The important thing to keep in mind about Windows CE is that it is not a handheld operating system. So, what is Windows CE, and how does it affect the handheld games market? Nevertheless, Microsoft’s deep pockets and essentially existing user-base means that WinCE has power behind it that few other handheld operating systems do. We still seem to be of the mindset that the number one activity for which people use, and sometimes even buy their computer is somehow not a legitimate use for that computer. It is interesting, however, that someone who will complain that their XYZ accounting package for Windows won’t run on WinCE, is not bothered by the fact that that same WinCE machine won’t run his favorite 3D first-person shooter. WinCE promised familiarity with the desktop metaphor most people were already used to, and if they couldn’t run the exact same applications on their handheld that they ran on their desktop, well, that’s a forgivable sin. And it’s quite understandable people are familiar with Windows, and most people are not interested in learning the vagaries of a new operating system. Windows CE’s success can be in part attributed to the brand recognition of the Microsoft name. Now, "HPC" (Handheld Personal Computer, the catch-phrase for Windows CE-based devices) has become almost as synonymous with "PDA" as "Windows" has with "PC", yet there are probably as many differing machines running Windows CE as there are handheld machines running other operating systems. This doesn’t mean the company has, or will ever have, the largest market share but it does mean that WinCE will get the lion’s share of media and non-media attention, and may well leverage out better PDA operating systems (such as Epoc), as happened on the desktop. The PDA market was "legitimized" by Microsoft’s entry, and I knew as soon as I saw WinCE come out that it would eventually come to dominate the handheld computer market. Still, Microsoft has always been able to see markets with potential, and with the success of the Psion, and the phenomenal popularity of the Pilot, it was inevitable that Microsoft would keep working at a PDA until they succeeded in having a competitive product.Īnd they’re still working at it. The first attempt was known as Winpad, and was pretty much stillborn. Windows CE (or WinCE, as the sometimes-appropriate nickname) is not Microsoft’s first attempt into the handheld computer market. Also, the greater cpu power means that future game applications will have more enhanced sound than the earlier machines. While the original PalmPilots were restricted to 4 grayscale levels, the new ones are capable of 16. The Dragonball-EZ is faster than its predecessor, and this makes possible certain enhancements. It involves the new Dragonball processor in the Palm IIIx and V. With that settled, there’s a bit more information I need to share about the new PalmPilots. "Overall, we are very happy both with CodeWarrior 5.1 itself, and with Metrowerks support."Ĭonsidering that Metrowerks makes a lot of compilers for other operating systems and platforms, I found it pleasant to see them respond so quickly and thoroughly to Palm Creation’s dissatisfaction. Here is a quote from Palm Creations on their current opinion of the Metrowerks product: A company’s reputation can be won or lost based on the competence and civility of its tech support people. Initially Palm Creations reported very negative results with Metrowerks tech support apparently somebody over there started kicking butt and taking names. Their assignment of bitfields was implementation dependent, and they did not allow for this in their code. The final and most damning problem Palm Creations faced, was that, even with the upgrade, they could not run the code Codewarrior generated! This turned out to be Palm Creation’s fault not Metrowerks. I have to say that Metrowerks bent over backwards, including examining Palm Creation’s code, to make things right by them. Palm Creations developers also reported that they could only set breakpoints in the current source file with the upgrade Metrowerks showed them how to set breakpoints in multiple files. Again, it appears the upgrade has taken care of this as well. Another complaint was the slow speed of the debugger.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |