WindowsForDevices.com June 6, 2003 Tripod Data Systems (TDS), a subsidiary of well-known GPS instrument maker Trimble Navigation, recently introduced Recon, a "battle-hardened" handheld that meets MIL specs for moisture, dust, extreme temperatures, and drop resistance. The new TDS rugged handheld is based on an Intel XScale processor running Microsoft's Windows CE .NET embedded operating system. Below is an interview with TDS embedded systems architect Christopher Peskin, in which we learn why TDS chose Windows CE as the Recon's embedded OS, how CE .NET's componentization and other features aided the development process, footprint reduction tips, third-party software technologies used, and what tool chain was used.