Microsoft unveils XP Embedded successor
Microsoft has launched Windows Embedded Standard 2009, the successor to XP Embedded. The package, which features Microsoft Silverlight, Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) 6.1, and .NET Framework 3.5, is designed to drive managed and secure thin clients, point of service and kiosk devices, as well as smart networked multifunction printers.
Frank Prengel, one of Microsoft’s technology evangelists, said: “It was time to do something new. Previously, users had to install five or six different thing and then add fixes. We could have called it something else, but Windows Embedded Standard says what it is.”
Prengel says RDP 6.1 is important for managing thin clients, adding: “We’ve upgraded the .NET Framework, because developers want to add users interfaces and work with state machines.” Silverlight, meanwhile, provides a slim browser plug in. “It’s good for displays,” Prengel continued, “without adding too much overhead to the system.”
