This will be a day that few commemorate, and even fewer who can remember it later. However, this historical process that began on Saturday, November 16, 1996 finally came to an end on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, approximately 26 years, 10 months and 25 days later.On this day, Windows Embedded Compact 2013 (or more commonly known as Windows CE 8.0) will exit the stage of history because it has exited Microsoft's "Extended Support Phase" (Extended Support Phase). Like the entire history of Windows CE, it has become an unsupported retired product.
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Windows CE 8.0 was released on August 11, 2013, and entered the end of mainstream support on October 9, 2018. However, few people notice these two things happening. As a product, the release of CE8.0 failed to gain much attention and popularity. Even in the Windows CE community, most people think Windows Embedded Compact 2013 is not worth mentioning at all. Just like the previous WindowsCE7.0. There have been very few devices released on the platform, so most people, myself included, have never even seen a physical CE8 device.
CE8.0 comes at a confusing time for Microsoft. Windows 8.0 and Server 2012 failed amid criticism from the media, businesses and consumers. Windows Phone launched with an NT core rather than a traditional CE core, but despite the massive efforts, by the end of 2013, even the NT core had begun to enter its own death spiral. Behind Adobe's increasingly successful cloud transformation. Microsoft has begun to adjust the direction of the company and the public to accept "cloud" consumption of Microsoft and subscription-based business models, which is the basis for Microsoft's future development.
By the time Windows CE 8.0 was released, Microsoft had no real interest in the CE kernel or its embedded operating system division. This version is actually a service upgrade to Windows CE7.0 and updates the brand in the Windows8.0 era. This version exists to allow traditional embedded hardware vendors to release one more version on the platform while allowing them to try to mature and convince vendors to transition to componentized, ARM-optimized NT cores under the Windows 10, 11 and IoT brands. The main feature of the CE8 version is that IPv6 support is added to the TCP/IP protocol stack for the first time, but this is also the only noteworthy feature. However, what was removed from this version was even more noticeable: the default shell sample - a Windows CE-based handheld PC user interface - was removed. This is most likely an intentional act of sabotage, which stipulates that any OEM must release a device with a fully custom case, something few vendors are willing to do. Thus, the release of Windows Embedded Compact 2013 truly ends the era of cheap Windows CE netbook devices that were so common in the years leading up to its release.
Although CE8.0 may disappear. But the lasting inheritance and love for Windows CE, especially handheld PCs, has not disappeared. Our little community is still vibrant, and as any active H/PC user will tell you, even today, 26 years later, H/PC still shines. Its attractive, compact and small form factor always attracts new craftsmen, users and journalists. Windows CE gave many of us a passion for technology that modern products like smartphones and tablets can never replicate. Smartphones are tools, but for many of us, H/PCs are a way of life. For this reason, I mark this moment with sadness, because nothing fascinates me as much as that little gray box 25 years ago. Yet despite this sentiment, this sadness is made all the warmer by the passion and joy these little devices have brought to myself and others over the past twenty-five years, and by the joyful memories of the past.
What are your thoughts as WindowsCE sunsets? Did Microsoft do the right thing by nerfing CE8 and pushing OEMs to NT? Did WindowsCE pass away earlier than its time, or did it pass at just the right time?