14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is now offering developers the first taste of what the company calls a smaller footprint version of Windows 7, dubbed Windows Thin PC or WinTPC for short.
Early adopters interested in testing this new Windows 7 spin-off can head over to Microsoft Connect, sign up and download the Community Technology Preview of Windows Thin PC.
Some customers might already be familiar with another operating system similar in nature to WinTPC, namely WinFLP.
In this regard, Windows Thin PC is the successor of Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs, which was based on Windows XP Embedded.
Customers that make their way to Connect will see that WinTPC is being served through the Windows Embedded Standard 7 Directory.
This is not a coincidence, since Windows Thin PC is also an embedded Windows 7 spin-off, just as Windows Embedded Standard 7.
“Windows Thin PC (…) is a locked down version of Windows 7 designed to help repurpose existing PCs as thin clients extending the life of existing hardware,” revealed Microsoft’s Karri Alexion-Tiernan.
“Although the final release of Windows Thin PC will be provided as a benefit for Software Assurance customers, we heard feedback that you wanted us to broaden the access of the CTP, so we’re pleased to announce that this CTP is public and therefore available for all customers to evaluate.”
The good news for customers leveraging VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) in their environments is that they will no longer require a separate VDA license to run WinTPC on their desktops.
“For those who have been following our updates, this CTP version includes some new features which we had not previously talked about:
1) RemoteFX support for a richer, higher fidelity hosted desktop experience.
2) Support for System Center Configuration Manager, to help deploy and manage WinTPC images.
3) Write filter support helps prevent user and application writes to disk, thereby improving security at the end point,” Alexion-Tiernan added.