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A solutions provider in wireless and broadcast communications, Harris Corp. recently selected Microsoft Windows CE as the operating system to build the AD 2000 mobile workforce system, a new field-service communications tool. The need to incorporate a robust range of capabilities in the communications device, under a tight, six-month product development cycle, made selecting the right operating system critical.
Meeting this market need meant building a device that could relay all the required customer data to field-service technicians. The device would have to provide a high degree of functionality in a compact, rugged package. A variety of functions would have to be accessible from a small display screen. The device would have to support wireline connectivity as well as the many wireless protocols used by different regional Bell operating companies (RBOCs).
Designed for field-service personnel, linemen and technicians in telecommunications and similar industries, the Harris AD 2000 system meets these design specification criteria.
The open development environment and modular nature of Windows CE played critical roles in designing the AD 2000. With a tight schedule, Harris needed immediate access to application programming resources. The Windows CE open development environment let Harris draw on systems integrators who could leverage their existing knowledge of the Win32 API, C++ and COM to write applications for the device without delay.
Windows CE is unique in that it offers the familiar Win-32 APIs in a modular package that permits a particular system build to include only those elements necessary for a specific version of the product. The features of Windows CE are compiled into component libraries. Each component...