Microsoft previews Windows CE 6 to developers

Stan Beer
Tuesday, 09 May 2006 18:09

Your IT - Home IT

Microsoft has let the cat out of the bag on its new embedded device operating system Windows CE 6, announcing the availability of a beta version at its annual developers and partner conference, Mobile & Embedded DevCon, promising easier development and more powerful applications.

According to Microsoft, the redesigned operating system kernel architecture supports significantly more simultaneously running processes, from 32 up to 32,000 simultaneous processes, each of which run in a 2GB virtual memory address space. This allows developers to incorporate larger numbers of more complex applications into more intelligent devices that offer advanced multimedia and Web services and wireless networking than before.

Windows CE 6 also includes a plug-in for Visual Studio 2005 for easier and faster development. According to Microsoft, the availability of Visual Studio 2005 will open the floodgates for over 7 million Visual Studio developers worldwide to use their existing tools and skills to create innovative, differentiated embedded devices.

"Together with our partners, we're excited to celebrate the 10-year milestone of Windows CE by offering a new version of our software that will fuel the future of smart connected devices around the world," said Suzan DelBene, corporate vice president of the Mobile & Embedded Devices Division at Microsoft Corp. "Once again, we've improved the technologies and tools we provide to developers to speed time to market and help to differentiate their products and services."

"With Windows CE 6, not only do we now have a single unified tool that allows us to develop software for embedded operating systems and applications, we have a more powerful and flexible kernel that serves as a platform for next-generation device requirements," said Chris Tacke, Windows Embedded Most Valuable Professional, and principal partner at OpenNETCF Consulting LLC. "These two features alone allow developers to build and debug the entire device solution quickly and easily, and all without having to learn two tool sets. This is a powerful tool in improving developer productivity and helping to decrease product time to market."