MinWin is coming- maybe they are listening in Redmond
I have called for a small, fast and light version of Windows for mobile devices so many times that some think I’ve lost my mind. Others think that yet another version of Windows is too much considering how many versions of Vista are out there to choose from, for some a daunting task. It seems that Microsoft may be listening as Mary Jo Foley recently reported that Microsoft is working on a light version of Windows, deemed MinWin, for release around Windows 7 time (2010). According to Mary Jo Microsoft has 200 engineers working on MinWin and it is expected to be a version of Windows that will be embedded in certain devices. What is good is that Microsoft admits that the kernel of Windows, now over 12 years old, is outdated and too bloated to continue much longer. MinWin currently consists of 100 files compared to the 5,000 files that comprise Vista. Lets hope they continue developing MinWin with mobile PCs in mind as they could really use such a kernel OS.
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“MinWin and it is expected to be a version of Windows that will be embedded in certain devices”
Possibly… or is this going to be an evolution of the already existing Windows XP Embedded platform?
Well, I guess we have somthing to look forward to in about 3 years….
;-)
I’m not so sure this is represents a cut down version of Windows in it’s own right. In the video I saw at istartedsomething.com I thought the MS guy was suggesting that MinWin was simply a cut down version of the core functionality (including the kernel) of Windows. The aim of it was to build a more modular version of Windows. In other words, this would form the basis of Windows 7 rather than being a distinct mobile version of Windows.
I posted about this last week:
http://www.guyontechnology.co.uk/2007/10/19/minwin-windows-7-after-a-diet/
MinWin is not designed to the another Microsoft O/S but as Jake says is the core needed for modular O/S design. This according to the video (see my post) will be built into the next version of Windows, codename 7.