Toshiba Announces Java OS for Intel PCs
September 10th, 2007
Toshiba plans to sell a Java-optimized operating system designed for Intel-based machines, the company announced yesterday.
JVOS, as the Java-based operating system is called, will be available in July. It will target low-cost PCs both as a solitary operating system and as a companion operating system to Windows 95, according to Junya Mizuno, general manger, open systems division at Toshiba Information Systems.
Users can choose which system to run during boot-up, he said. The company expects hardware vendors to bundle the OS with PCs, Mizuno said. Retail price is currently set at $40. JVOS will take up 16MB of hard disk space.
According to Mizuno, JVOS compiles Java applications between 5 and 10 times faster than a browser equipped with a Java virtual machine.
Instead of interpreting the Java code or using a just-in-time (JIT) compiler, as the Java virtual machine does, the JVOS incorporates Asymetrix’s virtual machine, called SuperCedeVM. SuperCedeVM optimizes the Java code once, allowing applications to be used repeatedly without recompiling, he said.
That capability will save time when using large Java-based applications such as word processors or spreadsheets, he said.
When you want to use an application often the JVOS compiler is better, but if you are using small applets only one or two times the virtual machine might be better, he said.
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