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 Windows CE is ready for the big time W
henever Microsoft surges into a new market, savvy observers of the software giant expect it to release an ill-tuned barrage of technologies and then wait until customers sort things out. Historically, Microsoft has been particularly clueless when it comes to embedded systems--witness Modular Windows, an ill-fated embedded OS released four years ago.
So I was mightily surprised, earlier this month, with what I found up in Boston at the Embedded Systems Conference East. There, Microsoft and its minions presented a cogent case for its Windows CE consumer-electronics operating system. Windows CE debuted last fall, at Comdex, as the systems software behind handheld organizers-cum-PDAs from Casio, Compaq and Philips. Such handhelds, while interesting, aren't quite ready for prime time. I expected that to be the case with CE. Wrong! At the Embedded Systems Conference, Microsoft served notice that it intends to make CE a serious player in embedded applications and future consumer devices like Internet telephones and digital-videodisk (DVD) players. A beefed up Windows CE version 2.0 is promised by the end of the year, which will include support for DVD and Java. Microsoft will also add several new processors--embedded 486s from AMD and Intel; the PowerPC 82x series; the ARM processor--to the list of CPUs supported by the operating system. (Currently supported are Hitachi's SH-3, Philips 3900 MIPS and NEC 4100 MIPS.) Microsoft has also authorized three distributors to help promulgate CE in embedded markets. They are VenturCom Inc., Annasoft Systems, and Eclipse International Inc. According to Thomas Wong, the marketing vice president for Eclipse, several elements are combining to make the time right for CE. For one, it's now possible to fold microprocessors that deliver 40- to 50-MIPS performance into handheld devices for less than 50 bucks. Normally, running such devices sucks up power--a problem if you want to operate a PDA from two "AA" batteries. Not a problem, says Wong. "CE is a true 32-bit OS with power-management hooks built right in," he said. "You can actuall y control CPU power-down, and you can shut down the display to save juice." Even better is that software developers can get started on the road to CE without spending too much money. Indeed, many of the most important resources are available on line. Topping the must-have list is the Windows CE software development kit (SDK); you can download a beta version for free from Microsoft's Web site. The SDK emulates the CE desktop, so you can get started on developing apps for same. There's just one little problem: the SDK runs only under Windows NT 4.0. If you're like me, you've got Windows 95. A production-quality development environment will require Microsoft's Visual C++ compiler and development environment. Microsoft is preparing a turnkey package--not currently available--that bundles the CE SDK as an add-on to Visual C++. It also includes Windows CE software libraries, debuggers, and cross-compilers for the various target CE processors. BIOS vendor Phoenix Technologies Ltd. is also aiming at CE developers with its PicoPAL/CE, a software-abstraction layer that the company says "provides a consistent interface for the operating system, regardless of hardware." What Phoenix is doing is trying to put a BIOS-like wrapper on top of the hardware-abstraction layer to make development easier. That's very helpful, but remember that--at this point, anyway--a number of features are hard-coded into the CE kernel. For example, some of the display-control parameters are hard coded. That's evident in Navitel Communications' new CE-based Touchphone, a combined phone and Web-browser that was demonstrated at the abovementioned conference. Navitel couldn't get the "hourglass" icon centered properly, because its display had a markedly different size and aspect ratio from those of the PDA handhelds released at Comd ex. Microsoft is reportedly folding a fix into CE. This is the type of minor but annoying item you'll have to tinker with in any CE design project you undertake. Most probably, you'll find yourself tweaking things so you can run the premier CE application--a downsized version of Microsoft's Web browser called Pocket Internet Explorer. Microsoft notes that creating Web sites for the browser poses some unique challenges. As a result, when designing a Web site, it may be necessary to create new pages for the Pocket Internet Explorer browser. This is because many existing Web sites look poorly designed in the new browser, and others may not work at all. Graphics are displayed in 2-bit greyscale. The width of the Pocket Internet Explorer browser for Web development is 430 pixels. It does not support Java, JavaScript, VBScript, ActiveX or plug-ins like RealAudio. Looking away from the major players, it's obvious that there a re precious few independent sources of Windows CE information at this point. One valuable exception is HPC.net. It's still going through its growing phase, but contains interesting snippets of CE-related material. Most useful was a pointer to a company called B&B Systems, which says it's developing a "Pocket Basic" language that will feature a number of extensions to Basic "to allow use of the powerful features of Windows CE." To hold the fort until Pocket Basic 1.0 hits the Web, they're offering for free downloading a crippled demo version, called miniBasic. That's all for this installment. What's you opinion of Windows CE? Let us know in our Wintel Watch Forum. We're also still taking entries for our $1,000 PC Challenge, which invites you to see if you can cobble toget her a computer for less than the folks at Compaq and Packard-Bell--and I--can do it.
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