Microsoft to Offer New Windows Flavor for Retail Market

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The Redmond software vendor says it will ship by mid-2005 what could be the first of a number of vertically-focused versions of Windows Embedded.

Just as it is doing with its Windows client software, Microsoft is developing customized variants of its Windows Embedded operating system for specific markets.

The first of what could be a full line of Windows Embedded variants will be Windows Embedded for Point of Service, company officials said Monday. Microsoft is currently testing the new flavor of its Windows Embedded product in conjunction with more than 30 device makers and application vendors.

Microsoft plans to ship Windows Embedded for Point of Service by mid-2005. The company is expected to show off the latest build of the system at its private retail and hospitality developers conference in Redmond this week. The Windows Embedded for Point of Service product is part of Microsoft's grand "Smarter Retailing Initiative" strategy, which it unveiled earlier this year.

Microsoft offers two different embedded Windows flavors: Windows XP and Windows CE. Windows XP Embedded, a subset of Windows XP, is typically integrated into retail point-of-sale terminals, thin clients and advanced set-top boxes. Windows CE is a real-time embedded operating system typically used in small-footprint devices.

News source: Microsoft-watch.com

Cont...

Adventures Cut Short

There was a time when point-and-click adventures were the most popular genre of computer game. Emerging out of the days of text adventures like Zork, graphical adventure games such as King's Quest and Leisure Suit Larry challenged players to find and use items to solve puzzles, usually through mastery of a set of text commands. Later, as a new, strange input device known as the "mouse" came into wide use, new entries in the genre replaced typing with pointing, dragging, and clicking.

LucasArts soon got into the act with titles of its own, revolutionizing the genre with creative, edgy, and hilarious adventures like Maniac Mansion and The Secret of Monkey Island, not to mention Sam & Max Hit the Road, which was based on an indie comic by Steve Purcell about a rabbit-and-dog team of "freelance police."

Considered one of the best--if not the best--in the genre, Sam & Max featured beautiful cartoonlike graphics and razor-sharp wit, and it seemed at the time to herald a new, exciting future for the genre. It turned out to be right at the end of it. The near-universal shift to 3D graphics spelled doom for the genre. King's Quest wasn't nearly as fun in 3D, and even though LucasArts' Grim Fandango was critically acclaimed, it was the only high point in years.

"I don't think 3D was ever done right," Connors said. "Once the switch was made, the budgets went up and developers couldn't afford to create the immersiveness you expect in a 3D world. Done right, a highly immersive 3D adventure game could push the genre back into the mainstream."

Telling Tall Tales

What else does Telltale plan to do to turn things around? First and foremost, it hopes to create games based on popular licenses to drive market interest. In our exclusive Q&A with Dan Connors below, he points to the success of the Law & Order and CSI games, both of which have fit well with the genre.

And yes, Telltale is hiring--Troy Molander says that the company is currently looking for talented programmers, artists, and storytellers. "Our goal," he said, "is to build a company where creativity is fostered and anything is possible."

But what about the question on everyone's mind--is a new Sam & Max title coming? Although Telltale Games hasn't specifically said anything, the upcoming first press release from the company does mention the game three times, then ends by saying that Telltale is currently "in the design phase on a well-loved license." Could it be? We'll just have to wait and see what Telltale Games has up its sleeves.

(9 replies) #1 ripgut on 04 Oct 2004 - 20:19

Why dont they Use the money for this to get longhorn done quicker, as it was meant to be shipped? whos gonna buy this? But then again im not sure what maket this is focused on either.

#1.1 DJ Prem on 04 Oct 2004 - 20:25

What year are you living in? Longhorn is not meant to be shipped until 2006/2007

#1.2 Ghostdraconi on 04 Oct 2004 - 20:26

Because more money wouldn't get Longhorn done any faster

#1.3 ripgut on 04 Oct 2004 - 20:47

Well at least they should be using this money for making longhorn that much more better instead if it being "lighter" maybe im just dumb and dont know wtf im talking bout

#1.4 noyb on 04 Oct 2004 - 20:54

He did raise a valid point. MS are promising more than they can manage and its making them look silly at the end of the day. Pulling developers off Longhorn to work on SP2 was given as one of the primary reasons for them taking it to bits and adding further delays this is a good example of what im getting at.

#1.5 ripgut on 04 Oct 2004 - 21:11

I just think this is unecissary. and that there spreading there selves jsut a LIL too thin dont you think?

#1.6 noyb on 04 Oct 2004 - 21:20

It is very necessary, but its another question if they are capable of doing so.

In the past more than the present they would just buy something to bring themselves up to date and then use sleazy tactics to crush the competition this is how they got where they are now, but this area already has big players showing their cards, embedded Linux and Symbian as prime examples and both are being widely excepted so MS needs to pull out all the stops to keep from falling behind.

#1.7 ripgut on 04 Oct 2004 - 21:23

Good point , i was on the other hand thinking of that too, that they wanna keep up and expand to all types of endusers out there( basically trying to get rid of noobed up systems) and thus expand there market share to the Real Basic homeusers and on the go peeps

#1.8 noyb on 04 Oct 2004 - 21:28

Its more geared towards how we will use computers in the future, the desktop or notebook model will not exist in the years to come as we know it now, for example we will probably do all our web browsing (another thing that will change over the years to come) through are TV's or Phones. This isn't going to happen anytime soon so don't cancel your next PC purchase but its going that way for sure.

#1.9 shao on 05 Oct 2004 - 07:52

too many cooks...

(1 reply) #2 Ramses on 04 Oct 2004 - 20:26

Call me dumb, but I don't fully understand what they plan to do.

Anybody care to explain?

#2.1 noyb on 04 Oct 2004 - 20:33

In a nutshell not just for this example MS is being pro-active in the future of their OS and where and what its going to be installed in. As the years go on people will be using computers in more client based devices you only have to look at how functionality of cell phones has changed over the years and the amount of effort that people are putting in to get computers into cars, basically one day the way we use computers at the moment will change and the OS as we know it will be not centralised on one machine but device specific.

Although the retail example is a bit distant from what the bulk of what i was saying, its in the right direction.

(2 replies) #3 Ramses on 04 Oct 2004 - 20:38

You mean that there will be a Windows version for your car, another for your phone, another for your pda (already there), another for your mp3 player,...?

#3.1 Sn1p3t on 04 Oct 2004 - 20:42

There is already one for your car.
There is already one for your phone (SmartPhone).
There is obviously one for a PDA.
You could argue that it's PMC's are an MP3 player, although they play movies etc...

#3.2 ramesees on 04 Oct 2004 - 20:43

I imagine they will all be based off the one code base and tweaked for the various markets / purposes that they are intended for.

(2 replies) #4 Ramses on 04 Oct 2004 - 20:54

QUOTE

I imagine they will all be based off the one code base and tweaked for the various markets

Are you sure "tweaked" is the right word to use?, don't you mean <<bugged>>

#4.1 ripgut on 04 Oct 2004 - 21:13

Bugged? what do you mean please explain. and if this is a flame then dont use windows no more go learn LINUX dude

nuff said

#4.2 Sn1p3t on 04 Oct 2004 - 21:19

Heh. Stop it at it's source ripgut. Thanks

(1 reply) #5 darkmark327 on 04 Oct 2004 - 21:17

I think fewer versions would be better, i.e. no home and pro, just one version, and just 100 bucks

#5.1 madd_matt on 04 Oct 2004 - 22:10

home and pro have different markets, i see no problems with having multiple versions, if you get confused, most of the time just get the one called home or personal, the names are descriptive enough

#6 Randall_Lind on 04 Oct 2004 - 22:30

MS bitch about making millions different versions of windows and how bad that would be if DOJ won the antitrust lawsuit but I guess they have decided a million versons of Windows is a good thing now. LOL

(1 reply) #7 Genesi on 05 Oct 2004 - 01:43

So like instead of my oven just burning soon it will be able to crash and burn?

#7.1 STV on 05 Oct 2004 - 05:47

if you are still living in the win98/ME days then please get out of that rock that you currently live under.

well, with linux, the drivers wont work correctly, so you wouldnt be able to even cook anything. and the mac version would be too expensive and "too pretty" to use.

STV

#8 jivemastert on 05 Oct 2004 - 01:50

and now maybe the place i work can upgrade from this glitchy POS (point of sale, or peice of **** as i like to call it) system and move to this. i can dream, cant i?

#9 freestyle on 05 Oct 2004 - 18:23

Our POS system has been running under XP for about 2 years now.

But as things like mag swipes, barcode scanners, receipt/cheque printers, customer displays don't have things like device drivers, it makes developing the application hard.

If now, MS are doing a retail specific version of XP, maybe things like the above will be atleast a bit easier programmed and interfaced to.

Good job...

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