Windows Embedded Compact 7 now available, wins award for most generic name in computing

Microsoft has made Windows Embedded Compact 7 available for download. You probably have no use for it, unless, I don’t know, you’ve created a homemade tablet in your garage in your spare time.

It appears to be a version of Windows 7 designed specifically for tablets and the like. As such, you’ll find support for finger-based gestures built into the operating system. You know, pinching to zoom in and out, that sort of thing.

All the buzzwords are there to make you feel safe and secure. “Connected Experiences.” “Rich User Experiences.” “Highly Reliable Platform.”

Microsoft, no longer as big as Apple, has a bunch of tablets on display at Computex in Taiwan. Unfortunately, none of them are called the iPad, so none of them will ever matter. Sad but true.