Windows RT ARM Driver Issues May Cause Problems With Manufacturing; Microsoft’s Surface Not Helping
- Category: Editorials
- Created: 07 July 2012
Microsoft’s Windows 8 (both Windows RT and Windows 8 for x86-64) is due to hit the market around November of this year and it has already caused a ton of controversy. But there is one that did not get a ton of press when it was announced that highlights a few issues with Windows that many are not anticipating. Around the first of July it was announced that HP would not be making an ARM based tablet for the next OS and we also know that Acer will probably not as well.
We Check Out Internet Explorer 10 for Metro and The Desktop, Plus a few other Metro Apps
- Category: Consumer Software
- Created: 15 March 2012
Microsoft is doing the hard sell on Windows 8 features and in particular they have made a valiant effort to push past some of the bad press (and consumer grumbling) about Metro UI and the way many of the apps are locked down. We have talked a little about this and even touched on it during some of our gaming coverage. Although you can launch “desktop” applications from the Start Screen (The Metro UI interface) you are not actually running them there. The only apps that will run in Metro UI Mode are ones that are downloaded from the Microsoft Store. This limits the functionality of the OS in many ways. Sure you can get some applications to interact with each other, but even then there are limitations.
Where do we go from here?
- Category: Editorials
- Created: 23 January 2013
The consumer electronic market is an interesting one. It is probably one of the only markets (with the exception of possibly the auto industry) to have the massive number of incorrect segmenting of products. One of the biggest areas of segmentation (incorrect segmentation) is in the “PC” market. Here the competition for products is insane. Back in the early days (the days when we had IBM Compatibles) things were relatively simple; at least they were on the surface. When you walked into a store and looked for a computer (if you were at all interested in having one back in the mid-90s) you saw IBM’s and their clones. One of the first computers I was exposed to was the Osborne One which actually predates the original IBM PC and the consolidation of the market in the early to mid-80s. In fact it was the introduction of the IBM PC combined with the Kaypro II portable that ended up killing Osborne and their chance in the market.
With Windows RT it could be nVidia that comes out as the winner
- Category: Editorials
- Created: 12 August 2012
With all of the news around Windows 8 and Microsoft’s Surface tablet many might have missed out on a small report that went around. In this report it was revealed that manufacturers like Qualcomm Texas Instrument, Samsung and more were having issues getting drivers working for Windows RT. We covered it and found that in more than a few cases the information was pretty spot on. We know that Acer decided to focus on x86 based products instead of opting for ARM due to technical difficulties. The issue which has slowed some OEM’s Windows RT progress was also used in the many reports that Microsoft was showing OEMs how it’s done.
AMD Acquisition Rumors Might Boost Stock Prices, But Appears To Have No Real Substance
- Category: News
- Created: 09 August 2012
Rumors are fun things, but in the end a good deal of them can be counted out with little more than common sense (and a little research). An interesting rumor that popped up in the past weeks is one that is trying to claim that AMD is a prime target for acquisition. Right now the potential buyers are listed as Samsung and Qualcomm, but does any of that make sense? Is AMD really a prime target for acquisition and are they ready to be bought out by someone else? Let’s take a look at these rumors and see if they hold any water.a
As Expected nVidia's Tegra 3 Will Dominate The Windows RT Launch
- Category: News
- Created: 15 August 2012
The other day Microsoft decided to make an official announcement of the OEM partners that will be supporting Windows RT for the October 26th launch party. The list is pretty much what we described before and shows Lenovo, Asus, Dell and Samsung. Acer, HP, Toshiba, Motorola, HTC and more will be passing on this (Motorola and HTC not by choice …). Of that list HP, Acer, and Toshiba will still work to release Intel based tablets running Windows 8 by the official launch date. The list has been dwindling since Steve Ballmer first made his proclamation that there would be 20+ tablets running Windows RT for the launch.
Flawed Methods and Inaccurate Results Used to Show ARM CPUs as More Efficient
- Category: News
- Created: 21 June 2012
There used to be a thing called truth in journalism. It meant that when you published an article you should at the very least check your facts if you are presenting it as “news” in the world of editorial articles things are different as an editorial is nearly always an opinion based article with some facts thrown in for furn. What has happened though is that with the introduction of Blogs, Fan Sites and other venues for information some of the fact checking has gone out the window in the effort to be the first to report on a juicy bit of news. When an article hits one of the big sites it often gets spread around the net and becomes the “truth” simply by means of repetition. We have watched this many times (and it is something that Apple’s PR and marketing thrive on).
Google's Launch of Jelly Bean Illustrates Why ARM As Server CPU Has A Way to Go
- Category: Editorials
- Created: 27 June 2012
Google (and ARM as a whole) is finding out the hard way that building an OS is not that easy and without proper and full support you are going to have problems across your entire platform. Today and Google I/O 12 Google announced and showed off Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Now this sounds great but there are still a ton of devices that are waiting for ICS (Android 4.0) that was announced last year.
Microsoft Working to Release 32 Windows 8 Tablets by Mid-2013
- Category: News
- Created: 19 April 2012
We have had quite a bit on Microsoft’s next operating system here on the site including gaming performance, Internet Explorer 10 and the Metro UI (which we still do not particularly like). After tinkering around with Windows 8 and seeing the potential underneath we do get that even if Windows 8 is not a blockbuster it will change the way that the tablet market works forever.
Windows 8 is Here!... Now What?
- Category: Editorials
- Created: 26 October 2012
The tablet wars are going to get very interesting now that Microsoft has pushed out Windows 8 and their “design point” device the Surface RT. Already this morning there are multiple articles about this new OS and hardware from both sides of the argument. It is interesting to see the comments that range across Facebook and other social networking sites about the new OS, and more importantly about Microsoft’s Surface RT. This last product has created its own subset of fans and haters outside the general argument about Windows 8. So the big question is, where does Windows 8 and Surface RT stand in the market on the day of the launch, and where do they really fit in?
