Designing the next generation Kiosk interfaces with Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Silverlight
Wordsworth technology Limited were recently invited by Microsoft to speak at the “Self serviceexpo europe” event held on 1-2nd October 2008 at Olympia, London.
As more and more businesses turn to Self Service and Digital Signage Technology to give their businesses a competitive edge, the seminar was an opportunity to bring businesses up to-date with Microsoft XP Embedded, Windows Presentation Framework (WPF) and Sliverlight.
Creating new rich, interactive user interfaces for Kiosks
Kiosk developers wanting to create new rich, interactive, sophisticated, and highly customized user interfaces are turning towards Microsoft’s Windows XP Professional for Embedded together with Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Silverlight platforms. These products speed up time-to-market and provide significant advancements in areas such as control styling, animation, and support for rendering rich documents.
Enhanced functionality like rich multi-media support combined with intuitive development environments are essential for developing kiosks, self-service solutions and digital signage where reliability, security, and remote monitoring, are essential requirements.
About Windows XP Professional for Embedded Systems
Windows Embedded provides a foundation that allows for time-saving differentiation to provide you with a competitive edge.
Windows XP Professional for Embedded Systems is technically identical to the standard version of Windows XP Professional, but with different licensing terms that are suitable for fixed function devices such as kiosks, ATM Systems, Gaming Platforms, POS devices, industrial automation, and complex medical devices.
Windows XP Professional for Embedded is a fully functional version of Microsoft’s desktop operating system intended for use in purpose-built hardware, embedded devices and application software. Windows XP Professional for Embedded Systems is a mature stable product with excellent standards-based security, manageability and reliability, excellent plug and play capabilities, and innovative support services. Windows XP Professional for Embedded Systems will continue to be available from Microsoft Authorised Embedded Distributors until December 2016.
Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
Microsoft released Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) as a new platform for building rich user experiences on Windows.
Windows Presentation Foundation was created to allow developers to easily build the types of rich applications that were difficult or impossible to build in Windows Forms, the type that required a range of other technologies which were often hard to integrate.WPF is the platform of choice for today’s visually demanding applications with its inherent support of rich media, data visualization, complex text content, dynamic interactive experiences, and branded or custom look and feel. For these types of applications, WPF provides significant advancements in areas such as advanced layout, control skinning and styling, animated hardware accelerated 2D and 3D graphics, and built in support for rendering of rich documents.
Visit the Microsoft WPF website to learn more.
Silverlight
Microsoft Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform implementation of the .NET Framework for building and delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications (RIA) for the web, touchscreen and kiosk solutions. Silverlight unifies the capabilities of the server, the Web, and the desktop, of managed code and dynamic languages, of declarative and traditional programming, and the power of Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).
- It provides a consistent experience no matter where it runs. (Web or Kiosks)
- It is supported by a very small download that installs in seconds.
- Runs on Windows XP Embedded
- It streams video and audio. It scales video quality to everything from mobile devices to desktop browsers to 720p HDTV video modes.
- It includes compelling graphics that users can manipulate—drag, turn, zoom—directly in the browser.
- It reads data and updates the display, but it doesn't interrupt the user by refreshing the whole page.
- Use professional-quality tools like Visual Studio for coding and Microsoft Expression Blend for layout and graphic design.
- Silverlight combines multiple technologies into a single development platform that enables you to select the right tools and the right programming language for your needs.
WPF and XAML. Silverlight includes Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) technology, which greatly extends the elements in the browser for creating UI. WPF lets you create immersive graphics, animation, media, and other rich client features, extending browser-based UI beyond what is available with HTML alone. Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) provides a declarative markup syntax for creating WPF elements.
Access to the .NET Framework programming model and to associated tools. You can create Silverlight-based applications using dynamic languages such as managed JScript and IronPython as well as languages such as C# and Visual Basic. You can use development tools such as Visual Studio to create Silverlight-based applications.
Visit Microsoft official Silverlight site to learn more about Silverlight
About Wordsworth
Worthsworth is a Microsoft Windows Embedded Silver Partner with the experience to deliver a complete turn-key solution covering hardware and software platforms. Wordsworth's investment in Windows XP Embedded, Windows Embedded Standard, technical support and a flexible choice of hardware platforms allows customers to be confident that Wordsworth will be a preferred business partner.
Learn more about Windows XP Embedded
To discuss your application need or find out more about using XP Embedded device solutions, please call the Worsworth XP Embedded sales team. You can telephone us on 01527 406890, email us at sales@wordsworth.co.uk, or use the sales livechat facility on this site.
