Old Hardware Emulated : MS SDK's Simulating Windows CE (Part 2)

 

Windows CE 2.0

On September 1997, Microsoft released Windows CE 2.0. There have been many improvements made in this version as the Redmond Giant received plenty of feedback from the users that tried CE 1.0. Most of these changes made have been within the realm of usability and making the WinCE devices more usable with a typical consumer.

Like Pegasus and CE 1.0, 2.0 was largely geared towards the HPC handheld devices. HPC, or handheld PC, were a form of palmtop/clamshell computers made by various companies like Sharp, Casio, NEC, and HP. The new version of Windows CE was very well received on these devices. 

Like Palm and Apple, Microsoft released a SDK for software developers to write WinCE specific applications. These kits included device simulators that allowed developers to test there applications without needing a actual device. Again, this isn't that different from what Palm was doing at the time. However, at this point, it should be noted at a simulator and emulator are different. 

The Palm SDK included a device emulator. A emulator is a program that imitates the actual device and its hardware, and not just the user environment. It imitates the actual CPU architecture, memory structure, display, other hardware, and uses the actual firmware that a real Palm utilized. This provides a full environment for Palm developers to test out there applications accurately.

A simulator, as in the case of the Windows CE 2.0 SDK; only imitates the user environment itself.  Simulators don't imitate a specific CPU architecture, and uses the native processor in your computer. There is no firmware as the simulator acts more as a runtime running on an "imitation" of the OS, rather than a complete system.

Emulators do have the disadvantage as they tend to be slower than a simulator because the program is emulating the complete hardware, CPU, and OS of the particular platform. This is in sharp contrast to simulators which tend to be much faster as they only provide an imitation of the user environment while using the native CPU in your computer without translations. However, simulators can only run programs that were specifically compiled for that environment, whereas emulators can run general applications supported on that platform. Despite the performance benefits of simulators, emulators are still preferred as they provide a complete environment as they tend to be much more accurate and stable instead of a "imitation" environment. Later versions of the Microsoft WinCE SDK ditched the simulator for an hardware emulator.

Despite that, the SDK's do provide a good depiction of what the Windows CE was like. Usually, Microsoft Visual Studio worked in tandem with the SDK as developers use to those tools could write WinCE applications using either C++ or Visual BASIC as the programming languages. 

I created a XP virtual machine with VMware Player just for the purpose of trying out these early SDK's. Even though the SDK's were designed for Windows NT 4.0, they have no issue running under XP.

Lack Of Software
Windows CE 2 looks carbon copy like Windows 95, but in a touchscreen format scaled to a handheld display. The display of this simulator conforms to 480 by 240 pixels. Theoretically, it should be able to run Windows CE applications as long as those applications are compiled in x86 machine code.

This is where the 800 pound elephant in the room needs to be addressed now: there was a massive lack of applications for Windows CE. 3rd party programs for the early versions of Windows CE were hard to come by, and those few programs were usually compiled for the ARM version of Windows CE, which is what virtually all OEM's shipped with. As such, the only software that I could try out was those that were included in the SDK itself. 

There were a few reasons why they were far fewer programs for Windows CE compared to Palm OS. In order to write Windows CE programs, one needed Visual Studio along with the SDK as well. On one hand, Microsoft has been very generous in making there developers tools easily accessible for those that wanted it. However, installing Visual Studio 6.0, along with the Windows CE SDK, consumed massive amounts of disk space. This also required the developers to have decent knowledge about Visual Studio. There was plenty of MSDN documentation as well that needed to be installed as well. The Palm SDK in comparison was a lot more lite-weight, and presented a much lower entry point for a independent developers to join. Installing all of Visual Studio and the SDK's to development Windows CE applications seemed like a bit of overkill for an independent mobile developer.

With all the software developers writing for the Palm Pilot, Windows CE would continue to feel empty for awhile. In later years, Windows CE would gain a healthy following as various software developers would join its ranks. Also, because those using Visual Studio tended to be heavily infested in Microsoft technologies, Windows CE typically got tools that were much more geared towards IT and database management. This is a sharp contrast to Palm were most of the programs available were recreation in nature. Windows CE would take on a very professional image as IT workers would define its use. The corporate environment embraced it over the Palm. With the platform geared towards Microsoft services, one could successfully argue that Windows CE didn't need a massive software library anyway.

The higher end HPC models usually came with a huge array of nifty programs for the IT worker on the go to use. Microsoft released portable version of Word, Excel, and Access. This allowed office workers to view and edit there documents on the go. These tools also tended to be much more feature complete than what was available on the Palm. Emails in Outlook could be accessed from the Windows CE device. Contacts and Calendar appoints could be synchronized with the Windows PC as well. Despite the small software library, Windows CE devices quickly justified there value. Of course, there was also Internet Explorer as well. IE on Windows CE didn't have the horrible reputation that its desktop counterpart had. Despite this, the modern web works like complete crap on this old browser. Should anything less be expected though!

Changing Market Place
It's amazing how quickly the handheld market can change in 3 short years. Palm, which wasn't even a thing at the start in 1996, became the tech equivalent of the Roman Empire by the start of 1998. At the time, this was largely regarded as a non-issue for Microsoft. Windows CE was not originally geared towards PDA form-factor handhelds. Microsoft wasn't planning on targeting such devices until later. For the rapidly changing marketplace, later would have to be sooner; a lot sooner!

The HPC handheld PC's were typically much more expensive than their Palm counterparts. This was largely due to the incorporation of much more powerful ARM processors, bigger display, larger ROM chips to store the OS, and the RAM needed to support Windows CE. WinCE demanded much more computing power compared to Palm OS. At the time (and before the success of the Palm Pilot), palmtop PC's and PDA's could peacefully coexist. However, Palm Computing completely rewritten the rules, and devices that weren't Palm Pilots or PDA's began to suffer in the marketplace.

The palmtop handhelds  were always niche devices to begin with, but would only become even more niche as the Palm cloud cast a giant shadow over its competitors. Microsoft would need to adapt Windows CE to the PDA form-factor quickly or it was going to be left behind in a tidal wave of Palm Pilots. The first attempts of a new device never go well. This was the case with Windows CE 1.0, and this would also be the case in the first PDA versions of Windows CE.

One can see WinPad's influence on the schedule app for Windows CE. Despite this though, Windows CE on the PDA (through the SDK) felt barren compared to the Palm Pilot. There is a lot to be desired. On one hand, WinCE does accomplish the bare essentials of what a PDA is expected to do. However, the Palm library in 1997 already had hundreds of programs that included screensavers, image viewers and more advanced appoint keepers and scheduling apps (and including dozens upon dozens of games). Windows CE had a lot of catching up to do. It wasn't completely empty though. There is Solitaire!

....Not to mention the Calculator app so one could do 2+2 with there finger or stylus.


Despite there shortcomings, Windows CE was rapidly evolving, and Microsoft got there foot in the door. Windows CE was very well received, and Microsoft had plenty of resources in the bank to give Palm a massive run for there money. Eventually, Microsoft would get it right, even if briefly for a short time before the introduction of the iPhone.

Articles of Interest

Wikipedia : Windows Embedded Compact -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Embedded_Compact

Wikipedia : Windows Mobile - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Mobile

Microsoft Fandom : Windows CE 2.0 - https://microsoft.fandom.com/wiki/Windows_CE_2.0

CNET : Microsoft releases Windows CE 2.0 - https://www.cnet.com/news/microsoft-releases-windows-ce-2-0/

the HP Palmtop Paper Online - The Windows CE 2.0 Operating System - http://www.palmtoppaper.com/ptphtml/36/pt36001b.htm

Beta Wiki : Microsoft WinPad - https://betawiki.net/wiki/Microsoft_WinPad 

Microsoft WinPad SDK 1.x - https://winworldpc.com/product/microsoft-winpad-sdk/1x

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WeatherStar 4000 Simulator For Windows (Part 1)

Image
  It's time to get the weather forecast, 90's style. A couple of months ago, I reviewed the WeatherStar 4000+ simulator for web-browsers. This simulator, created by Mike Battaglia, is a open-source, on-line simulator of the WeatherStar 4000 hardware used by The Weather Channel during the 1990's. This simulator ran without issue on both Firefox and Chrome on Windows 7 (Home PC) and Firefox on Windows 10 (Dell Optiplex).  It also runs great under Chrome on my Android devices as well. I use the online simulator when I'm on the road.  Now, I'm going to look into the WeatherStar 4000 simulator for Windows offered by Taiganet. This simulator offers a lot of features and can be customized in various ways. When I'm home, I use this program most of the time. Now, there is one notable hardware requirement. First, to run the Windows (and Mac OSX/Linux ports as well) simulator, you will need a computer that supports OpenGL 3.3. My home computer ha...
Read more

Classic Systems Emulated: Windows 95 (Part 1)

Image
  Start Me Up! Windows 95 (Chicago Beta Build 189 released September 1994) running under PCEM What would eventually become Windows 95 was affected by several turn of events that occurred during its development. Windows 95, code-named Chicago, had been several years in the making. Microsoft had already been planning the next version of Windows right after they got 3.1 out the door on March 1992. What would determine the course of the new OS? DOS Compatibility for one as it was still deemed essential at that point. One has to remember that even though Windows 3.0 had been the most successful version of Windows to date, the GUI in general was still a novelty at that point. Most used Windows 3.0 for simple task like typing list, letters, or playing solitaire. Most PC users who needed to work on major projects were still running DOS applications like WordPerfect or Lotus 123. However, the transition to GUI's would begin in earnest.  The 486 processor ...
Read more

Classic Systems Emulated: Windows 3.1 OEMS

Image
  The OEM's Want In On The Action The PC Market of the early 90's was a very competitive one. As such, having a easy-to-use environment was a must for these companies pushing there hardware. Hardware has caught up to software, and as such, it was now time to push the command prompt out of the way for the GUI. Several of these companies spotted opportunities to make  deals with Microsoft to pre-install Windows on there computers. This phenomenon didn't start with 3.1 though. Even in the late 80's, both Compaq and IBM often preinstalled Windows 386 for corporate customers that brought there 386 systems. Windows 3.0 was bundled with a lot of systems too. It was preinstalled on the IBM PS/1 budget PC's and various Tandy models. It came with the Amstrad MegaPC and various other PC's offered by ZDS (Zenith Data Systems) as well.  The number of OEM partners grew with the Windows 3.1 release. Some of them were familiar faces, like Compa...
Read more

Old Hardware Emulated :Psion Model 3a Emulated On DOSBox Windows

Image
  Psion 3a and 3c Psion Series 3c Handheld Computer (Wikipedia) Psion 3a As mentioned in the previous articles, the emulators for the Psion 3 exist only on DOSBox. I decided to take the challenge of setting up a emulated configuration. What must one do. There is already a very good guide on the internet titled "PocketBook II emulation..." which is linked below in the article. Highly recommended. Setting up a emulated Psion 3 takes a little bit of effort, but it's possible and is a good exploration of setting up a DOSBox configuration. I'm making the safe assumption that the fast majority of those reading this are using Windows systems, but DOSBox has been ported to Mac OS X and Linux as well, so this guide might work on those systems.  The first thing I did was created a folder called dosbox_psion3 (Folder naming is based on personal preference). Make the following new folders within dosbox_psion3; psion3, a, b, and m. With the f...
Read more

Classic Systems Emulated: OS/2 Version 2.0 On PCEM

Image
  The Arrival Of 32-Bit Power For The Masses The past couple of these PC articles have been very Windows-centric. This isn't a surprise as Windows 3.0 was a major release that made a very massive impact on the marketplace. Windows 3.1 sold 3 million copies in 6 weeks. 1992 was a very different time. Back then, it was possible to request a PC without an operating system. If one did want an OS, they could choose between OS/2, DOS, or the DOS+Windows combination. I've had not forgotten OS/2 in these articles. The 286 versions of OS/2 had already been covered in my articles about the IBM PS/2 family of computers. The messy IBM-Microsoft "divorce" had been covered in detail as well. To quickly recap: Microsoft didn't like the direction that IBM wanted to take OS/2. Microsoft envisioned OS/2 as being the "next-generation" OS, while IBM simply saw the OS as a tool to sell more hardware. OS/2 did terrible in the marketplace. The ...
Read more

Old Hardware Emulated - Windows Mobile 5.0

Image
Working title for this post was "But Mama, That's Where The Fun Is!". Appropriate as by the middle 2000's, Windows Mobile was where all the action was at. The sky was only getting brighter for Microsoft as Palm was slowly imploding on itself. With Microsoft's mobile offerings becoming more widespread by the day, the Redmond Giant followed up with the newest version of WM, version 5.0, on May 2005. On the surface, it appears that little changed. However, the biggest change were "under the hood" with the incorporation of the .NET Compact Framework, which is basically the mobile version of .NET. Also, WM 5.0 introduced newer power-saving capabilities which often improved the battery life of devices by as much as 50%. WM backed up everything to flash memory. WinMobile would use a combination of RAM and flash memory to preserve battery life. This wasn't noticeable by the user.  As such, their is no data loss if power is lost.  Windows Media Player was upd...
Read more

Old Hardware Emulated : Pocket PC 2000/2002

Image
  Windows CE On The PDA Pocket PC 2002 starting up. For the remainder of the 90's, Microsoft had a tough time gaining a foothold in the handheld market. Windows CE 2.0 was well received on the palmtop PC's. However, that market-share was small compared to there PDA counterpart that were rocking to the tune of PalmOS. The first incarnation of WinCE on the PDA seemed sparse compared to Palm. At this point, the PDA port of Windows CE was re-branded as Windows Mobile. Around this point, Microsoft's fortunes began to change. For the first time, the Palm platform had that "Oh Crap!" moment when Compaq released the iPAQ in April 2000. The PDA came with the new Windows Pocket PC 2000 operating system. This version of Windows CE was specifically geared towards PDA's in particular. The iPAQ line of PDA's became must own devices for those that wanted the latest and greatest. As how Compaq made IBM look silly in the 80's and 90's...
Read more

Old Hardware Emulated :Einstein emulating the Apple Newton (Part 3)

Image
  NewtonOS Android in Action! Einstein emulating the Newton Messagepad on a Amazon Fire HD7 tablet. Einstein Seriously, did you not expect me to run a OS designed for a classic handheld device on a modern tablet!? It's interesting running Einstein on a PC, but I want to try this platform out on a handheld that was similar in form-factor to the original device. Einstein had been ported to Android as well. It's not as recent as the current builds available for iOS, MacOS, and Ubuntu Linux, but it works well enough. Running the emulator means doing a few things before hand, like loading the Android package, ROM, and other needed files. The apk file that I downloaded was "einstein.05.01.2013.apk", which can be found at a archived version of the code.Google.com page (link posted below). You will also need a ROM file named "717006" that needs to be placed in the "/sdcard/Downloads/Einstein/" directory of your Androi...
Read more

Classic Games Emulated: Revisiting NFS High Stakes Modding

Image
  Modding On The Mind! As anyone who's read my NFS:HS article or watching my uploads on YouTube, one can tell that they're two things that I'm a fan of: NFS:HS and Virtualization. I like contained environments that allow me to run beloved games from the past on far more powerful configurations. It only seemed natural for me to embark on the journey of getting NFS:HS running under VMware Player. I had a original copy of the game on CD-ROM which was installed on my guest setup. The guest configuration had two cores allocated to it, 2GB's of RAM, and 3D acceleration via my Nvidia GTX 950. The guest OS running was Windows 7 32-bit. After installing HS, I copied the patch, and started to burn rubber. After that, I duplicated the game folder so I could have two installations: one stock and another one for mod. Within the NFS:HS folder, their are various directories. The "DATA/CARS" folder has both the racing and traffic cars. The first t...
Read more

OS/2 Warp 4

Image
(Any blogpost where I don't have to cover politics is a win in my books!) OS/2 Warp 4 was a very noble endeavor. It was IBM's statement to the world to demonstrate there commitment to the OS/2 operating system. However, when it arrived in 1996, OS/2 Warp 4 was dead on arrival. A lot had happened between the launch of Warp 3 and Warp 4, with the biggest of them being the arrival of Windows 95. Microsoft, making the most of their OEM connections, started to lock OS/2 out of the OEM markets prior to the launch of Windows 95. With threats of either not receiving the latest Windows or paying much higher license fees, many OEM's relented to Microsoft's pressure. Warp 3 struggled against Windows 3.1 along with the soon-to-be-tidal wave that would be Windows 95. Not only that, Microsoft had a vendetta against Big Blue for previous acts.  Lotus 123 For OS/2 Warp 4 Faced with accusations that Microsoft incorporated OS/2 source code into Windows 3.x which would have violated the j...
Read more