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Read the foreword from John Q. Murray's Inside Microsoft Windows CE. |
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Foreword
By Craig Mundie Over the past 30 years, I've watched the computer business go from the mainframe era to the minicomputer era to the personal computing era, and now to the very personal computing era. I find it very gratifying to be part of that transition. When we started work on Microsoft Windows CE for embedded applications, we decided to focus on 32-bit, virtual memory-capable microprocessors. We believed that Moore's Law would continue to function and that this hardware platform would become economical as we popularized Windows CE for the next generation of intelligent appliances. Our goal was to bring the more sophisticated software environment of today's personal computer into the embedded world. We didn't go back and try to capture the style and capabilities of traditional real-time embedded systems, but instead focused on adding modularity and real-time features to this new, componentized Microsoft Windows operating system. Today we have microprocessors going into automobiles whose memory capacity and performance is basically equivalent to what I designed into supercomputers in 1982. The ability to apply this level of computing performance at very low cost to benefit people who want to live "the web lifestyle," as Bill Gates calls it, represents a radical step forward in the role that computing devices and software play in support of our daily lives. One of the great things about Microsoft is that we have Bill Gates's leadership. Our continuity of management enables us to invest and persevere in our development efforts over long periods of time. As computing has evolved, this has allowed us to begin introducing computers to the appliances that people find mission-critical for their daily lives, such as televisions, telephones, radios, and cars, as well as other support systems, such as home, building, and traffic automation. We launched the PC Companion line with the Handheld PC; now we are shipping the Palm-size PC, bringing the Auto PC on line, and collaborating with Sega to use Windows CE as part of the Dreamcast home video game system. As part of the digital TV efforts, we are reconstructing the WebTV client as a form of digital television that runs on Windows CE, and we are using Windows CE in the advanced digital set-top box that TCI will deploy. To produce as many products as the Windows CE team has in a short period of time is a real testimony to the individuals and the team. We hope that facilitating interconnection between these devices will be a major benefit of Windows CE. Windows CE allows us to bridge traditional personal computing and intelligent appliances, and its scalability allows us to make these devices ubiquitous. Connectivity will be the single biggest differentiator between the universe of devices today and the universe of devices 10 years from now. It will require a new communications infrastructure, including radio, wireline communications, satellites, and digital TV transmission mechanisms, as well as new standards. To succeed, we in this industry have to operate at a macroscopic technical, economic, and political level because no single company---not even Microsoft---can effect all these changes by itself. We see a lot of momentum behind the current Windows CE products, but we also recognize the huge opportunity for the hundreds of thousands of people who design specialty systems and who welcome the arrival of a small but powerful networking-capable, Internet-aware operating system. The creativity of this development community---the people who read this book---will invent new ways to use this technology. ---Craig Mundie, Senior Vice President, Consumer Platforms Division, Microsoft Corporation From Inside Microsoft Windows CE, (c) 1998, John Q. Murray. Published by Microsoft Press. All Rights Reserved. |
