5 ms·

> What is the software running on this? Interestingly, MS is mum on it. I'd really like to know. No matter what the answer is, it's going to be fascinating. Ev

by javert 12y ago

> What is the software running on this? Interestingly, MS is mum on it. I'd really like to know. No matter what the answer is, it's going to be fascinating. Even if it's Windows but they've decided not to broadcast that.

underwater 12y ago
I imagine it's Windows CE. Is there any reason to suspect otherwise?
- javert 12y ago
  Well, I took the person saying "MS is mum on it" as "they are keeping it secret." If they are keeping it secret, that's interesting. But I'm possibly reading into this something that isn't there.
  - com2kid 12y ago
    Hi! Dev lead here. Obviously not an official MS response! We are using a single threaded lightweight runtime based around call backs. We are completely non-blocking on all IO (including all sensors), and our CPU spends the majority of its time in a very low power mode. Every microsecond of CPU time is accounted for and justified! I cannot wait until people look at our battery size in mAh.
    - harshreality 12y ago
      That sounds cool! Can you disclose/admit what language it was written in? I'm very tempted to try this out instead of getting a fitbit (not at all impressed with the Apple or Android watches so far).
      - omgtehlion 12y ago
        [not an MS employee] I bet on C or C++
      - Corrado 12y ago
        > single threaded lightweight runtime based around call backs Sounds like Javascript to me, or maybe something like Erlang. I wonder if we'll be able to install apps on the device or just build external apps for cell phones. What about hooking it up to your desktop/laptop for notifications and stuff? I'm thinking there could be some cool features there.
        yourad_io 12y ago
        I'd rule out Erlang, if they wanted a functional language they'd probably go with F#, seeing how this is MS. I don't think this is enough info, even for an educated guess. What they're describing (single threaded/callbacks) could even be C/libevent, no? Edit: Also, > Every microsecond of CPU time is accounted for and justified! ...for me, this rules out any kind of VM contained language
        com2kid 12y ago
        Our runtime is straight ANSI C. No comment on anything else mentioned:)
        yourad_io 12y ago
        If you also use libevent, I win! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8532192 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8532192 Congratulations for this btw. I'm not an MS fan, but I hope this works for you guys!
        com2kid 12y ago
        Thanks for the congrats! Our software was completely written from the ground up. We started with an empty main.c file. :) A number of us lead software engineers are on hacker news and we all love the latest programming languages. We got a bunch of really super cool stuff in here, but all in straight C and running in very little memory space. We're dying to start an engineering blog, we believe some of the lessons we learned about applying modern software engineering techniques to an embedded device are very valuable. (Fun fact! Embedded Engineers have been avoiding dynamic allocation well before it was cool!) We're hoping to get proper continuations in sometime soon. :) Our main problem is saving/restoring the stack without losing too much performance! (Cycles equal battery life, I cannot justify pushing for a move to continuations if the battery life hit is noticeable to the user!)
      - 72deluxe 12y ago
        Not Python! I would guess C or C++ too.
    - lhl 12y ago
      Any word on an open API/raw data export or is that a policy, not a eng decision?
    - maxerickson 12y ago
      On the product announcement page, it's listed as Dual 100mAh rechargeable lithium-ion polymer batteries.
- omgtehlion 12y ago
  Given that it is ARM CM4, this must be a custom firmware. add: and if they left JTAG/SWD pads exposed, then you could consider it “arduino on steroids” with some builtin sensors and GCC toolchain available ;)

by javert 12y ago

underwater 12y ago

I imagine it's Windows CE. Is there any reason to suspect otherwise?

javert 12y ago
Well, I took the person saying "MS is mum on it" as "they are keeping it secret." If they are keeping it secret, that's interesting. But I'm possibly reading into this something that isn't there.
- com2kid 12y ago
  Hi! Dev lead here. Obviously not an official MS response! We are using a single threaded lightweight runtime based around call backs. We are completely non-blocking on all IO (including all sensors), and our CPU spends the majority of its time in a very low power mode. Every microsecond of CPU time is accounted for and justified! I cannot wait until people look at our battery size in mAh.
  - harshreality 12y ago
    That sounds cool! Can you disclose/admit what language it was written in? I'm very tempted to try this out instead of getting a fitbit (not at all impressed with the Apple or Android watches so far).
    - omgtehlion 12y ago
      [not an MS employee] I bet on C or C++
    - Corrado 12y ago
      > single threaded lightweight runtime based around call backs Sounds like Javascript to me, or maybe something like Erlang. I wonder if we'll be able to install apps on the device or just build external apps for cell phones. What about hooking it up to your desktop/laptop for notifications and stuff? I'm thinking there could be some cool features there.
      - yourad_io 12y ago
        I'd rule out Erlang, if they wanted a functional language they'd probably go with F#, seeing how this is MS. I don't think this is enough info, even for an educated guess. What they're describing (single threaded/callbacks) could even be C/libevent, no? Edit: Also, > Every microsecond of CPU time is accounted for and justified! ...for me, this rules out any kind of VM contained language
      - com2kid 12y ago
        Our runtime is straight ANSI C. No comment on anything else mentioned:)
        yourad_io 12y ago
        If you also use libevent, I win! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8532192 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8532192 Congratulations for this btw. I'm not an MS fan, but I hope this works for you guys!
        com2kid 12y ago
        Thanks for the congrats! Our software was completely written from the ground up. We started with an empty main.c file. :) A number of us lead software engineers are on hacker news and we all love the latest programming languages. We got a bunch of really super cool stuff in here, but all in straight C and running in very little memory space. We're dying to start an engineering blog, we believe some of the lessons we learned about applying modern software engineering techniques to an embedded device are very valuable. (Fun fact! Embedded Engineers have been avoiding dynamic allocation well before it was cool!) We're hoping to get proper continuations in sometime soon. :) Our main problem is saving/restoring the stack without losing too much performance! (Cycles equal battery life, I cannot justify pushing for a move to continuations if the battery life hit is noticeable to the user!)
    - 72deluxe 12y ago
      Not Python! I would guess C or C++ too.
  - lhl 12y ago
    Any word on an open API/raw data export or is that a policy, not a eng decision?
  - maxerickson 12y ago
    On the product announcement page, it's listed as Dual 100mAh rechargeable lithium-ion polymer batteries.
omgtehlion 12y ago
Given that it is ARM CM4, this must be a custom firmware. add: and if they left JTAG/SWD pads exposed, then you could consider it “arduino on steroids” with some builtin sensors and GCC toolchain available ;)