Hello Joseph Lee and List,
I'd like to congratulate Mr. Lee for this well written
article. I've also read the responses to it from list members,
who seem to be taking it as Humanware gospel. Mr. Lee's theory
is perhaps an explanation of why the Classics won't receive
another upgrade. However, that information, if true, would have
been easier to digest if a Humanware executive or staffer had
crawled from under his or her rock and said it. As nice as Mr.
lee's article is, it is only a supposition or theory of his.
Nowhere in his article does he say that Humanware is ever
planning to do this! It would indeed be wonderful if Humanware
did make these applications available to the MPower and PK, but
please remember when the next upgrade is released, all these are
ideas of Mr. Lee's. As usual, Humanware has a lot of room to
deny any of this, because like those famous three monkeys they
are neither "seeing, hearing, nor saying" anything.
Everything that people on this list say or predict as an
inclusion in a future upgrade is merely their own wish list.
Unless someone from Humanware's soft and hardware planning and
development staff comes forward and tell us what will be
happening, this is just a list for helping people use their
devices and creating dream lists. Currently, the word from
Humanware is that "they are working on the next upgrade. They
are not saying what it will include, when it will be released, or
what number it will be called."
So how about complementing Mr. Lee on his well thought out
and written hypothesis, but we should remember, that's all it is
and not a promise from Humanware. Whenever the next upgrade is
released, nothing in this article has been mentioned by anyone
from Humanware.
Sammie Clay
----- Original Message -----
From: Joseph Lee <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: BrailleNote List <[email protected]
Date sent: Sat, 14 Jul 2007 22:53:58 -0700
Subject: [Braillenote] Upgrading KeySoft to Windows CE 6.0
Hi Alex, Cindy and list,
I'm not a software developer (software development was never my
strong point, grin) but I'll try my best to explain this in
simple but detailed context:
INTRODUCTION
Whenever a new product is released to the general public from
companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, etc., the general
public wants to know what's new with the product. The features
that these companies and other companies list as part of the
product release would be easy for people to understand and many
people would say that upgrading would allow them to use promised
features.
ON THE SOFTWARE SIDE
For software developers like HumanWare staff and OEM's (Original
Equipment Manufacturer), the release of a new operating system
(particularly from Microsoft) usually means that they need to
come up with strategies to implement features of this new
operating systems to their benefit and for the benefit of the
customers. For example, when Microsoft said, when Windows Vista
(Windows NT 6.0) was released, that this new operating system
would no longer support older CPU's such as Pentium III and older
processors, many people who were using computers based on these
chips were worried and switched to newer processors such as Dual
Core processors from Intel and AMD. Also, for example, when
Apple announced that it will establish partnership with Intel to
create iMacks (hope I'm spelling it right), many people who were
using Power PC CPUS to run Mac OSX switched to Intel-based iMacks
for some experiments. As previous examples illustrates, whenever
a major software or hardware is released, people would anticipate
as to its impact on their computing lives.
ABOUT WINDOWS CE 6.0
Microsoft released Windows CE 6.0 on November 1, 2006. Microsoft
hinted that this new Windows CE version is different from
previous versions and allows devices to run more programs. This
was achieved by modifying the operating system kernel--the real
heart of Windows CE--to take advantage of increased Virtual
Memory from 32 MB to 2 GB. An operating system kernel is some
kind of a process that can be described as "heart of the OS" -
meaning that it is a central component of the operating system
that interfaces with hardware and software (mostly between
firmware and software). Virtual Memory is some kind of a memory
where you can use more memory than physical RAM. Also, this new
kernel allows devices to run almost unlimited number of
programs/processes (processes is another term for programs) - up
to about 30,000 programs. (Remember, that under Windows CE 4.2,
you can run up to 32 programs at once.) Also, the audio stack and
bluetooth functions has been redesigned and the way of running
programs is significantly different from Windows CE 4.2.
As the illustrations above shows, Windows CE 6.0 is not just a
simple upgrade: it is a radical departure.
SO WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH BrailleNote USERS?
Because of the way Windows CE 6.0 is designed, just running
KeySoft on top of CE6.0 when it is designed for CE4.2 will not
work. Due to the redesigned operating system that takes
advantage of nearly thousandfold of virtual memory (2 GB or
roughly 2000 MB), KeySoft needs to be rewritten/recompiled to
take advantage of increased virtual memory support. As the chat
summary states, the hardware on the mPower and PK is capable of
running Windows CE 6.0 (especially on the mPower).
WHAT ABOUT BrailleNote Classic USERS?
There are numerous reasons why Classic won't be able to run under
CE6.0 (I'll try my best to answer many questions that has been
discussed on the list from non-programming perspective):
* The processor itself (MIPS R4000 at 100 MHz) does not have
sufficient capabilities to support CE6.0 because of its speed and
rarity of devices running Windows CE that is powered by MIPS
processors. Most devices these days run under ARM processors.
* Classic does not have enough memory to support CE6.0 features,
notably newer audio stack and virtual memory (although one can
use "emulation" for it).
* The audio hardware on the Classic does not have sufficient
capabilities to support newer audio stack (devices these days
have multichannel sound cards vs. single channel sound cards
present on Classic).
These are reasons why Classic will not, and unfortunately unable
to support upgrading to Windows CE 6.0 (it has endured enough to
be powered by Windows CE 4.2).
WHAT POSSIBILITIES CAN USERS EXPECT FROM UPGRADING TO WINDOWS CE
6.0?
If HumanWare upgrades to Windows CE 6.0, the following
suggestions that were posted on the list will come true:
* Enhanced Bluetooth supporting Bluetooth audio and Object
Exchange (ObEx) protocol so you can send data to other Bluetooth
devices.
* Enhanced Audio stack (probably a new hardware upgrade is in
order).
* The issue of "not enough storage" error would be resolved
through use of tons of virtual memory (KeySoft alone can use up
to 2 GB of virtual memory).
* Support for Office 2007 files and better MS Word documents
support.
* Support for Power Point (did I spell it right?) files.
* Support for SDIO (Secure Digital Input/Output) cards such as SD
WiFi and modem cards (probably a new hardware is in order).
These are some of the possibilities that we can expect in Windows
CE 6.0.
Conclusion: Every new product release, especially operating
system release, carries considerable impact on customers,
computer/device manufacturers and software developers. Although
it may have new features for better productivity and computer
lives, for developers, this means another challenge for them,
especially if the product in question is different from what
developers have been used to using. As illustrated above,
Windows CE 6.0 is not just an evolutionary release, but rather a
radical departure from what we've seen on devices that runs under
Windows CE, namely support for larger virtual memory, redesigned
audio and Bluetooth stack and so forth. For this reason, a
software that has been designed for an older OS such as Windows
CE 4.2 needs to be rewritten to take advantage of new features
found in CE6.0. A software written for an older operating
system, say for Windows 98 will not take advantage of new
features released in newer operating systems such as Windows
Vista. This is critical when running a software on a portable
device such as BrailleNote family of products. Although we' as
users of this product, will see many improvements and suggestions
come alive, for developers, it would be a challenge to compile
KeySoft to take advantage of new features introduced in the
latest version of Windows CE designed for portable devices. As
Joseph Lee, the author of this message and a BrailleNote user
proclaims, "Use a given technology to its full potential." - use
your technology to take advantage of it.
I hope the above article made sense to everyone. If you have any
questions for me, feel free to contact me.
Cheers,
JosephP.S. Just a comparison: even though the competition claims
that it runs under latest Windows Mobile technology, don't be
fooled, as it still runs under Windows CE 5 technology (This was
not meant to be an attack on a specific product).
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