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EXPO MUSINGS

by Tom Cantrell

Start • Bye-Bye VME, Hello PC • Build a Better Box • Wire Fires • I Want My PCTV • Sources and PDF 

The PC Developers Conference and Expo is a good place to check out the goings-on with embedded PCs, so I toddled over to the affair in Santa Clara.

Actually, I had a special reason to attend, given that I was invited to sit on a couple of panels with other illustrious members of the press. In one, we contemplated software patents (a scary concept indeed) and then held forth on the prospects for Windows CE in real-time apps. When I asked who wanted to beta-test a CE-based anti-lock braking system, I got lots of laughs but few volunteers.

CE bashing? Moi? Not really. I think CE has its place (e.g., a built-in user interface, networking, PC peripheral connectivity), but shouldn’t overreach. Bill’s arch-enemy, Scott McNealy of Sun, is the one who quips, "CE is a Windows hairball."

Needless to say, my pontifications were not the primary attraction. Engineers come to the Expo to hear about the latest and greatest PC technology and to check out all the nifty new gadgets on display.

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