Microsoft Surface 2 May Ditch The ‘RT’ Label

[pallentx]

No one uses hundreds or thousands of apps, but they pick the dozen or two that they like. Yes, a lot of them are goofy games and silly stuff, but there is a lot of quality stuff out there too. My bank, USAA, makes a fantastic app for iPad that does some things I cant do on the web site, like deposit a check, and it does things I can do on the website much better as its full touch optimized. Check it out
That's just one small example. Lots more retailers have iPad apps for shopping, city apps for what to do around town. We have a big arts festival every year in my town. They even made an app for that with QR tags at various venues you could scan to get more info. Very little of that kind of thing will be available for Windows right now and customer don't want to feel like they will be left out of things if they buy into a certain platform. Also, don't underestimate the power of lots of great goofy time-wasting, non-productive game. I love office and the productivity capabilities of my Surface, but I spend more hours on it playing.

Yes, I'm doing just fine without the apps, but having those apps is a HUGE selling point when the Surface goes head-to-head with the iPad in the broader market. I run into people all the time when I'm out with my Surface. People I meet generally love the Surface, but when they talk about getting one themselves, the app situation is the #1 thing I hear from people.

The good news is, this is a temporary situation for the Surface - the apps will come. The iPad really has nothing else to offer but apps, and I don't see that changing for a long time.

 

[machistmo]

There's some good discussion in here. I would hope at least someone from MS is taking a look.

They have given me SOME reasons to hope lately. Not NEARLY ENOUGH, but SOME small glimmers of hope are there. 8.1 is ONE SMALL STEP FOR WINDOWS 8, the question remains 'when will they make the GIANT LEAP?'. Metro SUCKS. Period. Its bad, and I love the live tiles, I just hate Metro. They really need to go farther in Metro development and do more to blur the Desktop / Metro line. Windows 8 was a HUGE - swing-and-a-miss. It seems to me that some of the bigger changes were not made in 8.1 simply because it would look they were admitting they screwed up... Who cares?!? Admit and fix it. People are overwhemingly telling MS what they want to see. There is nothing in this thread that they should not have known all along. Every time I think about JLG saying that focus groups told them 8 and Metro were great and easy to use and inuitive, I giggle a little then want to cry.

 

[pallentx]

I cant agree with that. I think Metro is exactly what is required. You cannot make a touch-based device OS without radically changing the way apps are done. You can't have the unity of platforms without including metro on the desktop. The desktop needs to be able to run both modes. What I hope to see if more refinements that make metro better on the desktop. I don't think windowing metro apps is the answer though.

Right now, metro apps seem to be very basic. There is no reason why that has to also be the case. That is not a requirement of metro. MS needs to release a robust full office version for metro to show what the platform is capable off. If Office MX comes out and is a radically dumbed-down version of Office, that will be a bad thing IMO. It needs to set the bar high.

 

[machistmo]

I think the leap from the desktop to Metro (or whatever they are calling it today) was one that most people did not make... Look at sales. There are 100,000 Articles on Windows 8 and the devices 99,905 are negative in their conclusions or least ask or suggest MAJOR changes to the OS as it was released. I think Metro ( Modern UI, thats the name this month?) was a knee-jerk un-thought-out reaction to Apple's meteoric rise. I think something like the Modern UI is required, I do indeed, but I think they should get a better concept, follow through with it, offer more supporting software for it, and then stop shoving it in peoples faces like they did in the original launch. They offered a simple - Welcome Swipe in from any edge - ENJOY WINDOWS 8, and they expected WHAT EXACTLY??? Good christ my next door neighbors two year old could tell them that wouldnt end well, but there are literally thousands of people with advanced degrees involved on this...

Is it any wonder they are taking on new board members and pushing Ballmer out the back door just as soon as they have someone with a pulse to sit in his chair?

Yes they need a touch interface. Absolutely. But creating a bad one and then creating a new proprietary OS on an underpowered device and calling it RT was not the way to do it? RT came with Home and Student office when they really could have marketed it to the Enterprise as an Office and other apps on lock-down device. They are making some changes in 8.1 to reverse that oversight but it feels like lipstick on a pig to me, we will have to wait and see. Anyway Paul T is pretty bearish on the next gen devices.

 

[jnjroach]

I think the leap from the desktop to Metro (or whatever they are calling it today) was one that most people did not make... Look at sales. There are 100,000 Articles on Windows 8 and the devices 99,905 are negative in their conclusions or least ask or suggest MAJOR changes to the OS as it was released. I think Metro ( Modern UI, thats the name this month?) was a knee-jerk un-thought-out reaction to Apple's meteoric rise. I think something like the Modern UI is required, I do indeed, but I think they should get a better concept, follow through with it, offer more supporting software for it, and then stop shoving it in peoples faces like they did in the original launch. They offered a simple - Welcome Swipe in from any edge - ENJOY WINDOWS 8, and they expected WHAT EXACTLY??? Good christ my next door neighbors two year old could tell them that wouldnt end well, but there are literally thousands of people with advanced degrees involved on this...

Is it any wonder they are taking on new board members and pushing Ballmer out the back door just as soon as they have someone with a pulse to sit in his chair?

Yes they need a touch interface. Absolutely. But creating a bad one and then creating a new proprietary OS on an underpowered device and calling it RT was not the way to do it? RT came with Home and Student office when they really could have marketed it to the Enterprise as an Office and other apps on lock-down device. They are making some changes in 8.1 to reverse that oversight but it feels like lipstick on a pig to me, we will have to wait and see. Anyway Paul T is pretty bearish on the next gen devices.

Windows 8 is being used by more computers than all OSX devices combined...

Paul T. is an Old School Gamer/OS Tweaker and is not a huge fan of Tablets let alone RT as it is locked down.

 

[CrippsCorner]

RT was a poor name from the beginning and they didn't do enough advertising to explain to consumers what it was all about... they don't need to get rid of it completely, just improve on those main two issues!

For the record after using it for some time, I don't mind Modern UI but only when in tablet mode, which tbh isn't that often for me really...

 

[machistmo]

Windows 8 is being used by more computers than all OSX devices combined...

Paul T. is an Old School Gamer/OS Tweaker and is not a huge fan of Tablets let alone RT as it is locked down.

Yes but that being said, hes the last of anyone thats even willing to speak for MS