Microsoft Confirms Windows RT OEM Partners, Details Collaboration

Microsoft is making some huge changes with the release of its Surface tablet, but that doesn’t mean the company is totally leaving its hardware partners behind. To show that it’s still faithful to (at least some of) its OEM relationships, Microsoft on Monday confirmed the initial Windows RT partners and detailed the collaboration process required to build the upcoming ARM-based devices.

Dell, Lenovo, Asus and Samsung all made the cut to deliver Window RT devices at launch. Currently, the only officially announced Windows RT devices include the Surface RT tablet and the Asus Tablet 600. But according to Microsoft, we can expect not only several WinRT tablets coming from its four initial partners, but also PCs with “full keyboard and touchpad solutions, whether removable/dockable or a traditional clamshell.”

Source

A Guy
 
Seems like OEM partnership is going strong, even with WinRT.
 

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Interesting, and I'd say good news. It's not that I figure to be one of the folks standing in line to get one, but the competition and inclusion of OEMs means we'll see a variety and probably some "extras" from the OEMs as they try to corner a share of the market for Surface tablets.
 

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Thanks, Bill.

The introduction of the Surface which stimulates competition is ultimately good for us consumers both in design and price. I think it was a smart move on M$'s part. It's actually a win/win for all.

I see Acer and others are still whining. They better not miss the boat.
 

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MS need the oem's to get the range and volume of machines out there carrying Windows.

Oem's need MS because there isn't anything else viable they can put on their machines. (Except for phones)

There has always been all kinds of horse trading/negotiating/tactics as each party tries to get the best deal.

It is a bit different now. MS has it's own brand. No oem in their right mind would welcome that. Particularly as MS brand does not have to pay the license fee.

They still need to put Windows on their machines - they still horse trade as hard as they can - sometimes that involves putting pressure on by the kind of public announcements JT has made.

It is normal business.

The oem's would be delighted if there was a viable alternative to Windows.
 

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MS need the oem's to get the range and volume of machines out there carrying Windows.

Oem's need MS because there isn't anything else viable they can put on their machines. (Except for phones)

There has always been all kinds of horse trading/negotiating/tactics as each party tries to get the best deal.

It is a bit different now. MS has it's own brand. No oem in their right mind would welcome that. Particularly as MS brand does not have to pay the license fee.

They still need to put Windows on their machines - they still horse trade as hard as they can - sometimes that involves putting pressure on by the kind of public announcements JT has made.

It is normal business.

The oem's would be delighted if there was a viable alternative to Windows.

As I see it there is no viable alternative. I'm not saying it's not possible, but too many people have been using M$ products for so long that I doubt they'll change. It's called brain-burned. Most humans are habitual by nature and most often are afraid of change, so they don't.

M$ is mimicking iApple at their game and it's high time they did. I'm surprised they didn't long ago. It's a win/win for all. M$, OEMs, and consumers alike.
 

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    Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3000 - PCI Express x16
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    Integrated RealTek ALC888 high-definition audio with 7.1 channel audio support
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    Acer AL1917W A LCD
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    1440 X 900
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    350 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10
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    Desktop 7.2" (183mm) W x 17.5" (445mm) L x 14.5"
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    Dual case fans + CPU fan
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    Acer Windows PS/2
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    Wireless Microsoft Arc
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    54mbp/s
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    IE11
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    Defender
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    Office Pro 2013 / Nokia Lumia 1520 Windows Phone 8.1DP GDR1
M$ is mimicking iApple at their game and it's high time they did. I'm surprised they didn't long ago. It's a win/win for all. M$, OEMs, and consumers alike.

Look at MS over the course of history. They are often late to the party when it comes to many technologies. Examples include
  • Web Browser
  • Microsoft Zune
  • Windows Phone
  • Surface tablet

They often don't react to these changes at the right time, and often times have to try to lure customers away from the established market standards. And the surface is that point exactly, long after the iPad and Droid....here they finally come. Without magnificent app support, I don't see many of my iPad touting friends switching over to a surface tablet. You gotta remember, an Apple product is just as much a status symbol as it is a piece of technology.
 

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M$ is mimicking iApple at their game and it's high time they did. I'm surprised they didn't long ago. It's a win/win for all. M$, OEMs, and consumers alike.

Look at MS over the course of history. They are often late to the party when it comes to many technologies. Examples include
  • Web Browser
  • Microsoft Zune
  • Windows Phone
  • Surface tablet

They often don't react to these changes at the right time, and often times have to try to lure customers away from the established market standards. And the surface is that point exactly, long after the iPad and Droid....here they finally come. Without magnificent app support, I don't see many of my iPad touting friends switching over to a surface tablet. You gotta remember, an Apple product is just as much a status symbol as it is a piece of technology.

The difference this time is that people are talking about the Surface. To me, a Surface is more of a status symbol over an ipad because that tells the world that I am an original hipster balancing practicality and uniqueness at the very same time. :cool:
 

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    ASUS R9 270
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    x2 3 TB Toshibas
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You know, I kind of think the Surface ACTUALLY might harm the OEMs. Look at this forum, some members refuse to use a tablet or touchscreens but are actually thinking about a Surface tablet. Now, considering we are the people that our friends and family come to for tech advice and support, what if they ask what Windows tablet to buy? Considering that there is SO much talk about the Surface and it sounds quite juicy and looks quite yum, how many other OEMs have YOU personally seen a tablet prototype/pre-release model that has actually interested you into buying one? Probably not a lot, if only a few. I've seen several and NONE have really struck me as something I would seriously buy. A Surface tablet on the other hand....
 

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    ASUS R9 270
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    1440x900
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    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
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    OCZ 500 watt
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    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
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    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
The oem's would be delighted if there was a viable alternative to Windows.

There are..... Linux Mint for PCs. Really comes as close as possible to Windows 7, more secure as well, and very plug and play friendly now. The only other trick is getting Adobe, and others on board.

The biggest OEMs should just jump ship NOW. HP, Dell, Acer, and Lenovo. With the top OEMs defecting to Linux Mint it would encourage other major software providers to make sure their software operated efficiently with it.

I really like Windows 7 but if Windows 8 has NO user choice to default boot straight to the desktop each and every time without first being assaulted by metro, I'm done with Microsoft.
 

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The difference this time is that people are talking about the Surface. To me, a Surface is more of a status symbol over an ipad because that tells the world that I am an original hipster balancing practicality and uniqueness at the very same time. :cool:

Well, perhaps I should put you in touch with the folks in my company who are preparing to equip our traveling sales people with MacBook Pro's as they feel that the Apple's present "a more sophisticated look and feel that will make us more professional in our appearance". They honestly feel that they are not taken seriously when they pull out a Dell running Windows, but would present a much more professional image pulling out a MacBook Pro.
 

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That would depend on your field, and what is living on that laptop. Also, it depends on the security and manageability of the device as well - if the device doesn't need to be managed centrally or won't store anything critical to your business locally, it's probably a good choice if cache is important. However, Macs are really hard to manage centrally overall, and encryption options exist but lack enterprise-ready scale or options compared to their Windows counterparts.

Again, that might not be important, although there are Windows devices nowadays that aren't Dell bricks with a cord either :). I like MacBooks myself, but getting work done securely in a highly-managed environment precludes the use of a Mac, period, outside of VDI scenarios.
 

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The oem's would be delighted if there was a viable alternative to Windows.

There are..... Linux Mint for PCs. Really comes as close as possible to Windows 7, more secure as well, and very plug and play friendly now. The only other trick is getting Adobe, and others on board.

The biggest OEMs should just jump ship NOW. HP, Dell, Acer, and Lenovo. With the top OEMs defecting to Linux Mint it would encourage other major software providers to make sure their software operated efficiently with it.

I really like Windows 7 but if Windows 8 has NO user choice to default boot straight to the desktop each and every time without first being assaulted by metro, I'm done with Microsoft.

Sigh...

Linux Mint (or ANY OTHER FLAVOR) is simply NOT going to replace Windows until several huge software vendors and ALL the hardware vendors get behind it /first/. And then you need a MUCH larger company to do a MUCH better job on look and feel, support etc than 99% of the Linux distributers. We will in effect need another Apple to come along and MAKE Linux useful enough with enough clout and power to force hardware and software vendors to take notice and THEN it might be the "Year of Linux" but.. none of that is happening at all right now and there is no sign of it starting any time soon.

Now that said, I do think that there is a small chance that Winodws 8 could actually provide a toe hold for some of that to start, but even then it would take 5-10 years before the changeover could be completed. And frankly, I can;t really think of anyone that can take the reigns ala Apple style to make it happen. Hmmm... If IBM could get over being the stodgiest company in existence, they might... maybe. But probably not :/
 

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Linux Mint (or ANY OTHER FLAVOR) is simply NOT going to replace Windows until several huge software vendors and ALL the hardware vendors get behind it /first/. And then you need a MUCH larger company to do a MUCH better job on look and feel, support etc than 99% of the Linux distributers. We will in effect need another Apple to come along and MAKE Linux useful enough with enough clout and power to force hardware and software vendors to take notice and THEN it might be the "Year of Linux" but.. none of that is happening at all right now and there is no sign of it starting any time soon.
Not to mention, that even if said distribution came along, you would have to get the majority of the community to agree and start to use it as well. Trust me, trying to get a single accepted standardized way of doing something in the Linux open source community is simply not going to fly. The claim to fame is the openness and the freedom to do what you want and how you want to do it. The Linux users would rather never be popular, than conform to 1 way.
 

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    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
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    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
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    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
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    Corsair 620HX modular
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    stock
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    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
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