New vistas of innovation

The official release of Windows Vista to the consumer market has undoubtedly been the tech media's event of the week, with publications awash with related news, reviews and analysis.

However, the spotlight has been almost exclusively on security and graphics enhancements of Microsoft's latest operating system, while other more forward-looking features have been overshadowed and even overlooked.

Yes, security is very important in this day and age of rapidly escalating cybercrime and Vista's new graphics capabilities are definitely way cool. Beyond all the glitz and glamour, there is one new feature that will stand out for anyone with a passion for technological innovation.

Anyone whose idea of bliss is having every desire anticipated and met, which probably includes most people, will probably also appreciate Vista's memory management technology. Windows SuperFetch is new to Vista and is all about anticipating and meeting a user's needs.

The interesting bit is not simply that SuperFetch manages computer memory to enable users to access data and applications faster, but that it optimises the way it works based on usage patterns. In other words, SuperFetch relies on an ability to learn from user behaviour.

Clearly, we can expect future software and computer systems to become more intelligent, predictive, analytical and responsive to our needs.

Warwick Ashford, Portals Managing Editor

We're not talking the science fiction kind of artificial intelligence that popular media would have us believe will eventually take over the world, but a real and practical example of how machine learning can be applied to benefit computer users. In fact, Microsoft SA's Jonathan Hatchuel describes SuperFetch as one of the driving forces of Vista.

According to the Vista user manual, SuperFetch improves system responsiveness by managing memory using a new algorithm that prioritises user applications over background tasks and adapts to how each user works. In contrast to many users' experience with Windows XP, Vista theoretically speeds up with use instead of slowing down.

Until now, most memory management systems worked by storing the most recently accessed content in memory. Unfortunately, as soon as such content was replaced by something else, such as a background task, it would no longer be available for instant access.

SuperFetch overcomes this problem by returning to memory whatever content the user was working with after the background task is completed, but again, this is not the interesting bit.

Another reason SuperFetch really stands out is that it tracks which applications are used most often on a given machine and pre-loads them into memory. The aim is to make the system more responsive at start-up. If a user most commonly accesses e-mail first thing in the morning, that is what will be top of the system's priority list when it is booted up each day.

But, wait there's more.

SuperFetch can even anticipate which applications a user is more likely to use at a particular time of day or week to increase the odds of the system being ready with the right application. This means applications in Vista's media centre will probably move to the top of the priority list at weekends instead of more work-oriented applications.

All this may not sound exciting in the wake of artificial intelligence feats such as Big Blue's chess match victory over Garry Kasparov in 1997. However, it is still significant because it points to the kind of innovation we can expect in consumer software in future, opening up new vistas of innovation.

Hatchuel says SuperFetch is one of the ways Microsoft is seeking to innovate the base platform to enable the industry to take advantage of what is coming in five to 10 years. He says many envision a much more Web services-oriented world in future, but users will need devices and platforms capable of enabling them to consume those services.

Clearly, we can expect future software and computer systems to become more intelligent, predictive, analytical and responsive to our needs. It could mean that we are on the brink of a much more user-oriented computing era in which tasks really can be carried out intuitively.

SuperFetch may not be the stuff of science fiction, but back in the present it serves to illustrate that getting real about artificial intelligence means having to concede it is already superior in many ways to the human intelligence it supposedly simulates.

When was the last time any member of your family gave you exactly what you needed the very instant you asked for it?

It could be argued that already, this small example of heuristically-driven artificial intelligence can outperform the human intelligence of those who share our daily lives and should theoretically be in the best position to anticipate our needs and desires.

Thanks to the innovation of SuperFetch, Microsoft has improved the responsiveness of computer systems, giving hope to Vista users that their needs will be met quickly and accurately.

I wonder if Microsoft could do anything about my wife and children?