The Future of Windows Isn't Just PCs Anymore

Tommy Chung

NVIDIA公司確認進入 CPU的市場首款產品宣布

http://tech.weiphone.com/2011-01-06/NVIDIA_confirmed_into_the_CPU_market_228919.shtml

Tommy Chung

The Future of Windows Isn't Just PCs Anymore

The next version of Windows is going to run on ARM processors—the same kind of chips that's inside a bajillion smartphones and tablets right now. Which means the future of Windows isn't just PCs anymore.

What does this mean?

Well, most simply, it means the full Windows shebang you know and love (or loathe) from your PC can now run on tinier computers that use way less power—ones using ARM chips that are common in smartphones right now. Think tablets. And other wacky, smaller form factors. But you know, with all-day battery life.

Microsoft showed how this new Windows, running on an ARM chip that you might find inside a cutting edge Android tablet can slice and dice full HD video, run Powerpoint and do fancy graphics tricks in Internet Explorer with no problem. Microsoft even said it'll have full DirectX powers for games. Basically, everything you'd expect to do in Windows. But now in lots more places.

What Microsoft didn't talk about is what this new Windows will look like when it's on these new tablets and sliders and other fantastical permutations of PCs. Presumably, it'll look different. Somehow. Hopefully. Or when it'll come out. They also won't say what it's called.

So all of my Windows apps will just work on this new, mobiler Windows?

Ehhh. Microsoft wouldn't say how or if it would happen, but ominously, Head Windows Dude Sinofsky noted "It's definitely the case that x86 programs [i.e., the ones on Windows now] don't run on ARM." And to get those running, Microsoft won't be using "virtualization or something like that," since the low-power ARM chips aren't really suited for that kind of work. Which means either Microsoft has another trick up its sleeve (hopefully) to run current programs on this new, ARMier Windows. Or it's not going to happen. But that seems to defeat the point of porting Windows to ARM, in some ways.

Another point is that devices won't just work either—-manufacturers are gonna have to write new drivers for 'em.

Is regular old Windows going away?

Nope. It'll run on old-school x86 chips from Intel and AMD and the like. It'll just run on these ARM chips too. How Microsoft is going to differentiate them, from the branding to the interface to the features, we don't know yet. Microsoft is very much emphasizing that this is just a "tech demo" to show that they have Windows running on ARM chips right now.

Does that mean the sweet Windows Phone OS won't be on a tablet?

Probably not. The Microsoft philosophy is, "Small screen is windows phone. These screens are Windows 7." So the future of tablets (and other things with slightly-bigger-than-phone screens) for Microsoft is very much still Windows. Conversely, it means for the future of Windows isn't just PCs anymore. Though we're not exactly sure what that means yet. [Microsoft]

(gizmodo)

Tommy Chung

Microsoft shows Windows running on mobile phone chips

Steven Sinofsky says Microsoft wants to end the compromises people have to make when using portable gadgets

Microsoft has shown a full version of Windows running on chips usually found in mobile phones.

The desktop version of Windows was demonstrated working with three processors built around chips designed by UK firm Arm.

The demonstration is significant because before now Windows has been closely connected with Intel chips.

Microsoft would not be drawn on when the first products using these chips would go on sale.

As well as running Windows, Microsoft also showed the work it was doing to get applications such as Word, Powerpoint and Internet Explorer running on Arm chips.

Microsoft was doing the work to get a full version of Windows running on mobile chips in a bid to end the compromises people typically have to make when using portable gadgets, said Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows and Windows Live division during the demo.

Also, he said, turning to Arm designed chips should mean lower power consumption and much improved battery life for future gadgets.

About 80% of all mobiles, including Apple's iPhone4, are built around chips made from Arm designs.

'Next Windows generation'

During its demonstration, Microsoft showed Windows running natively on chips made by Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and Nvidia.

Microsoft has a mobile version of Windows, known as Windows Phone 7, that already runs on Arm-designed chips. But, said Mr Sinofsky, Windows Phone 7 was aimed at smaller devices and the full version would be for larger tablets, slates and netbooks.

Mr Sinofsky would not say which version of Windows was running on its demonstration devices. He would only say that it was the "next generation of Windows". Many took this to be a reference to Windows 8, which is due in 2012 and is expected to support multi-touch interfaces - capabilities missing from Windows 7.

He also refused to speculate when the first Arm-powered devices running the full version of Windows would appear.

"We've got the chip work done and now we start talking to partners about what kind of devices we can make," he said.

Microsoft was also continuing its work with long-time partners Intel and AMD to get Windows working on the low-power processors they were producing.

The demonstration came during a briefing at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas held prior to the formal opening of the show. Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer will give the opening keynote and is expected to expand on the firm's plans for Windows on Arm.

(BBC News)

Only Chen

Report: Microsoft bringing Windows to ARM chips

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20026344-75.html?tag=topStories2

Only Chen

Intel says tablets and phones on the way in 2011 SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Intel Corp said it is making headway getting its chips into tablet computers and that smartphones using its processors will go on sale late next year as it rushes to catch up in the fast-growing mobile market. The company is betting that new chips due to ship next year will invigorate its mobile business, which has struggled to get off the ground amid explosive sales of Apple's iPad tablets and smartphones using Google's Android operating system. "The consumer (tablet) products will roll out over the first half of next year," Chief Executive Paul Otellini told analysts at a conference. He said manufacturers have agreed to use Intel chips in 35 tablet models, including a few already on the market. On a slide, Otellini listed brands including Dell, Asus, Lenovo and Toshiba. Intel's Atom chips dominate netbooks but smartphone and tablet manufacturers have mostly rejected them in favor of more power-efficient chips based on ARM architecture that are made by companies like Qualcomm and Marvell. Investors have been waiting to see to what extent major manufacturers choose Intel's chips for high-profile consumer tablets due out next year. "Intel is moving in the right strategic direction but they still have a long way to go," said Hendi Susanto, an analyst at Gabelli & Company. "They're late into the game. There is no clear visibility on what the products look like." Underscoring the importance of staking out territory in mobile, Intel's share of the world semiconductor market slipped marginally to 13.8 percent in 2010 from 14.2 percent the year before after sales of netbooks were hurt by weak consumer sentiment, market research firm Gartner. MARATHON, NOT SPRINT Otellini called Intel's pursuit of the smartphone market "a marathon, not a sprint," adding that the company's second-generation Medfield chip is now being sampled by customers and should ship next year and in 2012. "You will see smartphones from premier branded vendors in the second half of 2011 with Intel silicon inside them," Otellini said. Stock in the world's largest maker of microprocessors rose 1.11 percent. Otellini also Intel has resumed share repurchases after stopping over a year ago due to the tough economy. "I'm happy to report that Intel has been back in the market this quarter," Otellini said. "The buyback has resumed." In November, Intel said it was boosting its quarterly dividend by 15 percent, a move seen as a sign of confidence that the world's largest chipmaker is growing, even as the U.S. economy remains sluggish. A resumption of Intel's share repurchases amplifies that signal, said Craig Ellis, an analyst at Caris and Company. "Shareholders will look at that and say management is putting their money where their mouth is," he said. Intel has already started shipping its new Sandy Bridge chips, which are expected to be in notebooks on store shares early in 2011. The Sandy Bridge microchips, Intel's newest PC chips, include graphics processing capability that the company says is equivalent to low-end discrete graphics processors. (Reporting by Noel Randewich; editing by Andre Grenon, Derek Caney and Bernard Orr) (Yahoo!)