Five things you need to know about Windows on ARM
Last week Microsoft revealed a little more of its plans for Windows 8 by announcing a flavour of the operating system for chips using the ARM processor architecture, commonly used in smartphones. Dubbed Windows on ARM (WOA), the software could become a new standard for any low-power PC, smartphone or tablet. According to a blog post from Microsoft’s head of Windows Steven Sinofsky, WOA is designed to deliver a uniform user experience across devices. Here are five things you need to know about it.
1) It’s not a mobile operating system… as such
Apple has iOS for iPhones and iPads, Google has Ice Cream Sandwich, its first attempt to marry its Android implementations for smartphones and tablets (with a chance of appearing on some ultrabooks). Logic dictates that for Microsoft to compete in the reimagined tablet space it would adopt a similar strategy by simply upgrading Windows Phone 7. Not so. Just as you won’t see Android Ice Cream Sandwich running on a desktop PC, WOA positions itself as an OS for anything with aspirations beyond becoming a resident of your pocket or handbag. No better statement of intent than its use of the Metro interface as used by Windows 8 and Xbox Live, albeit with a catch (more on that later).
2) Office apps will be pre-installed
Microsoft is taking a leaf from Apple’s book here by bundling its most popular software with the operating system. This will come as a relief to consumers tired of having to buy extra software straight away. The new suite, Office 15, is not an incremental improvement on Office 2010. Instead of tweaking the interface and adding a few features it will be getting a total facelift. Word, Excel, Onenote and Powerpoint will run in a desktop environment, but mail will have its own Metro app. A nice touch is the integration with the cloud storage service SkyDrive.
3) It won’t run third party apps
Another side-effect of adopting the Metro interface. If an app isn’t programmed for Metro it won’t work on WOA. This means third party apps, and even plug-ins for native apps, won’t work. Adobe, Real Player etc will have to develop their own updates for Internet Explorer to keep up. It will, however, run anything developed for the full fat version of Windows 8 from the Windows Store.
4) USB compatibility
This might seem like an obvious point, but Microsoft is trumpeting the importance of peripherals for WOA, telling users that they can define their own experience, whether it’s using a tablet as something to be referenced casually on the couch, or connecting it to a second monitor for a more productive experience. If a device works with a PC, it will work on WOA.
5) It won’t change anything about the Windows 8 roadmap
The next beta of Windows 8, Consumer Preview, is expected to go live at the end of the month for x86/64 PCs. A select group of developers will be able to get their hands on some WOA devices on an invite-only basis. Windows on ARM PCs are still in development, but it is expected both WOA and Windows 8 will see release at the same time.
Subscribers 0
Fans 0
Followers 0
Followers