Windows 10 is designed to run across a range of devices including smartphones, tablets, notebooks, desktops, and even holographic computers. It’ll also support extremely low-power devices like the Raspberry Pi 2… and now you can download a preview of Windows 10 for those devices.

Just don’t expect to use Windows to turn your Raspberry Pi into a fully-functional Windows PC. What Microsoft is making available is a new version of its operating system called Windows 10 IoT Core.

w10 iot core

That means you don’t get a Start Menu, desktop, taskbar, or support for Office or existing third-party Windows apps such as Photoshop, Kodi, or Firefox. If you want to turn a Raspberry Pi into a full-fledged desktop PC, you’re probably better of sticking with Linux for now.

Instead, this software is aimed at “Makers” interested in developing simple apps for low-power systems. Right now there’s support for systems including the Raspberry Pi 2, Intel MinnowBoard Max and Galileo developer boards, and Arduino systems.

You could use Windows 10 IoT Core to program a robot, security camera, weather station, or other projects. But you’ll need to use a computer running the full version of Windows 10 to write the code and send it to your device.

Microsoft is releasing Windows 10 IoT Core as an early preview and the company says it still has some rough edges.

YouTuber DeployMentArtist has a video showing how to set everything up.

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6 replies on “Microsoft releases Windows 10 preview for Raspberry Pi, Minnowboard Max”

  1. Anyone know where I can buy the dual core version of the Minnowboard Max? They’ve been sold out for a while. Are they discontinued?

  2. Oddly, that’s not an RPi 2 in their photo, since it has a full size SD card sticking out the bottom…

  3. I find it odd that MS would make one for the Raspberry Pi platform. I would think those who use the Pi would want something more affordable.

    1. It’s more that they’re covering all devices that could be used to develop IoT products… basically, anything that can connect to a network and work with either other IoT devices or your PC…

      The idea isn’t to put Windows on a Pi but to provide a platform that IoT products can be developed from…

  4. And….. Still not seeing the appeal of using M$ over Linux. My mates at Openmandriva were able to knock up a working image in a matter of hours, how long has it taken M$??

    For most hobbiests, they would be crazy to leave the universal world of linux to mess with M$. Cross compilation must be one of the wonders of the world.

    1. Universal? The only thing universal about Linux is the Kernel… Otherwise it’s extremely fragmented and that’s kinda the point!

      The main reason to use Linux is because it’s extremely flexible, generally gives you more control, and is great for applications that doesn’t necessarily need to work with anything else… Pretty much anyone can do whatever they want… It’s one of the reasons why there are literally hundreds of different GNU/Linux distros but despite all using the Linux Kernel there are many that are unique in different ways, they don’t do everything the exact same way, and not everything is 100% compatible with every other distro… Never mind other OS like Android that don’t even make use of the GNU and thus only share the Kernel in common…

      However, this extreme flexibility and customize-ability allows Linux to fill just about any niche imaginable but doesn’t make it great for generating industry wide standards, or getting different projects to easily work with each other… especially, with hardware that doesn’t provide universal support and can differ wildly from one device to the next…

      But MS isn’t trying to make a competing solution for Linux… They’re trying to create a system to integrate IoT (Internet of Things) into their growing device ecosystem to help revolutionize the way we interact with technology… Just like augmented reality and everything else they’re working on… So it’s a very specific and targeted application that applies to developers with more or less direct business concerns and not hobbyists… and specifically for Internet of Things type products, which is why it’s called “Windows 10 IoT Core”!

      So it’s a specific tool, while Linux remains the multi-tool… Just because you use a specific tool doesn’t mean you stop using a multi-tool… the specific tool just fills a specific need… that may or may not even apply to you…

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