Intel will drive the adoption of the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) with the introduction of 'Santa Rosa', the next generation of its Centrino notebook platform, it has been claimed.
Overview EFI :
EFI is the next-generation replacement for the 20-year-old BIOS, the oldest part of modern PCs which is in desperate need of an overhaul. EFI allows devices in the PC to be initialised before the operating system boots, and has features like full network support before the PC has even booted, allowing drivers to be downloaded and updated before an operating system loads.
It is a major change for the PC industry and both PC makers and Microsoft have been slow to make the switch. Because the Apple Intel Mac platform is entirely new, it does not have any legacy support concerns. It was hoped that 2006 would be the year PC makers would make the switch.
Santa Rosa & EFI :
Come Q1 2007, that situation may change. According to BIOS specialist American Megatrends, its EFI-compatible Aptio system has been selected by Intel as a key component of the chip giant's Santa Rosa reference boards.
In the short term, the company said, Intel will "test and validate" Aptio for compliance with both EFI, Unified EFI (UEFI), and the Intel Platform Innovation Framework, the chip giant's own implementation of EFI and UEFI.
Santa Rosa first emerged earlier this year, but was confirmed by Intel at its Spring Developer Forum in March. Intel's official timeframe for Santa Rosa calls for an H1 2007 introduction, though industry sources have suggested a late Q1 2007 window.
Santa Rosa will incorporate 'Merom', the upcoming dual-core mobile chip derived from Intel's next-generation processor archictecture, along with 'Crestine', the notebook version of the 965 chipset family due to ship next quarter. Completing the Centrino triad is 'Kedron', the platform's wireless adaptor, which is set to support high-speed 802.11n.
Vista & EFI :
Current versions of Windows do not support EFI, which is why Intel-based Macs require extra code if they're to run the Microsoft OS. It has been said that Windows Vista will not support EFI - the pre-release versions certainly don't seem to - but given the proximity of its early 2007 debut and the launch of Santa Rosa, that may change.
Overview EFI :
EFI is the next-generation replacement for the 20-year-old BIOS, the oldest part of modern PCs which is in desperate need of an overhaul. EFI allows devices in the PC to be initialised before the operating system boots, and has features like full network support before the PC has even booted, allowing drivers to be downloaded and updated before an operating system loads.
It is a major change for the PC industry and both PC makers and Microsoft have been slow to make the switch. Because the Apple Intel Mac platform is entirely new, it does not have any legacy support concerns. It was hoped that 2006 would be the year PC makers would make the switch.
Santa Rosa & EFI :
Come Q1 2007, that situation may change. According to BIOS specialist American Megatrends, its EFI-compatible Aptio system has been selected by Intel as a key component of the chip giant's Santa Rosa reference boards.
In the short term, the company said, Intel will "test and validate" Aptio for compliance with both EFI, Unified EFI (UEFI), and the Intel Platform Innovation Framework, the chip giant's own implementation of EFI and UEFI.
Santa Rosa first emerged earlier this year, but was confirmed by Intel at its Spring Developer Forum in March. Intel's official timeframe for Santa Rosa calls for an H1 2007 introduction, though industry sources have suggested a late Q1 2007 window.
Santa Rosa will incorporate 'Merom', the upcoming dual-core mobile chip derived from Intel's next-generation processor archictecture, along with 'Crestine', the notebook version of the 965 chipset family due to ship next quarter. Completing the Centrino triad is 'Kedron', the platform's wireless adaptor, which is set to support high-speed 802.11n.
Vista & EFI :
Current versions of Windows do not support EFI, which is why Intel-based Macs require extra code if they're to run the Microsoft OS. It has been said that Windows Vista will not support EFI - the pre-release versions certainly don't seem to - but given the proximity of its early 2007 debut and the launch of Santa Rosa, that may change.