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From...
Microsoft to unveil smart-card operating system
October 27, 1998
Web posted at: 2:30 PM EDT
by Kristi Essick
(IDG) -- Just how small can Windows get? Small enough to fit on a card in your wallet, if Microsoft has its way.
On Tuesday Microsoft will announce a miniaturized version of its Windows operating system for use on Smart Cards at the Cartes 98 conference in Paris.
Microsoft is expected to detail plans for the operating system, which has been written especially to take advantage of the small form factor of Smart Cards -- credit card-size devices that have embedded processors that can store information and carry out limited functions.
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This move brings the software giant's software down to the smallest common denominator yet. Microsoft has already announced plans to put out versions of its Windows operating system (including Windows CE) for small devices such as smart phones, Internet-enabled wrist watches, and set-top boxes. At a recent conference in Paris, Chief Executive Officer Bill Gates said he envisions a world where Windows would run anywhere software could run.
But Microsoft has its work cut out for it in the Smart Card market, where Sun Microsystems' Java technology has already made big inroads. Companies such as IBM are already testing Smart Card-based software systems for uses such as computer security based on both their own operating systems and on the Java platform.
However, most Smart Card manufacturers will welcome the news that Microsoft has entered the arena, because the Microsoft name could lend credibility to the Smart Card concept. While Smart Cards are common in Europe and have been used for many years for telephone calls and other small transactions, they have yet to catch on in a big way in the United States.