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.
I don’t know.
The problem is that today, American corporate management is filled with people who are rent-seeking, risk-avoiding muppets. They just want to do their thing for a few years, polish their resume’ and then collect the big bucks.
Jobs was one of the rarest of CEO’s - someone who was willing to bet big and lose big. Someone who was willing to attach his face to ideas and take the heat for them, win or fail.
There’s so few CEO’s today who are willing to take on real risk that we’ve become a nation of corporate pussies.
Mac Mini was “hobbled”? In what way? My 2012 Mini has a i7 2.3 quad cpu in it. I have 8 gb of ram in it now & plan on going to 16 in the future.
Hobbled?
I use this little beast to run my music studio. Working in a 50+ track Pro Tools session now with VI’s and effects on every track & bus and my CPU usage is barely at 25%.
Hobbled? Methinks the writer of the article might also be calling the Obama economy a “booming success” as well. lol
Here is an update on his situation.
He cannot restore from Windows Backup. He used the backup program that came with Windows 7 instead of Ghost.
For some reason he cannot boot to the CD/DVD. Windows wouldn’t let him. This doesn’t make sense to me.
He is going back into town today to let Staples know and try to return the software. I don’t he can since he already opened it.
Yeah, that’s one UGLY interface.
Maybe the visual stylists and skinners will be able to do something with it.
I am always for more stability, and Microsoft showed they could improve that with Windows 7. It make XP look unstable by comparison, which in turn made ME and 95 appear REALLY unstable by comparison.
I just want to get Windows 7 implemented where I work. It would make a huge improvement in the performance of the applications I support, simply by allowing us to use more RAM.
I am not sure where that Windows 8 interface is going, though. I admire the pursuit of the concept of using the same code base for all their platforms, but I am not sure it is worth going in that direction for that. Basically, I see it as a dumbing down of the interface to achieve that.
But I concede that a yet to be invented input device system may yet revolutionize a touch based interface like Windows 8 or iOS and change the computing paradigm forever.
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