M
Microsoft News
Attention all Windows XP Embedded users! Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 2
Feature Pack 2007 CTP (Community Tech Preview) has been released! The XPe
team has been extremely busy over the last 4-6 months working on this new
Feature Pack, and we're really excited to give you all a chance to try it
out!
Our main goals in this Feature Pack are to improve the overall development
experience through a series of improvements, bug fixes, and new features, as
well as to enable new capabilities and Microsoft technologies on your
embedded device. This list is far from all-inclusive, but here are some of
the new features you'll find in this release:
* New Embedded Enabling Features (EEFs), including File-Based Write Filter
and Registry Filter
* USB Boot! You can now enable your devices to boot from USB mass-storage
devices, such as thumb drives!
* Enhancements to EWF and Hibernate Once Resume Many (HORM), including
direct support for RAM (Reg) mode!
* Lots of bug fixes and enhancements you've all been asking for in the
Tools:
* Target Designer can now save configurations as XML files correctly.
* Typing the first few letters of a component name in the left pane of
Target Designer now moves straight to that component!
* You can now refresh the view in TD by pressing F8 at any time.
* Improvements to CMI make it more efficient than before.
* You can now import .reg files without having to be worried about
workarounds!
* And more!
* Tons of work on component dependencies to reduce footprint (including
removing dependencies on the full "Internet Explorer" component!)
* New configurable UI in common components such as User and Administrator
Account, Dr. Watson Debugger and System Cloning Tool, to simplify offline
configuration of images.
* New components to address more Application Compatibility challenges and to
allow installation of other Microsoft technologies in your runtime.
* All security patches for XPe-SP2 have been rolled up in the Feature Pack
repository.
* And my personal favorite: A new Console Application for XPe (XPeCon) that
provides a powerful, scriptable command-line interface to the functionality
of the GUI tools. This app (formerly called CMI Explorer) allows you to
automate build scenarios, import components, research inter-component
relationships, and perform powerful, flexible database lookups. Full help
is provided both in the application and in a separate "How To" document.
If you'd like to download and test Feature Pack 2007 CTP, here are the
instructions on how to join the program:
You are invited to participate in a pre-release program on the Microsoft
Connect Web site
(http://connect.microsoft.com). Microsoft Connect enables you to communicate
with Microsoft developers, product managers and other development team
members to help make our products the best they can be.
To accept this invitation and become a member, please follow these steps:
1) Visit the Microsoft Connect Web site (http://connect.microsoft.com).
2) Click Invitations on the Connect menu.
3) You will need to sign in using a valid Windows Live ID before you can
continue to the Invitations page.
4) Enter your Invitation ID in the box. Your invitation ID is: 123-BC7M-6GVK
5) Click Go.
6) If you have not previously registered with Microsoft Connect, you might
be required to register before you continue with the invitation process.
7) You will then be asked to complete a User Profile survey for the program.
8) Click on Available Connections.
9) Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on our program: Windows XP
Embedded SP2 Feature Pack 2007 Community Tech Preview
To report a problem or to ask a question, visit the Contact Us page (linked
to at the bottom of every page of the Microsoft Connect Web site).
For questions regarding this Community Technology Preview please email
viewcust @ microsoft.com .
We are very excited to release this CTP to the public, and we look forward
to hearing your feedback!
-- Matt Kellner
SDET, Microsoft Windows XP Embedded Test Team
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Feature Pack 2007 CTP (Community Tech Preview) has been released! The XPe
team has been extremely busy over the last 4-6 months working on this new
Feature Pack, and we're really excited to give you all a chance to try it
out!
Our main goals in this Feature Pack are to improve the overall development
experience through a series of improvements, bug fixes, and new features, as
well as to enable new capabilities and Microsoft technologies on your
embedded device. This list is far from all-inclusive, but here are some of
the new features you'll find in this release:
* New Embedded Enabling Features (EEFs), including File-Based Write Filter
and Registry Filter
* USB Boot! You can now enable your devices to boot from USB mass-storage
devices, such as thumb drives!
* Enhancements to EWF and Hibernate Once Resume Many (HORM), including
direct support for RAM (Reg) mode!
* Lots of bug fixes and enhancements you've all been asking for in the
Tools:
* Target Designer can now save configurations as XML files correctly.
* Typing the first few letters of a component name in the left pane of
Target Designer now moves straight to that component!
* You can now refresh the view in TD by pressing F8 at any time.
* Improvements to CMI make it more efficient than before.
* You can now import .reg files without having to be worried about
workarounds!
* And more!
* Tons of work on component dependencies to reduce footprint (including
removing dependencies on the full "Internet Explorer" component!)
* New configurable UI in common components such as User and Administrator
Account, Dr. Watson Debugger and System Cloning Tool, to simplify offline
configuration of images.
* New components to address more Application Compatibility challenges and to
allow installation of other Microsoft technologies in your runtime.
* All security patches for XPe-SP2 have been rolled up in the Feature Pack
repository.
* And my personal favorite: A new Console Application for XPe (XPeCon) that
provides a powerful, scriptable command-line interface to the functionality
of the GUI tools. This app (formerly called CMI Explorer) allows you to
automate build scenarios, import components, research inter-component
relationships, and perform powerful, flexible database lookups. Full help
is provided both in the application and in a separate "How To" document.
If you'd like to download and test Feature Pack 2007 CTP, here are the
instructions on how to join the program:
You are invited to participate in a pre-release program on the Microsoft
Connect Web site
(http://connect.microsoft.com). Microsoft Connect enables you to communicate
with Microsoft developers, product managers and other development team
members to help make our products the best they can be.
To accept this invitation and become a member, please follow these steps:
1) Visit the Microsoft Connect Web site (http://connect.microsoft.com).
2) Click Invitations on the Connect menu.
3) You will need to sign in using a valid Windows Live ID before you can
continue to the Invitations page.
4) Enter your Invitation ID in the box. Your invitation ID is: 123-BC7M-6GVK
5) Click Go.
6) If you have not previously registered with Microsoft Connect, you might
be required to register before you continue with the invitation process.
7) You will then be asked to complete a User Profile survey for the program.
8) Click on Available Connections.
9) Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on our program: Windows XP
Embedded SP2 Feature Pack 2007 Community Tech Preview
To report a problem or to ask a question, visit the Contact Us page (linked
to at the bottom of every page of the Microsoft Connect Web site).
For questions regarding this Community Technology Preview please email
viewcust @ microsoft.com .
We are very excited to release this CTP to the public, and we look forward
to hearing your feedback!
-- Matt Kellner
SDET, Microsoft Windows XP Embedded Test Team
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.