Microsoft blends Windows CE and .NET platform

By
EE Times
(10/23/01, 08:46:21 PM EDT)

PARK RIDGE, ILL.Microsoft chairman Bill Gates Tuesday (Oct. 23) reiterated the company's commitment to its so-called ".NET" platform and announced that the strategy would be carried over to an upcoming version of Windows CE, to be known as Windows CE.NET.

Speaking at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles, Gates hammered home the company's pledge to provide a software foundation for "smart" embedded devices. He announced a dozen new .NET-based technologies for third-party software developers.

With the introduction of the new .NET technologies, Gates said that the company plans to bring web-based intelligence to devices such as tablet PCs, smart phones, and PDAs by enabling those devices to understand the Extensible Markup Language (XML).

"Our mission is simple: enable developers to be at the forefront of the XML web services revolution with powerful, productive tools that deliver business value fast," Gates said.

Key among the company's announcements was the creation of a .NET Compact Framework, which is designed to bring the .NET platform to a variety of embedded devices. At the conference, Gates unveiled a technology preview for Visual Studio.Net and for the .NET Compact Framework. He said that the .NET Compact Framework would become an integral part of the new Windows CE.NET, which, up until today, was code-named "Talisker." He added that the new tools will enable developers to meet the needs of smart devices, the capabilities of which are expected to increase dramatically in the next few years.

"As developers are constructing their devices, they can now pre-install the .NET Compact Framework as part of those devices, so that by default they will have an environment for running their XML-based web services," said Dave Mendlen, lead product manager for Visual Studio.NET. "This is a big deal because there are already millions of developers who know how to build applications for servers and for the desktop, and they can now immediately begin to build applications that target their devices."

At the conference, Gates detailed the delivery of a wide variety of .NET technologies, including Visual Studio.NET; .NET Compact Framework; .NET My Services SDK; .NET Alerts SDK; .NET Speech SDK; Commerce Server 2002, and a half-dozen others.

The Gates speech was seen as part of effort by Microsoft to reiterate its commitment to the embedded space. In the past, Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer has conceded that "embedded was an afterthought" within the firm's highest ranks. Microsoft has spent the past two years, however, trying to alter its approach to the embedded space and change the impression it has left among embedded developers.

"We are committed to the embedded space," Mendlen said. "And we have factored the .Net framework into Windows CE for a reason. We expect it to propel embedded applications."

Microsoft executives said they expect to officially offer Windows CE.NET to developers by the end of this year.