Here's Everything You Wanted To Know About Microsoft's Upcoming iPad Killers

Business Insider ^ | 02/09/2012 | Matt Rosoff

[SeekAndFind]

Microsoft's Windows chief Steven Sinofsky just put up 8,000+ word blog post on Microsoft's plans for Windows 8 on the low-powered ARM processors that today run the iPad and most other tablets.

This is the most critical part of Windows 8.

Like every version of Windows, Windows 8 will probably dominate the market for traditional notebook PCs and desktop PCs.

But it also has to take on the iPad, which is now outselling desktop PCs and had sales last quarter equal to 17 percent of the traditional PC market.

For Microsoft's hardware partners to make Windows 8 tablets that are competitive with the iPad in terms of battery life, they're probably going to have to use ARM chipsets.

Microsoft first announced that Windows 8 would run on ARM "systems on a chip" from Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments back in January 2011. It was a bit of a shock at the time — Windows has traditionally been sold only for Intel-type (x86 and 64-bit) processors.

But since then, Microsoft hasn't revealed many more details, leaving us to wonder exactly what applications would be available and whether it would ship at the same time as Windows 8 for traditional Intel-based PCs.

Now, we know a lot more. The highlights:

* There will be a separate version of Windows called "Windows On ARM," not "Windows 8 for ARM" ... or "Windows 8" anything for that matter. It is not the same as Windows 8 for traditional PCs, but shares a lot of code and components.

* It will run a special version of Office. There will be versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for Windows On ARM. The apps will be designed to work on touch screens, will have full document compatibility with traditional versions of Office,

[CodeToad]

“Gates hasn’t had an OS since DOS 6.22, the rest is simply DOS with Gloss, pathetic…”

Shows what you know of Windows NT. Just another ignorant person thinking Windows NT is like Windows 3.11 running on top of DOS.

[CodeToad]

““It will not be possible to port existing Windows apps to the new platform. It’s a total rewrite””

We do it every day. A single code base that supports dozens of platforms and hundreds of hardware devices platform known to man. Ya just gotta know what yer doin’!

[Secret Agent Man]

Don’t forget he bought DOS in the first place from one of the competing initial DOS’es that first existed.

[CodeToad]

“Apple will continue to dominate the tech landscape whether you like it or not. :-)”

Let’s see now, we heard that about dozens of products and companies no longer in business. Apple has a good market share but that can be easy shrunk in two years or less as people tend to replace devices that quickly.

[WVKayaker]

Apple has a good market share but that can be easy shrunk in two years or less as people tend to replace devices that quickly. ...

Hahahahaha...

Should read... "Apple has a good market share but that can be easy shrunk in two years or less as WINDOZE people tend to replace WINDOZE devices that quickly."

At an online auction that closed today, a 7 year old G4 17" Powerbook, (which can only use an OS version Apple no longer supports) sold for $430.

Apple folk also get to use their equipment without virus protection, and that equipment has a much longer useful life. I am typing this on my 3 year old 24" iMac. I also own a 17" Powerbook older than the one sold, and have some antique Powerbooks from the 90's that still surf the web and when new created some marvelous work product. I shelved my MacBook 13" for an iPad, since I rarely need portability for more than browsing and email. I also have an iPhone 4, for which I pay Verizon an extra $20 a month for wifi hotspotting...

I doubt you can find a single Microsoft driven laptop of equal age to that PowerBook which will even be useful for more than a boat anchor.

[Durus]

Apple has never dominated the tech landscape and they probably never will, that isn't their market demographic. They can sell a gazillion more Ipads, Ipod and Iphones and still not dominate the tech market...you get that right?

[CodeToad]

“I doubt you can find a single Microsoft driven laptop of equal age to that PowerBook which will even be useful for more than a boat anchor. “

Apple is just a company. You really can’t have sex with it.

I happen to have a HP 17” laptop I bought in April 2004. Works great still and plenty powerful. 8 years old and still kicing perfectly. Wife has her Dell 17” laptop from December 2004. Same thing; works great. We both have 13” lightweight ones we bought last year and even a iPad, but they are all tools, not something to get off about.

So much for your Apple humping.

[bksanders]

Win NT was nothing more than Gates isolating the graphic kernel.
He achieved this by "employing" one of the author of VMS, Dave Cutler, hence his "business class" virtual memory OS.
Gates is a marketing genius! 10 billion flies can't be wrong.
Or put another way turning VAX/VMS into WIN/POS…
If your argument is stability of Win OS'es then yes NT4 was a plus, if for no other reason than the graphic kernel.
But even then it's like saying dog$hit doesn't smell as bad as cat$hit.
If the "business class" user pushed NT4 ever so slightly, smack! BSOD.
I used to keep a BSOD screen to use at site demos, it worked so well I sometimes had salesmen puke on display.
Were Gates forced to reimburse America for lost productivity he would be penniless and in the Obama Administration.
I've probably forgotten more about Daytona/Impala than you will ever grasp…
Regards - Your ever so 'umble geek

[CodeToad]

Dumbest post on this subject ever. Seriously.

[WVKayaker]

So much for your Apple humping.

Gee, what a good argument...

I speak of a good computer system, and you equate that with sex. I doubt you have the ability to reasonable argument, so I will just give you credit for being witless.

BTW, I bet you could maybe get $50 for your 17" HP... or the Dell!!!

Apple is just a company, which has managed to gain enough buyers of their equipment to create a fabulous generator of wealth for lots of lots of Americans... and that speaks of all I need to know!

Apple stock closed today at $493.17, up 3.46%, with a Mkt Cap of $459.82B. Dell closed at $18.06, HP at $29.11, and Microcrap at $30.77!

Keep feeling good about your ability to post mindless drivel. You are most excellent at it... and fun to drive up the wall!

"... Shareholders today are rallying the company's shares on optimism of an Ipad 3 release and Wall Street has likely still not gotten over the $13 billion of profit Apple said they made last month. This staggering amount was twice that of Microsoft's already staggering profit. Apple is simply destroying the competition right now.

I wouldn't want to be short 100 shares of Apple right now that is for sure!"

[556x45]

That’s quite correct esp in the area of security. MS failed so badly for so long that several companies est themselves are are still profitable. Then there’s the problem of keeping the registry correct and on and on and...

[Durus]

If it wasn't for Microsoft there wouldn't be an Apple. If it wasn't for Apple starting to focus on gadgets rather than Operating systems and computers they would still be struggling. With a PC market share that hovers between 10% and 15% and a server market share "shot up" to almost 1.5% they simply aren't a player in the actual TECH market place. They are king of the tech-toy market.

This is a paraphrased conversation I had with a Apple cultist at lunch.

AC: "I've downloaded an app that allow me to use my ipad as a remote"!
Me: "Uhm...don't you watch movies on your Ipad already?"
AC: "Well only when traveling and stuff, at home I have a huge flat screen" Me: "Don't you have a logitech remote already?"
AC: "you don't understand...this is an app that let's my ipad be a remote" Me: "So you replaced your $200 remote with a $700 remote?" AC: "You don't get it...you've been corrupted by microsoft" Me: "I work mostly Aix which is unix" AC: "Unix! that's old...blah blah" Me: "That is what the latest Apple OS is based on" AC: "..." ME: "Maybe you could find an app that would allow your iPhone to be a remote"
AC: "why would I want to do that?" Me: "...uhm...I don't know"

[Mycroft Holmes]

That’s quite correct esp in the area of security. MS failed so badly for so long that several companies est themselves are are still profitable. Then there’s the problem of keeping the registry correct and on and on and...

One of my favorite security types is a fellow by the name of Bruce Schneier who has a pretty extensive security/crypto blog at http://www.schneier.com/

Schneir wrote a piece fairly recently that I wasn't able to unearth in a 5 minute quick look about Security Essentials (he writes a ton of stuff). It was his claim that MS had finally gotten security right and that third party antivirus software was no longer necessary or useful for MS OS's with SE installed.

I'm a fan of the penguin myself but I have installed SE on relative's machines some time ago and things appear to be working smoothly.

[556x45]

Strange, I never mentioned Apple in my post...nor was I thinking of them. To be clear I was thinking about S/W engineering & design as a scientific discipline vs that of jerk-knee idea de jour. I worked at MS for a time and the closer I looked the bigger, nastier and more plentiful the warts were. If they’ve hired the best people I never met them. I could never recommend MS....ever.

Now Ill mention Apple. I use a Mac rather than a PC for real work vs tech-toy. Its not that I have a great love for Apple products but I do like the idea of unix under the covers.