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"Run the Code? The *Editor* won't even LOAD the Code!" |
The anticipation of Windows NT 5.0 is starting to build. It's due to be released a few months after Windows 98/Memphis, with some incredible new features and support for devices that haven't even been built yet.
External Bus Support
Microsoft is adding support for USB and Fire Wire. USB is a 10-12 Mbps bus, whereas Fire Wire is a little faster (try 400 Mbps). They both support Plug and Play, and hot swapping. It is assumed that the Fire Wire peripherals will be noticeably more expensive.
Boy, Intel (the USB link above) sure makes USB sound righteous, doesn't it? Well, it'd better be, cause it looks like that's what we're going to be stuck with for the next milleneum or so. For a more interesting (and very readable) synopsis on these buses, read Computer Form Factors, USB and 1394 Impact. Fire Wire makes everything look obsolete, but all that's available so far is digital video editing equipment.
Apple intends to use Fire Wire with everything, including keyboards; Intel, on the other hand, seems rather fond of USB. Oh, there'll still be PCI, so you can attach Fire Wire adapters to that bus, much like you might now with the Ultra Wide SCSI adapters. But sometimes you have to wonder WHY WE CAN'T GET IT RIGHT FROM THE GET-GO (ie, put it on the motherboard).
OnNow
NT is sorely in need of power management for portable computers. The current drivers are somewhat of a joke, the best ones giving you, what, an hour battery use.
Likewise, NT needs support for Plug and Play devices (since that's the direction most hardware is taking).
Instead of jury-rigging power management and Plug and Play for NT, Microsoft redesigned the concept of power management and device configuration through a new hardware specification, ACPI, the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface.
Under ACPI, the OS (not the BIOS) will implement power management; and it also allows the OS to control Plug and Play and device configuration. This allows the OS to in effect "put the PC to sleep", as well as "wake the PC up", without user intervention, to save power (important for portables), and to appear "on" instantly (ie, "OnNow") either if a user turns it on, or if another event requires it to be on (ie, an incoming fax). It will also allow for use of Plug and Play devices, and hot swapping devices, important not only for portables, but also for attaching other equipment (like VCRs) to a computer with ease.
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