These figures from AdDuplex, which runs an ad network for Windows Phone, surprised me. The company studies its stats for a random day in November, the 30th, and reports that 71% of the Windows Phone devices contacting its servers were from Nokia. The Lumia 710 leads with 24%, followed by Lumia 800 at 18%, and the Lumia 900 at 7%.
The obvious conclusion is that Nokia dominates the Windows Phone market. Bad news for HTC, which seems to be making a real effort with its 8X release (the 20th most popular device according to the stats).
Dominating the market may sound good for Nokia, but unfortunately the entire market is relatively small. The risk for the platform is that it becomes in effect a Nokia-only OS with all the other OEMs focused on Android.
The Hauppauge HD PVR2 is a gadget for capturing video from an HDMI or component video source, such as an XBox 360 or PlayStation 3 games console, and has replaced the popular HD PVR, which was component video only.
The concept is simple: instead of connecting you console directly to your TV or A/V amplifier, connect it to the HD PVR2. Then connect the unit to a PC or Mac via USB, and to the original TV or amplifier via HDMI. Your PC can then capture the video (and audio) while you are playing the game using the big screen. Hauppauge says the delay between input and output is only 60 microseconds, which you will not notice.
The use of HDMI makes connecting the PVR2 simpler than with its predecessor. Instaead of a bunch of component audio connections, there is just power, USB, HDMI in and out, and an A/V input that connects to component video sources where needed. The A/V input has a special cable that gives floating sockets for component video and analogue audio. The unit is also supplied with a cable suitable for connecting to a PS3.
You might need component input in two cases:
1. Your games console lacks HDMI – for example, Nintendo Wii.
2. The HDMI output is encrypted for copyright protection. This is the case with the PS3, but not the XBox. Since component video and analogue audio cannot be encrypted, you can capture anything this way.
Getting started
Hooking up the HD PVR2 was easy, but getting started was troublesome. We tried a succession of Windows 7 laptops, including a Pentium Dual Core 2.3Ghz, a Core 2 Duo at 2.6 Ghz Pentium, and a Core i5 at 1.6 Ghz. The pattern with all these was similar: the drivers and software installed OK, HDMI pass-through worked, the capture might work once, but then there were frustrating errors. The problems:
Difficult or impossible to select the HD PVR2 as the input device in the capture software
Capture software hanging
USB device error reported
This was tedious, partly because nothing could be captured, and partly because the only way to retry was to reboot both the laptop and the HD PVR2.
Swapping to a high-spec USB cable seemed to help a little, but soon the old problems were back, even after applying the latest driver updates from Hauppauge support.
Just before giving up, we connected to another Windows 7 Core i5 laptop, speed this time 2.5Ghz. Everything worked perfectly.
It is not clear what to conclude here. Hauppauge specifies:
Laptop or desktop PC with 3.0 GHz single core or 2.0 GHz multi-core processor
and adds in the FAQ:
You can record HD PVR 2 video on pretty much any PC. Older, slow, laptop or desktop PCs can be used to record HD PVR 2 video.
But when you playback an HD PVR 2 recording on your PC screen, you need a fast CPU and at least 256MB of graphics memory.
All our machines meet the spec. Either our sample box is particularly fussy, or Hauppauge is optimistic about the minimum requirements, or there are other factors at play.
Bundled software and Mac support
Hauppauge supplies Windows drivers for the HD PVR2 along with a version of Arcsoft ShowBiz for capturing and editing video.
If you want to use a Mac, Hauppauge recommends third-party software called HDPVRCapture which costs an additional $29.95.
ShowBiz is easy to use and provides simple editing features and output to AVCHD, AVI, MPEG1, QTMOV or WMV. You can also upload direct to YouTube with a wizard.
You don’t have to use ShowBiz if you have other capture software you prefer.
Another feature is called Personal Logo. This is a separate application which lets you specify a bitmap as a logo to appear on your captured videos, along with its position and transparency. Handy for reminding everyone who you are on YouTube, or for publications posting review footage.
Capturing video
Once your system is up and working, you can start capturing video with one of two methods. The first is to hit a large corner button on top of the HD PVR2, which automatically starts up ShowBiz in capture mode. Alternatively, you can start ShowBiz, select Capture, and click Start.
While capturing, you can see the video running on the PC. There is several seconds delay between your live gameplay and the capture stream, which is confusing to watch, so ignore it and focus on your gameplay. When you are done hit stop. Videos are saved automatically, by default to the Videos folder on your PC, named according to the date and time.
Next, you can edit the video in ShowBiz. I created the following video and uploaded it to YouTube as a demo. However, I could not get the YouTube unload in ShowBiz to work. I saved the file as an AVI and uploaded it manually.
Settings in depth
When you run the Capture module in ArcSoft ShowBiz it exposes a number of settings, which you get to by clicking Device and Format Settings.
Device Settings lets you set brightness, contrast, Hue, Saturation and Sharpness.
Format settings gets you a bunch of settings which gives extensive control subject to the limitations of the hardware. Here are the settings for the H264 encoder:
Here are the video settings:
and the audio properties:
All this looks impressive though many users will just want to click and go. Mostly this works OK, though check that you have 16:9 specified if you use widescreen.
Note that 1080p at 60 fps (frames per second) is captured at a maximum of 30 fps, and 1080p at 50 fps is captured at a maximum of 25 fps.
Annoyances
Hauppauge says that your PC does not need to be on for HDMI pass-through to work. Despite this, we found that if you turn the system on from cold, pass-through does not work until the USB connection to a PC is made. Once up and running, you can disconnect and turn the PC off and pass-through still works.
ArcSoft ShowBiz is very basic. Fortunately you can import the captured videos into other editors.
Having to use component video for the PS3 is annoying but not the fault of Hauppauge. It is surprising in some ways that the XBox generally outputs an unencrypted HDMI stream.
Conclusion
When this device was not working I wanted to throw it out of the window; but once I got it running it was great. The bundled software is poor, documentation is thin, and it is just a little quirky, but the ability to capture your gaming output is worth a bit of hassle.
Microsoft has announced pricing for Surface Pro, its own-brand tablet running Windows 8. Quick summary:
64GB is $899
128GB is $999
UK pricing has not been announced, but if it follows the pattern of Surface RT we can expect around £720 and £799.
These prices include a free Surface pen, but not a Touch or Type keyboard cover. Since this is one of the best features of Surface, you can add around $120 or £100 (a little more for the Type cover) to the price.
Here’s why you don’t want a Surface Pro:
Unlike Surface RT, this tablet runs any Windows application, most of which do not work well with touch control. So you will need that keyboard and trackpad or mouse, making it an awkward thing versus an iPad or, in some ways, a traditional laptop.
The spec is a long way from cutting-edge. Screen is 1920×1080 pixels, versus 2048-by-1536 on a cheaper Apple iPad. Core i5 has been around a while. Storage spec is poor – even 128GB is small by current standards, my Samsung Slate from February had a 256GB SSD – and the cameras seem no better than the basic ones in Surface RT. 4GB RAM is also minimal for a new Windows machine.
This thing is not cheap. With the keyboard, it is nearly double the cost of a Surface RT, and you don’t get Office 2013 thrown in – Home and Student is around $100 or £85.
Microsoft is including a pen. Why? It does not clip into the Surface so you will lose it, and a pen, while fantastic for taking notes or sketching in tablet mode, is less good than a mouse or trackpad for most other operations.
Do not compare this with an iPad. It only makes sense if you want or need to run Windows. It is even less like an iPad than Surface RT.
A failure? Not necessarily. Here is why you do want a Surface Pro:
It is a little bigger than Surface RT, but much smaller than the average laptop, even with the keyboard cover, and it is all you need on your trip. I find laptops bulky and awkward now.
Performance will be much better than Surface RT. I presume it better my existing Samsung Slate, which has an older Core i5, and that is already a zippy performer.
The Surface is well made and designed. The only problem I am aware of with Surface RT is fraying keyboard seams, which I hope will be fixed in later production runs. The flip-out stand works well and the keyboard covers are excellent.
That USB 3.0 port is a big asset. Of course Surface RT should have had this as well. You can attach as much storage as you need with great performance, or other devices.
The question is this: what other laptop or Windows 8 slate will be better than a Surface Pro, all things considered? You will easily find a better spec for the money, but when you evaluate the complete package Surface Pro may still be a winner.
That said, we have not yet seen Surface Pro and my judgment is based on combining what I know about Surface RT with my experience of the Samsung Core i5 slate.
The internal storage limitation is my biggest concern. 64GB is hopeless and 128GB still too small. There is a microSDXC card slot, and a sizeable card will be pretty much essential, again increasing the real-world price.
Now these are smart. A pair of three-way active speakers shaped like spinnakers, with Bluetooth 2.1 support so you can use them without wires. I think wireless is the future of home audio, so high quality devices like this catch my interest. You come home, pull out your smartphone, press play and sweet music fills the living room.
The e30s have a wireless controller too, a bulbous device which gives out an other-worldly red glow from its base. Twist to set the volume, tap the top to turn on or switch input. Is this all you need?
Here is a closer look. Each speaker stands around just over 400mm high. At the base they are about the size of a CD (remember them?), tapering to a point at the top. The speaker units are of plastic construction, mostly covered with acoustically transparent cloth, and with an aluminium protrusion at the base to give additional stability and a way of tidying the cables.
The right-hand speaker is the master, and has four connections:
Power in
Combined analogue/digital input
Subwoofer out
Connector for left-hand speaker
Internally, there are three drivers in each speaker, comprising a silk-dome tweeter, a 70mm mid-range unit, and a 116mm woofer. There appear to be six channels of amplification, one for each driver, rated at 10w RMS for the tweeter, 10w for the mid-range, and 25w for the bass, quoted per channel. Frequency response is quoted at 68Hz-20KHz +/- 3dB; good for speakers of this size, though for faithful low-frequency reproduction you will need to use that subwoofer connection.
Modes of operation
The Spinnakers are pretty flexible when it comes to connections. The analogue input is a standard 3.5mm jack which you can connect to any external player, such as a computer, an iPod, an Airport Express, or a CD player. This input doubles as an optical digital input, which I tested at 16/44 (standard CD resolution) without any issues. Alternatively you can use Bluetooth, with support for A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile), which means that most modern tablets or smartphones will be able to play audio to the speakers. No worries about dock connector types or Apple’s proprietary AirPlay wireless system.
A possible scenario then is to have the speakers permanently wired to a computer or another source such as a Squeezebox or Sonos unit. Then you can use Bluetooth for convenience, and the wired source for best quality.
An obvious position for the speakers is either side of a desktop computer, but they are good enough to sit in the living room too, particularly when boosted with a subwoofer.
Setup
After unpacking the speakers, the first task is to charge the wireless controller using the supplied USB cable. Next, connect the power, connect the speakers to each other, and optionally connect to a wired source.
This task is more awkward than it should be, since there is limited space in the base of the speaker and you have the bend the cable back firmly in order to align each plug with its socket. Next, you have to feed the cables through channels in the base of the unit in order to stand the speaker up without it rocking.
I found the cable tended to come away from the channels easily if you move the speaker so it is all a bit fiddly.
Next, find the controller and turn the speakers on by holding down its central button. The controller works as follows:
Press and hold top button to turn on, cycle between inputs, or turn off.
Tap top button to mute/unmute audio
Rotate controller to change volume
Hold down button and rotate controller to skip track back or next
The current status is shown by a light at the top of the right-hand speaker, which shows off for off, blue for Bluetooth, green for analogue wired input, and red for optical digital input.
Bluetooth pairing is rather simple. Switch to the Bluetooth input, then search for a Bluetooth device on the unit you want to connect. Select the Edifier and you are done. To connect a different device, repeat.
Sound quality
The sound is impressive, especially if you listen in the sweet spot in the centre with the speakers in front of you. The quality is rich and refined, especially with a wired connection, but also enjoyable via Bluetooth. They also go loud, not enough for parties or to annoy the neighbours perhaps, but plenty loud enough for most listening. To put some numbers on that, I measured over 85 dB without any obvious distortion. Bass is a little lightweight, but not so much as to spoil enjoyment.
I tried attaching a subwoofer which rounded out the sound nicely. The subwoofer output covers the range 20Hz – 100Hz and is pre-filtered. One note of caution is that the the output socket has a narrow entrance and I had to try a couple of different cables before finding one that fitted properly; the ill-fitting cable rewarded me with a horrible noise.
If I put on an audiophile hat I can find fault with the sound. It is slightly sibilant, especially via Bluetooth. There is some smearing of detail compared to a high-end system, and a slight boxiness to the sound. Vocals are not quite as natural. But here I am comparing to a system that is many times the size and price. In context, the e30’s sound fine and I doubt any purchaser will be unhappy with the sound.
Annoyances
There are a few issues with the Spinnakers. The worst flaw is the way the cabling is handled, awkward to fit, and tricky to press firmly enough into the holders to prevent a slight rockiness in the right-hand speaker which cannot be good for the sound.
Next, I don’t much like the way the status light works. It is not that easy to see from a distance. A status light on the controller rather than on the speaker would be welcome.
Another factor, not an annoyance exactly, is that the speakers are on the large side for a desktop – and the manual recommends having them 1 meter away from a monitor or TV set – but they are on the small side when placed on the floor.
Conclusion
Despite a few nits, I like these speakers for their stylish appearance, high sound quality, and flexible connections. The price may seem high, but bear in mind that you are getting amplification as well as loudspeakers, and sound that is well beyond most powered speakers. Set these up on a table, place a tablet in between, and you have a rich audio and video experience. I also like the idea of using these for a living room system, if they suit your decor.
A subwoofer is not essential but takes the sound to another level, provided of course that the sub is of equal or better quality than the Spinnakers.
A common complaint about apps written for the Windows Runtime, also known as Metro by those outside Microsoft, is that they tend to show only a small amount of data per screen. The most information-dense Metro app I have found is a game, Wordament, which shows a fair amount of data in its results screen.
The word lists scroll, and so does the list of players. Which proves that you can create an information-dense screen in a Metro app; though it is all custom-drawn.
I have just read this piece on Slate entitled Why is the Surface so bad? after using the device for most of yesterday, on a train and at a technical event.
Oddly, I like the Surface RT increasingly, though I too am puzzled by some of its shortcomings.
Here are some of the issues I am aware of:
The apps. This is the biggest issue. Where are the delightful apps? For example, the mail client is barely adequate. The music app is annoying, though there is plenty to stream if you have an Xbox Music Pass. It cannot play FLAC files, which I use for my Squeezebox-based system at home.
How hard is it for a company the size of Microsoft to write a superb mail app and a superb music app for its critical new product? I would guess that a small fraction of the advertising budget would have been enough. Why was there no one at Microsoft with the guts to throw them back at the team that developed them and say, “Not good enough, we do not have a product.”
Performance is so-so. It is not terrible in my experience, but at times makes you wonder if Windows 8 is too much on a Tegra 3; or whether it needs a whole lot more optimisation. Battery life is also OK but could be better. I got 7 hours or so yesterday, with wi-fi on constantly, and some of the time powering a phone being used as a wi-fi hotspot.
I got errors updating Microsoft Office. Mostly fixed by exiting the Office Upload Center. There’s no excuse for that. This is the appliance model. Microsoft knows exactly what hardware I have and what software I have, and has locked it down so I can only install sandboxed apps from the Store. Testing various update scenarios is easy.
For that matter, why is there an Office Upload Center? It is dreadful error-prone software. Dropbox has no Upload Center. Is it so hard to sync documents with SkyDrive or SharePoint – how long has Microsoft been batting at this problem?
I am concerned by reports of early keyboard disintegration, though mine is still OK
Enough griping though. Here is why I like this device.
First, I have no problem with the weight and I like the solid feel of the unit. The Surface is compact. The Surface with its keyboard is about 350g lighter and 4mm slimmer than my Samsung Slate without a keyboard; I am including the cover because I would never travel with a slate without a cover.
Second, unlike the Slate (magazine) reviewer, I do think the keyboard cover is a breakthrough. The Touch keyboard provides a usable full keyboard and trackpad while not adding any significant bulk; it forms a useful cover when closed, and when folded back it does not get in the way while you use Surface as a slate. I find myself using it in Slate mode frequently. Do not believe those who say you need keyboard and mouse to operate a Surface; there is only an argument for this if you never venture out of the desktop.
I can do more than occasional typing on the Touch keyboard; it is fine for longer documents as well.
Third, I can do real work with the Surface. Yesterday I sat with Surface on my lap, typing notes into Word, with Mail docked to the left, and Twitter open in desktop IE alongside Word. For all its faults, I found that the Surface worked well in this context.
Fourth, if you know Windows, there are things you can do that are difficult with other tablets. VPN to my office and remote desktop to a Windows 7 machine there is built in and works well. SharePoint via WebDAV is a shortcut in the Windows File Explorer.
Of course you could do all this with a laptop. So why not have a laptop, which you can buy for less money than a Surface? It is certainly an option; but as I have adapted first to the Samsung Slate running Windows 8, and now to the Surface, I find laptops bulky and inconvenient. I think of a laptop more as I used to perceive a desktop PC, something which is best suited to permanent siting on a desk rather than being carted around.
Further, the Surface really is a tablet. Imagine you want to show some photos to a friend or colleague. On a laptop that is awkward. The keyboard gets in the way. On a tablet like the Surface it is easy; just open the folder in the full-screen photo app and swipe through the images, with the keyboard cover folded back. Pretty much any tablet will do that equally well – or better if you have a Retina iPad – but it shows that Surface is not just a laptop in disguise.
There are reasons why I get better results from the Surface than some. One is that I know Windows 8 well, having used it intensively for many months. Another is that I am familiar with Windows foibles, so when these appear in the Surface I am likely to know what to do. Of course they should not appear at all; see above.
Microsoft seems to have created a device with many flaws, but one that is useful and sometimes delightful even despite those flaws.
Looking through my snaps from Microsoft’s Times Square launch of Windows 8 and Surface RT, I was struck by this image of a man capturing the event on his Apple iPad.
The picture was snapped in New York City on Wednesday 25th October 2012.
Microsoft has launched Windows Phone 8 at a press event in San Francisco, streamed around the world. Joe Belfiore presented the new features in his usual enthusiastic style (complete with kids on stage to show Kids Corner), and the phone was endorsed by CEO Steve Ballmer and celebrity Jessica Alba.
Key new features:
Built on Windows 8 kernel rather than Windows CE
Data Sense is for optimizing (ie reducing) mobile data usage and offers visibility about which apps are using data and how much, as well as a data compression feature that enables up to 45% more web browsing for the same amount of data transfer. The compression feature requires operator support and some details are not yet clear.
People hub has “Rooms” which let you group contacts, a feature that seems close to what Google+ offers with circles, though Microsoft also has a limited sharing feature that lets trusted contacts see a Room schedule on an iPhone.
New Skype app which runs in the background in an efficient manner – you wonder how popular this will be with operators
Kids Corner lets you create a kind of secondary login for children, with apps, games and music that you select. Your normal Start screen is protected by a password, so no embarrassing calls or tweets.
Apps can now display content on the lock screen and integrate into hubs and with Windows Phone Wallet.
More apps are coming, and Belfiore told us that 46 of the 50 most popular apps across all platforms are available for Windows Phone 8. Pandora, Urbanspoon and Temple Run got a mention.
There is an iTunes import feature which will copy unprotected music from iTunes to SkyDrive for use on the phone and with Xbox Music.
7GB SkyDrive cloud storage comes for free.
OneNote has a new voice transcription feature.
Now support for 50 languages, with apps in 191 countries
This was not an event for developers, though we did learn that the SDK will be made available to everyone from tomorrow 30th October.
Phones themselves will be available from this weekend in Europe and from November 14th in the USA.
I got a quick look at the HTX 8x, and was struck by how slim it is, with a 720X1280 4.3″ screen.
It is curved at the back and has a quality feel, though I am not sure HTC quite matches Nokia for hardware design.
I like Windows Phone and there are some tempting new features here. Will this improve Microsoft’s market share and Nokia’s fortunes? This may sound like ducking this issue, but I do not think the fortunes of Windows Phone depend on its features or even the quality of the phones. It is all about operator and retail partnerships, and what customers get told when they walk in to buy a phone and a contract. Windows Phone launched to near-invisibility on the high street. Matters have improved a little since then, especially after Nokia came out with the Lumia (Ballmer said that Nokia sells more Windows Phones than any other vendor), but Microsoft’s phone was still an also-ran after iOS and Android. How does Microsoft get into those in-store conversations, yet alone win them?
I also think Windows 8 is a factor here. If devices like Surface RT are popular, then Live Tiles and other elements of Windows Phone 8 will become familiar. On the other hand if Windows 8 users rush to install substitute Start menus and ignore the new app platform, not much will have been achieved.
I have been surprised by how much of the Windows 8 desktop is present in Windows RT. I had been expecting something more cut-down, to support Office, Explorer, Control Panel and a few other utilities. In fact, it seems to me pretty much the desktop we are used to, though there are differences such as the inability to join a domain. Here are a few screen grabs.
Control Panel is here, though despite the presence of Office 2013, it claims that no programs are installed.
PowerShell is there – interesting, since you could write your own desktop utilities as scripts, making the desktop less locked down (and possibly less secure) that I had expected. The Windows Scripting Host is here too.
and a command prompt, of course:
Incidentally, for screen grabs the Snipping Tool is present. There is no Print Screen key on the touch keyboard cover, but this works fine with a Bluetooth keyboard (I don’t have a Type keyboard).
I’m intrigued by the presence of Windows Easy Transfer. Who might be upgrading their PC to Windows RT?
Not quite everything is here. There is no Windows Media Player; you have to use the new-style apps.
Regedit is here, and prompts for UAC elevation just like on x86.
Remote Desktop Connection is here. So is VPN connection, which works fine for me from the USA to my ISA Sever in the UK, but will depend on your setup (I am trying to clarify this point).
Broadly, everything seems to be here other than a few bits Microsoft chose to pull out. I had thought the reverse would be true.
Note: I attempted to write this post on Surface with Word as the blog authoring tool, but got stuck with the images. Live Writer is far better, which is a concern.
Since there is a certain amount of puzzlement around concerning Microsoft’s new version of Windows, or I should say, two new versions of Windows, here are the answers to the questions many are asking.
Why is Windows 8 so odd?
Windows is the most popular desktop operating system in the world; but is on a trajectory of slow decline. A combination of Macs at the high end and iPad or Android tablets in mobile is eroding its market share. You might not mind that, but Microsoft does, and Windows 8 is its answer. It has a tablet personality which is Microsoft’s tablet play, and a desktop personality which lets you run your existing Windows applications. The two are melded together, which makes Windows 8 a little odd, but ensures that neither one will be ignored.
Why did Microsoft not make a separate tablet version of Windows, like Apple’s iOS and OSX?
Many users think Microsoft should have made the tablet personality in Windows 8 a separate operating system. However, when they say that this would have made more sense and be less odd and intrusive, what they mean is that if it were a separate operating system they could ignore it and get on with their work in old-style Windows. That would achieve nothing for Microsoft, since the tablet-only OS would fail in the market.
Furthermore, Microsoft did in fact make a separate tablet version of Windows. It is called Windows RT (see below).
Why did Microsoft make the desktop side of Windows 8 impossible to use without touch input?
Actually it is fine to use with keyboard and mouse, it just takes some getting used to. When people say it is impossible to use, they mean that they have only tried it for five minutes in a virtual machine and did not like it. If you stick at it, you discover that Microsoft actually thought hard about keyboard and mouse users, and that the new Start screen is a better application launcher than the old Start menu, particularly in combination with the most used applications pinned to the taskbar. Some will not get that far, in which case they will stick with Windows 7 or even buy Macs. That is Microsoft’s calculated risk.
Why didn’t Microsoft simply make desktop Windows easy to use with touch input?
Microsoft tried, in Tablet PC and in Windows 7, but could not make it work. The biggest problem is that while Microsoft conceivably could have made the Windows desktop work well with touch input alone, it had no chance of fixing third-party applications, or older versions of Microsoft’s own software like Office.
Why did Microsoft remove the Start menu from the desktop?
This was not just to annoy you; but Microsoft would rather risk annoying you than have the new app platform in Windows be ignored. That said, there are third-party utilities that put something very like the Start menu back on the desktop if you prefer.
Why is the tablet side of Windows 8 locked down so you can only install apps from the Store?
Well, there are ways. But Microsoft observed Apple’s success with this model on the iPhone and iPad. Easy app discovery, no malware, and a stream of income from third-party sales. Aiming for lock-down was an easy decision; but the Intel version of Windows 8 will never be truly locked down.
Why are the apps in the Windows Store so few and so poor?
This is because the tablet personality in Windows 8 is a new and unproven platform. Software vendors and app developers are not sure whether it will succeed; and they are busy making apps for the two tablet platforms that already have a market, iOS and Android. If Windows 8 takes off, then the apps will start to flow. Unfortunately, the poor quality of the apps so far makes that less likely. Microsoft is countering by seeding the market with a few high quality apps, like OneNote MX, and hoping that Windows 8 users will create a strong demand for apps as the operating system becomes well-known.
What is Windows RT?
Windows RT is Windows 8 running on the ARM processor. The difference from the user’s perspective is that only new-style tablet apps will run on Windows RT. Your existing Windows apps will not run. It is not all bad news though. A Windows RT tablet or notebook will be more secure and run more efficiently than Windows 8 on Intel. If Microsoft has done its job, it should be more stable too, since apps are isolated from each other and from the operating system. Another bonus is that Windows RT comes with Microsoft Office bundled for free – though business users should beware of licensing issues which prohibit commercial use, unless you have an additional license to use Office.
Why are there so few Windows RT devices?
Microsoft’s third-party partners are not sure that Windows RT will succeed. They are a conservative bunch, and think that users will prefer compatibility with the past over the advantages in security, efficiency, and usability with touch, that Windows RT offers.
Why are most Windows 8 tablets complex and expensive hybrids with twisty screens and keyboards?
See above. Most of Microsoft’s hardware partners are not sure that users will buy into the idea of using Windows with simple touch-only slates, so they are playing safe, as they think, with hybrid devices that can be used either as slates or like laptops. Unfortunately the high price of such complex devices will limit demand. Microsoft is doing its own devices, called Surface, as examples of hardware that shows off Windows 8 to best advantage.
Should I upgrade to Windows 8?
If you don’t mind trying something new, yes. It runs better than Windows 7 in most respects. Yes, it is a little odd and has some annoyances, but nothing too serious. Give yourself a little time to learn it. If you hate change though, stick with what you like.
Will Windows 8 succeed, or is it the beginning of the end for Windows?
Ask me that a year from now. Let me add though, that the thing to watch is the Windows Store. If the Store flourishes and quality apps start to flow, it is working. If not, then Microsoft will have failed to achieve its goal with Windows 8, which is to establish a new app ecosystem.
![clip_image002[6]](http://gadgets.itwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/clip_image0026.jpg "clip_image002[6]")
![clip_image004[4]](http://gadgets.itwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/clip_image0044.jpg "clip_image004[4]")
![clip_image006[4]](http://gadgets.itwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/clip_image0064.jpg "clip_image006[4]")
![clip_image008[4]](http://gadgets.itwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/clip_image0084.jpg "clip_image008[4]")