PREDICTION: countdown to failure, Windows 8 RT tablet will be an unmitigated failure.

[cmdrdredd]

PC side can run all RT apps, doesn't work the other way around.

That is why RT will fail...people will see Windows 8 and then soon realize their stuff from their laptop doesn't work on it.

Win8 Pro version of the surface will do alright because it is a laptop with no keyboard, RT is too limited. I know a number of people who would buy a surface but won't because WIndows 8 RT is limited and if they wanted limited they'd buy an iPad or Android tablet instead.

actually I see 8RT doing better than 8Pro. On desktops or laptops without a touchscreen metro is fucking horrible. On an arm tablet is can see RT doing pretty decent.

Install Start8 and you can ignore metro altogether on your desktop or laptop. Just because you fail to do any real research is not anyone else's problem and it's YOUR fail, not microsoft's. Metro is NOT mandatory for x86 applications BTW.

Really guys on the desktop YOU DO NOT HAVE TO EVER SEE METRO. Yes that's right, Start8 turns it off and boots you to the desktop WITH A START MENU! Some apps that require metro will require you to flip back but again, x86 apps can be run from the desktop mode.

 

[makken]

I think RT will fail not because the OS is bad, but because of haswell.

With the power envelopes that Intel is advertising, it seems very likely that haswell will work fine in a tablet form factor. Hell current ivy bridge ultra books aren't that far off as is. As such I see no reason why anyone would want an ARM tablet over an x86 one.

 

[dagamer34]

We need to actually define what failure is, because I don't see how Windows RT can fail if Windows 8 succeeds. The success of the latter pretty much means the success of the former, as when you've got hundreds of millions of Windows 8 computers out there, developers are going to want to make apps for the most popular OS in the world, and those Metro apps will also run on Windows RT as well.

 

[dagamer34]

I think RT will fail not because the OS is bad, but because of haswell.

With the power envelopes that Intel is advertising, it seems very likely that haswell will work fine in a tablet form factor. Hell current ivy bridge ultra books aren't that far off as is. As such I see no reason why anyone would want an ARM tablet over an x86 one.

Because the greatest benefit (x86 app compatibility) can also be its greatest weakness (ability to get malware). That and an ARM chip costs only $20 to make whereas a Haswell chip is $200+. A Windows RT and Haswell Windows 8 tablet will never cost the same.

 

[Red Storm]

Is the width really going to be an issue? Compare to an MBA which is just about an inch (10.6 v 11.6) bigger. I think the keyboard size will be fine, its performance however has yet to be seen

All I know is that I've used keyboards that are the same width as the iPad (landscape obviously) and they were very cramped compared to a normal sized keyboard. There's no way anyone who needs to do a lot of typing is going to stick with such a small keyboard. And then there's the issue of the keys themselves. A real mechanical keyboard will smoke the cover keyboard thing. Combine those two and I am not buying the opinion that it's a compelling feature. It'll be neat, but a laptop replacement? Only as much as any other tablet keyboard is.

 

[blurredvision]

I'm not the biggest fan of W8 but a lot of hate here is irrational. I really think a lot of the negativity is very short-sighted, which honestly is to be somewhat expected on a tech forum like this.

I would suggest anybody who is interested, check out the AMA on reddit that the Surface team did a couple weeks ago:

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/11kyja/iam_panos_panay_gm_of_microsoft_surface_amaa_ask/

One of the good questions that was answered is as follows:

Q: How big is the install of Windows RT? Meaning if I get a 32gb unit, how much free space will I have? Can I save downloaded Apps to the SD card so it doesnt take up primary storage space?

A: After the OS, OfficeRT and a bunch of apps, you will still have more that 20GB. As you say, you can always add an SD card and while you cannot add apps there, you can get music, movies and photos there.

 

[Red Storm]

Are we going to be able to use the Surface RT as a drag a drop storage when hooked up to a computer? Or are you going to have to use their Zune software? If it's the latter, this thing is definitely DOA for me.

 

[blurredvision]

Are we going to be able to use the Surface RT as a drag a drop storage when hooked up to a computer? Or are you going to have to use their Zune software? If it's the latter, this thing is definitely DOA for me.

There's no such thing as Zune software anymore. I've not seen any mention of specific programs to interface with the Surface when plugged into another PC, my guess is that it will show up as a drive. Otherwise, you'd have to use SkyDrive or other cloud service, which is just as viable and often times a better solution.

 

[WelshBloke]

... Install Start8 and you can ignore metro altogether on your desktop or laptop. Just because you fail to do any real research is not anyone else's problem and it's YOUR fail, not microsoft's. Metro is NOT mandatory for x86 applications BTW.

Really guys on the desktop YOU DO NOT HAVE TO EVER SEE METRO. Yes that's right, Start8 turns it off and boots you to the desktop WITH A START MENU! Some apps that require metro will require you to flip back but again, x86 apps can be run from the desktop mode.

Don't Microsoft keep nixing those 3rd party solutions?

 

[cmdrdredd]

Don't Microsoft keep nixing those 3rd party solutions?

People keep saying this but it has never happened. Start8 is still there and still works.

 

[386DX]

All I know is that I've used keyboards that are the same width as the iPad (landscape obviously) and they were very cramped compared to a normal sized keyboard. There's no way anyone who needs to do a lot of typing is going to stick with such a small keyboard. And then there's the issue of the keys themselves. A real mechanical keyboard will smoke the cover keyboard thing. Combine those two and I am not buying the opinion that it's a compelling feature. It'll be neat, but a laptop replacement? Only as much as any other tablet keyboard is.

Microsoft has invented this revolutionary connector with it's Surface tablet... it is called USB port. With this amazing connector you can plug in devices like any keyboard you want if you need to type out the next War and Peace. Nobody expects you to type out your last minute essay on the keyboard cover if you don't want to, that's the beauty of having a USB port on the tablet.

People are making to big a deal about backwards compatibility and non retina screen of the Surface RT. This device isn't designed for the people who read this forum. It's designed for the "average" user, the ones who typical computer usage is web browsing, email, browser games, facebook, twitter, Skype, watching movies and listening to music and the occasional Word Processing. They do not even know what backwards compatibility means. They just want a device that does what they want and the Surface RT provides that out of the box. The other benefit of not being able to install programs not from the MS Store is there's going to be less chance of messing up your Tablet. How many people do you know who hardly use there traditional PC/Laptop because it takes to long to load up or things are to slow on it? Then you take a look at the PC and its got amazing specs but adware/malware that the user didn't know they installed has made it unusable. Backwards compatibility isn't going to even be an issue as developers updated there apps to the Metro/Modern style.

Now with the non-retina level screen that's also not as big an issue as most people make it out to be. Was the iPad 2 unusable because it had a 1024x768 resolution? Was the Asus Transformer Prime unusable with its 1280x800 resolution? Of course they weren't and neither will the Surface RT. Remember the Windows 8 interface is designed to scale from phone size devices to large multi-monitor workstations. And since the RT is limited to Metro/Modern Apps things will look find and scale properly. A higher resolution screen will be nice when using legacy applications that don't scale properly but since RT doesn't support legacy apps it's not so important and was probably a good tradeoff between longer battery/performance or higher res screen. Remember the RT tablet uses the Nvidia Tegra 3 SoC and if you compare reviews of the Asus Transformer Prime (1280x800) and Infinity (1920x1080) you'll notice that most reviews says the Infinity feels slower then the Prime even though it has a higher clocked SoC.

I'm going to bet that the Surface tablet is going to be a lot more successful then people are going to think and next year we'll see a surface tablet with a kinects sensor.

 

[zerogear]

People keep saying this but it has never happened. Start8 is still there and still works.

They only really fixed the registry hack that was on Consumer Preview to Release Preview, correct me if I'm wrong, but they haven't really been actively going against 3rd party devs for it.

 

[sjwaste]

You're (mostly) all approaching this from the wrong perspective. Don't think of it like an enthusiast. Think of it from the corporate angle. If you're a company already locked in to Windows/Exchange/Office, this is the tablet, and trust me, people want tablets at work. Whether or not they need them, they want them.

My organization has complete technophobes who love iPads and iPhones waiting to get their hands on the Surface. They've bought in, because their shit is on Sharepoint, their documents are in Office, they consume all sorts of media, and the keyboard looks very cool. And these are client-facing individuals, too, so the Surface has already passed the personal image/cool factor test with them.

It's going to sell. For many, RT will do the job, and for the power users, the Pro will do the job. It's not going to replace the iPad, but honestly, it's also not looking to me like it's meant to compete with the iPad head on.

 

[Dominato3r]

Are we going to be able to use the Surface RT as a drag a drop storage when hooked up to a computer? Or are you going to have to use their Zune software? If it's the latter, this thing is definitely DOA for me.

Works like regular windows in almost every regard except no backwards compatibility. So you can join a homegroup etc.

 

[coloumb]

You're (mostly) all approaching this from the wrong perspective. Don't think of it like an enthusiast. Think of it from the corporate angle. If you're a company already locked in to Windows/Exchange/Office, this is the tablet, and trust me, people want tablets at work. Whether or not they need them, they want them.

My organization has complete technophobes who love iPads and iPhones waiting to get their hands on the Surface. They've bought in, because their shit is on Sharepoint, their documents are in Office, they consume all sorts of media, and the keyboard looks very cool. And these are client-facing individuals, too, so the Surface has already passed the personal image/cool factor test with them.

It's going to sell. For many, RT will do the job, and for the power users, the Pro will do the job. It's not going to replace the iPad, but honestly, it's also not looking to me like it's meant to compete with the iPad head on.

This is exactly why. As someone who works in a field service role - I would LOVE to have the Surface to replace my bulky/heavy Dell laptop.

But big corps [ie: which is what I work for] will be slow to adopt - we're still using laptops with Windows XP, IE 7, and mechanical hard drives thanks to outdated software. We should be using Win7/SSD's by now...

 

[Reliant]

You're (mostly) all approaching this from the wrong perspective. Don't think of it like an enthusiast. Think of it from the corporate angle. If you're a company already locked in to Windows/Exchange/Office, this is the tablet, and trust me, people want tablets at work. Whether or not they need them, they want them.

My organization has complete technophobes who love iPads and iPhones waiting to get their hands on the Surface. They've bought in, because their shit is on Sharepoint, their documents are in Office, they consume all sorts of media, and the keyboard looks very cool. And these are client-facing individuals, too, so the Surface has already passed the personal image/cool factor test with them.

It's going to sell. For many, RT will do the job, and for the power users, the Pro will do the job. It's not going to replace the iPad, but honestly, it's also not looking to me like it's meant to compete with the iPad head on.

For those uses I'd still be irked in enterprise by the limitations RT has vs Pro.

By that I mean no Outlook in RT, Office with a lower feature set, no domain joining, etc. MS has basically said Windows RT is not for business, saying you can't use it for commercial purposes. Since this thread is about RT and you mentioned enterprise, I feel that MS is really targeting RT at consumers, not enterprise.

 

[skyking]

I would buy a few for one of my clients, except for the new browser. IE 9 is not compatible with the main app there. I'm sure IE 10 will break things as well.

 

[hasu]

Why are you taking your time and effort to predict this, I wonder?

Windows 8 tablet will be a success among windows users. Windows 7 users may not upgrade to Windows 8, as no one will notice a difference for desktop use.

I installed Windows 8 Release Preview on a dell (E6400) laptop which came with Vista Business and I am pretty happy with it. All drivers were built in, so installation was a breeze.

 

[Vdubchaos]

I think MS is VERY late to the game. Tablet market will not get better/is due for end of another fad.

 

[Kingbee13]

For those uses I'd still be irked in enterprise by the limitations RT has vs Pro.

By that I mean no Outlook in RT, Office with a lower feature set, no domain joining, etc. MS has basically said Windows RT is not for business, saying you can't use it for commercial purposes. Since this thread is about RT and you mentioned enterprise, I feel that MS is really targeting RT at consumers, not enterprise.

I assume you are referring to Office included on RT, but if you have a volume license at work then Office RT is in fact licensed for commercial use, its a nonissue

 

[lothar]

I assume you are referring to Office included on RT, but if you have a volume license at work then Office RT is in fact licensed for commercial use, its a nonissue

I was under the impression that Microsoft is moving from volume licensing to yearly subscription for Office?

 

[Skel]

I was under the impression that Microsoft is moving from volume licensing to yearly subscription for Office?

For the online version Office 365 they are.. I don't think there anywhere close to getting regular Office put into subscription mode.

 

[Dominato3r]

I was under the impression that Microsoft is moving from volume licensing to yearly subscription for Office?

That's Office 365. Office 2013 is still single/volume license based. Though I'm sure there's some volume aspect to 365.

 

[happysmiles]

Microsoft fails at tablets (They have failed for years at tablets), now they will just fail again and maybe this time the CEO will be ousted once The tablet is a huge failure and windows 8 on the desktop ends up failing to gain traction like Vista.

Only a few days before we get to see the fireworks.

What has happened does not mean it will happen again.

Look at presale alone

Win RT suits enterprise ridiculously well, if anything it would greatly simplify the training aspect. All these articles I read about "steep" learning curves only come because we're learning them by ourselves.

 

[Reliant]

I assume you are referring to Office included on RT, but if you have a volume license at work then Office RT is in fact licensed for commercial use, its a nonissue

That's true, but it still is the version with trimmed features as before, you can simple just use it at work. It's not going to be the same experience on RT as Pro. I think that would steer me away from enterprise use, along with the no Outlook/GPO/AD/etc.