Ardence Select v 2.0 now Support Windows Vista-based Devices

Ardence has announced the release of Select v 2.0, which includes support for the Windows Vista OS. The Select v 2.0 enables OEMs to deliver Vista-based devices with multi-purpose functionality on a single operating system.

Stephen Woodard, Ardence, said:

Retailers want Vista-based kiosks and POS terminals to have multi-functionality that will enable operational flexibility. In Health Care, multi-functionality for medical devices is becoming essential. Until now, these devices have generally required multiple operating systems, or additional hardware, to deliver the desired functionality. That has meant more complexity, longer development cycles, and additional license costs…

About Ardence Select: (from Ardence website)

Device manufacturers are experiencing increased market demand for Windows-based devices that can perform multiple functions. To deliver the desired functionality,  these devices have generally required multiple OSs, or additional hardware. Ardence Select’s breakthrough capabilities eliminate the need for multiple operating systems.

Generally, PC/multi-media systems require two OSs: one to provide the Windows user experience and another for the “Media” part that requires specific codecs and applications to be available on demand, suc as DVD, IPTV, TV. The primary OS delivers the expected user experience. The second OS provides the media-related functions and applications. Ardence Select eliminates the need to have a “Media” mode OS by enabling pre-configured snapshots that allow the “PC mode” Operating System  to provide media applications.

Today, if a single-purpose device such as medical device needs to be used in a slighty different configuration. With Ardence Select these different settings can be pre-configured and ready to run with a simple reboot.

Key features of Ardence Select(TM)

• Enables multi-purpose device functionality on a single operating
  system
• Instant On/Off minimizes boot time, ends long shutdowns
• Enables immediate, full recovery is achieved by cycling the power
• Makes devices corruption and virus proof
• Protects OS and key partitions from malicious software
• Compatible with all x86-based architectures
• Intuitive interface results in reduced time to configure and manage
• Support for Microsoft Windows Vista

Ardence Select will reduce cost in creating multi-functional Vista-based devices. System configurations can be instantly booted and applications made immediately available in pre-configured states for optimized user experiences and productivity.

Ardence Select ensures instantaneous device operability without consuming battery power or requiring devices to be left in "sleep" modes. It bypasses the driver loads, OS boot, network configuration, and application loading by accessing a pre-configured environment

Ardence Select implements pre-configured hardened environments. That’s why  viruses and other malware cannot permanently install into the system. Malware is instantly purged by turning the devices off and back on. Select protects key partitions while leaving writeable partitions for saving data, including use with removable storage.

About Ardence, a Citrix Company
Ardence, a Citrix Company, develops software platforms for the on-demand world. The Ardence Software-Streaming Platform increases IT agility by delivering operating systems and applications on-demand from the network to desktops, servers and devices. The Ardence Embedded OEM Development Platform delivers market-leading operating system control capabilities that enable OEMs to increase system performance and manageability.

Related news: Mar. 15, 2006

Ardence has announced a software reference design for Windows-powered multimedia-oriented IP set-top boxes, DVRs, IPTV, VOD, VoIP telephony systems, home gateways, and multimedia clients. The Ardence Media Performance Platform (AMPP) builds on several of the company’s existing software products, and is supported by a “comprehensive” suite of development tools, according to the company.

AMPP incorporates software, system integration tools, and documentation based on Ardence’s RTX real-time extensions and ReadyOn instant-on/off software for Windows, along with x86 chipsets and Microsoft OSes. According to Ardence, the modular, configurable approach provides a ready-to-use development environment able to evolve with the customer’s design and to adapt to rapidly changing industry standards.

AMPP layers a pair of multimedia-specific modules on top of Windows. It is compatible with Windows XP Pro, XP Embedded, XP Home, 2000, Server 2000, Server 2003, amd Media Center Edition, Ardence says.

The Ardence Select module includes the following four functions:

• Device Personality Manager
• Reliability Manager
• Instant On/Off
• Security Manager

The Ardence Bandwidth on Demand (BonD) module allows configuring bandwidth priority to ensure that performance of a desired activity is maintained when running multiple bandwidth-intensive applications. This enhances the end-user’s ability to multitask without sacrificing performance, according to the company.

The Ardence Software-Streaming Platform simplifies the provisioning, managing, and securing of systems by means of on-demand streaming of operating systems and applications.

Running in parallel with Windows XP or XPe, RTX provides deterministic performance for streaming media threads over TCP/IP and USB. It also manages multiple CPU cores to minimize latency.

All of this is supported by a “comprehensive” suite of development tools that integrates into the Microsoft Visual Studio integrated development environment (IDE), according to Ardence. The tools provide the ability to interactively analyze and debug application behavior in real time, Ardence says.

More info: Ardence Select v 2.0 Support Windows Vista