharp details and vibrant colors. However, despite its big display, the HP Laptop 17t maintains portability because it's only 0.78 of an inch thick, which makes it easy to slide into your bag when you're on the go, and it won't be too heavy to carry around because it only weighs about 4.6 pounds.

Computing

What to do if your Intel CPU keeps crashing

Pins on Core i9-12900K.

Despite being among the best processors you can buy, some high-end Intel CPUs have faced a wave of instability over the past few months. Intel is investigating the problem, but the company and its motherboard partners have already worked toward some temporary fixes to improve stability on high-end Intel CPUs -- even if it comes at a performance cost.

Before getting into the fixes, keep in mind that they are temporary. Intel will release a statement on the instability soon, likely with more direct guidance on what affected users should do. In addition, the scope of the problem isn't clear -- if you're not experiencing issues, you shouldn't have anything to worry about.
Who's affected