Windows Embedded 8 Generally Available

On October 2012 during Oracle Open World, Java invested its strategy to gain market share in the embedded world which Java lacks due to its nature of cross platform. Nothing excitement was announced since then and Java as a platform suffered from many zero-day security vulnerability issues.

On Mar 20, 2013, Microsoft, who is riding on the hopeful Windows 8 operating system, announced that the embedded version is available; Windows 8 Embedded.

IT terms can be confusing most of the times. On one hand you have the Internet of Things, on the the other you have Edge Devices and Intelligent Systems. Literally, these 3 terms are referring to the same thing. It means Integrated Circuit boards with lower specification processors powered by embedded operating system that are hooked up to the Internet on the edge of the network, capable of transferring information and receiving commands from centralized system and hence they become intelligent.

Windows 8 is a revolutionary product by Microsoft designed to run on all PC, tablets and smartphones - it is one step better than Apple iOS which only supports smartphones and tablets.  The version for tablets is commonly known as Windows Surface which also comes with another variant known as Windows RT built for ARM CPU, Windows 8 generally is built for Intel CPU. Both version works with apps from Windows Store.

Microsoft is not too greedy on the embedded system market share, it aspires to target 3 segments namely healthcare, retail and manufacturing — all with unique needs and requirements for devices, from kiosks to human machine interface panels (HMI), digital signs and POS terminals.

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