OK, ***I LIKE WINDOWS 8***. There, I said it! I even like Metro. I have used both since the Developer and Consumer Preview releases and am especially impressed with the performance. I'm also liking the look of the new Windows family member for low form factor, touch PCs - Windows RT.
It seems that a badly researched article will spawn a slew of lowbrow bashing from people who appear to know little of the subject; luddites, Linux fanbois, etc. I fear that many of you people work in tech fields - how sad!
To Gavin Clarke, I would say this. Do your research:
1. There is no doubt whatsoever what sort of device Windows RT is aimed at, as can be seen by the countless and detailed Build blog posts and other MS material available. It's *not* aimed primarily at specialist devices like e-readers. It's aimed at low profile and highly mobile devices that require reduced power consumption available with ARM instead of Intel chipsets. Slates (think iPad like devices), low profile netbooks, etc., and, yes, perhaps some specialist devices too, although Windows Embedded is there to service their needs already.
2. No group policy management ? Really ? This is absolutely no big deal. First of all, Windows RT is primarily of interest to consumers, not business. Secondly, it's *new*. Give MS time and I'm sure they'll add GP management. Having been rebuilt with a new shell (MetroUI) and architecture for ARM licenced chipsets, it's practically a brand new operating system.
3. Will naming WoA (that's Windows on ARM) Windows RT confuse developers ? No, unless they're as ignorant as you. WinRT, speaking as a non-developer so maybe not using the correct terminology, is a programming framework for Metro style applications and is the same in both Win8 (x86/64) and Windows RT (ARM). A Metro app will therefore almost always run in both Windows 8 and Windows RT, unlike a Desktop app, which will likely be x86/64 only. Simple as that!
Honestly people, research, use the tech and give it a chance first, before you comment and dismiss it and especially if you intend to write an article on the topic for a credible site like El Reg!
I've heard of this before and it's interesting, but one big question remains - how on earth will it cope with lag ? Won't gamers' control input suffer enough of a delay between their, say, pressing the fire button and the shot going out, to actually render such a platform unsuitable for gaming ? It's bad enough having 100ms lag in a multiplayer game between my own console and the game host. What would it be like if it's between me and the hardware I'm using ?
Too much reshuffling, selling off, building and binning, and so on. Not enough concentrating on what used to be a great product. I was still buying Palms when they were on top of their game. Now they can't even keep up with MS and WM5 (which, let's face it, is far from perfect).
To be fair, I'm pretty sure that Windows has over 95% of the market share. That means hackers target it more than any other O/S. I'm also pretty sure that it has more code than any other O/S, and if it's so bloated it has to come on a DVD, not a CD, then more lines of code = more holes = more vulnerabilities. Does anyone know if Tiger or Linux have fewer vulnerabilities per line of code than Windows ? Doubt it.
None of this is news, of course, but I still thought it worth mentioning.
So is this the end of Palm OS 6 (Cobalt), the operating system that never was ? Garnet (5.4) should be dead in the water - this generation has gotten seriously long in the tooth and, as a result, Palm OS has lost a lot of ground to WM.
I gave up on Palm a couple of years ago as I got fed up waiting for decent support for scalable fonts, large flash storage, WiFi, etc. I went to WM. I doubt Palm will ever make up the ground they lost with the split, Source's move to Linux, etc., etc. Such a shame for a company that was once second to none in its market.
Since when did seminars and training account for such a high price rise ? This price differential phenomenon is becoming totally ludicrous. It's not just software, either, but I imagine you should be able to buy CS, etc., from the US. Only problem is you'll probably be tied to a US support and maintenance contract. The helpdesk lines will be open the usual office hours, but being in the states, they'll be 5 to 8 hours behind us.
Register
13 posts • joined Thursday 5th April 2007 10:29 GMT
Re: CD
Well said! LOL!
Had they used the Consumer Preview before criticising it they would realise the ISO download is actually only 2.5GB - 3.5GB.
Re: Like Win8, Don't Like Badly Researched Articles
Fair comment, but I still don't think MS created Windows RT with specialist devices in mind.
Like Win8, Don't Like Badly Researched Articles
OK, ***I LIKE WINDOWS 8***. There, I said it! I even like Metro. I have used both since the Developer and Consumer Preview releases and am especially impressed with the performance. I'm also liking the look of the new Windows family member for low form factor, touch PCs - Windows RT.
It seems that a badly researched article will spawn a slew of lowbrow bashing from people who appear to know little of the subject; luddites, Linux fanbois, etc. I fear that many of you people work in tech fields - how sad!
To Gavin Clarke, I would say this. Do your research:
1. There is no doubt whatsoever what sort of device Windows RT is aimed at, as can be seen by the countless and detailed Build blog posts and other MS material available. It's *not* aimed primarily at specialist devices like e-readers. It's aimed at low profile and highly mobile devices that require reduced power consumption available with ARM instead of Intel chipsets. Slates (think iPad like devices), low profile netbooks, etc., and, yes, perhaps some specialist devices too, although Windows Embedded is there to service their needs already.
2. No group policy management ? Really ? This is absolutely no big deal. First of all, Windows RT is primarily of interest to consumers, not business. Secondly, it's *new*. Give MS time and I'm sure they'll add GP management. Having been rebuilt with a new shell (MetroUI) and architecture for ARM licenced chipsets, it's practically a brand new operating system.
3. Will naming WoA (that's Windows on ARM) Windows RT confuse developers ? No, unless they're as ignorant as you. WinRT, speaking as a non-developer so maybe not using the correct terminology, is a programming framework for Metro style applications and is the same in both Win8 (x86/64) and Windows RT (ARM). A Metro app will therefore almost always run in both Windows 8 and Windows RT, unlike a Desktop app, which will likely be x86/64 only. Simple as that!
Honestly people, research, use the tech and give it a chance first, before you comment and dismiss it and especially if you intend to write an article on the topic for a credible site like El Reg!
What About Lag ?
I've heard of this before and it's interesting, but one big question remains - how on earth will it cope with lag ? Won't gamers' control input suffer enough of a delay between their, say, pressing the fire button and the shot going out, to actually render such a platform unsuitable for gaming ? It's bad enough having 100ms lag in a multiplayer game between my own console and the game host. What would it be like if it's between me and the hardware I'm using ?
Hype
So good to hear about the chinks in the armour when all else I hear is hype. Excellent work Reg!
GTA5
GTA5
Barmy
I'm not an expert in PR, but what group on earth would want to use Heather Mills as a spokesperson right now ?
A Sad Farewell
Too much reshuffling, selling off, building and binning, and so on. Not enough concentrating on what used to be a great product. I was still buying Palms when they were on top of their game. Now they can't even keep up with MS and WM5 (which, let's face it, is far from perfect).
Bill's right. RIP Palm OS.
Are You Sure It's a New Discovery ?
I'm sure I've seen this one before:
http://www.breatheinfo.com/images/big_bird.jpg
Specifics
I'm with Alex Schlup - maybe a bootnote would help.
As for Nanuk's comment, this wasn't really worth making without qualifying the criticism with something specific.
Vulnerabilities
To be fair, I'm pretty sure that Windows has over 95% of the market share. That means hackers target it more than any other O/S. I'm also pretty sure that it has more code than any other O/S, and if it's so bloated it has to come on a DVD, not a CD, then more lines of code = more holes = more vulnerabilities. Does anyone know if Tiger or Linux have fewer vulnerabilities per line of code than Windows ? Doubt it.
None of this is news, of course, but I still thought it worth mentioning.
What are they doing ?
So is this the end of Palm OS 6 (Cobalt), the operating system that never was ? Garnet (5.4) should be dead in the water - this generation has gotten seriously long in the tooth and, as a result, Palm OS has lost a lot of ground to WM.
I gave up on Palm a couple of years ago as I got fed up waiting for decent support for scalable fonts, large flash storage, WiFi, etc. I went to WM. I doubt Palm will ever make up the ground they lost with the split, Source's move to Linux, etc., etc. Such a shame for a company that was once second to none in its market.
Per Unit Cost of Doing Business ? B******t!
Since when did seminars and training account for such a high price rise ? This price differential phenomenon is becoming totally ludicrous. It's not just software, either, but I imagine you should be able to buy CS, etc., from the US. Only problem is you'll probably be tied to a US support and maintenance contract. The helpdesk lines will be open the usual office hours, but being in the states, they'll be 5 to 8 hours behind us.