PC Plus Packs Windows and Android Into Same Machine 319
jones_supa writes "At the mammoth Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in early January, it is expected that multiple computer makers will unveil systems that simultaneously run two different operating systems, both Windows and Android, two different analysts said recently. The new devices will introduce a new marketing buzzword called PC Plus, explained Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies. 'A PC Plus machine will run Windows 8.1 but will also run Android apps as well', Bajarin wrote recently for Time. 'They are doing this through software emulation. I'm not sure what kind of performance you can expect, but this is their way to try and bring more touch-based apps to the Windows ecosystem.' Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, suggests that PC Plus could get millions of consumers more comfortable with Android on PCs. 'Just imagine for a second what happens when Android gets an improved large-screen experience. This should scare the heck out of Microsoft.'"
Might be a way to solve a few issues... (Score:5, Interesting)
One of the biggest causes of malware are attacks on the Web browser and its add-ons. Android is a lot more secure in this regard, so having the ability to browse the Web with the code executing well away from the Windows side will be a very useful security gain.
It won't stop Trojans, but it will help address one major vector for infections.
I'd buy one of these "PC Pluses" just because I do know that the Android side will almost always be usable. I won't be able to do the advanced workflow or run the usual applications and games as I do on Windows, but for a number of tasks, the Android side will be good enough. Plus, with root, it can serve as a way to offload some UNIX functions such as a caching DNS, squid cache, etc.
Everything old is new again (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Dupe Plus Packs Two Articles into Same Subject (Score:4, Interesting)
Say what you want about Windows, it still can get viruses easily, while Linux is a more secure browsing experience.
Not true. Windows cannot get viruses easily anymore. Unless you are a clueless Homer Simpson which runs every spurious BirthdayCard.exe with admin privileges, Windows is perfectly safe to use.
Windows still gets nailed easily. We run a very secure shop and some are still coming in, without the user ever browsing outside the network. While this means a worm or virus is introduced into the network from somewhere, it's sophisticated enough to find all the up-to-date machines and still infect them. We thought we were secure, again. Fact is the people who write these things are better at writing them and understanding protection behavior and circumventing it than the people fighting them.
Re:If the user can't install applications (Score:2, Interesting)
You realize that RT can run unsigned code right? People already managed to make it run unsigned code for quite a while now.
Re:Screen resolution for laptops? (Score:5, Interesting)
Indeed. And vast majority of people cannot tell. At all. Almost entire thing can be summed by two words: "placebo effect".
Some tiny minority can tell the difference at normal viewing distances. Most of those that claim that can actually cannot. You require perfect eyesight AND on top of it a trained eye to see it. Brutal medical statistics suggest that there are simply not enough people that meet the criteria. Our eyes are simply not durable enough nor good enough.
On the other hand, a much bigger problem seen by almost everyone in terms of graphical fidelity is color banding. And yet, even apple, the supposed darling of "making stuff look as natural as possible" keeps shoving IPS panels into its phones. These panels cannot display enough colors to avoid banding.
Reality is, neither is all that important. Our eyes get used to whatever image we see very quickly. It's an evolved trait that is possessed by essentially everyone, both those with good vision and bad, those fully color blind or not. What's important is that it's good enough so that your eyes can adapt to it within a few minutes of usage.
As a result, 1366x768 is good enough. Because outside the hipster talk, people choose functionality over pricey hipster cred. That's why these cheap laptops sell truckloads while expensive stuff can't match its volume. Just like they do with audio and audiophiles. It has to be functional, and good enough. Rest is for the tiny minority that demand the absolute best to the point of hallucinating about potential advantages when there are none.