Dot Matrix Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 Having had extended time playing around with a Surface RT tablet, I just have to say that I like RT, and I like what it's doing. It's a powerful OS, and a nice entry point for Microsoft into the tablet market, but I started to see why it hasn't exactly taken off. Windows RT still holds onto a lot of legacy "junk", which wastes precious storage space, and more importantly, swings consumer opinion. They see the desktop and are turned off by it. It's the same reason XP tablets failed, and the same reason Windows 7 tablets failed too. Windows RT sends the user to the desktop far too often, and that's something users should not have to put up with, outside of launching Office, which is another point for later on. If there's anything Microsoft needs to focus on the most with the company wide "Blue" release, it's RT. Judging from the leaked builds, Windows 8 is getting a significant upgrade, which is good, but with the lack of leaked RT "Blue" specific features, I'm worried that it's not going to do enough to address RT's shortcomings. The "Blue" release for RT needs to focus on a few things: * Get rid of as much legacy "junk" as possible. Don't just hide it like you're doing now, completely rip out what can come out. I'm happy to see that RT users will have a Metro file explorer, Metro Control Panel, and other Metro apps to use that won't take them to the desktop anymore, which is good, but hiding the legacy bits in the shadows isn't going to work to solve the desktop issue. Announcing that Windows RT "Blue" will free up precious storage space, would be an instant hit. * Apps need updated, and released. This is a glaring issue for any Windows 8 user, but apps are lacking or MIA all together. For a consumer facing OS to take off, you need the apps there to support it. While some of the Bing apps have already been bumped to v2.0, some have not *cough* Music *cough*. Windows "Blue" RT should focus on bumping these apps up a few notches, while launching others. Glaring omissions include various social apps (Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Flickr, and Pandora to name a few) that Windows Phone 8 has, but not Windows 8, and various productivity apps. Microsoft has been touting for a while now that WP 8 and Win 8 share the same kernel, and can "share" apps with little code change, but Microsoft has not shown this at all. I don't know what they are doing, but they should man up, take the initiative, and release these apps. Do what needs to get done to get these apps on the Windows 8 store by the time Windows "Blue" goes gold. Hell, release them earlier than that. This summer maybe when they're due to announce the update. This is a big opportunity for app launches, if they don't happen with this release, then no change to Windows RT will help it grow. * MetroOffice RT and other business features. The announcement of Windows "Blue" is the perfect time to announce OfficeRT Metro apps. Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc. It's time to make it happen. This is the chance for a grand-slam. The biggest shortcoming of RT is its business features, and should Microsoft add these in (Domain Join, etc), it would knock any other tablet flat on its ass, and would be a big time disruption to the market, leaving the iPad and various Android tablets with little to stand on. It's a lot, but with these fixes, Windows RT would be a slam dunk product. What are your hopes for Windows RT "Blue"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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