Embedded Systems Design Europe - February 2008 - (Page 8)

news Microsoft opens Windows to networked embedded apps Tomorrow’s embedded systems will be access points for a growing array of network services, according to executives at Microsoft Corp., which has introduced software to help enable the shift. The company is also launching an initiative to reach out more broadly to hardware de-velopers as it competes with Linux to command a rising share of the embedded software market. Analysts say Windows is running in a growing share of embedded systems, and those devices are increasingly linked to networks. But they add that it’s too early to say exactly how big Web services will become in this highly fragmented sector or how the competition between Windows and Linux will play out. In Microsoft’s vision, embedded devices will troll networks automatically, seeking relevant services. They will also report their capabilities to networks to spawn a market for new services. The release of Windows CE 6.0 R2 is the ﬁrst big step in that direction. The code supports the so-called Devices Proﬁle for Web Services, deﬁned by Microsoft along with Canon, Ricoh, Intel and Lexmark. The spec deﬁnes ways to describe, discover and communicate securely with Web services. This version of CE also supports the Web Services for Devices interface in Windows Vista. And by employing thin-client components with autodetection capabilities, CE 6.0 R2 can connect to Windows Server 2008. “Starting with this release, you will see over the next 12 months a new class of operating systems and tools focused on getting connectivity built into embedded systems in a way that that can enable ﬁnding and exposing new services,” said Kevin Dallas, general manager 8 of the Windows Embedded Division, created in February as a standalone unit. “We will start with fundamental services like monitoring and managing devices, but there is a huge opportunity for things like location and advertising services on embedded devices.” About two-thirds of an estimated 3 billion embedded devices shipping this year will be connected to a network, management service or external navigation data, according to Microsoft. “It’s too early to say if this means new products for us, but it certainly means new capabilities in existing products,” Bukshteyn said. Like many Microsoft releases, CE 6.0 R2 packs a laundry list of new features. They include improved support for voice-over-Internet Protocol, threeway audio conferencing, videoconferencing, and a new font engine that supports plug-ins for global languages and support for multiple monitors. R2 also improves links to two key Microsoft client applications. An embedded Windows Media Player now can be used as an object in other CE apps. If Internet Explorer 6.0 is deployed, it can take advantage of the new operating system’s rendering techniques as well as enhanced on-device sound, with support for rich text editing and ActiveX controls. And because R2 is built on top of the existing kernel, users can employ existing development tools. One complaint about previous versions of CE was that the OS was limited to running no more the 32 simulta- neous processes using 32 Mbytes of memory per process. That caused a lot of code swapping. With the R2 version, up to 32,000 processes can run simultaneously, thanks to an enhanced virtual memory manager, eliminating process swapping. In a move that emulates Windows archrival Linux, Microsoft is also reaching out to a broader set of hardware developers in a two-pronged initiative code-named Spark. Under Spark, Microsoft is offering bundles of its embedded OSes and tools, along with third-party hardware reference designs, at costs designed to appeal to academics and hobbyists. In addition, Microsoft will no longer charge to certify software written by third parties to enable new chips and other hardware to run on embedded Windows platforms. According to market watcher Venture Development Corp. (Natick, Mass.), Microsoft commands a lion’s share of the commercial market for embedded OSes, claiming 32 percent of the $1.4 billion total market in 2006. That’s up from about 28 percent of a $1.1 billion market in 2005, VDC estimates. The ﬁgures include sales of OSes on cellular handsets. By contrast, commercial sales of embedded Linux were only $110 million in 2006. But market researchers have no way of tracking the use of noncommercial versions of Linux and homegrown OSes, both of which are popular in the embedded market, said Stephen Balacco, director of embedded software analysis at VDC. JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2008 | embedded systems design europe | www.embedded.com/europe 008_ESDE.indd 8 8/02/08 12:23:48 http://www.embedded.com/europe

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Embedded Systems Design Europe - February 2008

Embedded Systems Design Europe - February 2008 Contents ARTEMIS and ENIAC Get Parlimentary Approval Product Teardown Videos Come On Screen Esterel and Abslnt Integrate Products Microsoft Opens Windows to Networked Embedded Applications Trango Embeds Virtualization Tool in Cavium's Multicore CPUs MindTree - ADI Develop Security DVR Platform NXP Extends Deal with ARM to Cover MCUs Automotive and Embedded to Dominate DATE 08 ZigBee Spec Gets Smart On Energy Updated Card Spec Provides for Power-On Boot The Basics of Embedded Multitasking On a PIC Cover Feature: The Art of FPGA Construction Is Symmetric Multiprocessing For You? Accelerating MATLAB Using MEX-Files ARM Provides the Microcontroller Solution Embedded World Advertising Contracts

Embedded Systems Design Europe - February 2008

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