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Technology Industry

Pervasive Computing Era

Software Magazine, April, 2000 by Dan Kara

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* CE Development Environments

CE development tools abound, supporting all types of CE development, including platform development (building customized CE configurations for specific hardware), driver development, and most importantly for corporate sites, application development. The leading IDE for CE is Microsoft's own Visual Basic and Visual C++, although other forms-based tools such as Syware's Visual CE are also available. Microsoft also provides a Windows CE SDK that supports multiple platform types (HPCs, PC Companions, etc.), as well as emulators and libraries.

* EPOC Development Environments

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At this time there are no EPOC development tools that work at a high level of abstraction (forms-based). Both C++ and Java SDKs, libraries, and emulators are available, but they require a separate IDE such as Microsoft's Visual C++.

In general, Windows CE is a good generalized platform that supports multiple chip sets. Although it is firmly entrenched in the computational end of the computation-communication continuum, it is positioned for multiple device types (set-top boxes, etc.). Support for CE is strong, but most experts believe that the current version of the OS is too large and slow for communication devices. The Palm OS is the marketshare leader among PDAs and offers solid development tool support. The OS is limited to the Motorola DragonBall processor and will be squeezed by CE and Symbian as Palm expands the OS up and down the communication-computation continuum through OS enhancements and partnering. The Symbian EPOC OS should dominate as an OS for next-generation communication devices such as smart phones and feature phones, and will move down the communication-computation continuum (Psion, Sharp, Phillips). Currently, however, the OS is largely limited to ARM processors, and development tool support is thin.

Get Ready

The next generation of clients will have more in common with Nintendo's Gameboy portable game player than with your standard desktop PC. In time, PDAs, micro-PDAs, HPCs, feature phones, smart phones, PC Companions, to say nothing of the number of proprietary and dedicated vertical market devices, will vastly outnumber classic PC client front ends.

Don't think for an instant that your organization will not be affected by this trend. The market itself is huge and growing rapidly. For example, a recent report by market researcher Dataquest, San Jose, Calif., estimates that approximately six million handheld computers will ship in '99, a 47% increase over 1998. More importantly, the business case for the employment of handheld computers. and other intelligent devices, in terms of increased productivity, extended reach, and better customer service, is extremely compelling. Besides, many of the employees in your respective companies are already using these devices. With end-user expectations raised in lockstep with increased familiarity with these devices, along with increased functionality with each successive generation of products, the call to integrate these devices into the enterprise at large will be deafening.

Technology Industry

Pervasive Computing Era

Software Magazine, April, 2000 by Dan Kara

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