National Instruments has announced the availability of a new version of LabVIEW, its graphical design platform for test, control and embedded system development, for use with Windows Vista.
NI LabVIEW 8.2.1 includes both the desktop development environment as well as related application software including the LabVIEW Real-Time and LabVIEW FPGA modules. NI also released new 32-bit and 64-bit hardware drivers with support for the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista. For the first time, NI is offering PXI embedded controllers with Windows Vista pre-installed as the default operating system.
As a scheduled maintenance release, LabVIEW 8.2.1 includes bug fixes for improved performance and reliability. In addition to Windows Vista, LabVIEW 8.2.1 continues to support Windows XP and Windows 2000, as well as Mac OS X and Linux.
Windows Vista is Microsoft's newest operating system. One important aspect of Vista that impacts engineers and scientists is an increased focus on security, resulting in a new user privilege model known as user account control (UAC). UAC is designed to prevent viruses and other malware from gaining control of a PC. Engineers building mission-critical systems or controlling production lines and manufacturing test systems with LabVIEW and related NI software benefit from this new emphasis on security. LabVIEW 8.2.1 extends the new features and improvements found in LabVIEW 8.20 by introducing compatibility with Windows Vista security changes.
A second key aspect of the Windows Vista release is the availability of both 32-bit and 64-bit editions, which engineers can install depending on their computer processors. While LabVIEW 8.2.1 and other 32-bit application software packages function normally on the 64-bit version of Windows Vista through Microsoft compatibility technology, this version of Windows requires 64-bit hardware drivers. NI say it invested considerable time and energy in providing updates to existing 32-bit drivers to support Windows Vista and in creating new 64-bit hardware drivers for Windows Vista x64 Edition, the 64-bit version of Windows Vista.
While LabVIEW remains a 32-bit application, it functions normally on the 64-bit version of Windows Vista because of a Microsoft abstraction layer known as Windows on Windows (WoW64); however, the 64-bit version does require 64-bit hardware drivers.
LabVIEW 8.2.1 is available for download now through the NI Services Resource Center to current NI Standard Service Program (SSP) members. More information is at www.ni.com/labview/upgrade.
For more information contact National Instruments SA, 0800 203 199, [email protected]
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