Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Persistent Storage: What Does it Really Mean?
Posted by Jason Dunn in "THOUGHT" @ 01:50 PM
Remember that column I wrote late last year? Here's a quote from it:
"Ever wondered why many of the new high-end Pocket PCs come with twice as much Flash ROM as RAM? Here's why: Flash ROM, while slower than RAM, is permanent storage – meaning that if your device loses power, the apps/data in Flash ROM are still safe. Current Pocket PCs still use RAM for database and registry storage, so losing power will still put you in a world of hurt. If you look at the way Windows Mobile Smartphones work you can see where this might all be headed: everything will be in Flash ROM, and devices can come out of a battery-dead state without a hiccup."
I caught a lot of flack for that article because I was essentially stating that 64 MB of RAM was good enough for most people - what I couldn't do more than hint at was what you all learned today about Windows Mobile 5 (and something I've known for a while): persistent storage completely changes the way devices work with memory. Pocket PCs will now work the way they should have from the beginning. Just like on your desktop computer, RAM is used purely for executing programs. Storage will be purely the Flash ROM, and nary the twain shall meet. Suddenly that Dell Axim X50v with 128 MB of Flash ROM and only 64 MB of RAM makes sense, doesn't it? 64 MB is a good amount of execution space - most applications need between one and two MB of space to run, with some of the bigger games needing 10 MB or so. 64 MB of pure application execution space will go a lot further than the 25 MB or so that most of us have after a soft reset. Sweet! :D
Another key advantage of this change is Pocket PCs will be a full "off" mode, one where zero power is used. While they're in off mode things like alarms won't work, but that also means you can leave it in your desk drawer for a month and it will still have juice when you fire it up again.
This is all "on paper" for the moment - I haven't seen any new Windows Mobile 5-based devices yet, but if my understanding of the persistent storage implementation is correct, this is a big step forward for our beloved Pocket PCs. I'm really looking forward to the new Windows Mobile 5 devices!
"Ever wondered why many of the new high-end Pocket PCs come with twice as much Flash ROM as RAM? Here's why: Flash ROM, while slower than RAM, is permanent storage – meaning that if your device loses power, the apps/data in Flash ROM are still safe. Current Pocket PCs still use RAM for database and registry storage, so losing power will still put you in a world of hurt. If you look at the way Windows Mobile Smartphones work you can see where this might all be headed: everything will be in Flash ROM, and devices can come out of a battery-dead state without a hiccup."
I caught a lot of flack for that article because I was essentially stating that 64 MB of RAM was good enough for most people - what I couldn't do more than hint at was what you all learned today about Windows Mobile 5 (and something I've known for a while): persistent storage completely changes the way devices work with memory. Pocket PCs will now work the way they should have from the beginning. Just like on your desktop computer, RAM is used purely for executing programs. Storage will be purely the Flash ROM, and nary the twain shall meet. Suddenly that Dell Axim X50v with 128 MB of Flash ROM and only 64 MB of RAM makes sense, doesn't it? 64 MB is a good amount of execution space - most applications need between one and two MB of space to run, with some of the bigger games needing 10 MB or so. 64 MB of pure application execution space will go a lot further than the 25 MB or so that most of us have after a soft reset. Sweet! :D
Another key advantage of this change is Pocket PCs will be a full "off" mode, one where zero power is used. While they're in off mode things like alarms won't work, but that also means you can leave it in your desk drawer for a month and it will still have juice when you fire it up again.
This is all "on paper" for the moment - I haven't seen any new Windows Mobile 5-based devices yet, but if my understanding of the persistent storage implementation is correct, this is a big step forward for our beloved Pocket PCs. I'm really looking forward to the new Windows Mobile 5 devices!
