For me the big question will be: Does it live in a walled garden? i.e. Can I write an application and install it directly on the tablet without having to use an app store or other silly nonsense.
On 20 June 2012 14:55, Lou Syracuse <[email protected]> wrote: > Yes, there are two versions: The 'stripped down' Win-RT-only version running > on an ARM Processor, and the "Professional" version running full windows 8 on > an Intel platform. Last time I checked the full version of Windows 8 will > run VFP, although I haven't done any really exhaustive tests.. > > I've been watching the whole Windows-8/slate PC story for a while. I find it > quite intriguing, and can see where I might have a use for such a devices > from time to time. But not yet interesting enough for me to run right out > and buy one, at least not right now. They are still for the most part > vapor-hardware, and the few slates that are on the market right now aren't > ready for prime time yet (like the Samsung slate available at the Microsoft > store, nice but it only 4 touch points rather than the 10 that Win8 supports). > > With Win-RT/Metro Microsoft has the chance to do what they have wanted to do > for years: drop some of the backwards compatibility "stuff" that has > accumulated in Windows since version 3.0. Maybe not a completely clean > slate (no pun intended), but still a chance to 'clean things up' if you will. > Getting it to run on a different hardware platform (ARM) is a plus for > them, too. It is not quite the level of control of the hardware and > software that Apple enjoys, but closer than what they have now. Whether that > is good or bad, time will tell. > > .. and what about the OEM's? Dell, Asus, HP, ... etc. They'll be paying M$ > for WinRT/Win8 and passing that cost along to the consumer as they have done > for years, where M$ isn't going to charge itself. They'll have to sell > enough units to make up for the license sales they won't be selling to the > OEM's. Will be interesting to see if they do or not, Microsoft has a history > of losing money on hardware (think xBox). I'd be a little concerned if I > had a lot of Dell stock... > > But first they have to get these units to market, and show that this new > paradigm will work. Unlike most 'users', folks like us need a computer that > does more than share pictures on facebook and surf the web. The vague "when > windows 8 ships " certainly isn't what I want to hear, but I get that they > don't want to ship these units with Windows 7 and deal with updates to 8 a > month later. But why the 3-month delay in shipping the units most people > will really want? And of course we're still waiting for a price - giving M$ > time to gauge the market response and see what they can get away with > charging.... > > Lou > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Ted Roche > Subject: Re: [NF] Now what are you going to do? > > Well, as far as VFP goes, I'd like to learn if VFP will run on the high-end > "full-Windows-8-Professional" tablets. I have my doubts because all of the > tablets appear to be ARM-based processors and the VFP runtime, I have been > told, is compiled C++ code with a bit of x86 assembler mixed in. So, I think > it, and everything else that runs on Win8-x86, would need to be recompiled to > run on the new platform. I doubt MS will port VFP. I'll be interested in what > they will do with DotNet. > > [UPDATE: I've been told this isn't true, and the high-end platforms will be > Intel CPUs. Maybe good news for VFP, but for the Surface brand, hunh? Windows > NT was available for Intell, PowerPC and an NEC CPU, iirc. How'd that work > out? This is dumb.] > > It seems to me that targeting my offerings on HTML5/CSS3/JavaScript platform > is a better bet than writing apps on any proprietary platform, Apple, Android > or Microsoft. A tablet is a low-power device not suitable for intense > database work (an argument we used with PalmPilots, too) but that trades the > complexity of connecting to a backend (and caching, and offline updates, > etc.) in client-server fashion for the power savings. Web stacks are fairly > mature technologies (although the varied levels of standard support is, and > probably always will be, maddening) and allow you to build reasonably complex > apps that will run on iOS, Win8RT, Android, or even plain old legacy form > factors like laptops and desktops running Windows, OSX or Linux. > > I'd like to learn more about the hardware involved. It seems neither fish nor > fowl. Littler than a laptop (even a Mac Air or an Ultrabook), funny keyboard, > nice screen. I'm an atypical user - there are likely a dozen 'puters in the > office from micros to laptops to tablets to desktops and servers - but with > clear task delineations. This reminds me a bit of the Subaru Baja - too small > a bed to be a practical pickup, too small a cab to be a station wagon, no > trunk for the groceries; really an oddball. In being all things to all > people, is it a mediocre experience for all? > > Since MS has dropped this as vapor-hard-ware ('shipping Q3'?), no price, no > specs it seems we'll have lots of time to speculate, read reviews of early > pre-production models, and likely see something different from the demo by > the time it ships, perhaps in time for Xmas. At least it'll keep the trade > press busy for the summer... > > > "Okay, let me get this straight. Did Microsoft just kill the Windows tablet > OEM market?" > http://www.zdnet.com/blog/diy-it/okay-let-me-get-this-straight-did-microsoft-just-kill-the-windows-tablet-oem-market/614 > > Surface: Microsoft, What the Hell is Wrong With You? > http://www.zdnet.com/blog/perlow/surface-microsoft-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you/20599 > > [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/cadwx0+leee5y2xpufybbzb6ms6r9cz7d43xvtbj2b9pzngj...@mail.gmail.com ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. 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