Microsoft has unified support programs for its embedded operating systems—Windows XP Embedded (XPe) and CE .NET—and has revealed its timeline for support of current versions. The company has also centralized hardware information about CE .NET for device designers, making it easier to find previously obscure details, such as how to create device drivers, on a publicly available Web site. These moves should make it easier for Windows Embedded customers to create applications and devices, an important element in the company's .NET initiative.

Support for Embedded Partners

The Microsoft Services for Embedded Partners program, introduced in Mar. 2002, serves corporations and systems integrators who use the embedded versions of Windows to develop custom devices, such as handheld data entry terminals; hardware manufacturers who package Windows on a variety of consumer and business devices, such as TV set-top boxes, industrial automation devices, and handheld computers; and third-party ISVs who develop applications for these devices.

The new program unifies and formalizes the previously separate, ad hoc support that was available for Windows NT Embedded 4.0 and CE version 3.0. These programs did not offer customers much support other than the ability to submit problems for Quick Fix Engineering (QFE) patches and service packs.

Embedded Services, in contrast, applies to all embedded operating systems and allows customers to pick from three levels of service, which offer 400, 800, or 1,600 hours of support. Customers can trade support hours for a mix of consulting, training, and admission to events, such as Microsoft-sponsored development conferences. A key provision of the new support program is that each customer gets an Application Development Consultant (ADC) to manage the support relationship with Microsoft, assist with design reviews and building prototypes during development, coordinate access to Microsoft labs for assistance in benchmarking or migrating applications, and help plan embedded system deployments.

In conjunction with the new program, Microsoft has announced the support life cycle for XP Embedded and CE.NET. QFE patches will be available at no charge during the first four years of each product’s life cycle and Embedded Services customers can purchase three additional years of support for a fee.

The new program could attract more customers for embedded Windows. That in turn is important to Microsoft's .NET initiative, which depends in part on having a large number of mobile and specialized devices running Windows and interacting with Web services. (See ".NET Puts Focus on Embedded Strategy" on page 6 of the July 2001 Update.) In addition, the new program acknowledges that customers building custom devices need more technical support, over a longer period of time, than other kinds of OEM and corporate accounts. Many of the latest devices could stay in service for much longer than their predecessors because they run software from "flash" memory, which companies can patch and upgrade on an ongoing basis.

CE .NET Hardware Design Center

The new CE .NET Hardware Design Center Web site centralizes technical information that was previously hard to find and adds new information on topics such as how to write device drivers and which hardware is supported. Easier access to this information could shorten the development time and increase the number and types of devices that support CE .NET.

The CE .NET Hardware Design Center includes the following information:

• The CE .NET Hardware Compatibility List (HCL), which lists processors and other devices that support CE .NET.
• Microsoft-certified Board Support Programs (BSPs), which contain source and binary files for device drivers and other system software that developers need for a standard development board (SDB). Developers use BSPs to rapidly bring up CE .NET on an SDB and shorten the time it takes to build, debug, and test the deployment of their embedded devices.
• Documentation on developing device drivers for CE .NET and information on the Driver Validation Program. (Device drivers cannot be added to the HCL until they pass validation testing through this program.)

Resources

For more information on the embedded versions of Windows, see www.microsoft.com/windows/embedded.

For information on the Services for Embedded Partners, see www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/escsf02/docs/datasheet.doc.

The CE .NET Hardware Design Center is at www.microsoft.com/windows/embedded/ce.net/evaluation/hardware.