Seriously, who is Windows RT for?

[HippsieGypsie]

So IT sets up one or multiple desktops that all can log into? This can be used in all sorts of senari, can't it? e.g. -> A teacher and students -> Managers meeting, just to name a few.

 

[Kebero]

Of course those devices can't run Office, so RT has one advantage over iPads and Android Tablets (though you can run what amounts to iWork on an iPad)

There is also a Win RT remote desktop app, which can connect to Win 2012 hosted VDI...

 

[pparks1]

VDI is awesome. Can nearly use dumb terminals and connect remotely from anywhere. No need to send an employee or executive home with a laptop that can be stolen and company information leaked, have them run a desktop remotely and if they lose their device....oh well.

 

[ksdixon]

Would WinRT (or Win8Pro Surface for that matter) suitable for anyone looking to replace their old laptops?

 

[Kebero]

Depends on your needs and wants.

 

[SIW2]

No.

 

[ksdixon]

Essentially I am tired of being tiered to my PC+HDTV and having to power-on both when I want to do something quick like check something online. My fiance does have an android smartphone, and I do like the touchscreen+portability of it. But I cannot type on the blasted thing's screen to save my life. So I figure a surface-style tablet gives me the touchscreen, portability and a full keyboard/mouse trackpad - depending on the situation I need it for.

Seems to have a usb port for putting media on and off of the device, and a micro hdmi port to flip the display onto the HDTV when i want it larger. Seems I could do most of my computer tasks on a surface pro since it'd be a full version of Win8 as opposed to a different kind of operating system, and I would probably only need to use my HDTV+PC if I am capturing game footage or playing PC games specifically.

 

[SIW2]

You are only allowed to do what MS deigns to let with your own machine.

You are also only allowed to run software that MS has approved.

Ghastly.

With pro version - you are still restricted as to what you can do with the o/s - tho. you can ( for the time being at least ) get your desktop software without specific MS censorship.

 

[Coke Robot]

No.

 

[R0bR]

You are only allowed to do what MS deigns to let with your own machine.

You are also only allowed to run software that MS has approved.

Ghastly.

Oh no!! How do iPad owners cope!!

Such drama.

 

[Coke Robot]

Well, if you're a tech savvy consumer, Citrix has an WinRT app available as a receiver for a host device. So, you can set up your Windows 8 desktop PC somewhere, and access that on your Windows RT tablet, much like Remote Desktopping. It's what a few mildly competent ipad users do. Actually, it makes Windows RT that much more cost effective and practical if you already have a pretty decent desktop PC. I for one will be investing a good chunk of change on my new rebuild soon, and I definitely would want to take full advantage of it. I'd hate for that one day where I'd be using a portable PC over my desktop PC.

Shucks, I think I might look into Windows RT now, I just sold myself on that notion...

 

[Kat]

Hmmm...

I didn't buy a top-shelf i7 machine for the pose value.

So I doubt that any tablet will be replacing it anytime soon.

A reasonably powerful 7" tablet would be a nice accessory, tho.

This thing, although nominally a laptop, is FAR from being easily portable.

A Surface, though, seems to me to be not enough of one, but too much of the other.

 

[Kebero]

If I didn't need the VM I currently use for work, I think a Surface RT or some other Windows RT device could replace my laptop. Generally, my employer has always provided hardware, so my personal tech had focused more on consumption. Now that I do more production, I've thought about either a micro or mobile server as a virtualization host. If I did that with Server 2012, I could happily move to an RT device.

 

[dexx]

I wonder if WinRT could be stripped of restrictions and UI lockins by vlite/rt7lite or similar and rejigged as a "lite" Windows 8.

 

[pparks1]

Not really because it's a completely different processor architecture. Old apps have to be rewritten.

 

[Coke Robot]

I wonder if WinRT could be stripped of restrictions and UI lockins by vlite/rt7lite or similar and rejigged as a "lite" Windows 8.

Nope, Desktop development is pretty much restricted to Microsoft. Even the EU has been giving them crap for not letting third party browsers use the Win32 components on Windows RT, Microsoft doesn't want people touching that anymore.

 

[dirtyvu]

my friend is a programmer who likes to get a lot of gadgets. he owns an iPad 2 and the BlackBerry Playbook. right now, he has to have both a tablet and a laptop with him. why? because he wants to print. he says he'd dump the laptop and use only the tablet if he could print. he doesn't need his laptop at work or at home where he has huge desktop workstations.

so there is a market for a tablet device that sips power due to lower hardware requirements... that has consumption, media, gaming, and social apps for everyday things... but has productivity tools like Office and the ability to print. I think Windows RT would've been in a much better place if it included Outlook. Then again, people are moving away from Outlook.

However, I did tell him about Surface Pro and the idea that it had full Windows... So it is giving him cause for pause. He still might end up getting Surface RT. But at least he's thinking of it.

 

[jimbo45]

VDI is awesome. Can nearly use dumb terminals and connect remotely from anywhere. No need to send an employee or executive home with a laptop that can be stolen and company information leaked, have them run a desktop remotely and if they lose their device....oh well.

Hi there
this isn't new technology at all -- remember "Thin Clients" in the days of IBM mainframes -- circa 1970's running MVS-SP2 based on IBM's 370 architecture.

Mind you same with clothing styles. - Old fashions keep creeping back -- the latest trends in Europe are corduroy pants and shirts -- I found a pair I had from almost 25 years ago and it's definitely "in vogue". - Surprised the set still fit me.

Well wonders never cease.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Mystere]

While the idea of thin clients is not new, what is new is that VDI allows for full transparent pass-through of your local resources, such as GPU (including full 3D rendering), USB, Audio, local hard disk, etc...

 

[AllRaj]

Windows 8 is aimed at people like me. I already have 2 laptops running the Pro version & 1 desktop soon to be upgraded when available (and the music app is seriously fixed). I don't need another desktop but something to play with rather than work.