netarc, as you posted this in regards to q's statement that, "it's all smoke and mirrors", I thought that I would defend his position. Both Steve and Joshod have been extremely "fluid" in their arguments and it does at least appear to be smoke and mirrors. The way I was raised is that perception is reality. EI markets through distribution, at least here in the Denver area, with HP. The defensive pitch that I got from them was ALL ABOUT utilizing Life|Ware via HP. That is an MCE, not Embedded app. The fact that after much abuse (of which I must admit I've been a part of.)they jump in with, "Wait. Wait. We're stable because we run on XP Embedded." Then it's pointed out that they CAN run on XP Embedded. There is just some disturbing and defensive "promotion" going on. As this is a forum (as opposed to a blog), many of our responses are exactly what should be expected here.