win8 The Windows 8 desktop on ARM: Here it is!

[George P Global Moderator]

It is a short sighted decision by Microsoft not to provide the desktop and ability to run desktop applications on ARM given that there is a possibility with the development of ARMv8 (64bit ARM) might be a viable desktop and laptop CPU in the future.

If WinRT is the future and win32 has too many x86'isms then why doesn't Microsoft provide WinRT for desktop applications as well? too me so far it appears that Windows hasn't be fully thought through in this belief that 'metro can be everywhere".

WinRT being so new can't as of now cover all the bases I bet. I honestly think Win32 is on the slow way out and that as the process happens the "classic desktop" itself will be on the way out as we know it. WinRT apps on the desktop would be nice but I think for now they probably don't feel it's ready for it API wise. To me as well it seems that the desktop on ARM is there more for office and some basic yet low level file management and nothing esle. Porting something as big as Office to WinRT takes a lot i'd say and they didn't have the time. The version of the desktop on ARM is thus locked down to apps probably becase of the limits to the Win32 API they have left there for Office to use. I bet it's so "broken" on ARM that letting devs code for the desktop would be a mess anyways.

I'd bet that we'll see WinRT on the desktop, or whatever version of it we get, in Win9. Heck I think we'll see the "desktop" in Win9 as little more then a 2nd workspace for multiple apps but with little UI left of it as we have today.

[~Johnny]

I personally don't see the classic desktop going anyway. Everyone I've talked to at Microsoft (at conferences and events) have all been of the opinion they'll be fine coexisting, and most "professional" applications will continue to exist in desktop.

To be frank, I'm also not greatly worried about Windows on tablets either. Despite Windows on ARM have these restrictions, keep in mind Intel are also just now getting out their mobile Medfield chips to compete with ARM, meaning we would be able to get Windows x86 tablets that are not only more powerful than ARM and have the full desktop experience, but also have comparable battery life and pricing. I just hope people get these Medfield based tablets out there to compete with the ARM tablets by the time WIndows 8 arrives.

[George P Global Moderator]

I personally don't see the classic desktop going anyway. Everyone I've talked to at Microsoft (at conferences and events) have all been of the opinion they'll be fine coexisting, and most "professional" applications will continue to exist in desktop.

To be frank, I'm also not greatly worried about Windows on tablets either. Despite Windows on ARM have these restrictions, keep in mind Intel are also just now getting out their mobile Medfield chips to compete with ARM, meaning we would be able to get Windows x86 tablets that are not only more powerful than ARM and have the full desktop experience, but also have comparable battery life and pricing. I just hope people get these Medfield based tablets out there to compete with the ARM tablets by the time WIndows 8 arrives.

I just expect more of a UI shift to better match the new start screen and the desktop with time. I think things like the systray will be phased out and replaced with a new UI that fits better all around. It'll be quite some time before we can be off of Win32 anyways.