Windows, Windows Everywhere

CE is seeing use in Internet terminals as well, such as the recently released Personal Internet Communicator from AMD. "The PIC has a lower power processor," Hall said, which makes it an ideal candidate for the operating system.
The current version has been out since July 2004, and Hall declined to give any specifics on what Microsoft is working on for the next release of Windows CE, or when it may be due. "We don't have a timeframe," Hall said.
For some uses, Windows CE may not have the power -- or the capabilities -- that a developer needs. In those cases, Microsoft has created Windows XP Embedded. "It's a componentized version of the Windows XP desktop," Hall explained. "However, it doesn't have to run on a desktop system per se."
XP Embedded gives developers access to some 12,000 components of the Windows OS, comprised of 9,000 drivers and 3,000 operating system technologies. The best thing about Embedded is the fact that it's technically Windows XP, Hall said.
"All desktop drivers and applications will run," Hall said. "You don't have to recode, don't have to rebuild, and don't have to retest."
Even so, a user on terminals running the OS may never know it's Windows behind the scenes. The platform enables the developer to create his or her own user experience. "You could configure it to have no shell and just boot directly into your custom application," Hall noted. "You start from the kernel itself and work from the ground up."
Windows XP Embedded is also a more secure option than Windows CE for developers, Hall explains. "It takes advantage of all the security features of the [full] OS itself."
Perhaps one of the most widely used deployments of embedded Windows is Microsoft's Xbox game console. And with the company's recent reorganization, the Mobile and Embedded Devices Division has joined the Xbox under a new Entertainment and Devices Division.
The change puts renewed focus on Windows CE and Windows XP Embedded as key platforms for Microsoft - especially with the forthcoming launch of Xbox 360, which the company hopes will firmly establish its place in the living room. Windows Mobile is also making waves by shipping on the next Treo smartphone from Palm.
So what's next on the road to Windows everywhere? Jupiter Research senior analyst Joe Wilcox hopes to see an embedded version of Windows XP Media Center Edition. "I have asked several PC manufacturers whether they would be interested in such a version. The answer is a resounding yes."
Microsoft says there are a number of embedded announcements in the pipeline, but declined to offer any details at the present time.