Microsoft Corp says that the next version of Windows CE will have ‘hard’ real-time support, an increasingly crucial omission from the current cut of the small footprint operating system. Microsoft demonstrated the real time support, nested interrupts and 256 priority levels as part of its Windows CE developers conference in Denver, Colorado. The company also previewed the next version of the CE desktop synchronization software, ActiveSync 3.0, and looked at extensions to the OS, such as DirectX and color screen support.
Microsoft is pushing CE-enabled devices as a key element of its Knowledge Workers Without Limits strategy, which was launched by Microsoft president Steve Ballmer in London last month, and seems set to become the cornerstone around which Microsoft positions upcoming products and technologies for the corporate market. Bob Muglia, senior vice president of the business productivity group at Microsoft, will talk about the strategy in his Connecting Everthing keynote speech today. Muglia will discuss future strategies for integrating CE devices with enterprise systems, touching on wireless data services and integrating fully with the corporate back end.
However, to become the corporate handheld of choice, Microsoft will have to beat off competition from Research In Motion, Symbian Plc, and, of course, the market leader, Palm Computing, which has just launched its Palm VII wireless handheld. Microsoft, claims that is now outselling Palm, in France at least. It says that Windows CE palmtops such as Computer Corp’s new Aero handheld are outstripping Palm devices three to on in France, and claims that this trend will be repeated across Europe. á
