From: Bob Leif, Ph.D.
To: Dirk Craeynest et al.
As an owner and user of a Windows CE based Cassiopea hand held PC, I must
point out a very significant commercial problem with other operating
systems, such as EPOC, they have no means to exchange information with the
users' PC. I can exchange Pocket Word and Excel files between my hand held
and my PC. I even loaded Outlook 98 on my PC in order to be able to move my
e-mail message from my handheld to my PC. (This has not been tried yet.) I
will also admit that I greatly prefer FrameMaker to Word and do not like
much of Excel.
The solution to this problem is, of course, operating system independent
standards. There are two organizations in the US that theoretically could
make it happen: the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST,
and GSA. Since GSA controls the money, it is the only US Governmental
organization really capable of enforcing a standard. In terms of creating
software standards, NIST has been replaced by ANSI, the IEEE, and ISO.
I still believe that Windows CE makes very good sense for embedded systems
and that the Ada Marketing Directors should schedule a Windows CE product.
Also, does EPOC run on any other processor than ARM?
However, if the European Economic Community or other group wish to take on
Microsoft, I would strongly recommend Ada and quality software engineering.
Customers are drawn to products that actually work and are reliable.
Unfortunately Sun, IBM, Netscape, et al. are trying to stop a raging
rhinoceros with a pop-gun (Java).
-----Original Message-----
From: Team Ada: Ada Advocacy Issues (83 & 95) [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Dirk Craeynest
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 1998 3:06 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: On Windows CE, Psion's EPOC, ARM processor and Ada
Fellow Teamers,
For your information, you might want to check out URL
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/zdnn_display/0,3440,2114861,00.html
i.e. a news item entitled:
Cell-phone makers pick an OS; Microsoft spurned
By Andrew Orlowski, ZDNet (UK)
June 24, 1998 11:14 AM PT
It covers several subjects/items that have been mentioned in Team-Ada
circles, such as how Ada on Windows CE would be 'nice to have' for the
growing market of small embedded systems, and the ARM processor.
Wasn't Intermetrics targeting their Ada 95 technology to that processor?
A few excerpts:
-------
LONDON -- In a deal that could match Microsoft Corp.'s appointment as
IBM's PC operating system supplier in 1981, the leading digital
handset manufacturers Wednesday pledged their support for Psion's EPOC
as a single common operating system for smart phones and digital
communicators.
Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola agreed to share their development
resources with Psion in a new company, Symbian.
[...]
"EPOC has three key ingredients, but most importantly it's an
uncompromised platform," said Pekka Ala Pietilä, president of Nokia
Mobile Phones. An Ericsson official agreed that proprietary operating
systems alarmed the telecom industry, and they did not want a single
vendor in control of the operating system.
[...]
The deal comes as a bitter blow to Microsoft [...], which has
been offering its CE operating system to handset manufacturers for
several months without success.
"EPOC has been refined for 10 years to fit small devices and offers us
very good performance," said Anders Waesterlid, director of software
development and strategies at Ericsson. "To adopt CE means several
technical compromises in these areas."
[...]
Part of the group's enthusiasm for the software was fueled by its
natural fit with the ARM processor, according to sources. The
operating system was developed on the ARM reference platform using the
GNU tools. ARM is a processor that's designed to run in small devices
with low-power requirements.
[...]
International Data Corp. estimates that the handset market, currently
at around 200 million units, will grow to 600 million units in 2002,
with wireless data devices making up 10-15 percent of this market.
[...]
-------
See the URL for the full article.
Dirk ([log in to unmask] for Ada-Belgium e-mail)
*** Ada's success is still one of the world's best-kept secrets.
*** We're doing what we can to help change that.
--
Dirk Craeynest | OFFIS nv/sa | Email [log in to unmask]
Ada-Belgium | Weiveldlaan 41/32 | Phone ++32(2)725.40.25
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