Microsoft’s Corporate VP for Windows Julie Larson-Green was at WIRED’s Business Conference today, and she was put on the spot when asked by interviewer and WIRED Senior Editor Michael V. Copeland about the apparently sluggish start for Windows RT. RT’s failure is a consumer education problem, according to Larson-Green, since it’s very different from what’s come before.
Windows RT, for those unfamiliar or confused by the new familial breakdown of Windows following the introduction of version 8, is a lightweight version designed for ARM-powered devices (vs. x86, the architecture which full Windows OS runs on), which doesn’t offer access to the full suite of Windows software. According to our own Matt Burns, that has resulted in a big app gap, and made the Surface RT essentially a glorified web browsing tablet, which sounds like something different from a simple matter of properly framing the product.
“I think we have some work to do on explaining it to people because it’s different,” Larson-Green said. “They’re just so used to Windows meaning backward compatibility in all the programs that you use today. I use Surface RT as my main computing device, I connect to a corporate network using my virtual smart card and VPN when I need to, Office is already on there [...] it’s just a simpler experience and then the Surface Pro has the flexibility if you want to work on the details.”
“I love my Surface RT,” was a common refrain from Larson-Green even into the Q&A, who later characterized it as a device for casual consumption mostly, especially filling a niche for “weekend” use. Even the dual nature of her defense of the Microsoft tablet shows that it still needs work at Microsoft itself in terms of fleshing out its role in the consumer ecosystem, which probably isn’t helping the company properly explain its purpose to the buying public.
The Surface RT is estimated to have sold only around 1 million units total since its launch late in 2012, far under its reported initial estimates of 3 million or so. Other OEMs have balked at the RT line in the meantime, with Acer waiting on launching its RT slate until at least Q2 of this year.
Question by William: How Java much do you need to know in order to start developing Android Apps? I am currently learning Java ( started 2 months ago) and I am wondering how much Java knowledge do you need to get in order to start developing Android Apps using Eclipse ? Do I need to give myself 6 months or maybe 1 year studying java before staring Android? Thanks for your suggestions.
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Answer by BobDepends on what you are creating.
Eclipse is free, so I suggest is that you download it and see. If you know how to write the app and put it in a class/jar, you don’t have far to go.
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Related Posts:Question by Johnnyboy: How to start an engineering club at my high school? next year im going to a catholic school and want to start an engineering club. I want to become a mechanical engineer, but any similar engineering is fine for this club. So how could i start this engineering/robotics club? Thank you!
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Answer by ChrisI think you should start a FIRST robotics team.
http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/content.aspx?id=5504
My high school and a huge number of others around the country are involved in the program. Contact me if you have any questions about it.
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Related Posts:Question by anonymous: So i have a science fair in february but i need to start getting ideas, any help? I’m really into like engineering like robotics and aeronautics but im not sure on how i can get an experiment on it. I’m open for almost anything, as long as the experiment isn’t to elaborate.
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Answer by Former MN Science Teacher –sDgThese science fair sites might help:
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/
http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/Resources/GettingStarted.html
http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/category0.html
http://www.ipl.org/div/projectguide/
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/
http://www.picadome.fcps.net/lab/sci_fair/science_fair.htm
http://www.scienceproject.com/
http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/projects/index.html
http://www.freesciencefairproject.com/
http://www.hometrainingtools.com/articles/acat_science-projects.html
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Despite rumors of Microsoft building three to five million tablets for its Surface RT launch, it appears that the company may have only shipped less than one million in the recent quarter. IDC says the figure is “just shy of 900,000 units into the channel,” as Microsoft looks to compete with other tablet makers. “There is no question that Microsoft is in this tablet race to compete for the long haul,” says IDC’s Ryan Reith. “Reaction to the company’s Surface with Windows RT tablet was muted at best.”
Microsoft has pumped millions into advertising campaigns for Windows 8 and its new Surface tablets, but the holiday execution was less than perfect. The slow reaction could be blamed on a number of factors, including a lack of retail…
Thunderbolt is a little more than a month from its two-year anniversary, and it’s hard to say that the connector is anything more than an expensive, niche product. Things have picked up a bit, but there’s clearly something holding back manufacturers. Intel may be the culprit: according to Ars Technica, the chipmaker’s director of Thunderbolt Marketing & Planning, Jason Ziller, said Intel “‘worked closely’ with vendors it felt could ‘offer the best products’ and could meet its stringent ‘certification requirements.’” We’ve heard rumblings before that Intel’s licensing process was part of the holdup behind getting more (and cheaper) Thunderbolt products out there, but this is the first time we’ve heard Intel suggest it is cherry-picking…
Question by Shy Town Fantasy: How do I start investing in nanotechnology?
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Answer by speedracertdiIn small amounts.
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AT&T announced earlier this week that it start pushing its spate of Windows Phones starting this Friday, and now rival carrier Verizon Wireless has come out with an announcement of its own.
Apparently, VZW plans to begin taking pre-orders for the HTC Windows Phone 8X and the slightly chubby Nokia Lumia 822 starting at 1AM Eastern tomorrow, but the carrier has chosen to leave out a few key details like, say, when the devices will actually launch.
Oh sure, Verizon has teased some vague timeframes in the past: it previously announced that both handsets would be in stores by Thanksgiving, but there’s never been any official word on a firm release date. Thanks to a few leaks though, we can make some educated guesses — WPCentral cited an internal roadmap and reported in late October that Verizon planned to push both devices into its sales channels starting on November 12. Also on that roadmap were purported prices for the two handsets ($ 99 for the 822 on a two-year contract, $ 199 for the 16GB 8X) as well as color choices for each device, all of which Verizon ended up confirming a few days later in an official statement.
Then again, things may have been shuffled around a bit since then — if you’ll recall, HTC and Verizon are holding a press event in New York City on the 13th where the two intend to show off their latest “collaboration.” HTC and VZW are widely expected to pull back the curtains on the oft-leaked, Android-powered Droid DNA smartphone, which seems like a curious choice of timing if the Lumia 822 and the HTC 8X are really slated to launch the day before. Stolen thunder, anyone?
Of course, that’s not to say it won’t happen, but I’d hope to see Verizon Wireless give its customers a little more time to digest the Windows Phone announcement before springing a top-tier Android device on the masses. For the time being though, we’ll just have to wait and see how Verizon’s plan unfolds, but here’s hoping they ship sooner rather than later. After all, Windows Phone devotees on Verizon are probably getting sick and tired of the single WP device in the carrier’s arsenal.
Surface isn’t the only Windows RT tablet going on sale this week: Dell’s XPS 10 ships on Friday, though it’s actually for purchase now on Dell’s site. The tablet starts at $ 500 for the 32GB tablet by itself, which is right in line with Microsoft’s Surface pricing. The 64GB model is priced at $ 600. Interested in that optional keyboard dock? (Of course you are!) Dell is selling two bundles: one with the 32GB tablet for $ 680, and another with the 64GB one for $ 780. Though the keyboard comes at a premium, especially compared to Microsoft’s Touch Covers, it offers some things Microsoft doesn’t — namely, a USB port, HDMI output and a built-in battery. Whichever model you choose, the XPS 10 has a 10.1-inch screen with 1,366 x 768 resolution and a dual-core Snapdragon S3 processor clocked at 1.5GHz. And, unlike some other Windows RT tablets, this one supports both finger and pen input. Hit up the source link for more info, and check out our fresh round of hands-on shots below.
Gallery: Dell XPS 10 hands-on
Dell begins accepting orders for its XPS 10 tablet running Windows RT, prices start at $ 499 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 11:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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