BSQUARE Announces New Technology Enabling Fast Windows CE Development on Single Board Computer Systems.SAN JOSE San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 3, 1998-- New technology can be used across multiple development platforms for flexible Windows CE (Windows Consumer Electronics) Microsoft's version of Windows for handheld devices and embedded systems that use x86, ARM, MIPS and SHx CPUs. Windows CE .NET superseded Windows CE 3.0. implementations BSQUARE Corporation announced today a host of new technology offerings that enable the development of Windows(R) CE-based systems on single board computer reference designs. The new BSQUARE(R) Platform Layer, Portable Driver Library, and Loader development tools for CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer) Pronounced "sisk." The traditional architecture of a computer which uses microcode to execute very comprehensive instructions. and RISC RISC in full Reduced Instruction Set Computing Computer architecture that uses a limited number of instructions. RISC became popular in microprocessors in the 1980s. platforms deliver a faster time-to-market for Windows CE-based devices. BSQUARE is deploying these technologies on hardware partner's reference designs, on projects handled by BSQUARE's Project Engineering Services group and in BSQUARE's CE Xpress(tm) Kit product line. "We are constantly creating new technologies to speed the development of Windows CE-based devices," said Joe Notarangelo, vice president and general manager of the BSQUARE Embedded Systems Embedded systems Computer systems that cannot be programmed by the user because they are preprogrammed for a specific task and are buried within the equipment they serve. Group. "These new technologies are the latest in our offerings, and we will use them to help shorten the CE development cycle. The combination of the BSQUARE Platform Layer, Portable Driver Library and Loader enables the porting of Windows CE to new target platforms in record time. All of the technologies culminate in our family of Xpress Kits and are used throughout our engineering services organization." Customers can evaluate Windows CE on hardware platforms Each hardware platform, or CPU family, has a unique machine language. All software presented to the computer for execution must be in the binary coded machine language of that CPU. Following is a list of the major hardware platforms in existence today. See platform. using the CE Xpress Binary Kit and add new drivers conforming to the Portable Driver Model to the resulting executable CE image. If source code is needed, the CE Xpress Adaptation Kit includes access to the Portable Driver Library, minimizing development time and providing maximum design flexibility. About the BSQUARE Platform Layer The BSQUARE Platform Layer (BPL See broadband over power lines. ) is a software abstraction layer Software that translates a high-level request into the low-level commands required to perform the operation. The most common abstraction layer is the programming interface (API) between an application and the operating system. including the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and Adaptation Layer (OAL OAL Office of Administrative Law OAL Overall Length (see LOA) OAL Open Audio License (EFF) OAL Observatório Astronómico de Lisboa (Portugese: Lisbon Astronomical Observatory) ) and isolating the hardware specifics. This BPL software abstraction layer provides the infrastructure for developing device drivers that are portable across multiple CPUs and hardware platforms. The BSQUARE Platform Layer is currently available for several hardware platforms targeted by the BSQUARE CE Xpress Kit products, and can also be implemented on any target hardware platform. Dynamic allocation allows device driver developers to concentrate their efforts on writing correct and efficient drivers without concern for system-wide resource conflicts. This technology is included in the CE Xpress Kits and will be used in custom projects for engineering services clients. About the Portable Device Driver Library A multitude of new, cross-platform device drivers were built using the BSQUARE Platform Layer and are available to customers of Project Engineering Services and CE Xpress(tm) Adaptation Kits. Customers can take advantage of these pre-written device drivers and gain substantial time-to-market advantages. The device drivers currently in this library or under development include: -0-
Networking Video and Graphics
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NE2000 ISA/PCI Ethernet S3 Virge DX / PCI
Intel 21140(NDIS)/PCI Ethernet IGS Cyberpro 2010/PCI, ISA/VL
Intel 82558 Ethernet Cirrus 5429 /ISA
Cyrstal 8900 Ethernet C&T 65545/65550 PCI
C&T 54545 ISA
Audio Storage
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Soundblaster AWE/16/32 IDE/ATA
Ensoniq ES1370 PCI Floppy
Keyboard/Mouse and Serial
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Intel I8042S PS2 Keyboard/Mouse
USB(OHCI) Keyboard/Mouse
16550 serial
z85C30 serial
About the BSQUARE Loader The BSQUARE Loader, available in CE Xpress Adaptation Kits, CE Xpress Binary Kits, and for Project Engineering Services customers, eliminates the expensive need for a BIOS. The BSQUARE loader initializes the system's CPU CPU in full central processing unit Principal component of a digital computer, composed of a control unit, an instruction-decoding unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. , bus, display, sizes memory and loads Windows CE from different types of media. Supported boot technologies include ATAFlash, M-Systems Disk-on-Chip, linear flash, Ethernet and a Datalight Flash File System, Resident Flash Array (RFA RFA right frontoanterior (position of the fetus). Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) A procedure in which radiofrequency waves are used to destroy blood vessels and tissues. Mentioned in: Prenatal Surgery ). Other features include a mode for simultaneous hardware debugging while developing Windows CE software, and a flexible dual boot A computer with two operating systems. At startup, a boot manager program lets the user choose which one to load. "Multiboot" may refer to a dual boot system or to one that hosts more than two operating systems. option so that the user can choose between multiple operating systems Operating systems can be categorized by technology, ownership, licensing, working state, usage, and by many other characteristics. In practice, many of these groupings may overlap. . The flexibility offered by the BSQUARE Loader enables CE to run on a diverse range of storage devices offered on the various Single Board Computer reference platforms. About BSQUARE As a Microsoft-sanctioned Windows CE Systems Integrator and distributor, BSQUARE's Embedded Systems Group offers a single source solution for embedded systems designers looking to incorporate Windows CE into their target devices. BSQUARE delivers all the necessary components for a successful implementation of Windows CE: licenses for Windows CE, CE Xpress Adaptation Kits, CE Xpress Binary Kits, BSQUARE CE EmbeddedDesktop, Embedded Toolkits for Visual C++ 5.0, Project Engineering Services, and technical support. BSQUARE, located in Bellevue, Washington Bellevue is a rapidly growing city in King County, Washington, U.S., across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle,[1] it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. , specializes in Windows CE and offers consulting services, embedded system products and services, and software applications for portable PC companions. BSQUARE offers more experience with Windows CE than any other systems integrator, and leverages this knowledge and years of direct experience to deliver cutting-edge technology and speed the customer's time-to-market. BSQUARE was founded in 1994 and is the market leader in providing complete Windows CE-based solutions. More Information For further information on the products and services offered by BSQUARE, please visit the Web site at www.bsquare.com or call 888/820-4500. BSQUARE and CE Xpress are either registered trademarks or trademarks of BSQUARE Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Other product and company names herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. |
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