Windows Embedded CE and Windows Mobile (November 27, 2007)
Chat Topic: Windows Embedded CE and Windows Mobile
Date: Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Please note: Portions of this transcript have been edited for clarity
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Welcome to today's public chat. Our chat today covers the topic of Windows Embedded CE 6.0!
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Before we begin, I would like to begin by posting the chat rules and instructions:
We are pleased to welcome our Experts for today's chat. I will have them introduce themselves now.
Introductions:
Travis Hobrla [MS] (Expert):
Hello, I'm Travis Hobrla and I'm a developer on the Embedded BSP team.
MikeCal [msft] (Expert):
I'm Mike Calligaro, and I'm a developer on the kernel debugger team.
Michael_MSFT (Expert):
Hello, I am Michael Malueg, lead PM in the Windows CE group
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Hi, I'm Sue Loh, a developer in the Windows Devices Core team at Microsoft. I work on the remote tools team, and have previous experience with the kernel and file system. I'm also moderating today's chat. I hope we can answer some questions for you today!
Ryan Ward [MSFT] (Expert):
Hello, I'm Ryan Ward, a Test Developer for the Platform Builder IDE team
AlexBu_MSFT (Expert):
Hi, I'm Alex Bussmann a developer on the Embedded Middleware and Services team
jsirois [MS] (Expert):
Hi, my name is Jeff Sirois. I'm a developer working with Window CE graphics & multimedia.
Karel Danihelka [MS] (Expert):
Hi, I'm Karel Danihelka, a developer in the Image Update team.
ECherba_MSFT (Expert):
Hi, I am Eric Cherba, SDET in the Core Networking Team.
ChetL_MSFT (Expert):
Hi, my name is Chet Laughlin and I'm the test lead for BSP and Drivers team for Windows Devices Core.
MariNe_MSFT (Expert):
My Name is Mariana Nenova and I am a tester for WindowsCE Shell UI.
Rob Hwacinski [MS] (Expert):
I'm Rob Hwacinski a Program Manager in Embedded CE responsible for RDP.
WesB MSFT (Expert):
Hello, I am Wes Barcalow, a developer on the BSP & drivers teams.
Sing Wee [MSFT] (Expert):
Hello, I'm Sing Wee, part of the General Embedded BSP Test Team.
GLanger_MS (Expert):
Hi, I'm Glen Langer, a program manager for BSPs on the Windows Embedded CE team.
Rajran_MSFT (Expert):
Hi All, I am Rajeev Rangappa new BSP Program Manager for the GE team.
Start of chat:
AlexBu_MSFT (Expert):
Q: How to manage categories on POOM WM5?
A: Take a look at the following: https://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=153307&SiteID=1
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Q: Where i could find and how i could access to the local database that contain categories on windows mobiles with VB.net or C#
A: Could you clarify your question? This sounds like you might need to look up how to access POOM, which is the Pocket Outlook interface for things like contacts.
MikeCal [msft] (Expert):
Q: Would this chat include questions about Windows Mobile?
A: Sure. We've got some Windows Mobile people here too.
MikeCal [msft] (Expert):
Q: I am using a Tmobile Shadow and it uses WM6. I was curious if all WM6 users do not have the option of ring+vibrate at the same time?
A: I haven't tried a Shadow, but Ring + Vibrate is a common feature on most WM Smartphones. Start->Settings->Profiles->Edit->Ring Type and set it to "Vibrate and ring." I'd be surprised if the shadow removed that functionality.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Q: On WM6, is it possible to include the viewing of clock during a call?
A: The call app shows elapsed call time, but not the current time. There isn't a setting for turning that on. You could potentially write your own call application that shows it, but our app from Microsoft does not. One possible thing -- if this is a Pocket PC, you could turn on the clock in the title bar from the control panel. That'd turn it on all the time, I think. Smartphone does not support that however.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Q: Any updates coming out for WM6 anytime soon?
A: Sorry, we cannot comment on anything that has not been publicly announced.
Karel Danihelka [MS] (Expert):
Q: When porting a CE 5 BSP to CE 6, aside from the changes to the flags in the registry what changes need to happen to the BSP to support exFAT? Does the FMD need to change in any way?
A: No, as long as code is written correctly there is no change in FMD between 5 and 6.
Karel Danihelka [MS] (Expert):
Q: What specific issues of "written correctly" is exFAT support concenred about? I've yet to see an FMD that I would consider was truly written correctly. :)
A: There is no update needed on FMD level for exFAT. The exFAT works on top of block driver, it doesn't call any level under block driver. By correctly written FMD I mean using supported function to map NAND/OneNAND registers to memory (MmMapIoSpace etc).
Karel Danihelka [MS] (Expert):
Q: If an FMD supported TFAT in CE 5, does it need any modifications to support TFAT in CE 6? Also, The CE 6 docs state that TFAT is only supported by exFAT now. I see speculation to contrary in this chat. Which is correct?
A: Answer to first question is no. To second - then documentation is correct. It is more about what we are testing and support. To my knowledge there isn't any hard check which will unload TFAT on exFAT (so it will work, but there will not be support/fix for such configuration and suggestion is not to use it).
Karel Danihelka [MS] (Expert):
Q: Is TFAT with FAT still supported ??? Or MUST we use exFAT with TFAT for transactionnal FS ???
A: I am mostly sure for Windows CE 6.0 you can use TFAT on old FAT. For future version it may happen we will not support it anymore and you have to switch to exFAT.
ChetL_MSFT (Expert):
Q: exFAT with TFAT gives an error in the cetk (which fills all the partition)... A comment in the source of the test specifies this may appear in TFAT... Is it really normal ???
A: could you be more particular about which test in the CETK you are running and the file/line of source that has the comment you are referring too?
ChetL_MSFT (Expert):
Q: exFAT with TFAT gives an error in the cetk (which fills all the partition)... A comment in the source of the test specifies this may appear in TFAT... Is it really normal ???
A: I'm not sure exactly why that comment is there and I've not seen this test fail myself - my team runs these tests when certifying BSPs. If you send an email to me then I'd have your email address and could have the owner of this test respond with a better answer. It would help if you included the log file from your test run so we can better understand the failure.
ChetL_MSFT (Expert):
Q: I am talking about the function FillDiskMinusXBytesWithSetEndOfFile in file mfs.cpp (line 339: " // the disk could advertise more free space than is actually available; // TFAT seems to have this issue " ). Tests 5027 to 5029 on File system driver test
A: I'm not sure exactly why that comment is there and I've not seen this test fail myself - my team runs these tests when certifying BSPs. If you send an email to me then I'd have your email address and could have the owner of this test respond with a better answer. It would help if you included the log file from your test run so we can better understand the failure.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Q: What files need to be in the kernel region for BinFS to work properly? AND what files should NOT be in the kernel region (if any)?
A: Here is the list of modules you need in your NK partition for CE6 BinFS support to work correctly:
nk.exe
kitl.dll,
kernel.dll
filesys.dll
fsdmgr.dll
romfsd.dll
boot.hv
binfs.dll
initobj.dat
k.coredll.dll
k.fpcrt.dll
coredll.dll (may not be necessary, but haven't confirmed)
fpcrt.dll (may not be necessary, but haven't confirmed)
Flash driver Dll, OEM specific
The following are also required for debugger support:
kd.dll
hd.dll
osaxst0.dll
osaxst1.dll
There aren't any files I can think of, that CANNOT be in the kernel region.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Q: In a CE 5.0 BSP we included initobj.dat into the kernel region for BinFS. I'm seeing some issues with that and I'm thinking it should be moved out of the kernel region. Agree?
A: Hmm. initobj.dat is parsed by filesys which does its initialization fairly early. I think you DO want initobj.dat in the kernel region. But it might not be able to copy files that aren't in the kernel region. Which means that any files that are listed in initobj.dat might have to be in the kernel region too (yuck).
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Q: Is there a BinFS implementation guide that goes deeper than the simple high level description in the CE 6 docs?
A: I highly doubt it... If you want to ping me on email, Mark, we can ask the right people directly and ask them for more docs.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Q: Is udevice.exe required to be in the kernel region for BinFS? We have seen some DEBUGCHK's and placing udevice.exe into kernel region resolved them for BinFS? Is this correct or something else causing our problem?
A: I'm pretty sure udevice.exe isn't required for any of the core initialization that's done on the kernel region. However maybe there are some driver registry settings that are in your boot hive that start a user-mode driver. Check your reginit.ini file (this is an intermediate file that's generated during makeimg) to see what's marked with "HIVE BOOT SECTION". Perhaps you need to move some driver settings outside those boot tags.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Q: Sue, the list of files needed for BinFS includes initobj.dat. But when I include that the links defined there don't show up unless I also include the .lnk files into the kernel region, is that correct?
A: Yeah, that sounds right. So our list of "files that must be in the kernel region" should also mention "all files that are listed in initobj.dat." Sorry for that omission.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Q: I take it that only boot.hv should be the only HIVE file in the kernel region for BinFS and not any other HIVE filles, is that correct?
A: Hmmm, I just pasted the earlier list from an email... Actually I personally would have expected that default.hv and user.hv should be there too. But I'm not a BinFS expert. I really don't think putting too MANY things in the kernel region would harm anything, just make it larger.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Q: What does "Flags"=dword:1000 do?
A: In public\common\ddk\inc you will find devload.h, DEVFLAGS_* which define all the bits that can be set in the "Flags" value of a driver.
That particular bit means to start the driver only once, in boot phase 1. If you put a driver into your boot hive and don't set that bit, it will start in both phase 1 and phase 2. This is related to the way the registry initializes twice (once on the boot hive and again on the real hive).
Karel Danihelka [MS] (Expert):
Q: I am linking FULLLIBC.DLL into my KITL.DLL and OAL.EXE for my CE 6 BSP but I get a link error saying that __crt_unrecoverable_error is missing. What is the cause for this?
A: Set NOLIBC=1 in your sources
Karel Danihelka [MS] (Expert):
Q: Regarding the __crt_unrecoverable_error answer - I am seting NOLIBC=1 in my sources.
A: It should help (at least it helps for our cases and if I remember at one moment we have same problem). In addition - check what function needs this reference?
Karel Danihelka [MS] (Expert):
Q: regarding __crt_unrecoverable_error - I haven't spent a bunch of time on this but there seems to be a correlation between this error and using the safe versions of string functions. I am definitely using NOLIBC=1 (i carefully reviewed the sample BSPs).
A: You are probably correct. Check strsafe.h header - there is few defines, which allow you to change between library or inline code. I don't exactly remember, but I think you have to use inline version in kernel.
ECherba_MSFT (Expert):
Q: I have downloaded evaluation version of WINCE 6.0, but I could not find VEIM(GPRS WWAN Adapter instance) source code in it. From where do I will get it?
A: Deepa, I am not certain exactly what you want. Example code for WWAN NDIS and the Radio Interface Layer is all located in the Cellcore folder. The VEIM.dll code itself is not available. However you can build an image with VEIM by setting "SYSGEN_VEIM" this will set some Registry values under the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\VEM" as well as include VEIM.dll.
stjong_msft (Expert):
Q: In WM6.0, for GPRS Adapter is IM driver supported for its ethernet instance?
A: Yes it's supported. Note that there are 2 flavors of GPRS adapter, one that instantiates an Ethernet interface and another PPP connection. The I/M driver does not work on PPP (WAN) connection.
stjong_msft (Expert):
Q: And also need information on if IM is supported for VEIM instance for GPRS connection?
A: Yes it is supported for VEIM instance. Also please see Q16 on the 2 flavors of GPRS radio instantiation I mentioned.
stjong_msft (Expert):
Q: I want to modify Packet coming to GPRS adapter. So I need VEIM source code or any code from where I can modify the packet.For that I have created IM driver for VEIM. But somehow CSPWWAN + Connection Manager are not giving any response for IM instanceof VEM
A: Ensure that the virtual adapter instance of the I/M contains the original adapter name. The connection manager looks for that. Note that, I believe only the later update of WM 6 has that support in its connection manager.
stjong_msft (Expert):
Q: So can I say that no packet modification will be possible for GPRS Adapter for WM6.0 and above WINCE versions?
A: Yes, per my previous answer as the virtual instance is not recognized by connection manager.
stjong_msft (Expert):
Q: Is it possible that some WM6.0, connection manager does not recognize the WWAN name except the expected that is (WWAN+APN Name)?So it may refuse (WWAN+APNName+Prefix) ?
A: Yes that is the case. I know the connection manager was changed to recognize the embedded original adapter name in the subsequent update to OEM after the WM 6.0 release.
stjong_msft (Expert):
Q: Will WWAN code from WINCE 6.0 Evaluatin version work for Wm6.0?
A: Should work but I suspect the WM version shipped with the OEM platform usually has the latest update.
stjong_msft (Expert):
Q: Is there any proposed change fot the GPRS connection architecture from WM6.0 to Win CE 6.0?
A: No.
stjong_msft (Expert):
Q: Is there any proposed change for the GPRS connection architecture from Win CE 5.2 to Win CE 6.0??
A: I may be mistaken here but I believe 6.0 is the first time Ethernet instantiation of the GPRS connection was implemented. This is the architecture that uses VEIM and WWAN driver rather than the PPP path.
stjong_msft (Expert):
Q: Windows Mobile 6.0 shows Windows CE 5.2 version so I thought this should be any IM version of Windows CE? Is it correct?
A: I was referencing WM 6.0 and WM 5.0. Both use Windows CE 5.x. WM 5.0 only supports PPP GPRS.
stjong_msft (Expert):
Q: For WM 6.0 can one have VEIM code or its documentation?
A: VEIM code is private and for internal use only. It's used by the GPRS Ethernet instantiation.
jsirois [MS] (Expert):
Q: i am working on windows ce and doing coding in VS 2005,now i want to rotate my screen ,for performing that particular action I am using changedisplaysettingex API ,It works fine but there appears black screen
A: It doesn't look like there is a way to change this behavior.
jsirois [MS] (Expert):
Q: changedisplaysettingsex has got something to do with its 5th argument but i dont know how?
A: I don't see any way to change this behavior using ChangeDisplaySettingsEx. It just appears to be the behavior for CE6.
MikeCal [msft] (Expert):
Q: sorry typo? any way to remove that black screen,as that is not acceptable in mobile devices?
A: While rotating the screen, it goes black for a brief time and then comes back. We do this so that the user doesn't see the screen redrawing. Is that what you're talking about, or are you seeing something else?
MikeCal [msft] (Expert):
Q: yes exactly?I am talking about this .
A: What would you rather have happen?
jsirois [MS] (Expert):
Q: so any other way to rotate screen for mobile device for windows os?
A: ChangeDisplaySettingsEx is the only way to rotate the screen on Windows CE or Windows Mobile.
MikeCal [msft] (Expert):
Q: may be snapshot of current image or may be any image?
A: And you're sure you're using CE 6, not Windows Mobile 6? We're confused because you said "Mobile Devices" but most mobile devices are running Windows Mobile 6, not Windows CE 6.
MikeCal [msft] (Expert):
Q: we are taking native support of display driver
A: Are you an OEM or an ISV? The OEM writes the display driver, and the display driver decides what is drawn on the screen at all times. If the OEM wants to override the behavior during a rotate, he can.
MikeCal [msft] (Expert):
Q: similar kind of action we can see in htc mobile sets.they use windows embedded xp.
A: Okay, HTC uses Windows Mobile 6, which is based on Windows CE 5. Currently Windows CE 6 is only used in embeddeded (non phone) devices. There's a registry key for Windows Mobile 6 that disables the blanking of the screen. Jeff will provide it in a sec.
jsirois [MS] (Expert):
Q: similar kind of action we can see in htc mobile sets.they use windows embedded xp.
A: On Windows Mobile 6 (not the same as Windows CE 6) there is a regkey you can try setting, or removing, called "UseFastRotation" under [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\Gwe]. That will change how rotation occurs. If you remove that key I think you will see each bit of the screen rotate individually. It may look worse than the black screen depending on how fast the display driver is and how many windows are active on the device.
MikeCal [msft] (Expert):
Q: basically i am doing coding in win xp professional and editing in VS2005?
A: So you're an ISV. You don't have the ability to change the OEMs display driver. Sorry.
MikeCal [msft] (Expert):
Q: but changedisplaysettingsex just do every thing and whenever that api is called nothing i can do ,I am working in application development?
A: Correct. ISVs can't change either the OS code nor the OEM code.
jsirois [MS] (Expert):
Q: so can that registry setting change will work?
A: It may work for you. As I said, it changes the behavior and the new behavior may not look better to you. If you are an application developer you may not be able to change that registry key on every device. The device maker can lock portions of the registry.
jsirois [MS] (Expert):
Q: but as previously said the regestry key may be locked then what is the othre way out?
A: I'm sorry, I don't think there is any other way to do this.
jsirois [MS] (Expert):
Q: So that makes I have to make changes in driver layer? Or develop new driver?
A: The way the display driver implements rotation is independent from the regkey I mentioned, so you don't need to make any changes to a display driver.
MikeCal [msft] (Expert):
Q: No matters how bad it appears but something should be shown while rotating the screen.I am ok if i am seeing each bit redrawing?
A: Different people have different opinions on this. That is what we used to do (show the screen in the process of redrawing) and many users didn't like it. They preferred that we blank the screen and bring it back so that it never looks incorrect.
jsirois [MS] (Expert):
Q: So what sort of changes are required with registry settings?
A: Perhaps I wasn't clear enough before. That registry key controls the internal rotation handling behavior of the window manager. This behavior is transparent to both applications and the display driver on the device. Simply changing this regkey on a Windows Mobile 6 device should change the behavior during a rotation. There shouldn't be any other changes required if it's possible to modify that registry key. Please note that this regkey does not exist on Windows Embedded CE 6 or Windows CE 5, and I don't think it exists on Windows Mobile 5, but I'm not sure.
jsirois [MS] (Expert):
Q: so in short except windows mobile 6 no other os from microsoft supports this feature?
A: I'm not familiar with XP Embedded, but the "UseFastRotation" regkey is only available on Windows Mobile, yes.
MikeCal [msft] (Expert):
Q: In the calendar software (WM5) I would like to have the possibility to set a reminder after the defined starting time, especially for full day events like birthdays. Can this be done somehow - maybe with an add-on or a different software?
A: I'm not aware of any automatic way to do this. Because we sync with exchange, we can't add calendar features that exchange doesn't have. And it seems to require that reminders happen before the "meeting." (I agree that midnight for an "all day" meeting doesn't make much sense.) The best thing I can suggest is to make a second meeting for the time you want the reminder. You can mark the second one as free so it doesn't block out other meetings on your calendar. I don't know of any software that does this automatically, but we expose APIs that would make such software possible.
ECherba_MSFT (Expert):
Q: is WAP 2.0 the only protocol used to connect via PDA in WM ?. because it supports TCP/IP stack , so when we are using TCP, I suppose we are using WAP.
A: You have several different ways to connect to your WM device. WAP is used when you are connecting your device through CDMA, GPRS, or other cellular wireless methods.
MikeThom [MS] (Expert):
Q: What is the best way to stream video from a PC to PDA? and from PDA to PC ?
A: This depends on where you video is stored. If it is stored in an XP/Vista machine then you can use the built in functionality of Windows Media connect to stream to a device. This is similar to DLNA streaming from the PC. You could also put the same DLNA stack on a device and stream from a device if you had the CPU power to do so. If it is a PC then you can use SMB to read data from a share which is not really streaming. Then there are media servers that you can stream from that are not on the PC. Things like IIS servers, Windows Media servers and 3 party servers.
MikeCal [msft] (Expert):
Q: Can sound be send from a PC to a PDA and read by the mobile application and not considered as a phone call? I mean as a sound stream (if it's the term)?
A: Are you asking if it's possible to write code that does that, or if it's possible to do it with the code that's already on the device? It's definitely possible to write applications that send any sort of data. For instance, one of our developers wrote code to use the phone as part of a robot and have it send images and sounds to the PC and back. Check out https://www.wimobot.com/.
MikeCal [msft] (Expert):
Q: Yeah I mean sending sound by a code. but is it possible for a PocketPC?
A: If you're writing the code, then yes. PocketPC and Smartphone are the same in this regard.
MikeCal [msft] (Expert):
Q: MikeCal, Ok
A: If you're interested in how to do things like this, definitely take a look at that wimo site I posted earlier. Even if you're not making a robot, Brian provides all the code he uses for doing what he does, including sending data back and forth over WiFi and Bluetooth. It should give you a lot of pointers on how to do what you're trying to do.
GLanger_MS (Expert):
Q: When moving to CE 6 R2, are there any modifications that need to happen to a BSP to support R2? Does the SDHC feature just work with existing SD stacks?
A: There are no modifications needed for a WinCE6 BSP to run on R2. Please note that the SDHC feature is installed only if you select the VoIP BSP. This is included in an update to the release notes due out in the next week or two. Briefly, you need to install the PXA270 VoIP BSP to get the SDHC feature installed, even if you don't intend to use the VoIP BSP.
jsirois [MS] (Expert):
Q: Are there any in-depth docs available on porting DDraw drivers from CE 5 to CE 6? If so where can I get them. The online help is missing quite a bit, especially if the DDraw driver was quite complete feature wise.
A: There are, but I'm not sure that they have been posted to MSDN yet. I'm checking on this now.
MikeThom [MS] (Expert):
Q: is there an easy way to update some Windows CE components from a server ? (drivers, ...)
A: This is a very broad question. It really depends on the system and what is in it. You could put an FTP server on the WinCE device or a HTTP server. You could have the device pull from a sever location with standard WinInet APIs. There are management systems like SMS that you can get for Win CE.
MikeThom [MS] (Expert):
Q: Yes, but SMS is very expensive. I could use cab files. IS the uninstallation well managed wih cab ???
A: Not sure what you mean by well managed. The unload process typically removes things that you installed and I think makes appropriate changes to registry keys.
MikeThom [MS] (Expert):
Q: CE6-R2 has an extention on RTC called "video over ip calling" (SYSGEN_VOIP_VIDEO). As far as I know there is no docu available on this. I've had contact with our MS contacts, they provided a pptx which basically only has marketing info.
A: There is a section in the online doc that describes how to add new codecs to the Video plug-in model. See if this helps https://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb667030.aspx
MikeThom [MS] (Expert):
Q: So How does RTC extension work ? is there api documentation available ?
A: The RTC stack allows for a simple extensibility model. There IRTCSIPEvent <bb667060.aspx>
Applies to Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2
This interface gets the SIP message.
IRTCSIPMessage <bb821756.aspx>
Applies to Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2
This interface retrieves the information about the header of any incoming SIP message that triggers an asynchronous event.
That API ref is an example of the APIs that you can use to get in the middle of certain parts of the RTC stack to do you own thing. If you could private chat with me I can work with you to see what else is missing to improve the experience.
Michael_MSFT (Expert):
Q: How should SIP be used in RTC ? I did not find anything about it in the documentation, the voipdemo has some XML strings in it, but I donot see how they are supposed to be used. The is No Call Like SetSipServer() as far as I know....
A: RTC doesn't expose a pure SIP interface, but is an application that uses SIP to perform the same operations. The RTC APIs are documented at https://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa921886.aspx. Look at How to develop a VoIP phone - https://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb330884.aspx which should provide the basics.
Michael_MSFT (Expert):
Q: I already looked in the RTC docu you mention, I have a working implementation that connects between 2 local devices, but how to do the same using a sip server ? Wil RTC just handle an adress with "Sip:" in front of it ? don't think so,(no server specified)
A: not quite. You need to register and authenticate against the server. You can do this through the provisioning XML file. I think https://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa921914.aspx should answer your questions, following the link for SIP and TEL URIs, and further on to Provisioning and XML Profiles.
Michael_MSFT (Expert):
Q: The"RTC Video Pluggable Codecs" article looks depressing to me :-( , my boss asks me every day if it's working yet, just want to transfer image from a std webcam, is there an easy and quick way ?
A: I presume by depressing you mean that you will have to provide your own decoder. We tested with H.263 and H.264, but couldn't ship. I know that causes pain, but the decoding should be done on hardware anyway to get decent perf.
MikeThom [MS] (Expert):
Q: The"RTC Video Pluggable Codecs" article looks depressing to me :-( , my boss asks me every day if it's working yet, just want to transfer image from a std webcam, is there an easy and quick way ?
A: There are some USB WEB Cam samples out in the community for just transferring an image.
Travis Hobrla [MS] (Expert):
Q: has a multitouch API for CE been released yet, even in beta form?
A: No, but it's something we're looking at for the future.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Q: Is there a way the certification module can be customized ? (to prevent from loading a driver into the kernel space for instance)
A: I'm no certmod expert, but I'm pretty sure that yes, by design we allow OEMs to customize it so that they can control what loads on their device. If not in certmod itself, there should be some hook you can implement (maybe in the OAL?). Sorry for the fuzzy answer, but I expect there is a way to do this.
ChetL_MSFT (Expert):
Q: I have XP SP2 and ActiveSync 4.5 but when I want to install WM 6.0 it dosn't work!! I downloaded it many time and it dosn't work, what the probable reason?
A: Sirus, could you be more specific about what happens when you attempt to run WM 6.0 - are you getting an error dialog and if so what does it say?
ChetL_MSFT (Expert):
Q: ChetL, When I start instaling WM6.0 profesional SDK my PC start to be "heavy" and no dialog appear, and the PC is blocked
A: ok, so the SDK is chewing up all your CPU if I understand you correctly. We are running out of time so I'm going to suggest you post your question to a support newsgroup so someone can ask further questions and help you narrow down exactly what process is chewing up the CPU. You could also forward your question as an email to Sue and she will direct your question to someone that can support your SDK install problem.
jlyons_MSFT (Expert):
Q: With VS 2005 SP1, PB 6.0 SP1, I cannot install a BSP I generated on my PC (neither my colleague). I always get while installing "ToolsMsmCA(Error): Setup package issue: Xml file not fould:". Do you have an idea ???
A: What did you use to generate the BSP that you installed?
MikeThom [MS] (Expert):
Q: Any news on when kitting program DVDs with R2 will be ready and orderable? (resend -- thanks Sue!)
A: John can we take this offline to track down the informaiton. We don't have anyone that runs that program online.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Q: On CE 6, ARM11 we are seeing a strange behavior in our OSBENCH results that show our interprocess thread switch times are much faster than CE 5 but the intraprocess thread switch times are much slower. Thoughts?
A: I believe that is expected. Because jumps to user-mode servers are slower on CE6 than jumps to servers on CE5 were. So the intraprocess jump (to itself, in user mode) would cost more, because we still take a thunk and I still think we marshal data. I am making the assumption that the inter-process call is to a kernel-mode server; I cannot remember if that is correct. If the inter-process call is to a user-mode server then I can't explain why that would be faster.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Q: Sue - so doing Set/WaitEvents between threads within a process is now slower in CE 6 but Set/WaitEvents between treads in two different processes is faster? (in CE 6 vs CE 5?)
A: No it's really API calls that are slower. Thread switches should be about the same, maybe a little slower to switch from one user mode process to another. Switching inside a process should be about the same as 5.0.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Q: Sue - so doing Set/WaitEvents between threads within a process is now slower in CE 6 but Set/WaitEvents between treads in two different processes is faster? (in CE 6 vs CE 5?)
A: So I don't confuse anyone -- when I said API calls are slower, I mean it is slower in CE6 to call an API that is implemented in a user-mode server, than it was in CE5 to call an API. It is approximately the same in CE6 to call an API in the kernel, than it was in CE5 to call an API. The speed difference depends a little on additional argument safety checking and marshalling in CE6.
Corey Burke [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: What is the way to ask for Tech support from Microsoft other than this chat? Any mailing address?
A:https://support.microsoft.com
MikeThom [MS] (Expert):
Q: What is the way to ask for Tech support from Microsoft other than this chat? Any mailing address?
A: Here is a good place to start for paid type support. https://www.microsoft.com/windows/embedded/support.mspx
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Q: will this chat be available offline?
A: Transcripts will be posted -- they go to https://msdn.microsoft.com/chats/transcripts/default.aspx. I've been a little slow getting the last several months posted, sorry.
GLanger_MS (Expert):
Q: on average, how long does it usually take to get a CE 5 or CE 6 BSP Certified. I'm talking from start to finish including averages rates of cert failure and resubmission to get it right.
A: The certification process is straight forward once submitted to Microsoft. The same tests from the CETK will be run that you have access to. One submission should be sufficient as you have the same tests. How much time will it take for you to get to that point? Depends on whether you started with a certified BSP, whether it is PQOAL, how much was modified/changed, etc. The BSP Certification Team can provide more exact info, if needed.
ChetL_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Are there any way to use a real WebCam are the emulator camera , in Windows Mobile ?
A: Not to my knowledge as most WebCams need a USB interface connection and Device Emulator does not have a virtual transport from your dev box USB to its emulated environment.
MikeThom [MS] (Expert):
Q: we're seeing a difference compiling headless (WITH .NET CF) with R2 compared to 6.0. are there any known issues? some libraries appear to be missing (minigwes)
A: Please file bug with product support so we can investigate. We did not intentionally change most things that already exists in the 6.0 release
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator):
Hello everyone, we are just about out of time.
Thank you for joining us today for our Windows Embedded CE 6.0 chat today!
A special thank you to the product group members for coming out.
If you still have unanswered questions, let me suggest that you post them on one of our newsgroups, such as Microsoft.public.windowsce.platbuilder.