The Community Technical Preview 1 of Windows Embedded Standard 8 is now available for download.

With the new version Microsoft has introduced many great new features such as:

  • Modules
    With modules you can build components for you own applications and drivers allowing you to easily add them to you embedded images – also after the image has been built via DISM!
  • Branding
    You can add a customer boot screen and replace the Windows Logon and shutdown screens images so you can completely hide Windows from the end-user.
  • Unified Write Filter
    Microsoft has created a new write filter – the Unified Write Filter which combines the best of Enhanced Write Filer, File Based Write Filer and Registry Filter.
  • Enhanced Componentization
    Microsoft has nearly doubled the feature packages that are available so you can build an even more customized version of Windows.
  • WinRT
    Build Metro-Style applications for Windows Embedded Standard 8 that make use of the new powerful WinRTframework which replaces the Win32 API. Even if you don’t want the new Metro UI to show up WinRT makes building your applications more easy because the new framework is available for C++, .NET and also HTML5 applications!

To find out more about Windows Embedded Standard 8 or to download the CTP please click here.