Alexander's Embedded Techwire: Blog

Get the new WES CTP!

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 06:47:16 GMT

There is a new CTP of Windows Embedded Standard out! You can get it at: https://connect.microsoft.com/windowsembedded

Windows Embedded Standard is the XP embedded release and includes some interesting features such as OSD support, etc.

Defintely worth a look! And, wait a minute, the Windows Embedded team is even offering a draw for anybody testeing the new system.

Alexander

Newest version of SQL Server Compact released

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:42:10 GMT

The newest version of SSC has been released. It is 3.5 SP1 now.

Check out the news as well as the download links at Steve Laskers Blog.

SSC is the only database from Microsoft that spans the whole range from embedded to desktop applications.

Check it out and get Your hands dirty. :-)

Alexander

EMEA & Americas Windows Embedded Excellence Award Winners Announced

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 06:31:36 GMT

and guess what, Wechsler Consulting has been recognized.

A very proud Alexander.

Here the news excerpt:

The Windows Embedded Team is delighted to recognize those partners that stretch beyond the day-to-day requirements of being a Windows Embedded Gold Partner. Standards were high this year but after much deliberation we are pleased to announce the winners of the EMEA and Americas Windows Embedded Excellence Awards:

2008 WE EMEA Excellence Award in the System Integrator category:	MPC Data Ltd
2008 WE EMEA Embedded Excellence Award in the Consumer category:	Beckhoff Automation
2008 WE EMEA Embedded Excellence Award in the IHV category:	Keith & Koep GmbH
2008 WE EMEA Embedded Excellence Award in the Training Partner category:	BEPS Engineering S.r.l.
2008 WE EMEA Embedded Excellence Award in the Registered Partner category:	Wechsler Consulting GmbH & Co. KG
2008 WE Americas Excellence Award in the System Integrator category:	BSQUARE
2008 WE Americas Embedded Excellence Award in the IHV category:	Phytec
2008 WE Americas Embedded Excellence Award in the Training Partner category:	Adeneo
2008 WE Americas Embedded Excellence Award in the Silicon Vendor category:	RMI
2008 WE Americas Embedded Excellence Award in the Point of Service category:	Odyssey Software

NIK Server 2008 event - Tower of Power Shell

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:31:12 GMT

At the recent NIK Server event I did an introductory talk on Windows Power Shell, the new .NET based command line environment available in version 2.0, soon. As I fired the shell for demos I was washed away by questions from the audience. It even was not possible to finish my samples and therefore interested participants and me were sitting together during the following coffee break to get them half-way completed.

Aside from getting jokes by my fellow speakers for doing overtime, I was absolutely surprised by the interest people had in the very details of this new admin tool. I consider putting out a course for power shell.

Anyone interested to get a deep dive on this absolutely great execution environment?

Just drop me a line.

.NET MF Rescue Tool

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:24:45 GMT

This weekend I was preparing a .NET MF workshop and got quite a shock, when I could not upgrade my dev boards to the newest release of the firmware including do to a signage error as stated by the upgrade programm. The tool that really helped my out this time was MFDeploy.exe, which is part of the SDK tools. With it, the upgrade of the binaries on all boards worked like charm.

well, it is always good to know some friendly helpers, when You need them. ;-)

Btw., the new IP/Stack in the .NET MF is quite cool and together with the DPWS (e.g. UPnP over Web Services) in Beta I see a loot of interesting usage scenarios coming.

Alexander

Say "Hello!" to Windows Server 2008 - NIK Event 15.07.2008

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:54:09 GMT

Windows Server 2008 will be complete with the final release of the Hypervisor very soon. Therefore, it is time to have closer look at it as well as get to know all the cool new features. Join some well respectet experts from Microsoft, experienced Microsoft partners and myself on July, 15th 2008 at the Nuremberg Initiative for Communication (NIK) event "Windows Server 2008 inside". Get a full day of high quality and well-targeted information You will not find anywhere else.

Would be my pleasure to see You there! BTW., I will be talking on the powers of power shell, whhich might even be interesting to non server guys.

Alexander

Detect XPe Devices with SCCM

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:16:46 GMT

Just after my session on the management of XPe devices using Systen Center Configuration Manager 2007 I was asked to blog the settings You need to do to achieve this.

So here we go:

Edit the SMS_def.mof file that controls Your SCCM inventory collection and set the parameter information for OSProductSuite from FALSE to TRUE. This enables the collection of this parameter from the field devices. You need to wait some time until results arrive.

The create a new collection in the SCCM MMC using the selection criteria OSProductSuite = 64, which is contained in the Operating System object.

After this You should see your XPe devices (and only them) in that collection. If You need to distinguish between pre and past FP 2007 devices look for the string "Embedded" in the OSName property. Devices pre FP 2007 do not have this addition in the name.

Alexander

Great books

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:26:56 GMT

Here are some great books on .NET (C#) as well as the .Net Micro Framework I just came across. One is Professional C# 2005 by Christian Nagel a true compendium, which nevertheless stays undertandable and reader-friendly.

The other one is Expert .NET Micro Framework by Jens Kühner. It gives a good overview on quite a few of the availble MF dev boards as well as a good entry into the world of .NET on micro controllers.

On the way to Orlando - meet me at TechED blogger lounge

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:56:10 GMT

I am writing this sitting at Munich airport waiting for the plane to Orlando.

Weather is getting colder again over here, therefore a little tropic Florida breeze is always welcome.

I will be at the Blogger Lounge set up by the TechEd Team next to the TechEd Online Stage tomorrow from 2-3 pm.

If You are town, please drop by for a nice chat and a coffee!

Alexander

Alexander at TechED IT-Professional

Wed, 14 May 2008 06:19:15 GMT

Yes, it is TechEd time again.

This year I will be speaking at TechEd IT-Professional (June 10-13, 2008) about topics around the use of XP embedded in Enterprise and medical scenarios:

XPe and System Center Configuration Manager 2007

Using XPe in medical settings

XPe Enterprise Security

Would be my pleasure to see You there!

Alexander

Robotics Studio CTP -t ry it!

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:11:18 GMT

Even if You are not building robots, Microsoft Robotics Studio is able to deliver good value in Your project. What are robots other than a certain form of connected devices?

Check out the new CTP at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=EB00C558-2163-45A5-BEFE-531AD48BC525&displaylang=en

Alexander

CF cards for XPe fxed or removable?

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:13:50 GMT

There are two kinds of CF cards available. A lot of them are intended for use in cameras and PDAs, etc. and have a bit set indicating that they are removable. The problem is that it is not possible to boot XPe on them without getting the bit set to fixed (there cannot be more than one partition on them either). There are tools in the market that will do this, but these do not always work reliably.

My advice would be to buy (industrial grade, of course) cards with the bit set to fixed to avoid that hassle and maybe negative side-effects.

Alexander

What does help in the development jungle?

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:56:48 GMT

Right, only a guerilla event. You wanna be trained by two Microsoft regional Directors?

Well, then here is Your chance: http://blogs.thinktecture.com/cweyer/archive/2008/02/22/415115.aspx

My fellow RDs Christian Weyer and Ingo Rammer are ready to give You the complete insight on the .NET enterprise functionality.

And additionally, Munich in May is not a bad place to be.

Alexander

WCF in the .NET Compact Framework 3.5

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:42:02 GMT

Distributed applications on mobile devices are hard to handle as soon as You need to have a reliable and robust communication mechanism. But wait, did You ever think about using email as transport layer for Your application?

Doing this is not too hard leveraging the new WCF capabilities in .NET CF 3.5!

Have a look at Andrew Arnott's article on MSDN to find our more about the details: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc164240.aspx.

Alexander

Time to write Windows Mobile business applications!

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 06:19:52 GMT

Lots of products and tools are cranked out by the product teams in Redmond every year. Therefore it is quite important to get some guidance through that wealth. The Windows Mobile Line of Business Solution accelerator is both. Great architectural guidance as well as a great implementation sample. Go and check it out!

Alexander

New DUA Manager by Sean Liming

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:25:10 GMT

My friend and fellow embedded MVP Sean Liming recently released a new tool that helps to manage the Device Update Agent change management infrastruture on XP embedded devices.

Check out this article: http://www.embedded-computing.com/news/db/?10134 or get it from http://www.sjjmicro.com/Products.html

Alexander

VISTA Revisited Nuremberg - 28.02.2008

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 12:10:20 GMT

One year ago we did a great event in Nuremberg, Ansbach and Munich just right for the arrival of Windows VISTA. Rooms in all three cities were packed and expectations have been quite high.
After one year being in the market people's opinions are mixed on VISTA. Of course, there were problems with drivers, the new security and so on, as with every new major OS release . On the other side, some people are really fond of the new UI as well as programming models and would never want to go back to XP.
We think, that this is a great opportunity to bring everybody together again, exchange experiences and give direct feedback to high class Microsoft speakers, who are going to join us for the event.
In addition, this is also a great chance to get first hand information on the further Windows roadmap regarding VISTA SP1 and beyond.

I will be doing a session on the new VISTA Preinstallation Environment (WinPE 2.0), that will be a workshop with very little Powerpoint slides and a lot of demos.
It would be great to see You there.

We start in Nuremberg on the 28th of February 2008 and will also have one event in Munich (date to be announced).

Please register here: http://www.nik-nbg.de/asp/Veranstaltungen.asp?

Alexander

January XPe MSDN Chat Session - HORM and Device Servicing

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:49:37 GMT

The XP embedded group is hosting a MSDN chat about HORM (Hibernate Once Resume Many) and servicing of field devices on January, 29th, 10.30am -11.30am (PST - that is 19.30pm - 20.30pm GMT for Europeans).

I feel very honored, having the chance to participate as a guest expert on this occasion and I do hope a lot of You reading this blog are going to join us asking loads of questions around all aspects of XPe.

The more, the better - I am sure it will be great fun!

Maybe we can even shed some light onto interesting HORM/Update experiences some people might have run into.

So please, come in and be our guests.

Alexander

ClickOnce with Windows Mobile and SSCE

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 08:00:06 GMT

ClickOnce is a great technology to handle change management for applications in the field. Unfortunately its support is a bit confusing. Especially, if you are writing SQL Server Compact Edostion (SSCE) applications. SSCE claims support for ClickOnce, which is correct only for applications based on the normal .NET Framework running on desktop or tablet PCs. .NET Compact Framework apllications are unfortunately left behind. So, be awrea of this. It is, at least in my eyes, really a missing feature.

Of course, You are able to create something similar using the SSCE synchronisation features yourself, but this means to develop infrastructure code that ideally should come with the platform you are developing on.

Alexander

Get Ready for VSONE in Munich

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 20:05:36 GMT

Conference season has just begun and some very important ones are pretty close.

One is VSONE in Munich, 13.-14-02.2008. It takes place directly in the IMAX cinema at the German Museum. What a venue!

I will be speaking in two sessions about the handling of medical data on mobile clients and on how to leverage XP embedded on secure clinical workplaces.

Yes, medical applications are this years main topic. ;-)

So, be there or be square!

I am looking forward to see You!

Alexander

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 11:33:50 GMT

to all readers of my blog!

May the next days give all of us a chance to sit back a little and get a better perspective on the really important things in life.

I do hope everybody will experience more peace, freedom, love and happiness in the coming year.

Our world is far from perfect, but especially we in the IT industry have the means to make it a better place, if we use our potential wisely.

Cheers,

Alexander

Join the European Silverlight Challenge!

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:18:41 GMT

Silverlight is the new and exciting Microsoft UI technology that crosses browsers and operating systems.

My friends from INETA have prepared a uniique competition at: http://www.silverlightchallenge.eu

This is really cutting edge technology and there are great prizes to win.

Go there or be square!

Alexander

Creating an international customized WinPE version

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:22:57 GMT

I have tried to create a custom PE image with a localized version of the the WAIK (Windows Automated Installation Kit). But every time I tried to prep an image this would result in an error message.

It took me some time before I found out that this is due to a localization error. Peimg /prep ecpects that after a warning the user types in "yes" to confirm the sealing of the image.

In my localized version the warning text has been translated into German where "yes" means "ja". Well, so far so good, the bad thing is that the tool itself has not been changed to expect the German "ja"! It still only validates the English "yes". Neat, isn't it?

Therefore, wherever You are in the world and Peimg asks You to enter "ja", "si", "qui" or similar, You should always use "yes" to be succesful.

A truly globalized application.....

Alexander

Vista Embedded - Product Activation

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 09:01:28 GMT

Vista Embedded most probably will have product activation. Any thoughts on this? I wonder if this impacts the way You are building systems. If so, just let me know.

Alexander

XP SP3 for XP embedded

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 08:56:11 GMT

I have been asked by quite few people what will happen when XP SP3 will come out.

I have good news: The Microsoft product group announced at MEDC this year that there will be an update to XP embedded including SP3 most probably in 2008.

Alexander

Carl rocks using Silverlight

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 06:43:02 GMT

People always think that software technology is somewhat dry and boring.

But to prove the opposite, it can be quite exciting, when used in a skillful and innovative way. See this very impressive showcase by Carl Franklin, a fellow RD from Conneticut. He has recorded a Steely Dan tune using the newest Silverlight technology. The video is amazing and Carl truly a fantastic musician.

Have fun watching it!

Alexander

Rare .NET Micro Framework porting training opportunity at TechEd Europe

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 06:03:45 GMT

As our very own Embedded Developer Evangelist in Germany, Frank Prengel, just announced, there will be a .NETMicro Framework porting training on November, 4th. These trainings are quite rare over here, but essential if You want to create a device with Microsoft's newest OS for very small devices. So, if You are into this, be there or be square.

Nevertheless, it is right before TechEd developers which might come handy as well. Btw, You do not need to be registered for TechEd to attend the porting training.

Alexander

SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 08:19:17 GMT

Did You know that SSCE (SQL Server Compact Edition) aka SQL Server for Widows CE aka SQL Mobile has enlarged its reach by jumping onto the desktop? This is quite exciting, because with SSCE it is possible to develop small footprint, well-connected and mobile applications on any of the Microsoft platforms. Check it out at: http://www.microsoft.com/sql/editions/compact/downloads.mspx

Alexander

New .NET Micro Framework Development Kit released!

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 08:07:42 GMT

This is fresh from the press.

SJJMicro just released its Embedded Development Kit for the .NET Micro Framework (EDK).

It is one of the first kits based on the ARM9 architecture and the board is equipped with some really nice features such as Ethernet, CF/SD card slot and that will become available as the .NET Micro Framework evolves.

Quite interesting for building the next wave of connected devices!

Alexander

We have moved!

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 06:40:31 GMT

For those, who have been wondering that my blog became a little bit quiet in the last weeks: We have been moving company and home from Wolnzach to Dießen and this was more than a lot of work.

I have moved quite a few times during my studies and it has always been manageable in a few days with the help of a few friends. But this time it was really different. I am happy having survived packing and unpacking gazllions of card boxes, not speaking of carrying them around.

You can find our new contact data on the Wechsler Consulting home page, as well as a photograph of our new offices.

Dießen really is a beatiful place in the heart of the "five lake region" close to Munich.

I would be very happy to welcome You to one of our embedded or enterprise courses here.

It is very nice to sit in a beer garden near the lake shore after a good, but exhausting, day of training. :-)

Alexander

Ready for digital life style?

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 07:19:44 GMT

Just escaped from heavy rainfalls and flooding after holding a workshop in Switzerland, I have stumbled over the keynote video from this years MEDC in Las Vegas. Mike Hall (Windows Embedded über-architect and unquestioned master of presentation ) has posted it to SoapBox and it is absolutely worth a closer look. Ilya Bukshteyn, diretor of marketing for Windows Embedded and Mike give a quite fascinating insight on how the different Microsoft operating systems and development technologies play well together to create a home automation solution. Set aside that I am a home automation geek and quite easy to excite on this topic, it might be interesting for more conservative people, as well. The video is showing, where ubiquos computing might head next. If You are not caught by the senarios, think of Your own, the infrastructure already is here.

Alexander

To HORM or not to HORM

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 17:00:36 GMT

that is the question.

HORM (Hibernate Once Resume Many) boots a system from the standrad XP hibernation file. This can be quite fast (under 10 seconds), if the amount of RAM is not too big.

The hibernation file always has the same size as the available RAM and therefore reading in 2GB of RAM e.g from Compact Flash can be slow! Nevertheless, I have seen systems booting in 8 seconds with 2 GB of RAM having a Pentium dual core and a hard disk. So, if processing power and a fast hard disk is available, it is possible to use HORM even with larger amounts of RAM.

Tip: You can use the /maxmem swith in the boot.ini to limit the RAM size to find an optimized setting fitting Your scenario.

Alexander

Disk Cloning with XP embedded

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 06:58:57 GMT

For long, SDI (Simple Disk Imaging) was the only tool that came close to something like a disk cloning utility from Microsoft. But, it was not really straightforward to handle nor flexible.

This has changed with the arrival of VISTA. In the accompanying Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) now everybody has access to entprise class deployment tools such as Imagex (Cloning) and WinPE (Booting). Using Imagexin combination with WinPE has quite e few benefits looking at the most common deployment and change managemnt scenarios. And the best is, it works with XPe just as well as with VISTA.

What about using a WDS (PXW boot) server on the factory floor to load devices or a WinPE equipped bootable CD/DVD for in-filed upgrades?

The WAIK is certainly worth to have a close look.

Alexander

Moving/Cloning a SQL Server Instance

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:22:46 GMT

There maybe circumstances, where you want to use a backed up / cloned OS image including SQL Server and rename the system. Just think of restoring an old XPe development environment for some image changes in a project.

Very often SQL Server is having a problem, because it stores the original name of the machine in its system database.

Several of my RD colleagues, Kimberly, Venkatagaran and Scott have found a way to solve this very elegantly via stored procedures.

Thanks a lot guys!

Alexander

Turn XP embedded into a streaming media server

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:03:17 GMT

There is a feature in Media Player 11 that allows to serve streaming media to clients such as an XBox 360. The official term is "Home Media Ecosystem". There is an intersting article from Alex Gimenez that shows how to do this.

So, just keeping the flow, life is a piece of cake with streming media.

Alexander

HORM hangs on resume with "Delete restoration data..."

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 07:59:21 GMT

Did it ever happen to You that HORM hangs while it tries to resume from hibernation with that "Delete restoration data or continue..." message.

The reason for this can be:

You are using a pre SP2 version of XP embedded - there was a bug in EWF NTLDR that was fixed in SP2
You have a current version of XPe, but You missed to enable HORM in the EWF component. Due to this, a file called HORM.dat that is used by EWF to determine if HORM is enabled, is not created during the XPe build process. HORM.dat replaces Resmany.dat from previous XPe versions and in contrast contains some data as well (it is not empty!). EWF NTLDR uses HORM.dat to determine its state and boot configuration.

Our tools HMLite and HMPro still create resmany.dat as well, for backwards compatibility. Do not worry, both files do not interfere in a newer system.
However, if running a FP2007 or later version of XPe HORM.dat is required for HORM to work correctly.

Alexander

Parsing strings for numbers in the .NET Micro Framework

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 07:34:05 GMT

During one of my last .NET Micro Framework courses we ran into an interesting problem. We wanted to parse a string containing an integer such as "15" to get the integer value 15.

This normally can be done easily in the .NET Framework using the corresponding methods Int32.Parse or the Convert.ToInt32 methods of those framework classes. The bad thing is, that these methods are currently missing in the .NET Micro Framework versions of Int32 and Convert. According to Microsoft, this is kind of a mishap and will be fixed in future releases.

Until then You can use this workaround:

public static bool TryParseFloat(string s, out float result)
{
bool success = true;
int decimalDiv = 0;
result = 0;
try
{
for (int i = 0; i < s.Length; i++)
{
if (s[i] == '.' && decimalDiv == 0)
decimalDiv = 1;
else if (s[i] < '0' || s[i] > '9')
success = false;
else
{
result = result * 10;
decimalDiv = decimalDiv * 10;
result += (int)(s[i] - '0');
}
}
if (decimalDiv > 0) result = (float) result / decimalDiv; //Avoid devision by zero
}
catch
{
success = false;
}
return success;
}

This routine will give you back a float value for your string, that can then be casted, e.g. into an integer.

Alexander

.NET MF having a black fin

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 13:21:24 GMT

As several sources report will the .NET Micro Framework get support for the Analog Devices Blackfin processor line. This is an interesting combination of a 16 Bit DSP along with a 32 Bit RISC processor. More info on this I have found on Wikipedia.

Alexander

Vista Driver for Laptops

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 13:16:42 GMT

I was struggling with my graphics driver NVIDIA Geforce Go 7400 for VISTA quite some time. This site absolutely saved my life:

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/

Now I can use multiple monitors without re-arranging them after logging off or locking my system.

What a gas!

Alexander

XP embedded Update Rollup 1.0 available

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 14:04:21 GMT

What was formerly known as Feature Preview 2008 just now has been released: the XP embedded Update Rollup 1.0.

This link leads to the eval edition. If You are an OEM, please acquire the bits via the OEM page.

The Rollup includes a lot of service patches for XPe FP2007 as well as .NET Framework 3.0.

Please be aware to uninstall the Feature Preview 2008 as well as the QFE components that came with them before installing the final version! There is a help file included telling You how to do this.

Alexander

Microsoft Surface - a cool new UI paradigm

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 06:51:49 GMT

Microoft just released a new technology called Surface, which allows to interact more natural with a computer using gestures and even real world items or devices. I have found a good video including an interview of the team at Popular Mechanics.

Surface certainly is interesting in quite a few of embedded scanrios. Stay tuned for more.

Alexander

MIX 07 and MEDC video footage

Wed, 16 May 2007 14:11:16 GMT

Lori Grosland, the German Microsoft DPE Enthusiast Evangelist, has posted great video footage of the MIX and MEDC conferences. Watch the brain freezing adventures of the German delegation as well as the Frank Prengel Embedded Show from MEDC (Attn: Language of both vids is German!).

Alexander

Web Services on Devices

Wed, 16 May 2007 13:09:00 GMT

So, shortly after You have bought this new electronic picture frame, You just unpack it and plug it into a power outlet. It then automatically hooks into Your network, tells all other devices on the net that it is now a fellow citizen and begins to stream family pictures from Your media server. Yes, there may be some security prompts You might have to answer, but the rest is just keeping the flow.
A dream? A future scenario of 2030?
Well not quite, a new technology called Web Services on Devices could provide the infrastructure for this. It is already part of VISTA (codename Windows Rally) and is eagerly waiting for anew wave of devices talking to the mothership. But wait, there is more. The infrastructur stack, e.g. as shown in the MEDC keynote, is already available in or to be implemented for some Windows Embedded operating systems such as Windows CE and the .NET Micro Framework. Then devices can not only talk to desktops or servers, but to any peer on the network.
This is quite exiting, due to the endless number of new functionality scenarios that could be based on this.

What do You think?

Alexander

VISTA Embedded is coming!

Thu, 10 May 2007 06:24:43 GMT

For quite some time it has been stated by Microsoft that there will be no embedded version for VISTA as it was for XP Pro (not taking into account the embedded licensing of the retail version).

But this has changed! Microsoft announced at MEDC that they are working on a modular version of VISTA Embedded including all EEFs (Embedded Enabling Features) we know from XPe. It will not be as granular as XPE (11.000 components) because the toolset will be based on the already available System Image Manger from the VISTA OPK/WAIK which currently controls several hundred modules. While this is absolutely great news and a lot of customers eagerly are waiting to use VISTA features on their embedded devices there are still some challenges ahead. E.g. up to now VISTA Embedded is said to still require activation, if not BIOS locked, which requires the OEM to have access to the BIOS source code. Something that can be problematic for smaller companies. A hughe step forward certainly is the deployment and maintenance infrastructure System Image Manger is able to provide in larger networks along with the new WIM disk image format and WDS (Windows Deployment Services). But there is still some time until release, which has been announced for 2009. In the meantime we can expect to see a lot of VISTA feature trickle down to XPe in the coming Feature Packs for XPe.

Alexander

MIX and MEDC news

Mon, 07 May 2007 19:20:07 GMT

Just back from Vegas and I have to say it was quite worth while.

The number of Microsoft embedded products is growing steadily and a lot of exciting synergies evolve between the technologies. Robbie Bach showed in his keynote (of course technically supported by Mike Hall) the broad range of devices starting with quite a few good looking new Smartphones based on Windows Mobile 6.0. But wait, there is more. Microsoft has discovered the autmomation market. To be more precise the home automation market.

I have seen a Windows Home Server controling a normal kitchen lamp with the help of a .NET Micro Framework device. And guess what, the UI wasn't running on Your father's PC anymore, but the Media Center in Windows Vista Ultimate.

Just use the remote control and everything works automagically in couch potatoes heaven. So, how cool is that!

But rest assured, there are quite a few interesting scenarios that make a lot of sense in home automation. It even could be a good platform for third party services.

Sorry....., I get carried away, home automation still is one of my hobbies.

Nevertheless stay tuned over the next days. I will try to brain dump everything valuable I ran into over this exciting last week in Vegas.

Alexander

Exciting news from MIX07!

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:04:32 GMT

Just a few minutes ago Ray Ozzie announced in his keynote at the MIX conference in Las Vegas, that the next version of Silverlight will include a fullsize .NET CLR.

This is a mjor step made by Microsoft to extend the .NET development technology on other platforms. Later on Scott Guthri showed how to remote debug a C# application running in a Safari browser on a MacIntosh from Visual Studio running on Windows.

This technology really is exciting because it closes the gap between true platform interoperability while leveraging the powerful Microsoft toolchain. Additionally and fitting good into this strategy, Expression Studio was released. A too that helps to decouples the work process between Designers and developers without making the the reintegration painful. It uses the new application paradigm introduced with the Windows Presentation Foundation coming as part of VISTA and the .NET 3.0 framework.

Alexander

Hittting the road for Vegas!

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 19:46:40 GMT

Tonight I am sitting on packed bags to head for the MEDC 2007 and Mix 07 conferences in Las Vegas. I am really looking forward to see some of my old colleagues and friends as well as to get to know new ones there. There is a lot of interesting stuff going on and it will be very interesting to see what has happened to the Microsoft technologies in the past months. There have been a lot of buzz words regarding Micro Framework, Expression, Silverlight and so on flying around and now its time to see what is behind all the hype and marketecture.

I will try to get my hands on the new new stuff where ever possible.

If it happens to be the case that You are in Vegas next week, do not forget to drop by at my breakout session on Wednesday afternoon 15.45-17.00.

Just say hello and if You are into XPe and/or SMS server it might even be of value to You.

CU there, ;-)

Alexander

A silver light on the horizon!

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 06:41:44 GMT

Microsoft has been working on a new cross-platform, cross-browser technology named WPF/E for some time now. It can be (in a nutshell) regarded as a common language runtime with highly portable but also streamlined framework classes for UI/web development.

WPF/E now will be officially announced under its new name Silverlight at the Mix 07 conference in Las Vegas, but if you want to have an ealier look, here you are:

http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight (main)
http://www.silverlight.net (community)
http://www.microsoft.com/expression
http://www.microsoft.com/design
http://www.microsoft.com/wpfe (General)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/wpfe (Developer)
http://channel9.msdn.com
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/default.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/default.mspx (link to find press release and QA)

I will be in Vegas for MIX and I am looking forward to hear all about this cool new technology. I expect it to change the look and feel of modern web applications quite a bit.

Alexander

It is VISTA time again!

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:12:35 GMT

The ITK-Forum at University of applied sciences in Ansbach, Germany will be holding a Vista event in cooperation with the NIK under the title "Vista - was bringt's?" (translation: Vista - does it deliver?) on Thursday April, 19th next week.

I do have the pleasure to join two very experienced colleagues from Microsoft and conplement AG, Michael Korp and Thomas Hemmer, as a speaker. My topic will be using Vista as an innovation platform for new markets: We are living right in the middle of the digital decade, so why not jump the bandwaggon and use the new OS for Your own ideas and strategies?
I think there is a lot of infratstructure and technology under the hood in Vista that is not so obvious at the first glance, but able to provide tremendous benefit, if used correctly.

Interested?

Please join us next week. Would be a pleasure!

Alexander