New XP Embedded; Server Postponed

A recent update for Windows XP Embedded (XPe) adds new features and includes patches for bugs in the embedded tools and the Windows XP Professional components that developers use to create an embeddable version of Windows XP. Microsoft also announced that, contrary to previously stated plans, it will not release a componentized, embeddable version of Windows .NET Server; instead, it will componentize the next version of Windows server (originally code-named Longhorn, but Longhorn appears to be the next Windows client and Blackcomb the codename for the next Windows server). Until Blackcomb, developers will have to use an updated version of the Server Appliance Kit to build Windows-powered server appliances such as Network Attached Storage devices.

Windows XPe SP1

Windows XPe is a componentized version of Windows XP that Microsoft created to spur the use of Windows as an operating system (OS) for appliances or networked devices, such as point-of-storage devices or sale kiosks. With Windows Embedded Studio, the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for Windows XPe, a developer can choose only the Windows XP components that a smart device and its application will need, thereby controlling both the size of the image and the functionality exposed by the device. This allows developers to exploit their knowledge of existing hardware, software, applications, and Windows development to get smart devices to market quickly and inexpensively. (For more information on XPe and componentization, see “Release of XPe Shows Value of OS Components” on page 12 of the Feb. 2002 Update.)