| Microsoft officials reveal embedded OS futures |
Oct. 22, 2007
Microsoft reportedly has been talking more than usual about the future of embedded Windows OSes. Recent revelations range from the short-term -- the release of "Windows CE 6.0 R2" next month -- to a long-term vision of "MinWin," the stripped-down kernel that will be at the heart of "Windows 7."
Windows CE 6.0 R2, XP Embedded SP3, Vista Embedded
Regarding Windows CE 6.0 R2, Kevin Dallas, general manager of Microsoft's Windows Embedded business group, used an interview with our sister publication, eWEEK.com, to reiterate plans first revealed in his keynote at September's Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) in Boston. The new version of Windows CE will feature new support for Web services on devices, new VoIP (voice-over-IP) video technology capabilities, and Internet Explorer updates, he said.
Windows CE 6.0 R2 will be the foundation for service-oriented devices, thanks to its new support for the Web Services for Devices (WSD) functionality already built into Windows Vista, Dallas told eWEEK. This will allow enabling services "on the chip, on the circuit board, on the premise[s,] or in the cloud; it doesn't matter where it is," he added.
eWEEK's article also quotes Ilya Bukshteyn, Microsoft's director of Windows Embedded marketing, who said that the company plans to focus more tightly than ever on devices. "We see the world evolving to a set of connected experiences," he said, adding that the market for connected devices is expected to grow by 50 percent per year between 2006 and 2010 in the consumer segment, and 23 percent in the enterprise market.
Though not mentioned in the eWEEK interview, a new version of Windows XP Embedded (XPe) based on the forthcoming Windows XP Service Pack 3 will be released next year, according to Dallas. He told attendees at his ESC keynote that the new XPe will include .NET Framework 3.0, an updated Media Player, and version 6 of the Remote Desktop Client (RDP).
Dallas has also said that "Windows Vista Embedded," a componentized version of Windows Vista, akin to Windows XP Embedded, will appear in "2009 or 2010."
A new embedded Windows architecture?
Separately, long-time Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley uncovered a discussion of "MinWin," a stripped-down kernel expected to be at the heart of Windows Media Center, Windows Server, embedded Windows, and other products starting in 2010. According to a recent talk given by Microsoft distinguished engineer Eric Traut, the MiniWin core in its current build occupies a mere 25 MB of storage and just 100 files on disk.
Traut, a virtualization expert, uses virtual machines to provide demonstrations of all Windows versions going back to version 1.0, worth seeing just for the trip down memory lane. He then provides an example of MinWin, complete -- since it does not yet have a graphics subsystem -- with an ASCII drawing of the Windows logo as its startup screen.
To read Mary Jo Foley's posting -- which includes links to the videos of Eric Traut's talk -- visit her ZDNet blog, here.
To read more of the interview with Kevin Dallas on eWEEK.com, go here.
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