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The Latest Windows '95 Programs
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1995-05-21
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MOBILE COMPUTING
WINDOWS(R) 95 MOBILE COMPUTING DESIGN GOALS
Windows 95 is the first mainstream operating system
designed with the Portable PC user in mind. The goal of
mobile computing support in Windows 95 is to help everyone
unlock the potential of portable PCs, by being aware of
the special require-ments and demands of mobile computing.
By 1995, portable PCs (notebooks, laptops, etc.) are
forecasted to comprise over 25% of all new computer
systems sold - Windows 95 has been designed to reduce
the costs of supporting portable PC users, and to make
those users more productive when they're mobile.
Windows 95's mobile computing support extends to more
than just traditional portable PC users, however.
As more and more companies experiment with telecommuting
features like Dial Up Networking and remote fax and
email will become increasingly important.
The explosion in portable PC sales prompted careful
examination of the tasks that mobile computer users were
doing with their machines, and what those machines
looked like. The answers are interesting: mobile
computer users are doing the same tasks away from the
desk as they are in their offices. At the same time,
the mobile computing environment is unique. Many
assumptions about desktop computing do not hold true:
mobile users usually have no direct network access,
have a dynamic, ever-changing computer configuration,
and face new problems like a limited power supply.
These findings present something of a dichotomy:
although the desktop computing environment and the
mobile computing environment are radically different,
the computing tasks that users want to accomplish
are very much the same.
MAJOR FEATURE AREAS
Clearly, the scope of mobile computing extends far
beyond emerging technologies like PDAs, wireless, or
the Pen - it is about enabling users today to be as
productive away from their desks as they are in their
offices, and about making it easy and cost-effective
to support these users. Windows 95 approaches mobile
computing support in three ways: by helping to get
the most out of portable computing hardware like
notebook PCs; by helping portable computer users stay
in touch through electronic mail, fax, and remote
network access; and by helping users stay organized
while on the road with features like the Briefcase
and Deferred Printing.
*Get the most out of your Portable Computer Hardware*
Windows 95 provides features that extend the life
of existing portable computers, as well as new
functionality that advances the state of the art
when used with new portable PCs. Integrated disk
compression dramatically increases the available
storage on portable PCs. New APIs enable applications
to be battery-aware. New 32-bit PCMCIA support
eliminates the hassles currently associated with
PCMCIA devices. Docking stations and port replicators
are fully supported through the Plug and Play
initiative - multiple-boot configuration schemes are
a thing of the past.
*Keep in Touch*
Windows 95 includes completely redesigned remote
network access, electronic mail, and fax features.
Using Dial-Up Networking in Windows 95, you can
connect to any Windows NT server, NetWare Connect
server, Shiva NetModem or LanRover, many Internet
service providers and Unix servers, and many other
types of machines. Dial-Up networking in Windows 95
works the same way as networking over a physical
cable (except for speed, of course). The Microsoft
Exchange client gives you the ability to send and
receive electronic mail and faxes while on the road.
You can retrieve all of your new messages and fax
documents into one "universal inbox", as well as
work very efficiently with electronic mail servers
via Header Download and other optimizations.
*Stay Organized while on the Road*
Windows 95 includes new features that enable
users of portable computers to stay organized when
they travel. The Briefcase takes care of file
synchronization problems: simply copy files from
your desktop PC or network into the Briefcase,
and Windows 95 takes care of keeping all of your
information up to date. Deferred Printing support
manages print jobs you create while on the road,
and Direct Cable Connect makes it easy to exchange
files between two PCs.
To the greatest extent possible, Windows 95
provides all the ease-of-use, power, and "connectedness"
of a desktop PC, even though the computer in question
may be far away from a desk: in the next city, on the
other coast, or 30,000 feet in the air! On the bottom
line, customers enjoy increased mobile user productivity
and dramatically reduced support costs.
KEY FEATURES & BENEFITS
*Get the Most out of your Portable PC Hardware*
Battery Monitor Most new portable computers support
Advanced Power Management (APM) Version 1.1.
Windows 95 fully supports APM 1.1, and
provides a visual indication of the system's
power status, right on the task bar.
Power Management APIs Now applications can help conserve your
portable PC's batteries. Windows 95
provides power management APIs which make
the information provided by APM 1.1
available to applications. So now,
programs can turn off disk-intensive
background operations and make other
adjustments to maximize battery life.
Integrated Disk Windows 95 includes the latest version of
Compression integrated DriveSpace disk compression.
This proven technology, first introduced in
MS-DOS 6.22, extends the useful life of
portable computers that are running short of
disk space. DriveSpace compression is
completely transparent and fully integrated
into the Windows 95 operating system. All
you see is many extra megabytes of disk
space!
PCMCIA support Windows 95 includes state-of-the-art "hot
swapping" support for all major PCMCIA cards
and sockets. PCMCIA is supported as part
of the Plug-and-Play technology built into
the product, meaning that the system will
automatically detect the cards and sockets
available on the PC, on configure itself
accordingly - even "on the fly". Real-mode
drivers and card/socket services are a
thing of the past.
Hot Docking and One of the recent major technological advances
Multiple in portable PCs is hot docking and "smart"
Configurations docking stations. One of the major
disadvantages of docking stations today is
the hassle involved in inserting and removing
the computer! To successfully implement a
docking station, the user must manually
create multiple-configuration startup files,
and fully shut down and reboot the computer
whenever it is going to be moved in to or
out of the dock. Windows 95 eliminates both
of these problems: the system automatically
configures itself for docked and un-docked
configurations, and (with proper hardware
support) can switch between them without
rebooting or suspending the machine.
"Soft Suspend" Many notebook computers feature "suspend"
modes that enable the computer to run in a
very low power mode for extended periods
of time. On most machines, invoking suspend
mode involves manually manipulating some
small button on the computer's case.
Windows 95 replaces this with an option on
the Start menu, and adds support for
powering down and resetting peripheral
devices as part of the suspend cycle.
File Viewers Mobile computer users may not have the disk
space or processor power to run all the same
applications that they (or their co-workers)
run on their desktop machines. Windows 95
provides a set of viewers for many popular
application file formats. The viewers
enable users to examine files that
they've received in email or downloaded
from the network without having the source
application installed on their machine.
*Keep in Touch*
Remote Access Wizard Simplifies the process of setting up a
connection to a remote computer or network.
The Remote Access Wizard asks for the
appropriate communications device, telephone
number, and other connection information,
then handles the process of dialing and
connecting to the remote computer.
Connections can be saved and re-established
with a simple double-click.
Microsoft At Work(TM) Microsoft At Work Fax support integrates the
Fax Support ability to send and receive faxes into the
Microsoft Exchange client included with
Windows 95. Instead of learning how to use a
separate fax utility, users can send fax
documents in the same way that they send an
email message. The At Work subsystem takes
care of rendering the document and interacting
with the fax modem.
Remote Mail Electronic mail has not adapted well to the
mobile environment. Most electronic mail
packages expect a fast, persistent connection
to the network postoffice. The "Remote Mail"
packages available today require a proprietary
protocol, and work with only one mail system.
The Microsoft Exchange client in Windows 95
includes extended functionality to support
mobile users. Remote Mail will implicitly
create a network connection using Remote
Network Access. Users can download just the
headers for new messages, select the items
they wish to read, and then retrieve only
the requested data.
Implicit Connections If the system cannot access a requested
network resource (such as a file folder)
because no physical network connection
exists, it will automatically establish a
remote network access connection. All the
user needs to do is supply a password.
Multiple protocol Windows 95 uses PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol)
support as its default protocol for remote network
access. This industry-standard protocol
enables access to a wide variety of systems,
including Windows NT servers, other
Windows 95 machines, and the Internet.
Windows 95 also supports the NetWare Connect
protocol, SLIP (Serial Line Internet
Protocol), and Windows for Workgroups-style
RAS (remote access service) protocol.
Unimodem drivers Windows 95 includes a "universal" modem
driver, which offers base-level support for
virtually all popular modems (modem vendors
can add a hardware-specific driver layer
to take advantages of the special features
of their devices). The Unimodem
architecture greatly enhances the quality
and ease of development of new modem drivers.
Improved serial Enhancements to the core of Windows 95 enable
port drivers the system to handle much higher serial-line
data rates. Windows 95 will easily keep
pace as advancements in modems, ISDN, and
other technologies push data rates to
28.8kbps and beyond.
*Stay Organized on the Road*
Briefcase One of the problems unique to mobile
computing is file synchronization. The
typical scenario is: the user copies some
files from the network server onto their
portable, takes the portable on the road
and edits the files, then, upon reconnecting
to the network, manually compares the file
time stamps on their local machine to those
on the server to determine which files are
current. This process is tedious and error
prone - and often results in multiple
conflicting versions of documents. The
Briefcase in Windows 95 solves these
problems. Files added to the Briefcase on
a mobile computer automatically maintain
their association with the original files
on a desktop computer or network. When
re-connecting to the network or desktop PC,
the briefcase automatically figures out
which files are the most current, and
brings everything up-to-date.
Deferred Printing Few mobile computer users carry a printer when
they travel. If output is desired, options
are few (sending a fax to yourself or using a
sticky note to remember which files to print
are common solutions). Windows 95 provides
deferred printing. Go ahead and create print
jobs as you normally do. If no printer is
available at the moment, Windows 95 stores
your output, and automatically prints it the
next time you have access to a printer.
This is a great example of how Windows 95
creates a desktop-like environment in a
mobile setting.
Direct Cable Connect Nearly 75% of all portable PC owners also use
a desktop PC. Transferring files between
one's desktop machine and one's portable has
often involved purchasing a costly network
card for the portable, or else using an
overly complex utility to transfer files via
a serial or parallel cable. Windows 95's
Direct Cable Connect (DCC) utility simplifies
the file transfer process by providing
a simple, integrated interface for connecting
the two machines. DCC even enables a
portable to access the network via using the
desktop PC.