Microsoft Embedded R2 OS to Extend PC Networking to Devices

In a news conference slated for tomorrow morning, Pacific Time, Microsoft plans to introduce the R2 release of its Windows Embedded CE 6.0 operating system for embedded devices. Prominent among its new features, according to the company this afternoon, will be a new implementation of Web services on devices, whose aim will be to enable small devices to serve as networked clients in a localized PC environment driven by Windows Vista.

This part gets misinterpreted quite often, and Microsoft is withholding many details until tomorrow. But the early impression the company is giving is that small devices will act as network clients when connected to a Vista-based PC, in a miniature form of the relationship between a Vista PC and a Windows Server.

What we can expect to see tomorrow are examples of the small devices that would serve in such a networked capacity. But conceivably, pluggable devices such as future MP3 players (something beginning with "Z" comes to mind) and telephones - perhaps connected by way of its Unified Communications system.

The manufacturers interested in taking part in what will inevitably be termed an "ecosystem" will be represented tomorrow, gathering to announce the formation of a consortium called "SPARK" - the meaning behind the acronym, if there is one, has yet to be revealed. Flash memory and small device leaders Samsung and STMicroelectronics, and CE manufacturer LG-Nortel, are slated to be charter members.

One clue as to the type of demo we may see tomorrow comes from STMicroelectronics, which revealed today it intends to deploy CE R2 on one of its key set-top box decoders. The reason, stated its VP for market development, Bill Raasch, was in order "to deliver connected experiences to end users." If that connectivity has anything to do with the new Web services model, look for an STB that connects more directly with a media center PC, perhaps as a kind of recognized peripheral. That could lead to a type of PC/STB pairing that could present a respectable alternative to TiVo.