icrosoft is picking up its pace in the race to deliver mobile network computing to the enterprise. The company this fall will introduce a series of technologies and operating system upgrades designed to bring $500 mobile network computing devices to corporate users.
Sources say Microsoft will launch its attack on the NC marketplace on Sept. 29, at both the Software Development East conference in Washington and the Embedded Systems conference in San Jose, Calif., with the introduction of Windows CE 2.0, Visual Basic for CE, and a new Universal Virtual Machine modeled on the Java Virtual Machine.
Microsoft's UVM will let enterprise developers build applications once, using Visual C++, Visual Basic, or Visual J++, and run them unchanged on any of the six RISC processors that are supported by the lightweight Windows CE operating system.
Right now, the only way to build applications for CE is to use Visual C++, then recompile the applications for each
of CE's target processors-a tedious and error-prone process, developers say. Adding Visual Basic to the lineup of CE-capable languages opens the door to millions of enterprise shops interested in extending their VB applications out to the field.
"The CE team is pushing this pretty hard," says a source familiar with the plan. "They have to do this in order to make the CE platform real. They have to provide the ability to let Visual Basic developers get at CE, because nobody wants to use C++ to build mobile enterprise apps."
Analysts agree. "There's a lot of VB code in use out there," says Clay Ryder, an analyst with Zona Research in Redwood City, Calif. "So for sales-force automation or other remote-access applications, if you've already got VB apps running in the enterprise, and you're able to leverage those into the CE platform, a large part of your development is already done."
In addition, sources say, Windows CE will gain enhanced networking support, including an optional integrated Ethernet
module and readily available support for wireless. Other features include high-resolution color displays, ActiveX and Java applet support, and more. These robust NC-like capabilities, combined with the open nature of Microsoft's UVM and multiplatform CE operating system, could put a damper on Java-based APIs and reference specifications that Apple, IBM, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, and others are developing for mobile computing devices.
The Mobile Network Computer Reference Profile, announced by the companies on June 23, will include a set of standards for manufacturers and developers that plan to design devices that, among other things, can run Java applets without a network connection and aren't dependent on specific operating systems or processors. The group says the MNCRP is an extension of its Network Computer Reference Profile announced last year, which was also formulated without Microsoft's participation.
Initial reaction to Microsoft's plan from enterprise VB developers is one of surprise and e
xcitement. "We have a manufacturing shop floor here," says Owen Johnson, MIS director at Lewis Machine & Tool Co. in Milan, Ill. "We could replace the notebooks and desktops on the shop floor, and have people entering information on little Windows CE machines connected to the network. That's a great data-entry scheme, especially when you consider we can hook them into our VB client-server applications."
That's attractive for IS managers who don't want to wait for NC advocates to deliver their goods. "You can buy CE devices today," says analyst Ryder. "You can buy VB today. The other stuff is still virtual vaporware."
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icrosoft is picking up its pace in the race to deliver mobile network computing to the enterprise. The company this fall will introduce a series of technologies and operating system upgrades designed to bring $500 mobile network computing devices to corporate users.
