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Microsoft Lays Out Plans for Windows on ARM Processors

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Apr 12, 2001
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Back in September, we covered Microsoft's announcement of Windows 8, the next step in the operating system's evolution that seeks to encompass not only traditional PCs but also mobile devices running on ARM processor architecture.

sinofsky_windows_8.jpg



Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky showing off prototype Windows 8 hardware at September's BUILD conference​
Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft's Windows division, today issued a massive blog post laying out in more detail how the company plans to tackle Windows on ARM (WOA). Sinofsky notes upfront that WOA will be a new member of the Windows family, based heavily on Windows 8 but customized for the flexibility that users will see in ARM-based systems in both traditional PC and mobile form factors.
With Windows 8, we have reimagined Windows from the chipset to the experience--and bringing this reimagined Windows to the ARM processor architecture is a significant part of this innovation. Expanding the view of the PC to cover a much wider range of form factors and designs than some think of today is an important part of these efforts. Windows on ARM enables creativity in PC design that, in combination with newly architected features of the Windows OS, will bring to customers new, no-compromise PCs.
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WOA will be focused on Microsoft's "Metro" touch interface for Windows 8, but will also support a limited "desktop mode" that will more closely resemble traditional Windows and which will support versions of Microsoft's Office applications optimized for the ARM architecture to provide touch support as well as minimization of power and resource consumption.

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Microsoft will also be following Apple's App Store model with Windows on ARM, with application distribution occurring solely through the Windows Store. Existing Windows apps will have to be completely rewritten to be compatible with WOA, but developers will be able to write for both WOA and the more traditional Windows 8 simultaneously if they wish.

Microsoft has been working closely with a variety of hardware and peripheral partners to ensure tight integration between hardware and software for WOA systems, and the company intends to ship WOA simultaneously with the Windows 8 launch. As Bloomberg notes, Microsoft will be helping push work on WOA forward by providing select developers with test machines running WOA on chips from Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Nvidia. That developer program is set to go live with the next round of Windows 8 beta testing at the end of the month.

The ARM architecture is of course the basis for Apple's iOS products, as well as many of the other most popular mobile devices on the market. Microsoft has lagged behind in the push for mobile as its Windows Phone operating system has failed to catch on with consumers and its tablet efforts have stalled. In recognizing that the ARM architecture will help enable the next generation of increasingly portable devices, Microsoft is hoping to tie into its existing strength with traditional Windows to generate momentum in the touch-enabled and mobile markets.

Article Link: Microsoft Lays Out Plans for Windows on ARM Processors
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/02/09/microsoft-lays-out-plans-for-windows-on-arm-processors/
...Microsoft has been working closely with a variety of hardware and peripheral partners to ensure tight integration between hardware and software for WOA systems...
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They might actually GET it! :eek:
 
I don't really understand what the point of a "limited desktop mode" is if applications have to be rewritten for ARM anyways.
 
MSFT would probably shoot up $10 if Ballmer stepped down...that guy has basically stagnated the stock/company with his lack of vision.

I actually believe Microsoft is finally waking up to the reality of what computing is becoming and they can actually become the 'Apple' of the 90s and early 2000s now in the 'Tablet' area. They will be the niche product but they will still sell a nice amount. Their tablet OS is actually very nicely conceptualized and actually is very intuitive...it will work nicely and actually looks DIFFERENT...where they just aren't stealing Apples layout and icons. They developed their own style and it works for MS.

Google/Android is just not catching on and it's because they still don't understand the user experience.
 
I really think Apple needs to rethink their "Documents in the Cloud" solution. They really should rename it "iWork in the Cloud". Something to sync PDFs, and all files would be great, like dropbox. Google has it, and MS has their skydive. Doesn't Amazon have something, too?
 
Tinyluph said:
I don't really understand what the point of a "limited desktop mode" is if applications have to be rewritten for ARM anyways.
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rewritten does not mean redesigned. It means a few lines of code need to be modifided and have it recompliled but most of the work does not need to be touch as such that means the windows lay out would not need to be redone. It would speed up getting apps ported over.
 
I think the next 3 years are probably the most important in Microsoft's history.

If they do them right they'll stay powerful for the next 50 years. If not they'll find themselves just making Word and X-Boxes.

All signs point to the fact that they finally 'get it' have a good plan. But we'll just have to wait and see. I hope they pull it off. The biggest problem with Microsoft in the past was their extreme market share in their various markets. Since near-total monopolies don't seem likely for anyone in tech in the future, I don't think that's a problem any more. Take that away from them and Microsoft becomes a company I root for once again.
 
Microsoft

It actually does look like Microsoft could go somewhere with this, but the reality of it is it will only work if enough developers write for WOA. Also, I wonder if after WOA is released, could it be ported to the iPad and released via Cydia? I know that may be pretty pointless, but it'd be interesting to see it happen and if it would actually run better on Apple hardware like Windows 7 runs better on Apple hardware (so they say). If it does happen though, a dual boot iOS WOA iPad would for sure eliminate all need to buy a non-Apple tablet. It would allow for the best of both worlds. (I'm not noting Andriod tablets cause they suck)
 
I'm actually quite looking forward to seeing Windows 8 equipped tablets. After seeing that they are abandoning what would have made a Windows tablet fail (mainly legacy apps and interfaces designed for desktops), I think they have a chance of getting this right! Being it's Microsoft, we'll probably have to wait for Windows 9 for it to be good, but there's reason to be hopeful. I prefer Microsoft as a rival to Apple over Google since Google has gotten to where it has by copying much of iOS and giving it away for free more or less, whereas Microsoft is actually innovating (finally). And modern Microsoft seems to understand the importance of the hardware and software being developed together (as demonstrated by the very specific hardware requirements for Windows Mobile 7). Against Microsoft is Windows Mobile 7 is actually a decent product, but it's seeing very little adoption due to how late it arrived on the market, and Windows 8 tablets may have the same problem. Time will tell, but I hope they do well in order to give Apple some competition.
 
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