Are there advantages to using Windows 7 Embedded for a kiosk-type application?

Have you used Windows 7 Embedded, what did you t开发者_JAVA百科hink of it, and are there advantages of using it vs. normal Windows 7 for a kiosk-type application?

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The greater target reconfigurability probably makes it easier disable all the bits you don't want the end-user to mess with. There are a large number of users that will recognise that it is running Windows and then see it as a challenge to break it because they know all the keyboard short-cuts and legacy baggage and think they can break it (and they may not be wrong!).

A better question perhaps is whether there an advantage to using Windows anything as opposed to something else entirely, such as QNX Neutrino or Linux. You could even use Chrome OS

This article considers Kiosk operating systems and specifically considers Consumer Windows vs Embedded Windows.

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Windows Embedded provided several drivers that aren't in the standard Windows distribution that allow you to run off of a read-only medium or to finely control what modifications can be made to a writable medium (including the boot partition or registry). These can help ensure that when your device powers on or resets, it'll be in a 'factory clean' state or that any modifications are strictly due to intended updates or specific configuration data These features can be quite important in dedicated devices.

Also, Windows Embedded contains a rich toolset to configure the OS to contain only the components that your application requires. If nothing else, this will likely make the system a bit more secure or resistant to non-essential bits from interfering with the dedicated purpose of the kiosk/device.

I'm not sure what the licensing differences are between Windows Embedded and the normal desktop Windows software, but I'd expect that Windows Embedded licensing would be more in line with what that market would require.