Microsoft just released a version of the Windows XP operatingsystem designed for devicesWindows XP Embedded. Its acomponent-based operating system for set-top devices, automaticteller machines, slot machines, point of sale systems, and whateverother devices we can dream up. Should you care? What possible usewill an embedded operating system have in the insurance industry,much less one from Microsoft? Read on.

Lets step into the Wayback Machine. The IBM PC was announced in1981, running DOS. Microsoft released Windows 1.0 in November 1985.Since that time, weve been caught in a steady progression ofenhanced Microsoft operating systems that we have more or less beenforced to use.

What options are there? Apple had a chance to become asignificant player in the business desktop field, but it blew thatopportunity when it got greedy with licensing its operatingsystems. IBMs OS/2 looked like it might pose a real challenge toMicrosoft, but Big Blue quit when it was ahead. The last major OS/2version that had a chance to threaten Windows, OS/2 Warp, was anadvanced (in its day) 32-bit operating system with true pre-emptivemultitasking. Ironically, OS/2 Warp included a 16-bit Windowsvirtual machine for compatibility with existing standard businessapplications (Microsoft Office was already the standard).

As a result, weve been at the mercy of Microsoft for 30 yearsnow.

I say at the mercy of Microsoft, but we were willingco-conspirators. I loved Windows 3.1. I was blown away by WindowsNT 3.51 (I used to try and crash it by writing to memory I had nobusiness fooling with). I was a beta tester for Windows 95 and NT4.0. I upgraded to Windows 98 and 2000. I have developed skills inwriting code for Microsoft systems far beyond my abilities on anyother platform. Yet with all the background I have in products fromRedmond, Im becoming a little disillusioned with its strategy tocontrol everything from the desktop to the back office. AndMicrosofts 18-month cycle for operating system upgrades is makingme weary.

Then there is the incredible complexity of Microsofts new ideasabout licensing software. I dont know about you, but were taking along, hard look at upgrading our standard desktop systems. And thisseems to be the norm; most companies are still two releases behindthe latest version of Windows; there are a lot more businessesrunning Window 98 (not even Second Edition) than anythingnewer.

But amidst all the versions of Windows, the licensing nonsense,and the plethora of bug fixes and updates, a version of Windows XPhas slipped by without a lot of fanfare or coverage. And thatprompted me to take a brief look at the latest and greatest fromBill Gates and the boys: Windows XP Embedded.

Inner Space

An embedded operating system is an integral part of the machineit runs on. Embedded systems have been in widespread use inmanufacturing processes for years. A device is built for aparticular purposeadding a part to a car engine, for exampleand anoperating system and software are created to control thatparticular machine or device. Your automobile probably has manydevices with embedded systems that make that machine operateeffectively. A typical PC, on the other hand, is tabla rasa onwhich (theoretically) any operating system and application softwarecan be installed. (Never mind the fact that PCs are based on Intelsancient X86 architecturean architecture that was developed in thedays when Bill Gates thought 640 KB of memory was more than anyonewould ever need.)

Windows XP Embedded (XPE) is a component-based operating systembased on the full-featured code base of Windows XP. A developer canselect from 10,000 components and assemble a custom OS that doesonly what is required of it and no more. On the surface, this makesa lot of senseWindows operating systems have become so bloated byincluding every possible feature, that they have become unwieldy.My fast PIII laptop with a ton of RAM takes more time to loadWindows 2000 than my old 486 with 24 MB takes to load Windows 3.1.If I could create my own operating system that includes only thosefeatures that I absolutely need, I could theoretically make anincredibly efficient system.

Some of Them Want to Use It, Some of Them Want to Abuse It

Some insurance companies with which I have worked are realsticklers for control. They have pre-configured desktop and laptopsystems from which no deviation is permitted. They closely controleverything from browser plug-ins to application software. Many usethe desktop as a thin client machine, with all application softwareand data residing on corporate servers.

The reasons for such tight control are many and varied. Strictcompliance requirements often dictate that individual employeeshave limited and controlled access to illustration and policysoftware. Potential security breaches are another legitimate reasonfor tightly locked-down systems. The reasons for ultra strictcontrol may be something as simple as worry about too many (or any)employees browsing the Web during work hours.

And imagine the Big Brother possibilities. A Machiavellian CIOcould custom build machines that do only what he wants them todoand which could report their daily activity back to IT. Scary?You bet.

That little scenario was both impractical and silly. Impracticalbecause off-the-shelf computers and operating systems are soinexpensive that it make no sense to custom build systems forcommon business use. Silly because insurance companies arent reallythat paranoid. (Are they?)

I can envision some useful custom devices that may appeal toreaders of this magazine. Two types of devices that XPE supportsare point of sale (POS) systems and thin clients. Would it bereasonable to create an agents POS devicesomething that could bededicated to a particular carriers products and sales tools? Youbet. It would allow for keyboard as well as touch screen input. Itwould have limited functionality and would only need a smallcatalog of operating system features. Using a USB or wirelessconnection, it could perform a daily download for that daysappointments. Client information could be updated on the devicethroughout the day. Purchases and updates would be uploaded ondemand or during scheduled daily connections.

The possibilities are endless and I wont bother to elaborate.The point is that there could be a use for such an animal. Oneversion would be a fully functional devicea handheld, palmtop, oreven desktop for independent agents that would only sell onecarriers products and upload only to that carriers system. Acaptive agents device would add some more features to make thedevice more attractive to use. An agents POS device could also bebuilt that would be a plug-in to an agency systemessentially ablack box that would provide product and policy uploads anddownloads from carrier to agency and vice versa. A handheld deviceusing Windows XP Embedded could be used for field work and transferdata to the black box POS on demand.

A Full Featured Operating System

Developing XPE devices should prove easier than developingproprietary embedded systems or using existing Linux or othersystems for a number of reasons.

Windows XP is a full featured, robust operating system. The factthat is over-featureda nice way of saying bloatedis a plus if itmeans you have more to choose from when you go to pick the OSfeatures you want.

It is built on the NT kernel, which has now been around forenough years to be considered a mature operating system.

It contains a comprehensive suite of networking tools andprotocol support.

It utilizes industry standard security (Kerberos).

It is a true 32-bit operating system with a protected memorymodel.

XPE systems can be developed using the Windows Embedded Studio,a version of the Microsoft Visual Studio that is familiar to mostWindows developers.

What are the major disadvantages of Windows XP Embedded?

It requires an X86-based processor.

It is not a real time operating system.

The jury on XP is still out. Most of us will wait and see howthe licensing thing shakes out before devoting major corporateresources to Windows XP. The possibility of using the sameoperating system for enterprise solutions as well as company orindustry specific devices is intriguing. If I were in a positionwhere my business model justified semi-proprietary devices, Iwouldnt hesitate to investigate using Windows XP Embedded to buildthose devices.

Real-Time Operating Systems

What is a real-time operating system? The easiest way to explainit is to imagine two systemsone thats real-time, and one thats onthe opposite end of the real-time spectrum.

Think of a system that controls the flow of blood through anartificial heart. It requires correct and positive action now. Moreexertion? More bloodnow. Time is of the essence for the system tooperate properly; the processor cannot waste time swapping out somevirtual memory when it needs to make a decision regarding pumpspeed and pressure.

On the other hand, a batch system for computing monthly payrollcan run just about anytime and take as long as it wants, providingit meets some basic deadline.

Thus the basic criteria for a real-time operating system is thattimeliness is an inherent propertyotherwise it isnt a realreal-time system.

Heres An Idea

Operating systems are tied to specific processor architectures.It might make sense for future computer architecture to abstract aninterface layer that sits above machine language and below assemblylanguage. Thus software and operating system manufacturers couldwrite code to a universal machine interface and chipmakers couldmake processors that would operate using that interface. Aparticular processor or system could use only those parts of theabstracted instruction set that are required. This could eliminatethe incredible inefficiencies we have in most modern desktopsystems, which are continually forced to be backward compatible tothe lowest common denominator.

More on XP Embedded

www.microsoft.com/Windows/embedded/xp