Lunduke
News • Science & Tech
Windows CE is officially dead
(I know. Many of you thought it already was.)
October 24, 2023
post photo preview

Ready to have your mind blown?

Windows CE is no longer, as of October 10th of this year, a supported Operating System by Microsoft.

I hear what many of you are saying.  "Microsoft still supported Windows CE?  Didn't that die... like... a long, long time ago?"

Well.  Sort of.  The "Windows CE" that many of us are probably thinking of -- the era of Windows CE that powered PDA's, Palmtops, and the "Windows Mobile" Smartphones -- ended its extended support phase nearly a decade ago.

The HTC TyTN, powered by Windows CE 5.x, circa 2006

Just the same, semi-active development of Windows CE continued up until 2013 -- when Microsoft released Windows CE version 8.0 (rebranded as "Windows Embedded Compact 2013").

But that final CE version was, quite possibly, the most depressing release of any operating system in history.  Version 8.0 stripped out substantial, critical features... nearly gutting Windows CE entirely.

A short sampling of what was removed in CE 8:

  • Support for most processor platforms (including MIPS, SuperH, ARMv5 and ARMv6) was dropped entirely.
  • Internet Explorer was dropped.
  • The ability to sync was removed.
  • Even the entire Windows Explorer shell was tossed into the recycle bin.

Seriously.  Almost everything that, for an end user, made Windows CE... like Windows... was tossed aside.  It was absolutely brutal.

To give you a visual of just how dramatic the change was.  Here is a screenshot of the previous release, Windows CE 7.0, from 2011:

Windows CE 7, circa 2011

Note that Windows CE 7 looked like... well... Windows.  Start Menu.  Task bar.  Internet Explorer and the Recycle Bin on the desktop.  This was... Windows-y.

Now let's look at Windows CE 8, the final CE version from 2013:

Windows CE 8, circa 2013

That's not a loading screen.  That's not some sort of empty recovery shell.  That's the actual desktop.  That's what Windows CE 8.0 looked like.

Empty.  Just... nothing.  A shell of its former self.

And, as of two weeks ago -- October 10th, 2023 -- even that empty, sad, final version of Windows CE has left "Extended Support".

Windows CE, in all forms, has officially been tossed in the dumpster.

Which begs the question:

"Hey, Microsoft!  I heard you like Open Source.  Since you no longer support or earn money from Windows CE... any chance we see a source code release (preferably version 7... version 8 makes me sad) up on GitHub any time soon?"

community logo
Join the Lunduke Community
To read more articles like this, sign up and join my community today
31
What else you may like…
Videos
Podcasts
Posts
Articles
Open Source Projects Banning AI, From QEMU to NetBSD

While the Linux Kernel is becoming "Vibe Coded", other Open Source projects are outright banning all Al / LLM contributions. Including Haiku, OBS, Zig, & more.

50% Off Yearly, & Massively Discounted Lifetime Subs Through May 31:
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/50-off-yearly-and-massively-discounted

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:12:29
Omarchy Linux 4 Mostly Written by AI

"Being into open source and recoiling from vibe coding is a contradiction in terms," says the Ruby on Rails & Omarchy Linux creator.

50% Off Yearly, & Massively Discounted Lifetime Subs Through May 31:
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/50-off-yearly-and-massively-discounted

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:17:55
Flatpak 2: Rust Re-write, Requiring Wayland & Systemd

According to The Linux Foundation, the Flatpak packaging system is being re-written in Rust, dropping X11 support, with hard requirements on Systemd and Wayland.

50% Off Yearly, & Massively Discounted Lifetime Subs Through May 31:
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/50-off-yearly-and-massively-discounted

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:09:46
November 22, 2023
The futility of Ad-Blockers

Ads are filling the entirety of the Web -- websites, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. -- at an increasing rate. Prices for those ad placements are plummeting. Consumers are desperate to use ad-blockers to make the web palatable. Google (and others) are desperate to break and block ad-blockers. All of which results in... more ads and lower pay for creators.

It's a fascinatingly annoying cycle. And there's only one viable way out of it.

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links? Check here:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

The futility of Ad-Blockers
November 21, 2023
openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"

Those in power with openSUSE make it clear they will not allow me anywhere near anything related to the openSUSE project. Ever. For any reason.

Well, that settles that, then! Guess I won't be contributing to openSUSE! 🤣

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links?
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"
September 13, 2023
"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

This episode is free for all to enjoy and share.

Be sure to subscribe here at Lunduke.Locals.com to get all shows & articles (including interviews with other amazing nerds).

"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

I can't wait for the next M chips! Cool!

12 hours ago

Are you hungry???

I think the Primeagen has it right, as well as the CEO of Take Two.

post photo preview
Lifetime "Solaris" Wall almost full!

Just a quick heads up that the 7th “Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriber Wall”, aka “The Solaris Wall”, is almost full!

The Solaris Wall has enough space for maybe 6 or 7 more names (depending on name length)… before we lock it down and move on to Wall Number 8 (which will be another retro computing platform).

Hard to say how long until the Solaris Wall is full… but no more than a few days. These things fill up fast.

First come, first served.

Huge thank you to every subscriber. The Lunduke Journal wouldn’t be possible without you. You rule.

-Lunduke

 
Read full Article
Last call for the "Amiga" Lifetime Subscriber Wall. It's almost full!

Holy smokes, that was fast.

The 6th Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriber Wall (aka the “Amiga OS 3.1” Wall) was introduced… what… a week ago?

I kid you not, the darn thing is already almost full! I was wildly unprepared for how popular this would be!

There’s enough space left for maybe 5 or 6 more names. Tops. Then I’ve gotta declare “Wall 6 (Amiga) is Full” and start Wall Number 7!

Here’s what all of the Lifetime Subscriber Walls look like (each shown at the end of every Lunduke Journal video):

 

If you want to get onto the Lifetime Subscriber Wall (and have any chance of making it onto the Amiga Wall before it’s full) here’s what you need to do (and do it quickly):

  1. Grab a Lifetime Subscription to The Lunduke Journal (if you don’t already have one).

    1. A Lifetime Sub includes all the standard perks (plus a few) and can be picked up via Locals, Substack, or Bitcoin (whichever you prefer).

  2. Email “bryan at lunduke.com” and let me know how you would like your name displayed (“Joe A.”, “Joseph Arnold”, “JoeyPants”, “SirJJMcManly”, etc.)

It’s first come, first served.

If you’ve already emailed me about being added to the wall, your spot is secured.

For the rest of you: Chop chop. At the current rate, I would be very surprised if the “Amiga Wall” wasn’t full by some time this weekend.

“Lifetime Wall 7” will be unveiled after the final name is added to the Amiga Wall. And, yes, it will be a different (awesome) retro computing platform.

As always, a huge thank you to every subscriber to The Lunduke Journal. Absolutely none of this would be possible without your support.

-Lunduke

Read full Article
post photo preview
Amiga Lifetime Wall & March Lunduke Journal Stats!

Hello all of you amazing Lunduke Journal subscribers!

With March now behind us, I wanted to give you crazy kids a quick “behind the scenes” look at the stats for The Lunduke Journal. Because Inside Baseball stuff is fun.

The Amiga Wall!

But before we dive into charts and numbers… behold! The brand new 6th Lifetime Subscriber Wall of Shame Awesomeness! The AmigaOS 3.1 Wall!

 

Every Lifetime Subscriber Wall (which I show at the end of each video) is a real screenshot from a different computing platform. Mostly retro. All awesome.

 

If you’d like to see your name listed on the new AmigaOS 3.1 wall, grab a Lifetime Subscription (if you don’t already have one) and toss me an email. I update the walls about once each week with new names.

The last few Lifetime Walls filled up incredibly quickly. So if the Amiga Wall interests you, I wouldn’t wait too long. Hint, hint.

March 2026 Stats

The big news: Total “views” were way, way up in March.

A fair bit beyond what was anticipated. A hair over 19 million during the month.

 

That’s in total, across all platforms. As usual, the audio podcast and X lead the way in terms of total views/listens for shows (by quite a lot).

Interestingly, we saw significant “views” growth on even the smallest platforms in March (Facebook and TikTok).

Free subscribers also took a major jump in March, with the largest one month gains ever (I’m pretty sure, certainly the largest this year or last). Up 7,623 over the month before.

 

Again, new subscribers grew across the board. The biggest gains were seen on X, but all platforms saw a significant bump.

Hard to complain about that!

The top 3 shows for March were all focused on the Age Verification laws:

While those were the top 3… it’s worth noting that the top 10 (and, really, the top 15 or so) shows for the month were all incredibly close in terms of viewership numbers.

As always, a huge thank you to all of The Lunduke Journal subscribers. You make all of this possible.

-Lunduke

Read full Article
See More
Available on mobile and TV devices
google store google store app store app store
google store google store app tv store app tv store amazon store amazon store roku store roku store
Powered by Locals