Dell shows off tablet and all-in-one at Oracle OpenWorld
Though beaten to the punch by the FCC, Dell introduced the world to its forthcoming all-in-one PC at Oracle OpenWorld in San Francisco Wednesday.
Well, it wasn't a formal introduction as much as an all-too-brief glimpse of the XPS One A2010, which resembles a wide-screen TV with separate keyboard. Chief Executive Michael Dell drew the crowd's attention to the all-in-one during his keynote when he asked Chief Technology Officer Kevin Kettler, who joined him on stage, what "that" device was. Playing along, Kettler "guessed" that it looked like a TV, since it had a remote and was playing a Blu-ray disc.
The Dell XPS One leaked on the FCC site last month.
(Credit: Dell)"It looks like an all-in-one machine. But I probably shouldn't say anymore about that," Kettler concluded, tongue firmly in cheek. He did mention that it will be announced "next week."
Though an enterprise software conference might seem an odd place to introduce a firmly consumer-oriented product, Dell certainly wasn't the only one to deviate from standard OOW content. And it didn't stop with the XPS One. While on stage, Dell took the opportunity to demonstrate its forthcoming convertible tablet PC, the Latitude XT (click here for video), which Kettler said is on track to ship in the next few months. And for good measure, Kettler briefly noted how the XPS M1330 laptop he was holding would be a great holiday gift for the whole family.
It wasn't all a consumer hardware commercial, however. Dell also talked up on-demand desktop streaming as an alternative to thin-client computing. On-demand streaming features a desktop client with its own CPU and graphics processor. Saying it had comparable security and costs to thin clients, and the performance of traditional clients, Dell said desktop streaming would allow IT departments to push software updates instantly to all stations and allow for better video playback.
And it wouldn't be a Dell keynote without a plug for the company's green initiative. Dell again challenged the industry to join his efforts in the greening of the IT industry. Citing a Gartner report predicting widespread data center brownouts several years from now, Dell called it "absolutely unacceptable."
Without revealing many details, he said that Dell will soon roll out a program called Greenprint, which allows companies to check their power efficiency and then enable them to find ways to make themselves even more "green."
He ended on the note challenging other companies to "consider the impact green technologies can have on (return on investment) and on our planet."
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica. 
