virtual edge
Feature
Multimedia
Hardware
Hints & Tips
Humor
Links
Archive
PREMIO Sites
Main Site
Support Site
FTP Site
Vol. 1/No. 8
06/08/1998
|
| |
Archive of
volume 1, number 8 for June 8, 1998. Go back to
current issue.
 |
Microsoft's Windows Family
|
|
|
A little bit of history first...
In the beginning, command line operating systems (CP/M, Unix, DOS) dominated
the computer industry. Then Apple came along and introduced the revolutionary
concept of a graphical user interface (GUI). (The fact is,
Apple "borrowed" the GUI concept from Xerox's research lab; Xerox may be the
original inventor, but Apple took it and marketed it successfully to
the public.) Of course, Microsoft followed Apple thereafter and called it their
Windows operating system. Apple tried, unsuccessfully, to sue Microsoft.
Today, Windows itself is a family of operating systems (OS), each directed
at a specific market segment. Here's a quick rundown on each OS:
Windows 3.x - The original Microsoft incarnation that started
the whole family. It was designed for 386/486 machines and had
a nasty tendency to crash randomly and without warning. Nevertheless, for many
users, it was still better than the old DOS prompt.
Windows for Workgroup 3.11 - Same as above but with added
support for networking. Still prone to those infamous GPF (general
protection fault) errors.
Windows NT 3.1 - The next generation of the Windows
family; supposedly, NT stands for "New Technology." A break away from
the Windows 3.x family because NT was truly 32 bit and did not sit
on top of MS-DOS. Offered better crash protection and security. NT 3.1
didn't really take off due to heavy hardware requirements at that time.
Windows NT 3.51 - More bug fixes to NT 3.1. It's at this point
that the hardware started to catch up with NT 3.51.
Windows 95 - Microsoft began targeting their Windows OS
at specific market segments. NT was desgined (primarily) for the business/corporate market,
while Windows 95 was intended for the home and small business user.
But because of NT's high hardware requirements, most users, corporate and
home, choose to run Windows 95 instead.
Windows NT 4.0 - Essentially, Windows NT 3.51 with the
Windows 95 user interface. Microsoft also added many Internet related
hooks and apps to NT 4.0. To improve graphics performance, the
graphics engine was moved to the kernel.
Windows CE - Microsoft realized the growing popularity of
handheld devices (like the 3Com PalmPilot) or handheld personal computers
(HPCs), so they released a CE (consumer electronics) version of their
Windows family. CE is basically a stripped down version of 95.
Windows 98 - The last version of its Windows 9x family.
Microsoft integrated Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 into the OS. And it added
support for many new hardware and device (such as USB, DVD, etc).
See the May 11th issue of virtual edge for more Windows 98 information.
AutoPC - This really isn't a true OS, but it's Windows CE
ported over to automobiles. Yes, in the near future, Microsoft Windows
will be in your car. AutoPC is a replacement for the current
dashboard stereo system. AutoPC will, among other things, allow you to
check your email while driving (can you say "safety hazard?").
Windows NT 5.0 - Once again, this will be like NT 4.0 with Windows
98 features (power managment, PnP, new device support, etc). NT 5.0
probably won't be out until 1999. See the May 18th issue of virtual edge for more Windows NT 5.0 information.
Windows NTC - Microsoft's long term strategic vision: merge
both Windows 9x and NT into one unified OS. It doesn't matter if you're
a gamer, business user, or home user, Microsoft wants you to run NTC
after the year 2000.
Back to top...
|
 |
3D Audio: Aureal 3D
|
|
|
3D graphics performance and quality have improved a great deal
since the introduction of 3D graphics to the PC. Companies such as
3Dfx and Matrox are bringing arcade-quality 3D graphics to the PC desktop at an
affordable price.
But to bring a truly immersive experience to the consumers, audio
must be factored in the 3D equation as well. Before going into the basics
of 3D audio technology, here's a quick list of the common sound playback
methods utilized today:
Mono - The most basic playback method; to the listener, the
sound source is coming from a single source in space.
Stereo - The most common playback method available today;
the sound source is able to move left to right and vice versa.
Surround Sound - Usually found in a home theater environment.
The listener is surrounded by a group of speakers (usually
two in the front and two in the back plus one for bass) in a circular formation. The sound
source is able to travel left and right and/or front and back. Dobly Digital or AC-3 is a good example.
Even with surround sound, it's still mainly a 2D listening experience. The sound
source may be perceived by the listener as coming from the left and right
or front and back. When a person is watching a movie (a strictly non-interactive
experience), then surround sound is sufficient.
3D audio takes surround sound to the next logical level: the sound source may
be coming from a three dimensional point in space. That is, in addition
to left, right, front, back, the sound source may be perceived by
the listener as coming from up or down. 3D audio is required to immerse
the user into a true 3D environment, in both a visual and audio manner.
3D audio may also be interactive. The sounds are not simply pre-recorded
tracks as in a movie. Interactive 3D sound will change depending on user
interaction, which is needed for a gaming environment. And the good news
is, 3D audio requires only two speakers. The concept is simple: since we
only have two ears, it must be possible to reproduce 3D sounds with
only two speakers. For a more technical discussion on 3D audio technology,
check out Aureal's 3D Audio Primer.
So why isn't 3D audio a standard PC feature yet? Mainly because of processor
and bandwidth requirement. To process a single 3D audio stream may require
dedicated hardware, otherwise CPU utilization may degrade overall system
performance. Also, it's only recently that soundcards are making the shift from the ISA bus to the PCI bus.
As mentioned earlier, one of the company that's driving the 3D audio market is
Aureal. They are the creator of
the Aureal 3D (A3D) specification and Vortex, which is their PCI based
audio chipset. Other soundcard makers (Diamond, Turtle Beach, etc) are
using the A3D specs or using the Vortex chipset on their soundcards.
As processors get faster and soundcards are migrating to the PCI bus,
3D audio will probably become a standard feature by 1999.
Back to top...
|
 |
The Future of Network Bandwidth
|
|
|
Many businesses today are still using 10Mbps ethernet as their primary
network connection between desktop computers and hubs. But new
companies are starting out with 100Mbps fast ethernet connections for
every segment of their network: desktop, hub, backbone, etc. With the
explosive growth of the Internet, it seems that we can never
have enough bandwidth to satisfy our needs. Transfering multiple video
streams will even bring 100Mbps LAN to its knees.
As such, there are always newer and faster networking technologies that
promise to deliver more bandwidth. Here's a quick summary of each
technology:
| Type |
Speed |
Pros |
Cons |
Available? |
| Ethernet |
10Mbps or 1.25MB/sec |
Inexpensive |
Showing its age now |
Everywhere |
| Fast Ethernet |
100Mbps or 12.5MB/sec |
Fast |
Hubs are still expensive |
Everywhere |
| Gigabit Ethernet |
1,00Mbps or 125MB/sec |
Extremely Fast |
Still an emerging technology; expensive |
Limited |
| Fast Gigabit Ethernet |
10Gbps or 1.25GB/sec |
Smoking! |
Being developed |
No |
| Fiber Optic or FDDI |
Up to 100MB/sec |
Fast and long distance |
Very expensive |
Limited |
| ATM |
25Mbps to 655Mbps |
Fast and quality of service |
Expensive |
Limited |
ATM is the only technology that has quality of service (QOS). This means
if a video stream requires x amount of bandwidth, ATM will guarantee x
amount of bandwidth. Fast Gigabit Ethernet is still in the development
stage now, and probably won't be out until late 1999. FDDI and ATM is still
too expensive for every single desktop systems. The fastest and cost-effective
solution today is Fast Ethernet. Fast Ethernet network adapters are
relatively inexpensive now; the biggest investment is still probably the hub.
Back to top...
|
 |
Searching the Web
|
|
|
The web is such an immense place that sometimes it makes looking for
information a very difficult task. Even with popular search engines
such as Yahoo! or Alta Vista, narrowing down your search still isn't
an easy job. Sometimes you just want to search the web for
research, rather than aimlessly surfing it.
The two primary search sites I use most often is Alta Vista and Yahoo!
But there's a fundamental difference between the two engines you should
be aware of. Alta Vista is best suited for searching for a general
topic, subject, idea, or concept. Yahoo! is better if you are searching
for a particular business name or manufacturer. Of course, this does
not mean you cannot use Yahoo! to search for concepts, but in my
personal experience, Alta Vista is a better choice than Yahoo!
This is best illustrated with an example. Say I want to seach for
information about touchscreen monitors. I don't know which company
makes them, but I would like to know pricing, how they work, etc.
I would first do a search in Alta Vista to see if there are any hits.
When searching on Alta Vista, it's a good idea to enter your
search topic in quotes so the engine will do a literal match.
For example, type in "touchscreen monitors" (with quotes) instead
of two words without the quotes. In addition, most search engines today
allow you to perform advanced search using Boolean operators (and, or, not).
Here's a list of the most popular search engine available on the web.
This list is by no means exhaustive. The best way to learn how search
the web is to try it and experiment.
Alta Vista
Yahoo!
Excite
Infoseek
Webcrawler
Hotbot
And if you're looking for a specific person, try Bigfoot.
Back to top...
|
 |
Joke of the Week
|
|
Mega Mergers Waiting to Happen
(from CNN's Fringe Message Board)
PARIS, Nov. 14, 2102 (Agence France-Presse) -- In what is
thought to be the biggest merger of all time, Men and
Women have agreed to join forces into one sex, to be
called Humanicorp. The details of the arrangement are still
being hammered out, but early negotiations have Men
taking breasts. Women have agreed in principle to watch
ESPN but have refused to give up self-respect. There are
also serious antitrust issues that will need to be resolved.
A spokesman for Men, Bob, said that Men had been trying
for years to merge with Women and this was the culmination
of a long-held dream for them. Women were unavailable for
comment.
ROME, May 30, 2305 (Religious News Service) -- After
several eons of discord and competition for the souls of
Humanicorp, God and Satan have decided to merge in a
deal that will join heaven and hell. "Some say I've made a
deal with the Devil," said God, who appeared
simultaneously on CNN, Fox News, the major networks
and all radios and personal computers, as well as in the
sky. "But I prefer to think of this as two former adversaries
setting aside differences for the good of consumers."
Those close to the delicate negotiations said that God
would be chairman of the combined company and that
Satan would hold the post of president. Merger talks broke
off several centuries ago, in part because the executives
could not reach an agreement on who would run a
combined company. Reminded of his famous rebuff of God
at that time, "Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven,"
Satan joked, "I take it back." Satan's old organization,
whose name is Legion, does not plan any layoffs.
Back to top...
|
|
|
|
Coming up in next week's issue...
Palmtops and Handheld Personal Computers
Do you have an idea or a topic you'd like to see in the upcoming issue
of virtual edge? Just drop an email to calvin@premiopc.com.
Back to top...
|
|
|
|
|
Please direct any comments or corrections to Webmaster
Copyright © 1998 PREMIO Computer, Inc.
|
