Windows RT vs. Windows 8 Could Burn Consumers 297
Nerval's Lobster writes "The Surface currently available for pre-order runs Windows RT, a version of the operating system designed to run on ARM architecture. Windows RT looks virtually identical to Windows 8, which, like previous versions of Windows, runs on the x86 architecture that dominates the laptop and desktop market. Microsoft's early marketing materials aren't exactly highlighting that differences between Windows RT and Windows 8 — and as a result, there's a high potential for unsuspecting consumers to end up burned when they buy a Windows RT tablet expecting the complete Windows experience. But Windows RT won't support legacy Windows applications — instead, users will need to hope and pray that developers port those applications to the Windows Store, the only venue for RT-supported apps. Over at The Verge, the intrepid Sean Hollister asked eight Microsoft Store representatives about the differences between Windows 8 and Windows RT, and received several confusing responses. 'To their credit, half of the representatives admitted that Windows RT wasn't as capable as Windows 8,' he wrote. 'The other half not so much. Moreover, those reps who did admit issues seemed dismissive of Windows RT as a whole.'"
I never expected my iPad to run OSX applications.. (Score:4, Insightful)
...and I didn't have to read a disclaimer from Apple stating "Will not run OSX applications"...
Re:I never expected my iPad to run OSX application (Score:5, Insightful)
Perhaps that because iOS really looks nothing like OSX despite having the foundation of it?
Re:I never expected my iPad to run OSX application (Score:5, Insightful)
...and I didn't have to read a disclaimer from Apple stating "Will not run OSX applications"...
And the Ipad didn't say 'OSX' on the front. This is being advertised as a Windows device, yet it won't run existing Windows programs.
Re:I never expected my iPad to run OSX application (Score:2, Insightful)
That's the typical logic that a Microsoft fanbois would make that "I didn't realize I couldn't run iMac applications on my iPad - they both have 'i' in them - they must run the same apps..."
It's stupid whichever side uses the 'logic.'
RT = ReTard (Score:2, Insightful)
According to Wikipedia [wikipedia.org], "The RT acronym does not officially stand for anything." I predict that people will quickly take RT to stand for "ReTard" when they realize that Windows RT fails to run Windows software.
Re:I never expected my iPad to run OSX application (Score:5, Insightful)
A Mac has "Mac" in its name (Mac mini, MacBook, iMac, etc). Its operating system is called "OS X".
An iPad doesn't have "Mac" in its name. Its operating system is called "iOS".
Hardware and software both have different names, there's no confusion.
Windows RT has "Windows" in its name, just like "Windows 98", "Windows XP", "Windows Vista" or "Windows 7". The Windows OS had names with numbers, letters, words... it's not constant, so "Windows (something) = Windows" for most people. And Windows RT certainly won't be an exception.
Re:A terrible mistake. (Score:4, Insightful)
Nope. Native code is extremely easy to call through P/Invoke. It's the .NET equivalent of Java's JNI.
Re:I never expected my iPad to run OSX application (Score:4, Insightful)
The two have gotten a lot closer looking of late; but that's because they've been iPadding the hell out of what used to be an endurable desktop OS...
Re:A terrible mistake. (Score:0, Insightful)
As far as JIT compilation, I prefer doing a simple
Re:I never expected my iPad to run OSX application (Score:5, Insightful)
I can see people possibly being confused by this, but these are the same people who are generally confused by everything involving choices in a computing environment.
The summary makes it sound like yet another conspiracy...
I have to disagree:
;)
1). Windows 8 and windows rt look identical, both with tiles and touchscreens
2). Both designed for tablets
3). Both released around the same time
windows rt devices are cheaper though, so when consumers go into a store and see two tablets sitting side by side that look identical running windows, they're gonna grab RT, take it home, and be furious when they can't install any windows software on it, only software designed for Windows RT will work. I see this as a epic fail for Microsoft, biggest fail since windows ME. I do not understand why Microsoft made two identical OSes for tablets, they would have been better focusing on windows 8
Only good thing though is these RT devices will quickly be sold at fire sale and maybe we can put Android on them
Re:I never expected my iPad to run OSX application (Score:4, Insightful)
If people don't expect the Windows Tablet to run Windows applications, then why is MS going to be selling a version that does in January? Don't you see that MS is going to need to make a concerted effort to let users know that this is THE difference between these two products, if the don't want people to buy the Windows RT tablet expecting it to run their existing applications.
Re:I never expected my iPad to run OSX application (Score:5, Insightful)
I think you're wrong. I think people are going to buy the tablet and be satisfied with the software bumdled with it and what they can download off of the Windows Store. I think anyone concerned with legacy application support is going to know the difference between Windows RT and Windows 8. The lack of a DVD drive is going dissuade most people from even trying to load their legacy software. For the few people that do run into this issue, they can always bring their tablet back and upgrade to the Windows 8 version.
Same problem at Newegg- Really a MS problem (Score:5, Insightful)
But I really think that in this case ***Futureshop*** is confusing customers, not Microsoft.
Those stock photos showing the Windows 8 logo were not likely provided by ASUS for the RT product. >
Really this is a Microsoft Problem because they named them too closely. They should have called WinRT something totally different, to avoid this mess, really anyone thinking about it should have been able to predict this.
If all the product specialists are the biggest electronic retailers in North America are confused and making mistakes, what chance does the average consumer have.
Essentially the same thing happening at Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Tablets-Accessories/Category/ID-164?Tpk=tablet [newegg.com]
Check the top of the page.
Win 8 Tablets!
Then they have a mix of ARM/x86 tablets all with the same graphics (this time Metro).
But it is still both kinds of tablets called Windows 8 and undifferentiated.
Re:A terrible mistake. (Score:4, Insightful)
Nope. Native code is extremely easy to call through P/Invoke. It's the .NET equivalent of Java's JNI.
Except that Sun had the foresight to make JNI an error-prone pain in the ass.
Well, I'm not sure that it was exactly "foresight", but in hindsight it seems to have been the right choice. Most people avoid JNI like the plague, even when they aren't worried about cross-platform compatibility.
Re:I never expected my iPad to run OSX application (Score:5, Insightful)
I never expected my iPad to run OSX applications
I can see people possibly being confused by this
Some percentage of users will definitely be confused by it. I do support for software sales of Windows-only software, it's clearly labelled Windows only, and yet a regular request is processing refunds for users who bought the software and then claim to be confused that it doesn't run on their iPad or iPhone or Mac. If people can't even tell the difference between Mac and Windows then they sure aren't going to grasp these relatively finer distinctions. If you're stupid you must suffer.