Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 28th Jan 2010 20:21 UTC
And yet another item on the iPad? Are we serious? Yes, we are, since this one is about something that even geeks who aren't interested in the iPad itself should find intriguing. Steve Jobs said yesterday that the iPad is powered by an Apple A4 processor, but contrary to what many seem to think - it wasn't designed in-house at all.
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Member since:2005-06-29
Member since:2006-07-26
It probably has.
Windows NT was originally written on a custom architecture as to ensure no platform-specific code would seep into the codebase.
I'm sure Microsoft's major products (Office, Windows) have at least some variants running on ARM.
Windows NT was originally written on a custom architecture as to ensure no platform-specific code would seep into the codebase.
I'm sure Microsoft's major products (Office, Windows) have at least some variants running on ARM.
Yeah, It will probably stay in those labs until Intel runs out of money from lawsuits.
It would not surprise me at all if Intel was paying Microsoft somehow to keep Windows x86 only like it was paying HP (well, offering discounts actuall, but isn't that the same thing?) to stop offering AMD based workstations.
Why is AT&T allowed to pay Apple to keep iPhone only on their network but Intel is not allowed to offer OEMs money to keep only their processors?
Either way... Microsoft is pretty incompetent as far as coding security (Internet Explorer) or even coding an operating system (isn't task management the main function of an operating system yet you have to "end process" 30 times before it actually stops and thats if you can even get the task manager open), but I don't think they're that stupid to not have Windows 7 running on ARM yet.
I'm sure their Windows 7 Mobile is running on ARM.
Member since:2006-01-19
It probably has.
Windows NT was originally written on a custom architecture as to ensure no platform-specific code would seep into the codebase.
I'm sure Microsoft's major products (Office, Windows) have at least some variants running on ARM.
Windows NT was originally written on a custom architecture as to ensure no platform-specific code would seep into the codebase.
I'm sure Microsoft's major products (Office, Windows) have at least some variants running on ARM.
Quite right. I believe that NT was first written on the Intel i860, with which almost nobody ever made a general purpose computer, but which was used in UNIX workstation graphics boards (SGI, Sun, etc.) in the early 90s, plus for the NextDimension board for Next cubes.
We know they have the newest kernel running on Itanium (via 2008 R2). So a big fraction of Windows must still be portable.
Member since:2007-02-17
It probably has. Windows NT was originally written on a custom architecture as to ensure no platform-specific code would seep into the codebase. I'm sure Microsoft's major products (Office, Windows) have at least some variants running on ARM.
Microsoft probably does have versions of Windows running on ARM. This will not help them.
There is a large corpus of x86 binary executable Windows software out there in people's possession. This consists not only of things like drivers for their printers, cameras, phones and other miscellaneous pieces, but it also consists of unused licenses for desktop applications such as Office (for example, they have installed so far only one copy of Office from a three-license pack).
In addition, there is all kinds of specialist software, distributed as x86 binary executable only, from all kinds of sources other than Microsoft, which people expect to be able to use. An example might be a Windows utility, designed to run on a laptop, to set parameters on a high-end audio mixer console.
Finally, much of Microsoft's historical lock-in attempts revolve around tie-in to the x86 platform. A good example of this is ActiveX:
http://blogs.msdn.com/iemobile/archive/2007/06/20/ie-mobile-support...
You can’t run Windows based ActiveX controls on a Windows Mobile devices. (X86 and ARM processors are too dissimilar.)
...
Windows Mobile IE Mobile does not support automatic download of ActiveX controls. This was a deliberate decision made to increase device security and to avoid the first point (a X86 version of a control being pushed down to a ARM based device)
...
Windows Mobile IE Mobile does not support automatic download of ActiveX controls. This was a deliberate decision made to increase device security and to avoid the first point (a X86 version of a control being pushed down to a ARM based device)
When they opt to purchase any Windows machine, people expect to be able to use all this software.
People won't be able to use any of this type of software if they purchase a new machine which runs Windows on ARM. So people will have to switch to a new set of applications if they are going to buy an ARM-based device.
If they are switching to a new set of applications anyway, this represents an ideal time for people to just ditch Windows and finally be rid of all the problems and encumberances it brings.
Edited 2010-01-29 00:13 UTC
Member since:2005-07-07
Windows NT was originally written on a custom architecture as to ensure no platform-specific code would seep into the codebase.
While NT's HAL allows it to be more portable it's not quite true that NO platform specific code has seeped into the codebase. Some calls bypass the HAL and directly access hardware.
RE[2]: windows 7 on ARM?
by tylerdurden on Fri 29th Jan 2010 19:52
in reply to "RE: windows 7 on ARM?"
Member since:2009-03-17
"Windows NT was originally written on a custom architecture as to ensure no platform-specific code would seep into the codebase. "
Huh? No, not even close... NT was originally developed for a very specific processor: the Intel 80860. The fact that the processor flopped in all sorts of ways as a possible x86 replacement in the late 80s is what forced Microsoft to move NT to a different platform: MIPS. Which also flopped in the desktop.
NT became relatively platform "agnostic" (even though it was not the case since there were some serious portability issues across different versions of NT for different ISAs) as a side effect, not because it was part of the original design.
At the time of its introduction in the early 90s, NT had to be buzzword compliant. And at that time the prevailing wisdom was RISC=good, CISC=baaad. Do not confuse marketing with design goals...
Member since:2005-08-27
Member since:2008-08-19
Member since:2005-07-07
There was an article a while back where some MS exec basically admitted Vista and then Windows 7 was all about cleaning up the mess they made with Windows XP - and that they would be moving on to porting the now clean and stable Windows 7 core - first to servers (and finish removing GUI items from core dlls), and then on to replacing/augmenting/integrating the Windows Mobile kernel.
So I actually doubt that they have a full working version of Windows 7 on ARM, just yet, but they seem to have said that that's the plan.
Member since:2008-12-15
There was an article a while back where some MS exec basically admitted Vista and then Windows 7 was all about cleaning up the mess they made with Windows XP - and that they would be moving on to porting the now clean and stable Windows 7 core - first to servers (and finish removing GUI items from core dlls), and then on to replacing/augmenting/integrating the Windows Mobile kernel.
First thing they *need* to do is get back to using a properly designed Ring 0, Ring 1, Ring 2 and Ring 3 setup. Rather than putting drivers and applications into Ring 0 (for performance and "no security"), keep them in Rings 2 and 3 where they should be. ActiveX should have *never* happened the way it did.
Member since:2009-02-19
Indeed.
Microsoft may have a version of the NT kernel with a basic sub-set of the executive running on ARM, but I highly, highly doubt that they've got the whole of the executive and/or a significant chunk of the GUI environment ported over and running - even an incomplete test/scratch version.
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:33 UTC
Official Apple statement on PRISM and privacy: "Regardless of the circumstances, our Legal team conducts an evaluation of each request and, only if appropriate, we retrieve and deliver the narrowest possible set of information to the authorities. In fact, from time to time when we see inconsistencies or inaccuracies in a request, we will refuse to fulfill it." This is basically Apple re-publishing their earlier statement in a more official manner. You either believe it, or you don't.
Linked by Anonymous on 06/18/13 22:26 UTC
The open source Contiki operating system and its commercial Thingsquare distribution are making strides towards the connected home. According to a Computerworld article, a new LED light bulb manufacturer is putting small computers into their light bulbs. Each computer runs the Contiki OS, which gives each bulb an IP address and allows them to be controlled with a smartphone application. To connect the bulbs to the application, the bulbs use both Wi-Fi and the much lower power IEEE 802.15.4 mesh technology.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:25 UTC
"Google asked the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday to ease long-standing gag orders over data requests it makes, arguing that the company has a constitutional right to speak about information it's forced to give the government. The legal filing, which cites the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, is the latest move by the California-based tech giant to protect its reputation in the aftermath of news reports about sweeping National Security Agency surveillance of Internet traffic." Draining the ditch after the cow has drowned in it.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:45 UTC
"I can't find one person who has been using the Nexus 7 for an extended period of time, and hasn't seen a massive downgrade in performance. Just what kind of downgrade are we talking here? I cannot pick up my Nexus 7 without experiencing problems like a lag of ten seconds, or more, just to rotate the display; touches refusing to acknowledged; stuttering notification panel actions; and unresponsive apps." Fully and utterly agreed. My Nexus 7 was blazing-fast and awesome for a few months, and at some point, it just started sucking. Just like that. I've tried loads of ROMs, and nothing helps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:32 UTC, submitted by poundsmack
A new release of the hobby operating system MenuetOS! The release notes are a bit non-descript, but you'll have to take what you can get: "updates and improvements (picview, httpc, ehci, ...)".
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:58 UTC
"The Internet is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetimes. But for 2 out of every 3 people on earth, a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach. And this is far from being a solved problem. There are many terrestrial challenges to Internet connectivity - jungles, archipelagos, mountains. There are also major cost challenges. Right now, for example, in most of the countries in the southern hemisphere, the cost of an Internet connection is more than a month's income. Solving these problems isn't simply a question of time: it requires looking at the problem of access from new angles. So today we're unveiling our latest moonshot from Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access." Insane.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:52 UTC
"MineAssemble is a tiny bootable Minecraft clone written partly in x86 assembly. I made it first and foremost because a university assignment required me to implement a game in assembly for a computer systems course. Because I had never implemented anything more complex than a 'Hello World' bootloader before, I decided I wanted to learn about writing my own kernel code at the same time. Note that the goal of this project was not to write highly efficient hand-optimized assembly code, but rather to have fun and write code that balances readability and speed. This is primarily accomplished by proper commenting and consistent code structuring." Just cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 21:03 UTC
Jon Rubinstein, former CEO of Palm: "Well, I'm not sure I would have sold the company to HP. That's for sure. Talk about a waste. Not that I had any choice because when you sell a company you don't get to decide that. Obviously, the board and shareholders decide that. If we had known they were just going to shut it down and never really give it a chance to flourish, what would have been the point of selling the company? I think the deal we had with Verizon really hurt us, but who knew that at the time? These things are all hindsight."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 20:46 UTC
"And so it is with Dell's Alienware X51 R2, a small form factor gaming PC in console digs. It's shaped similar to Microsoft's Xbox 360 Slim, and though it's slightly larger than either a 360 or PlayStation 3, the X51 R2 would be right at home in a living room setting nestled next to a large screen TV. Indeed, it's adept at running Steam's Big Picture mode, and if your primary objective is to play games in the living room, go ahead and consider the X51 R2 a hybrid game console." This is obviously not the only machine like this - still, these are very valid console alternatives even for those that don't like being hunched over with a cramped WASD-claw. Also, PC gamers among us: could you get away with the $699 model for gaming?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 17:32 UTC
From Bloomberg: "Microsoft, the world's largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process. That information can be used to protect government computers and to access the computers of terrorists or military foes." The lid has officially been blown off.More News »
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Member since:
2006-03-20
I wonder if Microsoft has Windows 7 running on ARM deep inside its labs?