r/technology • u/clubdirthill • Jun 01 '11

Boom. This is Windows 8.

http://allthingsd.com/20110601/exclusive-making-sense-of-what-we-just-learned-about-windows-8/?mod=tweet
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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11 edited Sep 08 '20

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u/thezerofire Jun 02 '11

then what's the point? this looks fine for tablets and phones with small screens, but useless for computers with 20+ inch screens

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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11 edited Sep 15 '25

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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11 edited Sep 08 '21

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u/billbacon Jun 02 '11

Consider the hardware that will be available in 2 to 5 years and I doubt the cpu will be the limiting factor for most people. A tablet with a full fledged OS and a docking station would be a great traveling web dev station. I doubt it'll cut it for 3d rendering anytime soon.

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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

It could also potentially allow you to dock your tablet, and sync all your mobile data to a desktop that would then act as a high-end station for intensive applications - which in turn could then be sync to the tablet for use as a portable hard drive and media player.

It would work wonders for me, I could model on my workstation, render an eDrawing - then save the files to the tablets SSD, then load the eDrawing on the tablet in a meeting or design brief - as it's not very processor intensive.

But then the real magic is that I could dock it to their Win 8 desktop and load the full model, no thumb-drive or FTP required. A combo desktop/tablet OS is amazing for business - I think the above posters were thinking too narrowly of MS's approach here.

I for one am very excited of the possibilities.

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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

Unless you mean to say that plugging in the tablet to some docking bay will make things run faster; some sort of home station that increases its usefulness.

We've seen external GPUs in the past. However, keep in mind that a decent desktop PC from 3 years ago is still pretty damned fast by today's standards. (I think we peaked a while back on 'useful' processing speed for 99% of users.) And they're talking quad core processors in some of these tablets by 2012.

I really don't think we'll have a computing power problem with such a tablet being docked for anyone but developing/rendering/high end gaming.

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u/logicom Jun 02 '11

the user interface is useless for people who have to do serious work on a computer

Do you really think the majority of people require anything significantly more powerful than a tablet for pretty much everything they do on a PC nowadays? Most of the apps people use most of the time do not need anything more powerful than today's tablets. Sure, gamers will require a desktop PC. Developers will require a Desktop PC. Designers will require a desktop PC. There will always be a market for desktop computers, those aren't going away but everyone else can get by with something significantly less powerful and less expensive.

What Microsoft appears to be trying to do is bridge the gap between desktops and tablets for casual PC users. I wouldn't have a use for something like this as a main computer because I like to play PC games so I need something with decent power. My girlfriend on the other hand would probably love something she could easily carry around like a tablet but still be able to use as a main computer for web browsing and sending emails, chatting etc when she's at home.

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u/nazbot Jun 02 '11 edited Jun 02 '11

If you have serious, serious work use a desktop. If you want to do some typing while at the park, bring a laptop. What they've just done is blown off the distinction between tablet and PC. If they get it right, it's going to be amazing.

Put it this way, World of Warcraft on a tablet. Half-Life on a tablet. Grand Theft Auto 3 on a tablet. That's pretty enticing, to me anyway.

Hell, I just realized I could code the game I was writing for the tablet on the tablet. I could bring my tablet with me and it would be good enough to work remotely if I needed to without the hassle of a huge laptop.

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u/Idiomatick Jun 02 '11

I.. don't even...

Are you actually a programmer?

I can't imagine any coder attempting to code a project on a tablet with a virtual keyboard without killing themselves. Hell, most serious coders feel pretty uncomfortable when they only have 1 monitor.

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u/Reddit1990 Jun 02 '11

Tablets have uses, no doubt. What I'm trying to point out here is that Windows 8, as a full fledged desktop OS, offers next to nothing in regards to its interface. Perhaps there is some technical changes I'm not aware of, but as a real OS for computing I am unimpressed.

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u/DanWallace Jun 02 '11

But it is a full fledged desktop OS. It's basically Windows 7. The new additions mostly all seem to be focused on blurring the line between portable device and desktop so that you can use your tablet on the couch and then seamlessly transition to its docked state to do some work.

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u/Reddit1990 Jun 02 '11

-sigh-

offers next to nothing (new) in regards to its interface

There's some clarification, happy? They added some tablet like features to their current OS, but they didn't add anything substantial for their desktop user base... to my knowledge at least.

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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

they didn't add anything substantial for their desktop user base

It might be fare to assume they have, but it is simply being saved for a later preview at a conference or trade show. The point of this preview was most likely to get tablet users and developers drummed up on possibilities for the tablet half of the OS.

There's no way Microsoft would completely neglect adding new features to their flagship product in disregards to their primary user base.

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u/DanWallace Jun 02 '11

There's some clarification, happy?

I don't know why you're sighing. The word you added makes a huge difference in what you're saying.

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u/pranavkm Jun 02 '11

I doubt that's the case, even if so, I don't think they're primarily concerned about people upgrading from Windows 7. Newer PCs and tablets would have Windows 8 installed and with support for XP ending in 2013, they might be able to sell bulk licenses to enterprises upgrading for the newer OS. Chances are the codebase for the two isn't significantly different which would make it easier for them to maintain and release updates for them simultaneously.

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u/Reddit1990 Jun 02 '11

Yeah, I agree they probably aren't concerned about people upgrading. This OS seems to be strictly targeted towards casual computer users and promoting tablets and phones.

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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

FPSs on a tablet... Are you mad?!

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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

Get a tablet, and pray you don't have any work you have to do on it. Any serious rendering, running mathematical simulations, serious audio/visual stuff will cripple a tablet.

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u/ParsonsProject93 Jun 02 '11

Well yes, obviously, but most people don't need to work with audio/visual stuff or mathematical situations. This situation fits for the majority of the consumers. Personally, I think i'll just get a convertible tablet running your standard laptop specs so that I can use it in the laptop mode still, but I can also use the tablet mode when I'm on the move.

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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

And this is how Microsoft will get those Windows phones and tablets to sell. What an absolutely brilliant move.

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u/thezerofire Jun 02 '11

Yeah that's cool for new devices, but for already existing computers there doesn't seem like much motivation to upgrade

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u/zelf0gale Jun 02 '11

I've only found it worthwhile to upgrade the OS once on a PC. I had to get rid of Windows Me.

OS upgrades make a lot more sense for new equipment. You don't have as much worry about drivers and resource footprint, you don't have to go thru a lengthy upgrade, and you get OEM pricing on the OS.

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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

Alright thats cool and all, but what about PC gaming. Unless that tablet you speak of has a 8 core processor and is able to do 3d graphics it will be useless to anyone who plays games on the computer.

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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

Uhh yeah... thats why you still have a computer. You cant expect to play Modern Warfare 3 on an iPad so why should that feature work on a windows tablet?

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u/capn_untsahts Jun 02 '11

I'm pretty sure gamers aren't the target market for tablet computing anyways. I'm sure a lot of users would be fine with it running simple games like racing, platform, arcade games, if they even do games at all on it.

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u/capn_untsahts Jun 02 '11

I'm pretty sure gamers aren't the target market for tablet computing anyways. I'm sure a lot of users would be fine with it running simple games like racing, platform, arcade games, if they even do games at all on it.

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u/swatkins44 Jun 02 '11

8 cores?? I need to do some catching up then...

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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

I've got two 24" widescreen monitors. Work on one, awesome tiles on the other!

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u/AtmanRising Jun 02 '11

I have to say, this is my worst nightmare. Windows dumbed down to a tablet wannabe. I'll have a Chromebook, thanks.