As I sat through the marathon keynote sessions in this morning's kickoff of the Intel Developer Forum, I tried to Twitter to provide you all some colorful realtime observations from the dark auditorium. About halfway through my Blackberry lost the ability to access the internet and thus...my voice was silenced, albeit briefly.

As I powered my way through my local grocery store last weekwhich I often do to grab the week's meal supplies, each time trying to beat my previous record (so far I'm still trying to beat my record in-and-out time of 7 minutes)I realized I had forgotten to write down the ingredients I needed to make one of my succulent meals. Stomping my feet in disgust, I pined for some quick and easy way to jump on the internet right there in the produce aisle to look up the recipe and ensure I brought home all the requisite ingredients.

Both of these scenerios demonstrate my own personal longing for immediate and uncomplicated access to the internet; anytime, anywhere. And I don't think I'm alone in this desire. As I learned at IDF today, I'm happy to report that Intel is on it!

The three opening keynotes, delivered by Pat Gelsinger, Dadi Perlmutter, and Anand Chandrasekher respectively, all talked of innovative breakthroughs in technology and visions on how the future was going to be overwhelmingly different. But the topic on most everyone's lips was the exciting new mobile internet devices (MIDs) finally coming to market in the next several months.

It is easy to see why there is all this fuss about MIDs when:

• 60% of internet users in China play online games

• 3 billion minutes are spent everyday on social networking worldwide

• 88% of Japanese phone customers are dissatisfied with their access to the internet from their phones

Combine all this data with the recent announcement of the Intel Atom processor and you have one perfect storm of mind-blowing proportion. And with all the awesome different MIDs that were on display today at IDF, I can easily see this anticipation grow into a consumer-covetous frenzy.

Ok, perhaps I'm a bit too hyped up on caffeine to stave off my jetlag. But this is exciting stuff! And I for one am thrilled Intel and our partners are working hard to, as Mr. Chandrasekher so eloquently put it, "unleash the internet."

So stay tuned for more of my observations from IDF. As long as the coffee keeps coming, I'll keep writing (I LOVE the coffee here!).

Do not attempt to adjust your screen. And since April Fool's Day is over, this is not a silly prank to see if you are paying attention. No, this is a real and true report coming to you straight from the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai, China, where today Intel announced it would begin offering software testing and validation services to members of the Intel Software Partner Program.

Did I say services? From a hardware company? What's up with that?

Well, Intel has entered into a key partnership with SpikeSource, a software validation solution provider. The deal is that software companies, many of whom are medium in size or who develop open source solutions, can now receive Intel certification that ensures their solutions meet "rigorous standards for security, interoperability and maintainability, and are optimized for Intel technologies." (I took that directly from the press release).

I sat down for a brief conversation with SpikeSource CEO Kim Polese to get her perspective on this new service and how it will benefit both the software community and the end customers who rely on software in their everyday jobs and lives. (You all remember Kim, right? Think Java.).

Wow, maybe it's the coffee here (I've made it no secret how I feel about it) but once again I'm a little giddy with the important implications of this announcement. Intel's partner program reaches over 8,000 independent software vendors (ISVs) and I can see this service being a major benefit to developers so they can focus what they do best: developing cool software.