Before you begin an embedded project, you have a number of choices to make. Some of these decisions about hardware will be no-brainers based on the target device or the specific purpose of the embedded system. However, deciding on an operating system isn’t always so clear cut. Assuming your development team is comfortable working with both Linux and MS Windows, you should closely examine the pros and cons of each OS to see which one will provide the most value for your project.

For help on figuring out which OS to use, check out Jason Tee's insights into the topic:

http://www.theserverside.com/feature/Embedded-operating-systems-Linux-versus-Windows

Embedded Windows? LOL.

There's _no_ Embedded Windows. WinCE is a total crap, its Java support is in middle ages. And WinXP/7 in kiosk mode is hardly an 'embedded' OS.

The link is wrong. It should be what it seems to be and not what it is ... :-)

This is where the claims made by supporters of each system get kind of murky. Some say that only Windows CE can offer real-time capabilities. Others note that Linux can do the same thing (or at least approximate real-time performance) with the right patches.

That's totally wrong. Windows CE is soft-realtime. Linux can be hard-realtime but with fairly lousy worst-case characteristics.

If you need real realtime OS then use QNX or VxWorks.

Exactly.  If you need an embedded OS, get one that was designed to be embedded.  Don't waste your time with some stripped-n-sanded-down desktop system.