The left and right mutual Boosts the confusion

Computer store news: Among all Microsoft products, Windows RT is the most confusing, because it is not only compatible with the software of the Windows platform, but it makes the desktop and mobile applications confusing.

Windows RT looks like Windows 8, but it's actually a far cry

Among all Microsoft products, Windows RT is undoubtedly the biggest mess. Compared to the continued high sales of Xbox, the impressive and powerful hardware of Surface, the attractiveness of Windows Phone 8, the innovation of Office, and the millions of licenses that Windows 8 has sold, Windows RT is really terrible. Incompatible with Windows software confuses Microsoft's desire to penetrate Windows systems into ARM-based devices is not surprising. After all, the popularity of iPads and Android devices proves that the architecture has an absolute advantage over the x86 architecture in the mobile space. Microsoft embraces the ARM architecture, which is based on its cheap and popular, and hopes to enable more users to use their own systems and software, whether in the office or at home. To this end, Microsoft specifically developed the Windows RT operating system for ARM devices, which is a system platform that looks similar to Windows 8, but is actually far from the system. True, the two are very similar in terms of basic code and functionality, but they have a completely different architecture: Windows RT is for ARM devices, and Win8 is for x86 devices, and unless they are recompiled, the two applications are not compatible. run. This means that massive desktop applications for x86-based Windows systems cannot run in Windows RT. So the first confusion has surfaced: although Windows RT and Windows 8 systems look very similar, they lack the basic ability to run Microsoft's existing desktop applications, which brings great marketing and sales. mess. I used to talk to sales people in stores selling Windows RT devices and asked if they could run standard Windows programs on Windows RT tablets. The answers were all negative. I also found that other consumers have similar problems. After the sales staff explained, most consumers are still confused. Consumers are told that some applications can't be run on a Windows tablet, but they can be used on another Windows device, and the interface looks exactly the same. It's hard for ordinary consumers to understand. They naturally have questions, and these questions don't exist on iOS or Android. Compared to Apple and Google, Microsoft's operating system layout looks a mess. Google and Apple each have two separate operating systems: one for desktops/notebooks (Chrome OS and Mac OS X) and one for tablets/smart phones (Android and iOS). Microsoft has three sets: one for desktops, laptops and x86 tablets (Win8), one for ARM tablets (Windows RT), and one for smartphones (WP8). The price and function overlap. In fact, Microsoft chose to support two different hardware architectures, which determined that the company must provide two different operating systems, which led to the inconsistency between Windows RT and Windows Phone 8. So Microsoft chose to combine the two, and developed a product, the strange thing of Windows RT. Microsoft intends to rely on Windows RT to open up the fast-growing mobile market, which is destined to be a chaotic start. In theory, Windows RT and Windows 8 devices are different, the former is cheaper and lighter, and the battery life is longer; the latter is more expensive, more powerful, and has more features. But the reality is that the difference between them is not very clear, which further increases confusion and leads to confusion. Because the hardware is not very different, the price of Windows RT devices is not too much. Most products on the market start at $499, including Microsoft's own Surface, ASUS VivoTab RT and Dell XPS 10. Some of the higher-end tablets start at $799, such as Lenovo Yoga 11. However, due to the wider selection of configurable hardware for Windows 8 tablets, the price difference is even greater. Manufacturers can choose Intel's Ivy Beidge processor like Surface, or like the Samsung ATIV Smart PC, choose the lower-performance Intel "Clover Trail"; Atom processor, you can also choose AMD specifically for tablets. Hondo” chip. Windows 8 tablets with Atom chips typically start at $500, basically in line with the price of Windows RT devices, representing products such as the Acer Iconia W510 and the Dell Latitude 10. This means that you can enjoy the full performance x86 Windows device experience at the price of an ARM device. Of course, consumers who are looking for higher performance can choose Intel i5 or similar processors, of course, the price is naturally higher. Among the current Windows 8 tablet devices that have been introduced, the biggest challenge is whether they can have the portability of ARM-like devices. Among these devices, the Samsung ATIV Smart PC weighs 744 grams, which is not too light for a 10-inch tablet; the Latitude 10 is 10.5 mm thick, unlike the thickness that a tablet should have. Fortunately, the battery life of the Intel Atom chip has been greatly improved, basically in line with similar products equipped with ARM chips. Perhaps one of the benefits of Microsoft's Windows 8 and Windows RT tablet devices is that both Intel and AMD are forced to speed up the battery life of their own processor chips to work with vendors such as Qualcomm and NVIDIA in the ARM camp. Processor chips are on par with and even challenge them. Microsoft's mutual struggles have increased confusion. Recently, Microsoft's competitors are actually themselves: Windows 8 competes with Windows RT; x86 architecture is on the ARM architecture. Of course, Windows RT devices based on ARM architecture can't run all Windows applications, but Windows 8 devices based on x86 architecture can, which will make Windows RT devices more and more difficult to sell, this confusion will get worse. The author's advice to Microsoft is to completely abandon ARM and Windows RT, but this will also cause many problems. Because on the one hand, Windows RT tablets are already on the market; on the other hand, x86 devices still can't get rid of the competition of other companies' ARM devices. A better solution is that Microsoft should adjust the definition of Windows 8 and Windows RT to make it more responsive to the market while reducing confusion. For Windows RT/Windows 8, my advice is: Windows 8 should maintain a full-featured desktop version for x86 devices, including desktops, laptops, and high-end tablets; Windows RT should completely abandon the desktop, focusing on ARM tablets and On low-end x86 devices (such as Atom platforms). In this way, Microsoft can use Windows RT as a product under the Windows platform —— a special product that is not for the desktop. In this way, one for the desktop and one for the mobile, the end user will not be confused. As for Microsoft's desire to migrate some popular desktop applications to the mobile side, it can be achieved through targeted development. At the same time, consumers with higher demand can spend more money on Windows 8 devices with desktop mode to meet their needs for running Photoshop, AutoCAD, Premiere and PC games. As a result, there is a clear distinction between price, performance and functionality, which does not give consumers a very confusing feeling. The question now is whether Microsoft will really take action to correct this confusion in Windows RT manufacturing.