It is also possible to make laptops using the new processors inoperable -- "brick" them - with a remote command if they have been lost or stolen.

Intel sees the continuing need for increasing desktop and laptop power serving already established trends to run several virtual machines on the same hardware, to keep work and personal data and applications in separate virtual "containers" or to stream an entire machine image, including the operating system, temporarily from a server.

The death of the desktop and full-function laptop is a recurring theme, enterprise marketing manager Daniel Anderson told Computerworld at the launch. Over the years, thin clients, cloud computing and even the netbook have been predicted to be the killers; "but it's never happened."

Storage and processing of video and other rich-media files also contribute to the need for desktop and laptop power, said Intel and independent analyst commentators at the Australia/NZ launch.

Intel continues, however, to cater for the server market -- including mission-critical applications and cloud datacentres - with two new Xeon models, the E3 and E7, promising as much as 40% improvement on previous-generation Xeon chips.