Windows CE 3.0 finally arrives

Staff -- Control Engineering, 7/1/2000

Redmond, Wa.—Microsoft Corp. released June 15 the long-awaited 3.0 version of its embedded operating system, Windows CE. Rebuilt from scratch for the embedded and appliance marketplace, Win CE 3.0 is a modular platform designed to enhance and extend the capabilities of an embedded operating system. In March 1999, a summer 1999 released was expected.

Features include improved real-time support; multimedia functionality; enhanced Internet capabilities, including a built-in web server and Internet Explorer browser; and DCOM for Windows CE. The updated and comprehensive development tool set allows developers to bring designs to market more quickly and reliably than before.

Real-time improvements include: support for nested interrupts; better thread response; 256 priority levels; and improved control.

Kernel enhancements include: support for on-chip debugging; a device I/O control (IOCTL) function; multiple execute-in-place (XIP) regions; event tracking; enable or disable compression for read-only memory and object store; full-kernel mode support; semaphores support; and kernel-level security.

New driver and hardware support includes a dial-up boot loader.

Enhanced USB support includes: UHCI (universal host controller interface) driver; sample USB function controller driver; and USB HID (human interface device) with direct input interface.

Enhanced display-driver support includes: flat-mode display driver; ATI Rage XL 2D-only; hardware-accelerated display driver; improved S3Virge display driver; sample display drivers; new Serial MDD driver; sample USB, PCMCIA and Serial Smart Card drivers; and support for the DiskOnChip Millennium.

Security enhancements include: smart card subsystem; RSAENH (Microsoft's enhanced cryptography service); Cryptography Service Provider Development Kit; and a sample kernel-loader authentication program.

Communication enhancements include support for: TAPI 2.1; RAS (remote access server); Simple Network Management Protocol; improved TCP/IP; NDIS (network driver interface specification); WinInet component; web (HTTP) server; name resolution; DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) with Autonet; IP Helper APIs; IrDA infrared communication protocol; Common Internet File System (CIFS) redirector; and serial communications.

For more coverage, see "Daily News," June 19, at www.controleng.com.

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