Cringely’s right, Windows Mobile is dead

Cringely’s right, unless Microsoft gets around to doing something really radical with Windows Mobile, the platform will be all but dead in a few years.

So, why will Windows Mobile be dead in a few years? Like Cringely, I think that several factors are at work here:
Windows Mobile is an awful platformNot only is it an epic fail in terms on being a cut-down version of Windows, it can also be flaky and highly unreliable. I’m not saying that all WM smartphones are rubbish (some, such as Samsung’s BlackJack were actually quite decent), but the experience between vendors was very variable. I think that developing a good WM device was expensive, hence roundabout announcement that they are exiting the high-end (read WM) phone game.
Internet Explorer for Windows MobileHello Microsoft …. was this supposed to be a joke applications or something?
There are too many competing platformsiPhone, Android, Symbian, RIM, Windows Mobile … that a crowded market.
The high-end cellphone market is only so big85% of folks out there are more than happy with a dumb handset.
Only so many developers to go aroundiPhone and Android platforms are attracting a lot of developer attention. With ready-made stores, Microsoft has nothing like this to offer developers. As much as I like the Symbian platform on my new Nokia, I have to admit that iPhone and Android have some cool apps.
Unless you’re #1 or #2, what’s the pointIs Microsoft really going to pour the money and commitment that Windows Mobile really needs if there’s no chance the platform can’t be at the #1 or #2 spot? I don’t think so.
Time for Windows Mobile to evolve or die … and I’m not holding my breath expecting to see any evolving.

Source : http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=2848&tag=nl.e539

wats ur opinioin.

Template Code: DirectShow Application and Filters in Windows Embedded CE 6.0

This distribution contains template code for DirectShow source, transform and sink filters.  It also contains a simple DirectShow applicaton which connects the filters into a graph and runs the graph.

Note that while building and running the filters and application directly from this distribution will work, it will not do anything interesting.  Again this is template code, designed to abstract away the details of the DirectShow filter framework so developers can focus on adding the core functionality to their filters.

Download from Here

For the DirectShow Reference documentation, see

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa931414.aspx

A study on IPC options on WinCE and Windows

To make a client-server application that would run both on WinCE/Windows Mobile 5.0 PPC/SP and Windows.

 Here is what need to make:

  * A Server EXE which would have to run, both on a Win CE based device and on a Desktop machine.
  * A Client EXE which would talk to the Server. The scenario involved running several instances of client EXE running both on Desktop and Device.

 The obvious choice was to write a common Server/Client code which would run both on Device and for Desktop.

Looking at the various IPC options that both WinCE and Windows provide to come with an intersection set and then finally choose one of the options from the set.

Surprisingly the intersection set was really small.  Here is the result of study.

 

 

IPC mechanisms	Windows	Win CE	References
DCOM	Supported.   Provides an option to run the Server as a OUT PROC COM component	Not Supported.   DCOM is an optional component. So you might run into the risk of not able to run your server EXE on the device.	WinCE: http://blogs.msdn.com/cenet/archive/2005/07/13/438424.aspx
File mapping/Shared memory	Supported.   File mapping is supported on Windows platform and you can use this via CreateFileMapping, MapViewOfFile, ReadFile, WriteFile APIs.	Partially Supported.   File mapping is also supported by Win CE, but there is a caveat to it. Here is what MSDN has to say:   “This function will not work on a Windows CE–based platform that does not support Page-In.”	WinCE: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/wcesdkr/html/_wcesdk_win32_createfilemapping.asp (Read the Remarks Section)
Message Queues	Not Supported.   Windows does not seem to be supporting this. At least the MSDN documentation does not list this as a possible IPC mechanism.	Supported.   WinCE supports Message Queues.   You can use the CreateMsgQueue, WriteMsgQueue etc APIs to achieve it.	Windows: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/ipc/base/interprocess_communications.asp
Pipes	Supported.   Windows supports it via CreateNamedPipe, WriteFile, ReadFile etc APIs.	Not Supported.   There is no support for Pipes specifically on WinCE.   But they claim that a point-to-point message queue can be regarded as some sort of pipe.	WinCE: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dncenet/html/intercommWindowsCENETInterprocessCommunication.asp (Read the Abstract section)
MailSlots/Mailbox	Supported.   Desktop calls this Mail Slots. Take a look at: CreateMailslot, WriteFile, ReadFile etc APIs.	Not Supported.   The Mail Slot APIs are not supported on WinCE.   But there is an implementation of one-way “Mailbox” concept described in MSDN.	Win CE: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dncenet/html/intercommWindowsCENETInterprocessCommunication.asp
Sockets	Supported	Supported

 

Looking at all the possible options, I finally felt that Sockets would be the best way to go. Since I had so many device platforms to support, I did not wanted to take the risk of choosing something that works on Desktop and the same thing not working on even one of the Device platforms.

 This is just my observation. Please let me know if there is any other option that I have missed out. Hope this helps.

 (This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. Use of included script samples are subject to the terms specified at http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm)

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Window Mobile 7 will contain Zune Softwares and Services

Microsoft plans to port its Zune music playing software to Windows Mobile devices, according to CEO Steve Ballmer. Zune software and services may become part of the upcoming Windows Mobile 7 operating system, though the company provided no further information.

Confirmation of the long-rumored move came during a lengthy interview with the U.K. magazine CIO. Ballmer told interviewer Martin Veitch, "What you’ll see more and more over time is that the Zune software will also be ported to and be more important not just with the hardware but on the PC, on Windows Mobile devices, etc."

"At the end of the day, one of the big trends is that all content is going digital. And if we don’t have the software and services that are useful, helpful and valuable for the consumption of music and video, we are sort of not really a player," added Ballmer.

Zune integration with Windows Mobile will apparently be a software-only gambit. Microsoft has repeatedly denied plans to brand its own "Zune phone," which would compete with the hundreds of Windows Mobile phones already being shipped.

Background

Microsoft's Zune PMP (portable media player) was first introduced in 2006, and is currently available in the five different models pictured below. Previously, the software giant has sought to distance the Zune from Windows Mobile, even though the device employs an ARM processor and uses a core operating system based on Windows CE.

The Zune's GUI (graphical user interface), called the "twist" interface by Microsoft, features typical music and playlist features, radio playback, and a "social" section that allows sharing songs and other information with other Zune owners. Like Windows Mobile's existing Windows Media Player, the Zune can play typical audio/video formats such as MP3, WMA, WMV, MPEG-4, and H.264. To this, it adds compatibility with Microsoft's Zune Marketplace file format.

Via the Zune Marketplace online store, users can purchase songs individually, either by WiFI or by syncing with a desktop computer. Additionally, a "Zune Pass" permits downloading unlimited songs to a device for a $15 monthly fee. Finally, an interesting feature added to the latest Zune software release lets users tag a song being broadcast by an FM station for automatic later purchase, according to Microsoft.

In February, an entry on the Windows Mobile team's blog revealed that Microsoft is seeking ways to better integrate the Zune and Windows Mobile. Program manager Mel Sampat posted, "I'm wondering if there are any opportunities for us to improve the experience for people who use both devices. For example, viewing your Zune Social network in Internet Explorer Mobile, converting a Zune playlist into .WMA ringtones, [or] converting Zune's artwork to Windows Mobile themes."

However, Sampat added, "I'm certainly not hinting or speculating about a converged device," to the apparent frustration of many. For example, commenter Jef Kazimer wrote, "Windows Mobile needs to be the platform, and make Zune the ecosystem that runs on that platform. Make Zune the centerpiece for its core uses (Music, Video, Photos, Podcasts) and deprecate the Windows Media Player."