In parallel with the evolution of the Windows 7 client and server operating system, Microsoft is also building the now-traditional releases of embedded and mobile variants of Windows, and, furthermore, the new Windows Azure cloud platform. However, the Redmond company's non-Windows operating systems are concomitantly advancing, with little details available on Midori, but with not only consistent information, but the actual code base of Singularity available for download. In this regard, Microsoft is offering version 2.0 of the Research Development Kit of Singularity via CodePlex, its repository for open source projects.

“This is the initial 2.0 release of the Singularity Research Development Kit (RDK), including many major updates to the platform since its initial release in March, based on Change Set 17067. The 2.0 version of the Singularity RDK is based on the original release, and features an extensive list of bug fixes and new features. Some of most notable are: support for AMD64 64-bit platforms; updates to the Bartok MSIL-to-native compiler and the Sing# compiler; a new, more modern and extensible bootloader; several new applications and application documentation; eventing support; more extensive ACPI support; a unit testing library; a ramdisk device; [as well as] an SMB client service,” Microsoft revealed.

Singularity is a non-Windows microkernel operating system, developed entirely in managed code. Back in March 2008, Microsoft made available Singularity Research Development Kit 1.1, under a shared source academic license. Now, the Redmond giant is offering version 2.0 of the RDK. The platform, which is closer to Midori than to Windows, has been tweaked to check for the most recent version of the RDK straight from CodePlex.

Both the Singularity RDK 2.0 CD image World and Singularity RDK 2.0 Source are up for grabs. According to Microsoft, the image contains a fully-compiled version of Singularity 32-bit x86 packaged as a bootable ISO. In this context, the image can be used either with a real PC, or with a virtual machine via Virtual PC 2007.

At the same time, the actual source code of the operating system is also offered. In this manner, Microsoft is enabling developers to build a custom modified kernel, as well as their own drivers and programs. “Beginning with RDK 2.0, we're moving to a model of incremental releases where the codebase will grow and improve more gradually over time,” Microsoft revealed.

Singularity Research Development Kit (RDK) 2.0 Initial Release (17067) is available for download here.