Computex 2011: Intel Mentions Haswell Will Support "Multiple OSes", But Why?
by Anand Lal Shimpi on May 31, 2011 4:49 AM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
- CPUs
- Intel
- Haswell
- Computex 2011
I hate that I didn't pull my camera out quickly enough to catch this slide, but Intel's Mooly Eden just mentioned an interesting feature of Haswell. He stated that Haswell will support "multiple OSes". Clearly Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge and older Intel architectures have supported multiple OSes, but that was never listed as a feature until Haswell. I suppose this means more than it'll run both Windows and OS X, but what do you guys think Intel meant by it?
I already asked Intel and of course I didn't get an answer, I was just told that it was an astute observation and something we'll have to talk about at a later point in time. I suspect this is a statement about the future of the OS space in mobile computing but I'm not entirely sure what Intel views will be different come 2013. Microsoft will obviously support ARM in Windows 8, but what will Intel support with Haswell that it didn't before? What do you all think?
Mooly also showed off a concept Haswell PC called Nikiski. It's a notebook with a transparent touchpad area that lets you view part of your screen while the clamshell is closed. Check out pics of the concept in the gallery below.
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duploxxx - Tuesday, May 31, 2011 - link
looking at the design of win8 and for example the new introduced Xen hypervisor client this is already available in SNB laptops, so interesting to know what Intel wants to do more...ajcarroll - Tuesday, May 31, 2011 - link
that hosts a desktop OS (Windows / OSX) along side a touch OS (Android/iOS) but withCPU level support to make things more efficient....
setzer - Tuesday, May 31, 2011 - link
yeah, that is my idea alsoahmedz_1991 - Tuesday, May 31, 2011 - link
Bingo ! right theresetzer - Tuesday, May 31, 2011 - link
I think Intel is just thinking of bringing the hypervisor completely to the masses, as in running an OS along side another OS. Think blue stacks that allows android in windows, now that in hardware (with some software magic).BioTurboNick - Tuesday, May 31, 2011 - link
This makes the most sense to me. It would be a step forward in computing--being able to run Windows, Linux (and OSX?) side-by-side simultaneously and natively without rebooting would be phenomenal.aegisofrime - Tuesday, May 31, 2011 - link
I see Intel putting a translator into Haswell, that will enable it to support ARM compiled OSes. Rather much like the Transmeta Crusoe I guess. Coupled with their targeted shift towards lower TDPs, I see Haswell being used in the mobile sector as well.Spivonious - Tuesday, May 31, 2011 - link
Yeah, I think that ARM emulation is what they're talking about.JasonInofuentes - Tuesday, May 31, 2011 - link
+1 Could they even stuff an ARM core in the spare space?hf2046 - Tuesday, May 31, 2011 - link
I also think it'll be some sort of ARM emulation - perhaps Intel is experimenting with implementing the ARM instruction set with existing microcode...