Splashtop Drops Windows 8 Metro Testbed Onto Android

MojoKid writes "Want to try out the Windows 8 Metro interface on your Android tablet? Splashtop apparently has a solution. The company previously released a Windows 8 Metro testbed for the iPad back in April, and now it has one for Android devices, which is available in the Google Play Store. You'll need a PC with the Windows 8 Release Preview installed, but once you have that taken care of, you'll be able to poke around Microsoft's new touch interface on any Android tablet."

Why

[symbolset]

Why would you even want to do that?

Re:Why

[ChunderDownunder]

Developing touchscreen applications for Windows without purchazing an additional device?

Sounds like a remote desktop solution, optimized for touch. Could be handy for accessing a pc from the couch or meeting room.

Re:Why

[alexhs]

Developing touchscreen applications for Windows

Why would you even want to do that?

Re:

[ChunderDownunder]

Me personally? Nah.

But for some people it pays the bills. Apps are all the rage.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

I've been using an Asus Transformer Pad for a few weeks now. The touch really does add a lot of nuance and ease to the system. The option to undock and lose a few ounces on the weight of the device is a really big selling feature. Having a more traditional OS on the platform with great touch support would make for a unique user experience that I, as a developer, would like to participate in.

Re:

[weszz]

I've been using the transformer prime with dock and just love it... some things are easier with touch than finding where the mouse is at that point. Now whenever i am on a regular laptop, I find myself trying to touch the screen now and then and for a second being surprised it didn't work...

Re:

[Haxagon]

To make money, like everyone else who develops (for a living).

Re:

[slashmydots]

Because MS is buying into the industry hype about tablets being the future and desktops being dead. You know, just like with netbooks a couple years ago. What happened with those, by the way? Oh yeah, I remember! People realized they suck and no optical drive is crap and the speeds were pathetic and now there's 10 at the local pawn shop worth 1/3 retail.
Since a tablet is a netbook with no keyboard, I think it's a waste of time trying to stomp on Android and iOS market share with Windows 8 when tablets

Re:

[Daniel_is_Legnd]

Windows 8 was made with touch screens in mind, and most people don't have a touch-enabled PC. Lots of people do have android tablets, however, so this is a way to see the touch screen features of Windows 8.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

So I can explore the Metro interface myself using touch, and make an informed decision regarding the product before even considering a x86 tablet.

It's a shame to see your really dumb comment get moderated 4, Insightful. It's just another sign of intelligence fleeing slashdot.

Splashtop Drops Windows 8 Metro Testbed Onto Andro

[rullywowr]

Splashtop Drops Windows 8 Metro Testbed Advertisement Onto Slashdot

There, FFFY.

Re:

[schroedingers_hat]

No, you post your dupes on the _front_ page.

Short answer

[O('_')O_Bush]

"Want to try out the Windows 8 Metro interface on your Android tablet?"

Nope. Bye...

Re:

[slashmydots]

But but but but but the people in the Windows 8 beta just loooooved the Metro interface. Oh wait, no, the other thing...they all hated it and nobody had anything positive to say about it in any review anywhere ever.

BUY NOW!!!

[CubicleView]

FTA

The app usually costs a whopping $49.99, but it’s currently on sale for $24.99, so get it while it’s hot.

or you know, don't.

And don't take away Aero, you bastards!

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

A couple of days ago, someone pointed out shameful crap in the Google+ death thread about Bing and stuff, which weren't the result of companies saying, "I can do it better", but rather them saying, "I can do it, too."

Ooh, look, Windows 8. Microsoft can do a desktop qua smartphone, too?

Re:

[Darkness404]

I agree with your title, it seems like every OS has decided its going to try change for the sake of change for no good reason. There was nothing fundamentally broken in Windows 7 UI wise. Similarly, Gnome 2.X was great, 3.X sucks. I don't understand the obsession in trying to fix non-broken things. Metro might be great for a smartphone but sucks for a Desktop when you have something a bit more precision controlled than your fat fingers (mouse and keyboard). Why not work behind the scenes and make Windows mo

Splashtop connects home too often

[Anonymous Coward]

This application dials home way too much. If you don't have an outgoing firewall on your devices you will fail to realize that it is phoning the mothership every time you connect to your desktop. Enough of the cloud connection for everything!

Re:

[dmacleod808]

IIRC correctly, TeamViewer dials home too, but it is so much more convenient than setting up RDP on every machine I support, and has great connection management.

Trolls & Metro

[Anonymous Coward]

Metro is an intuitive touch interface, granted I hate it on the desktop I wish Microsoft hadn't melded the two together so tightly...people on Slashdot getting modded up for trolling and saying things insightful ("not interested," "Windows 8 is a piece of shit," etc.) is just sad, do you have nothing better to say? Because of the modding up of troll, the circle jerk of trolls is perpetuated. Sadness.

$50 for a frickin' RDP client??

[daboochmeister]

Huh? Or am i misunderstanding?

Re:

[Belial6]

Splashtop is more than just an RDP client. It also handles establishing connection through NAT, has better throughput than VNC, while having Mac and Windows hosts.

It is the easiest way I have seen to connect to a machine behind NAT without ongoing payments.