Surrey-based distributor Trident has claimed it will solve one of the biggest headaches for resellers by pre-loading Windows on industrial PCs.

Trident said that by offering partners embedded PCs that boot out of the box, it can save resellers time and money. It will also protect end users from exposure to PC downtime.

PCs in industrial applications often run a form of windows that is alien to many people.

“It looks like the operating system that runs on domestic PCs, so end users often think they can have a go,” said Andy Stevens, Trident’s embedded systems senior product manager. “But it is more complex.”

Trident offers the channel a Windows embedded evaluation image on a compact flash (CF) card. It is ideal for single-board computers that are becoming the platform of choice for industry.

Resellers will be provided with a ‘vanilla’ image of their chosen software on a CF card that will boot without further configuration or set-up. The Windows images supplied are evaluation versions, limited to 120 or 180 days operation depending on the chosen platform, enabling testing of both hardware and software. Customers can then optimise the image according to their target system and use Target Designer to deploy a working embedded image.

“It is a laborious process having to map the hardware and run routines like the target Analyser Probe,” added Stevens.

“Microsoft’s embedded operating systems offer flexibility of configuration to suit individual applications which remains available to developers exercising the offer.”

Rob Bamforth, principal analyst of communication, collaboration and convergence at Quocirca, said: “With PC-based devices used for all sorts of embedded or screen and keyboard-free applications, anything that takes the drudgery out of software setup has to be worthwhile.

“It gives those reselling and integrating an opportunity to focus on adding some real business value.”

Manoj Rami, senior marketing manager at Microsoft Windows Embedded, said: “The platform provides straightforward integration. By using it, developers can build solutions that are cost effective and quick to deploy.”