With the Embedded Systems West trade show swinging into action in San Jose and HP leading a Sun-independent Java push (CI No 3,530), the tumultuous embedded systems market was rocked anew by the entry of one gigantic player. Microsoft Corp unveiled plans to deliver an embedded operating system based on Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 4. The company already pushes Windows CE for use in consumer devices. With Embedded NT it apparently intends to attack the high end. Microsoft says embedded systems vendors like Wind River, Radisys and QNX Systems have traditionally developed closed solutions based on fragmented and proprietary platforms. Obviously, Microsoft wants them to replace those systems with its own proprietary platform. Embedded NT’s big selling point is that it shares the Win32 application programming interface with Microsoft other operating systems, making the process of porting applications somewhat easier. The company told developers to expect beta tests in the first quarter of next year.
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