At the end of last week, the Mozilla Foundation publicly voiced its concerns about certain restrictions that Microsoft is imposing on its new Windows RT operating system – the version of Windows 8 designed and optimised for ARM-based devices. Microsoft’s plan is for Internet Explorer 10 to be the only browser on Windows RT that can operate in both the new Metro and ‘classic’ Desktop environments.
Graphic chips player Nvidia raised its sales outlook for the second quarter and touted the ramp up of its latest Tegra chips for smartphones, tablets and Windows 8 on the ARM architecture. But the company misjudged demand for its latest GPUs and is straining to get enough supply from TSMC, its semiconductor manufacturer. How Nvidia muddles through its supply issues will dictate its success in the ultrabook market.
Intel CEO Paul Otellini on Thursday said that the company has an advantage over its rival ARM on Windows 8 for tablets because of decades of developing x86 chips that support the Windows operating system.
Windows RT, also known as Windows 8 ARM, is expected to to grow slowly in the tablet market place over the next five years, according to a new report from NPD DisplaySearch.
Don't look for tablets sporting Windows RT to have a big impact in the next year or two, says NPD DisplaySearch -- as it boosts its expectations for the tablet market overall.
While it will be six months or longer before Microsoft releases Windows 8 and its companion products, the company has been putting out a lot of information about its plans lately. One big Windows 8 mystery to date is Windows for ARM based tablets. Formerly known as Windows on ARM (or WOA), the company recently settled on Windows RT as the official name for Windows 8 on low-cost ARM-based tablets.
Following Microsoft and Barnes and Noble's joint announcement earlier today that Microsoft would be investing $300 million for a 17.6% stake in a Barnes and Noble spinoff company based around Barnes and Noble's Nook line, speculation is now mounting that future Nook products may be powered by Windows.
Summary: I'd thought Windows 8 tablets one shot at the business market because IT administrators could deploy and manage them with Active Directory. Guess what? They're not supporting Active Directory on them.
In a recent development, Microsoft unveiled three editions of its next Windows products, namely, the consumer-friendly Windows 8, the more advanced and versatile Windows 8 Pro and the tablet-friendly Windows RT.
Microsoft has put up a blog post confirming the naming structure for the next version of the Windows operating system. It also lists most of the features that each edition will have.