Microsoft Corp. has rolled out its first version of Windows Embedded tailored for a vertical market. Windows Embedded for Point of Service is a slimed-down version of Windows XP Service Pack 2 that maintains many of the desktop capabilities while adding some features specific for POS systems.
"What we are seeing in the past five to ten years is these systems have been moving to more PC-like architectures, and we made a conscious effort to get ahead of the wave," said Jason Demeny, product manager for Windows POS. He would not comment on whether Microsoft is planning other vertical-market versions of Windows.