Free Evaluation Copy

First of all, it’s always nice to try before you buy, and Microsoft provides a free 180 day Microsoft Windows Embedded CE 6.0 Evaluation Toolkit that includes the full functionality of the product, designed to run for 180 days. After 180 days you must uninstall the product or license the full product version of Windows Embedded CE 6.0. Projects started with the evaluation version can be ported to the full product version (see my article on version control of Windows CE platforms for important information about issues upgrading when also using version control).

The evaluation kit can be downloaded directly from Microsoft or as a DVD. The third option is to contact your local Microsoft Embedded distributor and have them send you an evaluation version. Since it is a massive download I suggest ordering the DVD, rather than download.

Since Microsoft Windows Embedded CE 6 is a plug-in for Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 you need that as well (any version except the “Express” version will do). Microsoft provides a trial version of Visual Studio 2005 Professional that you can use to evaluate CE 6.

Official Documentation

The official Microsoft Windows Embedded CE 6 product documentation is accessible online at MSDN. Here you’ll find the most comprehensive documentation about Windows Embedded CE 6.

Other Sources of Information

Apart from the official documentation mentioned above there are lots of great complementary information for CE 6 available on the internet.

Blogs

There are lots out there, but for in-depth Windows CE 6 information, look no further than Windows CE Base Team blog. If you want to know how CE 6 really work under the hood, this is the place. If you’re looking for the kind of in-depth information about CE 6 internals found in my “CE 6 Beta” articles, you’ll find the same info and a lot more in these excellent blog posts by Sue Loh:

The CE6 OS differences in a nutshell
Memory marshalling in Windows CE
CE6 Drivers: What you need to know
CE6 OAL: What you need to know

Especially if you’ve been reading my early articles on CE 6 Beta, you may want to look at the memory marshalling and driver posts -subjects that I didn’t have the opportunity to touch upon before Sue Loh published these great blog posts.

And to not mention Mike Hall's Embedded WebLog here would be a crime! Loads of relevant information in this exceptionally active blog.

Online Video lectures

There are a couple of video lectures released by Microsoft that goes through many of the new features found in CE 6. I’m not sure how long MS plans to keep these lecures online, but there is a great compilation of online material at the official Windows Embedded CE 6 launch site with lectures spanning the whole spectrum of information with everything from general information about Microsoft Embedded products to in-depth information about how to port drivers.

I also want to point out two other online video lectures at MSDN Channel9, covering the driver model and the kernel architecture of Windows Embedded CE 6:
Bor-Ming Hsieh and Sue Loh: 3rd Generation Kernel for Windows CE
Juggs Ravalia – Windows CE 6.0 Device Driver Model

Virtual Labs

Microsoft has released a couple of virtual labs that you can attend to learn more about Windows Embedded CE 6. Find out more about the virtual labs at the Windows Embedded Virtual Labs Home.

Microsoft Windows Embedded CE 6 Updates

As you probably already know, no matter how much effort is put into creating a solid, stable, secure software release with accurate documentation, the software usually contain uhm...areas suitable for improvement -there are always bits and pieces that are in need of some touch-ups (or extreme makeovers for that matter…), and Microsoft Windows Embedded CE 6 is no exception.

Now, what distinguishes Microsoft Windows CE is that updates are released very frequently compared to other Microsoft products. For example, updates are released every month for CE 5, and Embedded CE 6. The short release cycles guarantee that there is maximum compatibility and support for the ever incasing spectrum devices supported by Windows CE. The monthly updates are available from the Windows CE Updates page.