Microsoft has made a new release of the Windows operating system available for download for free. The Redmond company is offering the gold bits of the next iteration of its Windows embedded platform via the Download Center as of October 8, 2008. Windows Embedded Standard 2009 was packaged as WES2009Eval.iso, an offering aimed exclusively for test driving. The evaluation edition of Windows Embedded Standard 2009 is designed to offer a taste of what the embedded version of the Windows platform has to offer for a total of 120 days.

“Windows Embedded Standard 2009 delivers the power, familiarity, and reliability of the Windows operating system in componentized form, helping device makers easily create smart connected devices requiring rich applications, services, and end-user experiences,” Microsoft revealed in the product's description.

The first Community Technology Preview of Windows Embedded Standard 2009 went live on Microsoft Connect at the start of June 2008. At that time, the Redmond giant pointed to the third quarter of this year for the general availability of the RTM version of Windows Embedded Standard 2009. “Featuring technologies that easily connect with many common industry standards plus several Microsoft desktop and server technologies leading to lower costs in application development, operating system deployment, servicing, and maintenance,” Microsoft added.

The successor of Windows XP Embedded, Windows Embedded Standard 2009 is built to play nice with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. In this regard, the new version of the Windows embedded platform brings technologies such as Silverlight, .NET Framework 3.5, Internet Explorer 7, Windows Media Player 11, RDP 6.1 and Network Access Protection (NAP). The initial promise from the Redmond company was that service-oriented devices would benefit from a new level of rich user experiences, connectivity and interoperability with current enterprise IT infrastructures.

“With Windows Embedded Standard, developers get access to a mature technology portfolio of embedded specific tools that work in the familiar developer environment of Visual Studio allowing them to rapidly configure, build, and deploy devices that are more secure, reliable, and manageable. Support for all the PC architecture processor families; compatibility with thousands of certified, production-quality, off-the-shelf applications, drivers, and services; and a global ecosystem of Windows Embedded Standard experts help ensure that device makers have flexibility and access to the skills to develop the next generation of smart connected devices with confidence,” the Redmond company explained.

The 120-day Evaluation Edition of Windows Embedded Standard 2009 is available for download here.