| Microsoft updates retail-oriented Windows OS |
Apr. 19, 2007
Microsoft today announced an enhanced version of its Windows-based operating system for retail point-of-sales/service environments. Windows Embedded for Point of Service 1.1 Update ("WEPOS 1.1 Update") adds support for the "latest industry standards," streamlines installation of mass storage devices during setup, and boasts enhanced language support, the company said.
Microsoft first announced that it was working on a version of Windows XP Embedded aimed at retail point-of-sales/service applications back in October of 2004. The company shipped the first WEPOS release the following May, and issued Version 1.1 in March of 2006. Among other enhancements, Version 1.1 added support for UnifiedPOS version 1.9, dubbed "POS for .NET" by Microsoft.
UnifiedPOS is a software technology that separates the application from the hardware, with the goal of enabling developers to create a single application that supports POS devices from different manufacturers. According to Microsoft, POS for .NET gives retailers the flexibility to use a broad range of retail peripherals and to rapidly configure systems -- as well as to reconfigure the systems in the future, when new or replacement peripherals are required. This capability has become a "critical selection criterion" in the purchase of new POS terminals, the company notes.
In its announcement of the release of WEPOS 1.1 Update, Microsoft noted that this latest WEPOS release supports POS for .NET 1.11, released earlier this year. That release featured support for version 1.11 of the UnifiedPOS specification; added device classes for biometrics, electronic journal, bill acceptor, bill dispenser, coin acceptor, and image scanner peripherals; and incorporated support for UnifiedPOS v1.11's changes to the ClearInput, SmartCard, and Printer base classes.
Another key aspect of the WEPOS 1.1 Update release is enhanced language support. This latest version of WEPOS includes "Multilingual User Interface Packs" (MUIs) for 33 languages: Arabic, Brazilian, Bulgarian, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, and Turkish.
Microsoft also touted strong growth for Windows Embedded for Point of Service in the retail market, claiming 160 percent growth since 2005. "Today's news reaffirms Microsoft's commitment to addressing retailers' needs, making the Windows Embedded for Point of Service platform the ideal solution for both retail customers and partners," said Ilya Bukshteyn, director of marketing for Windows Embedded at Microsoft.
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