Posted on 10/28/2012 6:20:02 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Microsoft is onto something. With Windows 8 it's better positioned than both Apple and Google to ride the coming laptop-tablet convergence wave.
It might even eventually give Microsoft a shot at the all-important smartphone market. To understand why, let's count the ways in which Windows 8 is best.
Laptops and tablets are converging. And only Microsoft has an OS that's fit for that coming unification of devices.
Apple has no convergence strategy at this time. That's because it fiercely guards product-specific profit streams and just doesn't go in for making things that cannibalise its own sales.
So, Mac Mini is hobbled to protect iMac. iMac is hobbled to protect Mac Pro. And iPad isn't allowed to wander into MacBook's territory.
Likewise, Chrome OS isn't a fully viable notebook OS. And nor is Android. Windows 8 is the only OS that's a genuine goer for both tablets and laptops.
The interface formerly known as Metro and now labelled 'Modern' is quite literally the most modern of touchscreen UIs. It's not perfect. But it's fresh. It's contemporary. And it's polished.
It combines the responsiveness of Apple's iOS with the power and configurability of Google Android. And it looks better than both.
You can argue the toss over the advantages of ARM vs x86 processors. Will ARM continue to have a power efficiency edge? Will the raw power of Intel's x86 chip eventually win the day?
It doesn't matter because with Windows 8, Microsoft now supports both.
OK, there's an x86 compatible version on Android out there, too. But for now it's more of an experiment than a serious play in the market. Meanwhile, when it comes to ultramobile operating systems, Apple's iOS is ARM-only..
Multi-tasking is something that Windows has always nailed, from thread management at the kernel level to the way the UI presents presents multiple apps.
Now it's even better than ever thanks to a choice between old-school task bar application management on the desktop and app "snapping" in the Modern UI.
Microsoft has also added some gesture-driven app switching to the Modern UI. Put simply, Windows 8 is miles ahead of iOS and Android for multi-tasking and app switching.
OK, this bit only applies to the regular x86 version of Windows 8 and not the ARM-compatible Windows RT, flavour. But only Windows 8 offers you a fully contemporary, touch-enabled ultramobile OS that also supports the huge ecosystem of legacy PC applications and delivers powerful multi-tasking.
It really is one OS to rule them all.
Windows 8 isn't perfect. Limitations abound, including the peculiarly neutered desktop mode in Windows RT. Then there's the pitiful number of touch-enabled apps compared with Android and iOS.
But there's plenty of time to get forensic with Windows 8's shortcomings. For now, let's focus on the fact that it's a huge step forward for MS.
For you, it means the prospect of genuine device consolidation. Tablet and laptop combined in one device that's more than the sum of its parts.
If merit counts for anything, here's hoping Windows 8 will make a tangible dent in both Android and iOS.
Does this mean people will soon be jailbreaking their iPads to run Windows 8?
LOL — This reminds me of the start of the Blu-ray—HD-DVD wars. HD-DVD was the microsoft supported platform and they had numerous folks out spreading misinformation and propaganda. Most of you will understand what FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) is, Microsoft is very, very good at having FUD spread. That’s how they have dominated, over the years, a good number of superior products.
No, they've just had one since at least WWDC 2011. Young Master Laird hasn't been paying attention.
That interface-desktop is far too ugly
Is there an independent effort by users to fix and upgrade XP?
It seems that every other year for the last ‘n’ years, we’ve heard how “THIS” edition of Windows will be THE breakout OS in mobile devices or embedded development.
And every time, we see nothing come of it.
I’m going to stick with history here: Microsoft doesn’t know jack about resource-limited computing. They never have.
Could MSFT ship something compelling in this space? Yes, but it would take a huge change in their senior management, starting with the sacking of Ballmer, who doesn’t do a thing to inspire the engineering staff to do something really aggressive and forward-looking.
The constant changes in the Windows UI are the things that piss me off the most about Windows. Whenever I upgrade Windows, I get into the Control Panel and set the UI to the Classic scheme and leave it there. I refuse to spend a moment of my precious time chasing crap around a new UI designed by people who couldn’t get it right the first time, and have made it successively more obscure and confusing since then.
The rule in the computer industry for a successful UI: Design a UI, do some real homework on how to make it work, then stick with it - for as long as possible.
At cisco, we had the command-line UI which was cribbed from the DECsystem-10/20 and TOPS. We designed all manner of GUI network management schemes. Any time we even gently proposed deprecating the command line UI, we had our heads ripped off by customers. The TOPS-style UI works, it works well and it’s scriptable - so we were told again and again by customers carrying pitchforks and torches.
I’m one of the people who thinks that XP, with some additional backup/recovery and checkpointing features from 7, would be my ideal version of Windows... and I’d see no point in upgrading ever again.
“No one that you know likes Windows 8. Well, that dooms it to failure. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that your friends wont make or break this product. There are going to be 500 million people who do like it. All the Apple fanboys and Microsoft haters criticizing Windows 8 probably haven’t even used it. I’ve been running it for months. It convinced me to switch from OS X. Its that good.
Wait, this is the opportunity! Yes, 2013 will be the year of Linux on the desktop! LOL”
It’s amazing the lengths people have to stoop in order to try to paint Win8 as the most horrid thing they’ve ever used, but will proudly say they use Android, iOS, or goodness knows what flavor of Linux they have going.
The problem is, just like with Democrats, they over do it and make them look really goofy when real people sit down and actually see what the fuss is about and walk away liking what they were told to hate.
To run a given processor faster, you need to increase voltage and add cooling.
“The rule in the computer industry for a successful UI: Design a UI, do some real homework on how to make it work, then stick with it - for as long as possible.”
Nooooo, that what you do when you are petrified and you innovation has died. And besides the Win desktop people are acting like was perfection even though they complained about it for years, has been around for almost 2 decades. Why should MS in a rapidly changing market just keep on with that as the main focus just because?
“At cisco, we had the command-line UI which was cribbed from the DECsystem-10/20 and TOPS. We designed all manner of GUI network management schemes. Any time we even gently proposed deprecating the command line UI, we had our heads ripped off by customers. The TOPS-style UI works, it works well and it’s scriptable - so we were told again and again by customers carrying pitchforks and torches.”
If MS had the luxury of making something like this that barely .00003% of the world used, then it would not be worth it.
With his very first statement about Apple Macs, the author of this article shows his total ignorance of the product line. The Mac Mini is by no means hobbled in relation to the iMac. It is a fully capable Mac with a full complement of ports. All it lacks is a built in monitor and it does not come with a mouse or keyboard, recognizing that many people already have those peripherals.
Is the iMac hobbled in relation to the MacPro because it doesn't have a second gigabyte Ethernet port? Or is the MacPro hobbled because it doesn't come with a built in WIFI? Perhaps the iMac is hobbled by not having Xeon processors and error correcting RAM such as the MacPro has, being limited to i5 and i7 processors, or the capability to drive 8 30 inch HD monitors? Probably.
The Mac Mini, the iMac, and the MacPro will easily run all the same software, so there is no "hobbling" in that area. Similarly, the laptop will also run the same software as the desktops. Where this author gets his idea of his mythical Apple hobbled product lines seems to have been pulled out of his nether most portion of his anatomy.
It doesn't matter because with Windows 8, Microsoft now supports both.
OK, there's an x86 compatible version on Android out there, too. But for now it's more of an experiment than a serious play in the market. Meanwhile, when it comes to ultramobile operating systems, Apple's iOS is ARM-only..
Uh, no. Every app that runs on iOS ran FIRST on an Intel Mac... Where it was developed. iOS is at core, a subset of OSX.
Multi-tasking
The idea that iOS is not capable of multi-tasking is a myth pushed by the marketing of the competitors. It has been Multi-tasking from the day it was introduced. It's task switching is easy and unobtrusive... But most important, it is ENERGY USE ECONOMICAL far better than anything offered by Android, thus saving the battery charge. The user is not required to manage background tasks. iOS handles it.
Backwards compatibility
OK, this bit only applies to the regular x86 version of Windows 8 and not the ARM-compatible Windows RT, flavour. But only Windows 8 offers you a fully contemporary, touch-enabled ultramobile OS that also supports the huge ecosystem of legacy PC applications and delivers powerful multi-tasking.
It really is one OS to rule them all.
The need to run every fully functional desktop applications on a tablet has never been demonstrated and Apple determined that was unnecessary to do so. File compatibility, however, between desktop and mobile device of certain apps is of importance, and built the OS with what was necessary to support that. The philosophy to require a mobile device do all things a desktop can is doomed to failure from day one. Do you really need to run a full version of a cadcam application that requires gigabytes of ram on a five inch phone or a seven or ten inch tablet??? Or do you merely need to bring up the CADCAM created plans in a PDF format for a quick review on your phone or tablet? The desktop computer and mobile devices are two entirely different purpose machines. . . they don't have to converge in one OS.
As for Microsoft Windows taking over tablets and smartphones or even the laptop/tablet market, this Friday might be educational. Microsoft and Apple both released their new products: the Microsoft's ARM Surface and Windows 8 and Apple's new Mac Mini, new iMacs, and preorders for the new 8" iPad Mini.
Pundits who went to sales points for both companies found long lines at the Apple stores and none at the Microsoft stores and sales points. Apple sold out the iPad mini, millions available for delivery on November 7th, in seventeen minutes! One pundit went to Fry's Electronics and found their Apple area quite crowded on that Friday, but only three people, including him, were looking at the Surface during the hour he was there. He then went to a mall that had both an Apple store and a Microsoft store, right across the walkway. The lines at the Apple store was down, but the store was packed. The Microsoft store? Crickets. Despite MS offering a $100 credit at the App Store with each Surface.
When I shopped around for a new Mac, I bought a Mac Mini server instead of an iMac. Connected up to a Samsung HD TV/monitor and I'm happy. Saved a lot of money (with some acceptable loss of resolution). With a SSD it's fast. And I remotely access and control it from a Macbook when I want to. Apple is doing great things with its eco-system; it all simply works seamlessly. MS has the wrong message; it isn't about cramming everything into one machine and befuddling the user.
Did any of these “pundits” notice all of the 32GB Surface RT tablets were already sold out on the first day of pre-order?
I have no Idea what their sales may have been, but there was definitely a lot of interest around the Surface launch.
Funny... You wave hi to a friend walking in the office and erase two hours of editing on your work. RIGHT. SURE. Air motions are not going to be the wave of the future in the office. . . just as dictation will not be because of the difficulty of distinguishing intended input from background conversation has not reached a viable point in a noisy office environment.
Only Apple would program it that way! ;)
PS: When you "WAVE" with Kinect, it looks at you to recognize your face and allow you to make command gestures.
LOL..right. Just like always.
R.
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F.
L!
My dad just installed Windows 8 and he hates it. It seems like the user needs to have a high speed internet connection since everything is done through the internet. He has a slow satellite internet connection so it will not work for him. Apparently Microsoft thinks everyone has a high speed connection. There is a lot of tracking what you do by Microsoft. It wiped out a lot of programs he already had on his computer. He can only restore onto the hard drive or in the cloud. There is no restoring onto an external hard drive. His music is also screwed up as well. There is nothing new except for the web browser and the user interface.
Luckily, he did a system backup and will try to restore his computer soon from his external hard drive.
Tomorrow he will try to return the software.
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