Comments on: 6 features that make Windows 8 a tablet contender

By: frank H.

frank H. — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:44:14 +0000

It´s too late. to compete..it will be better os probably but , ¿with Android ?.¿a closed system? More competition with ios thing, that i doubt because they have their legion of unconditional fans, It will depend on the adoption. by big hardware manufacturers, like Samsung, Asus.. etc, thing that i doubt too. (Hp probably but, is loosing markets), sorry too late.

By: Anthony Pierini

Anthony Pierini — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:52:53 +0000

This system is made to directly compete with Apple, not Google. Moving to a simplistic design with less user control is meant to be appealing to the IOS user base. Android is all about giving users maximum control and customization. The exact opposite of what Apple and now Microsoft are offering.

By: Anthony Pierini

Anthony Pierini — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:42:16 +0000

Not impressed…

Windows-to-go, seemingly targeted towards businesses, but without adequate security features. (Fail)

Storage spaces – Nice to be able to raid different sized drives in windows now, but really how many average users will be doing that.

Side-by-side apps is a step in the wrong direction to me. I like being able to control the location and size of windows on my screen and rarely if ever do I have just 1 or 2 full screen apps shared on a screen. Also this feature is only available on screens with resolution greater than 1366×768 eliminating it from many tablets… which in my opinion seems the only place it may be useful.

Legacy mode is standard mode. MS makes its money from corporations, office workers almost always have multiple monitors setup, with multiple windows open, moving away from this to focus on full screen apps is a major setback. Company’s already avoid upgrading OSes if at all possible, this will exacerbate that that.

Faster boot times are always nice, but functionality is more important.

By: Carlton

Carlton — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:20:37 +0000

Installed the Consumer Preview on my Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet PC. My thoughts? Stupid, stupid, stupid Microsoft.
- There’s no Wacom driver, so the active digitizer doesn’t
work, rendering the X200′s entire Tablet PC functionality useless. This OS may look good on a slate but it’s not for laptops.
- Getting the laptop to shut down is like walking around a
huge mall, poking at things until you find the well-hidden
power control.
- getting to the Control Panel is a similar exercise
- there is no search function on the start page
- accessibility should be on the start page
For me, this is a massive FAIL.

By: Lynne Gregg

Lynne Gregg — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 20:22:22 +0000

It’s been taking a while, but glad to see MSFT pulling it all together.

By: Greg Satell

Greg Satell — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:09:19 +0000

I saw Windows 8 and had many of the same thoughts. I don’t think it will outperform iOS, but it doesn’t have to. It only needs to outperform Android in the long run and I think it will.

I summarized why a while back here: http://www.digitaltonto.com/2012/why-windows-8-will-put-microsoft-back-on-top/

Greg

By: allyreeves

allyreeves — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:12:37 +0000

Interesting. Played with a LUMIA 800 last night and thought-”hey it’s very pretty” but owner had not *used* the phone and this surprised me. It’s one thing to accumulate the parts for a great multi-device experience and another to fuse them neatly. Never the less, this is exciting. I see Windows as becoming a more direct competitor to Apple than Android. It’s still closed system vs. open system and the allure of “free” is no small contender as it stands next to 800 USD devices.

@allyreeves

By: WP7

WP7 — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 02:49:33 +0000

Well, what Windows 8 has that others do not -

1. Windows-to-Go.
2. Storage Spaces (basically software controlled RAID with easy management).
3. Apps which can run side-by-side.
4. Apps which can run in the legacy desktop mode as windowed apps.
5. Mega fast boot – it really is seriously fast!

By: ronald

ronald — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:50:48 +0000

“Windows 8 still feels like two very different operating systems trying to be one. The potential is hugely alluring — a single OS to rule both the tablet and the desktop — and with each subsequent version we keep hoping this will be the one that ties it all together. Sadly, as of the Consumer Preview, we’re still seeing a lot of loose threads.”[1]

Does that mean:
a. Tablet -> maybe
b. Desktop -> uuups
Eco-system integration [a,b] -> uuups

At least Chrome can share tabs/data in one direction.

1. http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/29/microsoft-windows-8-consumer-preview-detailed-impressions/

By: Famousringo

Famousringo — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:07:35 +0000

I was expecting to see a list of features that Win8 would have over other mobile OSes, but this is just a list of mobile features already implemented elsewhere which have been added to Windows. Where’s the competitive advantage?