14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 8 will play nice with the next generation Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) from Phoenix Technologies, the company that created the instant boot BIOS.
Phoenix had a presence at the recent Computex event in Taipei, Taiwan where Kelly Wu, VP and general manager of Phoenix Greater China confirmed for DigiTimes that its’ upcoming UEFI-supported BIOS will power tablet PCs / slates running Windows 8.
This of course means that the technology will support ARM architectures in addition to traditional x86 processors.
Phoenix’s UEFI-supported BIOS will be featured in next generation ARM form factors running Windows 8, as well as Google’s open source Android platform.
“OEM features have been architected in SecureCore Tiano to enable switching between different silicon platforms and operating systems with a minimum amount of effort. Our next generation of SCT, based on EDK2, will support both x86 and ARM based platforms in addition to Windows and Linux operation operating systems,” revealed Steve Chan, Phoenix Technologies’ Chief Technology Officer.
The video embedded at the bottom of this article is quite old, but worth revisiting nonetheless. It’s the instant boot BIOS from Phoenix, which boots in approximately a second.
Of course, one of the main focus areas with the tablet flavor of Windows 8 needs to be around startup performance.
Microsoft should aim to deliver an as close as possible instant on experience when booting a Windows 8 tablet, and devices with UEFI BIOS could certainly come extremely close.
At Computex, Mike Angiulo, Corporate Vice President, Windows Planning mentioned that he witnessed next generation devices with UEFI and SSDs booting in as less as six seconds.
Here are some highlights of the SecureCore Tiano (SCT) UEFI BIOS firmware:
“- Support for the latest UEFI specification, ensuring compatibility with the next generation of operating systems
- Dual booting to EFI Shell and Android for ARM-based handheld devices
- DASH- energized system manageability for server products
- POST control and BIOS configuration on touch panel
- Patent- pending Integrated UEFI debugger.”