And continuing the previous discussion on Windows Embedded comes the news about the next version of Windows Embedded being built on Windows 7 (Windows 7 of course being the code name for, um, Windows 7).

[Editor: We are currently going back over the news of last week - you may remember we had a bit of technical hitch then]

Apparently its going to be powerful, familiar, reliable (and a whole bunch of other woffle words):

Built on Windows 7, Windows Embedded “Quebec” will offer developers a powerful, familiar and reliable experience that will include the following benefits:

. Rich user experience. The latest Microsoft Silverlight and Windows Presentation Foundation tools deliver the next generation of media experiences and rich Internet applications for devices.

. Enhanced security and control. Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption and key management to protect data on embedded devices provide greater security. In addition, Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 will provide defense from malicious Web sites and keep data private with improved security and InPrivate Browsing.

. Enhanced stability and improved performance. The new platform will offer enhanced stability and improved performance with investment in multicore architecture, including 64-bit processor support.

. Extended Web capabilities to the embedded device. Customers will have the ability to enable Web capabilities to their devices with Internet Explorer 8 accelerators and Windows Web services, benefitting from powerful, efficient Web applications, including offline capabilities.

Source: Microsoft PressPass

This is actually pretty exciting. Seeing Silverlight and WPF getting first point attention in the press release is pretty telling. If you’ve been unsure about Silverlight, then wake up – it’s the future.

And yes, Windows powered coffee machines are coming.