WESNEXT – TechWire

//Last Update: Mar 29, 2012

Within the next months I want to write several posts about Windows Embedded Standard 8 in comparison of WES7.

 

Based on WES8CTP1

ICE
stays ICE: At the moment (WES8CTP1) the search engine shrunk in very limited and bad way, but it’s confirmed that all search option will come back within the next releases. Answer-Files are now Configuration-Files.

Catalog
is the formally known as DistributionShare: The Catalog now can contain both Architectures (x86, x64), so you don’t need to change the ‘DS’ within ICE. You select the targeted System while creating a new Configuration-File (formerly known as Answer-File).

(Embedded) Modul Designer
a (new) Tool – like Component Designer: (E)MD can bundle files, drivers, commands and relationships (aka dependencies). In other words: Component Designer from WES2009/XPe has it’s little comeback.

//I always write (E)MD instead of MD because this makes more sense in the first stage, it’s the resulting file-extension and is at least more precise.

catman.exe (command-line)
replaces ImportPackage.exe: It has more enhanced functions as the old version and has also the ability to easily remove Modules from a Catalog.
 

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Some nice facts i figured out so far

It seems that WES8 get its own DISM Provider.

The command “DISM /add-modul” is not listed in normal Win8 OS SKUs

Windows 2 Go is OUTSTANDING! (Boot from USB)

Afa I’m working with Windows Embedded I always worked with USB Boot. The projects I did used the USB-Boot functionality. It was always a tightrope walk between usability and compatibility while supporting several different machines with one Image (requested!).
WES7 did a good job so far but WES8 brings it all to its best. – Working with USB-Boot without any fear of losing the connection to the host and may losing data is absolutely great!
Drivers for a new machines get installed on the very first boot. You nearly get always the full experince and hardware support. – I’m really stunned. If something goes wrong with the connection Windows goes in some kind of suspend mode and waits/pause till the USB-Hardware is attached again. It resumes instantly as nothing happened.

 

Just some notes I want to write about in future

• Offline building (nothing new, but want to write a step by step guide)
• Branding, Boot, Tools, Manual Ways, SMI
• CBS Packager

 

Getting Started with:

(Embedded) Modul Designer ((E)MD)
A less complex Component Designer is back!

Windows Embedded Developer Update 2.0
The new release that supports WES7 (DistributionShare (DS)) and WES8 (Catalog)