Microsoft Unveils Windows CE 6 Beta
Microsoft is making Windows CE 6 available to device manufacturers and developers through its shared-source initiative. The platform will pave the way for the development of new products such as IP-based set-top boxes and devices that incorporate Global Positioning Systems, the Redmond, Wash.-based company said.
Windows CE 6 features a redesigned operating-system kernel architecture plus expanded capacity for simultaneous processes and an integrated embedded development environment that plugs directly into Visual Studio 2006.
The kernel, for example, now supports more than 32,000 simultaneous processes, up from 32. Each process runs in a 2-Gbyte virtual memory address space, which allows developers to builder larger numbers of complex applications into more advanced devices with multimedia, Web services and wireless support, according to Microsoft.
Windows CE is Microsoft's realtime software that enables manufacturers and developers to build custom Windows operating systems for embedded hardware, such as devices for industrial automation and health care. The platform competes against Linux and other customizable, component-based realtime operating systems.
Microsoft released Windows CE 5 in June 2004 with a flexible, commercial derivative license. In the first quarter of this year, Microsoft released the Windows CE 5 Networked Device Feature Pack, which gives device makers access to early Windows CE 6 components that ease the development of networked media devices and IP set-top boxes.