The Windows RT Review
by Vivek Gowri & Anand Lal Shimpi on October 25, 2012 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Windows RT
- Operating Systems
- Microsoft
- Mobile
- Windows 8
- Tablets
The Keyboard(s) - Handwriting Recognition Returns
Windows RT comes with three keyboards. The standard QWERTY keyboard looks and feels like a larger version of the Windows Phone 7 keyboard, with the same design aesthetic and similar pop-up options for punctuation. In Modern UI, it takes up the entire bottom half of the screen, but interestingly enough, in desktop mode it doesn’t quite stretch full screen - there’s roughly 20 pixels left on either side of the keyboard. You can choose to stretch it out such that it spans the width of the screen, which changes the key aspect ratio and makes the entire thing wider. It doesn’t change the usability at all, but it was an odd bit of discontinuity. The number page has a unique layout, with a number-pad on the right and commonly used punctuation and symbols on the left. Other than that though, it’s a pretty straightforward keyboard that does its job well.
The second keyboard is a split keyboard, but instead of being an overlay, it takes up the same amount of space as the regular QWERTY and adds a number pad right in the middle. The unorthodox layout is somewhat jarring at first, but if you want to type with your thumbs, this is the only way to do it. I honestly prefer the way Apple does it, with two separate key banks on either side of the screen (and actually, I think the first time I saw it like that was on the old Origami UMPCs back in the day) - it lets you see more of the display and ends up being more functional because of that.
The last keyboard is actually probably the most interesting, because it’s not really a keyboard. It’s the return of our old friend, the handwriting input panel. This is one of the only places I can find any remaining trace of the tablet PC era. None of the devices we had to test were pen-enabled, so the only way to use it was using our finger as a capacitive input. I was actually shocked at how well it worked. I know quite a few people waiting on the Wacom-infused Windows 8 Pro slates, but for those on a budget, I can easily see the handwriting input being quite useful in conjunction with OneNote and a capacitive stylus.
With Microsoft integrating a keyboard into the Surface covers, ASUS going so far as to bundle the laptop dock as a default feature with the VivoTab RT (they didn’t even want to talk pricing of the tablet individually), and almost everyone else offering at least the option of an add-on keyboard accessory, the virtual keyboard is a bit less critical here than it is on some other platforms. Beyond basic URL entry, I barely touched the virtual keyboard - for writing, email, messaging, or anything else, I just picked up the laptop dock. Given how much the physical typing experiences have been emphasized by the hardware manufacturers, it’s very plausible to think that the virtual keyboards could get relatively little use.
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Flemo86 - Saturday, October 27, 2012 - link
With WindowsRT (oh God what an awful name) they're now competing with Apple on Apple's terms, and Apple have had a 5 year head start with iOS. It's just ridiculous that they have .NET, XNA, DirectX etc at such a sweet spot right now, with so many developers on board and able to program whatever the hell they want for the OS (complete with file system!), and then they just change the game entirely by tearing x86 out and putting in what may as well be an Apple chip.They should have come up with a better solution to use ALL existing software and their architectures with every device, not just the "Pro" version. That would've been real competition with the iPad. Imagine being able to port all Xbox live arcade games and every .NET application to the "Windows App Store"/Marketplace (whatever they're calling it). All Microsoft would have to do is verify each piece of software and then bada-bing bada-boom, you've got yourself tens of thousands of apps within the month, and an extremely easy set of tools for devs to use.
Of course, this would've required more effort on the hardware side. Maybe less battery life? A lower screen resolution? More effort on Intel's part? I really hope Windows RT falls by the wayside and Windows 8 Pro tablets become the de facto standard. I hate the idea of them throwing a decade worth of development tools out on one of their operating systems.
Sorry for the rant, just an XNA fan!
stimudent - Saturday, October 27, 2012 - link
Since this system uses Windows and an ARM processor instead of an Intel processor, that makes it 50% respectable. To achieve the other 50%, it would have to have Linux installed.yyrkoon - Sunday, October 28, 2012 - link
Ok, I'll bite.Whats so good about Linux ?
Polish ? Security ? painless upgrade path ? The majority of modern games played on the PC are written for this software platform ?
Or is it that you can feel good about your own self using it for free. Without having to use pirates bay ?
Seriously. Grow up.
Also, please tell me you use Ubuntu. So the rest of us can have a good laugh, and totally disregard what you have to say in the future.
B3an - Sunday, October 28, 2012 - link
That made me laugh, because it's true.foolsgambit11 - Saturday, October 27, 2012 - link
that points out that the autumn of 2000 is just before the turn of the new millenium, not just after....milkod2001 - Sunday, October 28, 2012 - link
@yyrkoonwhat's good about Linux?
lol u gotta be kidding
Android is based on Linux so iOS . That covers all Apple platform and the rest of all smartphones and tablets. Most servers are running on Linux. Not enough?
The majority of modern games played on the PC are written for this software platform ?
The majority of modern games are coded for console kids(Xbox and PS3), then ported to PC.PC games market is only the niche part of games market anyway.
Ubuntu is for geeks/scientisc/developers and not for average uneduceted joes
solipsism - Sunday, October 28, 2012 - link
"Android is based on Linux so [is] iOS."Um... double no.
Android uses the Linux kernel and some underlying code but it is not Linux in the way stimudent is talking about which is why we call it Android and not Linux or Android Linux.
iOS uses Darwin OS and foundations and frameworks found in Mac OS X. "Darwin is built around XNU, a hybrid kernel that combines the Mach 3 microkernel, various elements of BSD (including the process model, network stack, and virtual file system), and an object-oriented device driver API called I/O Kit.[6] The hybrid kernel design compromises between the flexibility of a microkernel and the performance of a monolithic kernel." All this came from NeXTSTEP and BSD before that. There is no Linux in iOS.
yyrkoon - Sunday, October 28, 2012 - link
Yeah notable features at least in my mind is that Android uses ( as standard ) A virtual machine to run each application. Kind of, but not the same as JRE..Big difference from Linux just in that. The architecture is really interesting. Despite the fact that java is the primary development language used for creating apps. Unless you choose to write native C/C++, or use a third party "scripting language". Passed that I'm sure you'd be able to write standard kernel level drivers, but yeah . . .
Mono for android is particularly interesting to me, but a bit pricey.
yyrkoon - Sunday, October 28, 2012 - link
Ubuntu is garbage.Architecturally it can be unstable, it has a very poor upgrade path track record, and they want to put google search on your desktop.
All that despite the fact that is based on one of the better distro's around IMHO. Debian.
yyrkoon - Sunday, October 28, 2012 - link
Oh and yeah to follow up on what was left out of the comments to your post.Most network admins I know that want the least bit of hassle when dealing with servers do not always opt for Linux. Just for the sake of using Linux. These people realize that an operating system is a tool, all of which have their strong and weak points. With OSX being somewhere in the middle. My post above down to the first four lines of text were pure sarcasm. With the fifth and sixth lines being tongue in cheek.
Any operating system is only as good as the user using it. It does not matter what it is. IF the user is a dumbshit, or does not care .The given OS will probably not work optimally (ever). With varying degrees of optimal operation in between, based on how well the user understands his/her operating system.
Also, we're talking computers here, not gaming consoles. With *ALL* PC games being written on some form of a PC. For the PC. Some being Linux dev machines for cross platform development, but most being Windows / visual studio developers. Ask around the game development community sometime, and ask who uses Windows / visual studio versus Linux / eclipse or some other IDE. You'll find out for yourself. This is for a good reason too. Windows / directx being the prevalent software gaming platform. For the PC. Not to mention the fact that porting games to the xbox is fairly trivial now days. Depending on the tool set you use.
"Ubuntu is for geeks/scientisc/developers and not for average uneduceted joes"
Uh yeah . . . I think this "sentence" speaks for its self.