The direct OEM and Retail license availability end date for Windows XP might very well be June 30, 2008, but Vista's successor is nothing short of a survivor. XP SP3 will continue to be offered on ultra-low-cost mobile and desktop devices until June 30, 2010, or one year after the availability of Windows 7. At the same time, XP's code base will survive in Windows Embedded Standard. As early as mid-May Microsoft began accepting participants in the Windows Embedded Standard CTP, and on June 2, Shayna Begun, Program Manager in the Vertical Industry and Embedded Windows (VIEW) team confirmed that the development milestone was live.

"We released the Windows Embedded Standard Community Technology Preview (CTP) for download! Please download this build and help us improve the quality and reliability of Windows Embedded Standard with your valuable feedback. You can submit bugs and suggestions directly on the Connect site, and if you have any questions please post a thread on the Windows Embedded Standard MSDN forum. The product team will be monitoring the forum and responding as quickly as possible," Begun stated.

The Windows Embedded Standard CTP is offered through Microsoft Connect as an ISO download weighing in excess of 4 GB. Today, June 3, Microsoft celebrates the launch of Windows Embedded Standard and, on this occasion, it gives participants the possibility of winning no less than 10 Xbox 360 Elite consoles. All that users have to do is to register for the launch event and test drive Windows Embedded Standard CTP. Earlier this year, the Redmond company introduced a rebrand to its Embedded lineup of products. As a direct consequence, the former Windows XP Embedded is now Windows Embedded Standard. The CTP was initially reported as available for download at the end of May.