armed

Would you buy a Windows tablet that doesn't run older Windows applications?

That's the question that keeps dogging me when I see Microsoft demonstrating tablets based on ARM processors from Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Nvidia. Tablets with those processors will not run so-called Intel "x86" legacy software (though they will run a full version of Office 15).

Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky wrote about this on February 9. "If you need to run existing x86/64 (Intel-based) software, then you will be best served with Windows 8 on x86/64."

And he reiterated this at … Read more

Microsoft made it clear today why Windows 8 on an Intel-based tablet will be different from competing tablets based on ARM chips.

After speaking in Barcelona for close to an hour today about how Windows 8 on Intel and Windows 8 on ARM (WOA) will be the same, two Microsoft executives addressed, albeit briefly, a much more sensitive topic: why they're also very different.

Windows 8 marks the first time that a mainstream Windows operating system will run on processors from ARM chip suppliers like Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Nvidia in addition to those from Intel and AMD.

First, … Read more

Microsoft is providing Windows 8 test PCs based on silicon from Qualcomm and Nvidia in an invitation-only seeding program.

The two chip suppliers are working with Microsoft to provide test PCs to select developers to test and optimize apps for future Windows on ARM PCs and tablets, both companies announced today.

Windows 8 marks the first time that a mainstream Windows operating system will run on processors from ARM chip suppliers in addition to those from Intel and AMD.

In Qualcomm's case, a pre-release version of Windows on ARM will run on a PC with a Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 … Read more

It's become very fashionable lately to talk down the personal computer. HP infamously flirted with dropping out of the PC business before backtracking under a new CEO, and a Dell executive recently said, "We're no longer a PC company, we're an IT company." Add two years of non-stop iPad fever (and the resultant tablet gold rush), and that old-fashioned keyboard-touchpad-screen device sitting on your lap suddenly seems very out of style. … Read more

Businesses looking to support Windows 8 ARM tablets may find a few features missing in action.

Ahead of today's launch of the beta dubbed the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, Microsoft has revealed that certain features used to manage Windows-based devices won't be available for the ARM platform.

"ARM-based tablets running Windows 8 are ideal for workers who are constantly on the go and need a long-lasting battery, Microsoft said in its Windows 8 Consumer Preview Product Guide for Business document released today.

"ARM-based tablets use less power than 32-bit and 64-bit devices and workers can rely … Read more

Hewlett-Packard has Windows 8 tablets and hybrid devices in the works, sources told CNET. This follows comments this week by CEO Meg Whitman, who signaled that HP is readying a bevy of Windows 8 products for the fourth quarter.

Those tablets, which are either being considered or being readied for commercial release, include two designs based on Intel's next-generation Atom processor and one using a Qualcomm ARM processor, said an industry source familiar with the designs.

HP's enthusiasm around Windows 8 products is no secret. CEO Meg Whitman made it amply clear this week during the company's … Read more

Apple is working on a laptop with an internally-designed chip, a project that might pose a serious risk to Intel, an analyst said today in a research note.

"We have numerous datapoints that Apple's processor design group is working on an ARM-based product for its notebook line. Whether or not it goes into production remains to be seen, but it is the highest probability risk to Intel from the ARM camp in the PC market," said Piper Jaffray analyst Gus Richard in a research note today.

U.K.-based ARM provides the basic design for chips that … Read more

Microsoft has tablet computers in mind for the next generation of its operating system.

The software giant plans to release a flavor of Windows 8 on ARM chips at the same time it releases one for the so-called x86 chips that power traditional PCs. That was an open question ever since Microsoft previewed Windows 8 in September. And it's important because the ARM version of the new operating system will be the one that powers many of the tablets that Microsoft hopes will compete with Apple's industry-leading iPads.

In a blog post, Windows President Steven Sinofsky said "… Read more

One thing was made crystal clear today by Microsoft. Windows 8 on ARM will not be the same experience as Windows 8 on Intel-AMD--despite a big effort by Microsoft to be consistent.

Windows 8 ARM devices will run on processors from Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, and Nvidia--marking the first time that a mainstream Windows operating system will run on processors from ARM chip suppliers in addition to those of Intel-AMD.

Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky said today that Windows 8 on ARM (WOA) will launch at the same time as Windows on Intel-AMD (x86)--though he didn't say when--and that ARM-based … Read more