Memphis, 5.0 timed for evolving platforms

Electronic News, April 14, 1997 by Jim DeTar

In addition, the company plans to make Memphis backward compatible with existing Windows 95 drivers, although not back to earlier versions such as Windows 3.1--at least initially. The company will also make Windows NT 5.0 backward-compatible with existing Windows NT drivers.

Microsoft also is working on OnNow/ACPI, a comprehensive architecture for power management that is expected to enable much faster booting of the OS as well as system-wide coordination of power management. It will be a single solution for both Memphis and Windows NT 5.0. "We expect to see systems ship in the second half of 1997 with OnNow/ACPI," Mr. Stork said.

And a Windows NT 5.0 plug-and-play kit will be released in what Mr. Stork termed "beta 1" version in 3Q97. "The main thing to know is that it is different from (plug-and-play in) Windows 95," he told the gathered developers.

Although there don't appear to be any serious challengers on the horizon to Microsoft's operating systems in the mainstream PC market, the company admitted at the conference that it must have its product lines evolve, if it is to remain competitive, with a host of real-time operating systems (RTOS) being developed for the emerging categories of PC systems.