Intel pictures USB digital cameras

Intel today issued its blueprint for digital camera design. Backed by Hewlett-Packard, Eastman Kodak, Microsoft and others, The Portable PC Camera '98 Design Guideline describes an architecture for image capturing, editing, storing and sharing.

Key to the spec is support for MMX processors, the FlashPix file format, Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection to PCs and the Miniature Card for storing images in flash memory.

"We believe the use of imaging with PCs will be as common as the use of electronic mail today," said Peter Green, general manager of Intel's Digital Peripherals Division (DPD). "The processing power that is available in high-performance PCs ... coupled with cameras built complying with this guideline will make the use of imaging an enjoyable, easy to use, real-time interactive experience."