Windows Hardware Engineering Conference next week in Orlando. This article is a must-read for those who care about the fundamentals. Keep your eyes open.
news.com
Excerpts:
<<Cheap PCs, home computing, Windows 98, and
new chips headline the topics slated for discussion
at next week's Windows Hardware Engineering
Conference, a major industry event for engineers
who design the latest and greatest hardware for the
Windows operating system.
The three-day conference serves as a touchstone
for changes in hardware architecture. Microsoft
typically uses the conference to promote and
announce new PC technologies for the coming
year. >>
<<snip>>
<<Some of the major topics include:
Jay Torborg, director of Windows multimedia at
Microsoft, will look at the next two years of
planned enhancements to Microsoft's multimedia
technology, known as DirectX, including the
"Fahrenheit" initiative. Torborg will go over
Microsoft's Direct3D, DirectMusic, and DVD
playback technologies.
Mike Aymar, vice president and general
manager of Intel's Consumer Products Group, and
Pat Gelsinger will describe Intel's processor,
chipset, and technology road maps for the next
several years. Major issues include using the
processor to improve video performance and
building TV set-top computing devices.
<<snip>>
Forums will include:
Windows for Low-Cost Markets. A
comparison of upcoming integrated chips, which
incorporate many of the PC's core features into one
chip, vs. traditional designs that use separate chips.
This will be compared to hybrid, or media
processor, approaches.
Windows and Imaging Devices.
<<snip>>
Home Connectivity:
<<snip>>
The seminar will
include a forecast of the future roadmaps for AMD,
Cyrix, Digital, IDT, and Intel.
DVD and Digital TV. The PC is becoming a
place to view full-motion video such as movies and
TV. "This requires a paradigm shift--PCs are
becoming television sets and vice versa," according
to Microsoft. Video can be delivered over the
airwaves, on a DVD disc, via cable, on the
Internet, or from a satellite. This forum will outline
the digital television strategy at Microsoft.
Microsoft's PC design recommendations for the
coming year .....
<<snip>> |
