Las Vegas, Nev. - In his keynote address January 7 at the 2002 International CES in Las Vegas, Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corp., announced the launch of Microsoft Windows CE .Net.
Las Vegas, Nev. – In his keynote address January 7 at the 2002 International CES in Las Vegas, Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corp ., announced the launch of Microsoft Windows CE .Net. In addition, Microsoft announced new promotional pricing of $995 for the Windows CE .Net tools, as well as free availability of Evaluation and Emulation editions of the tools and platform, and source access to additional Windows CE .Net components. The company also detailed the new Windows CE .Net training curriculum. All of these will help bring developers up to speed quickly on the Windows CE .Net platform and tools.
‘Windows CE .Net lets developers build Microsoft. Net-enabled devices that deliver on our vision of making information available any time, any place, and on any device,’ Mr. Gates said. ‘Windows CE .Net delivers the next-generation embedded platform, and the programs and services announced today will enable developers to bring smart Windows powered devices to market even more quickly.’
The product is a platform for developers building smart mobile devices, while allowing them to optimize their operating system footprint to as low as approximately 200K. It provides support for Bluetooth and 802.11 wireless and delivers multimedia and Web browsing experience with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5, Windows Media 8, and DirectX 8 technologies. Developers can select the optimal hardware architecture from processor families, including x86, Xscale, ARM, MIPS, and the SH series. Platform Wizard provides preconfigured design templates for embedded devices such as handhelds, smart phones, Web pads, retail point-of-sale devices, and set-top boxes.
Microsoft is providing a number of programs and initiatives to help embedded developers get started quickly on building their Windows CE .Net based devices:
Emulation Edition will enable developers to build and test their Windows CE. Net-based designs on workstations running Windows 2000 or Windows XP without requiring the target hardware. Emulation Edition is available as a free download at https://msdn.microsoft.com/embedded/ (connect-time charges may apply).
Evaluation Edition will enable embedded developers to quickly start their evaluation of Windows CE .Net for their next embedded project. Developers can order the Evaluation Edition today (shipping and handling charges will apply) at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/Embedded/ce.NET/evaluation/trial/evalkit.asp .
Windows CE .NET training curriculum will help educate device developers and show them how to create devices using the new platform and tools. The three hands-on training courses are Introduction to Windows CE .Net, Developing Embedded Solutions for Windows CE .Net, and Windows CE .Net Driver and OAL Development. Information on the training curriculum can be found at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/embedded/ce.NET/using/training/default.asp .
The 90-day Windows CE .Net promotional price of $995 is available to distributors acquiring Windows CE .Net with Platform Builder, the comprehensive tool set for building Windows CE.NET-based operating system images.
Source code is packaged with the product with triple the number of lines of code from CE v 3.0. Several companies with interests in automation that are early developers with CE .Net are ABB Group for robotics, Intermec Technologies in its handheld data collection equipment, and Symbol Technologies with its ruggedized handheld computers.
