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
Skype for Windows RT: The New Messenger?
I decided to give Skype its own page, because it’s kind of a hybrid first-party/third-party app and I think it’s going to be very important to Microsoft going forward. It’s not pre-installed so you need to install it from the Windows Store, but Microsoft’s ownership of Skype means that the service is very well integrated to the Windows 8/RT platform.
The new version of Skype runs within Modern UI and has been redesigned from the ground up, with some critical changes being made to the Skype platform. You can login now with any form of Microsoft account, including Skype, and your Skype ID will be linked to your Windows ID. Your Skype contacts can be found either from within Skype or from the People application, so you can just call people directly out of the People application where the rest of your contacts are.
Skype’s new UI is clean and relatable, for the first time in quite a few revisions. Metro has more than done its job here, taking what has become a clunky and archaic interface over the years and really turning it into a modern, streamlined application. There are four areas, showing recent calls and conversations, favorited contacts, and a list of all your contacts as distinct panes. The fourth area, actually the first one you see, is an advertising column for Skype Premium with the sell being “More Skype. No ads.” How tempting. If you’re a free Skype user, like almost everyone I know, it’s just something you ignore but it really does bug me, because it mars what is an otherwise great looking app.
The edge swipe context bar brings up options to add contacts and numbers at the bottom, as well as thumbnails of recent contact history at the top. Once you enter into a contact, you’re free to chat with them, call them over voice or video, or add participants for a group chat. Overall, it’s well organized and very straightforward to use.
The cool part is that you can snap video chats to the edge of the screen, giving you a slice of the chat window. This is actually a really awesome way of doing things, since as long as the other person is generally in the middle of their webcam field of view, the 320 pixel width is actually more than adequate to carry on a good Skype conversation. I’m a big fan of using snapped applications for multitasking, and I think Skype’s implementation of it is very sleek. For the first time in a while, I’m very pleased by the design and responsiveness of Skype.
Eventually I think MSN/Live Messenger will be folded into Skype, paving the way for Skype to become the default messaging client for the Windows platform. The first step in this was combining the Skype ID with the overall Windows ID, and in time we will see how important this was for Microsoft to get right.
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Dorek - Friday, November 2, 2012 - link
AFAIK, task manager tray doesn't even have thumbnails. Come on, it's not comparable to what Windows 8 and Windows RT do. Have you used them?yyrkoon - Sunday, October 28, 2012 - link
The software issue, will not be much of an issue at all.Microsoft will just write another abstraction layer ( HAL ) for ARM. Which is most likely what they've done here.
Passed that. IF any abstraction layers need to be written for the COM model, or .NET libraries. You can rest assured Microsoft will cover that as well. If it hasnt been covered already. Which Im betting it has.
Again, this is nothing like WinCE.This is a real OS, for real end users, with a different HAL.
The biggest issue as I've stated in previous posts. Is not whether it will be easy to write applications for Windows RT. But whether software developers deem it prudent to spend thousands of dollars on Microsoft development tools( not absolutely necessary ). THEN pay Microsoft a forced 30% distribution fee. Through their app store.
For me personally. The 30% fee alone is enough for me to jump ship. And I really enjoy writing apps for Windows. We'll see how it all works out in the end.
karocage - Friday, October 26, 2012 - link
This comment from the article seemed odd to me:"This isn’t like Windows Phone, where we need to see whether the platform will get any market traction before predicting the growth of the app marketplace."
Market traction and app store growth don't seem to have much if any relationship with Windows Phone. WP7 hit 100,000 apps faster than either iOS or Android and has over 125,000 now. If anything, that would seem to indicate that MS really does have a lot of pull with developers independently of market share. So while I agree that the sheer number of devices will be a big draw, I'd argue that's just the cherry on top that guarantees we're going to see a ton of support really quickly for RT/Metro apps.
Obviously buying a WinRT tablet today will be pretty limiting in terms of 3rd party software, but experience from WP7 suggests this will be a very short-lived downside of the platform.
Dorek - Friday, November 2, 2012 - link
Good point. I've been on Windows Phone 7.5 for a year, and have never had the problem of not being able to find an app I want. (With the exception of Pandora, the assholes. Can't even use third-party ones because they block them. But I have a Zune--I mean, Xbox Music Pass anyway. So screw Pandora.)andypost - Friday, October 26, 2012 - link
Anandtech writes the best articles. period.Thanks to Vivek Gowri and Anand Lal Shimpi for a great article.
Visual - Friday, October 26, 2012 - link
You say it is impossible to make desktop apps, but...I read that Win RT still has PowerShell. A lot of PowerShell scripts on x86 just invoke various functions in third-party ActiveX controls, which are just x86 executable binary libraries, and that will not work on RT... but maybe at least the core MS objects still work? For example, if Windows Forms or Windows Presentation Foundation still works, then PowerShell scripts can create desktop windows with various GUI elements.
And since there is an IE, maybe HTA applications work as well?
Do you have some scripting geek working at AT that could test these theories out?
On another topic, I am very surprised you say there are x86 executables on your install. That is just wasted space on a device that doesn't get a large drive to begin with anyway. MS would get in serious trouble if it were true... Are you sure?
And lastly, I am curious if a Win RT device is supposed to be able to get plugged to a "real" Windows computer over USB for charging or for as a mass storage drive, for transfering files... If it is, then coudn't you also plug one RT device to another RT device? Then which one will become the "host", and which one will become the peripheral?
Dorek - Friday, November 2, 2012 - link
"And lastly, I am curious if a Win RT device is supposed to be able to get plugged to a "real" Windows computer over USB for charging or for as a mass storage drive, for transfering files... If it is, then coudn't you also plug one RT device to another RT device? Then which one will become the "host", and which one will become the peripheral?"Dude...that's deep.
(That's actually a really good question. Surface can't be charged over USB, but I don't know about other ARM devices.)
tommo123 - Friday, October 26, 2012 - link
i mean if someone writes an app and gives it away. there's no sideloading so if has to go through the store right?will microsoft host it for free? if not then they're effectively killing off free software for windows are they not? at least win rt which is eventually (how they'd like) desktop windows to go too.
tipoo - Friday, October 26, 2012 - link
Yes they'll host it for free. And there are many free apps already, there was a influx of apps on launch day and most reviews were done before that. They only take a percentage of the cuts from paid apps, nothing from free.Visual - Friday, October 26, 2012 - link
I forgot one question in my previous post.How is the browser performance with many many tabs open at once? Like 20, or even 100?
I sometimes use tabs in a bit weird way, ctrl+clicking possibly interesting links in some large index page to open them in a background tab for later reviewing it in more detail. Even without Flash, with IE9 starting a new process for each tab by default and a few animated gif ads and various JS scripts on each tab, it really kills Atom Netbooks and even CULV Core 2. It's probably more of a memory usage thing than a CPU thing actually... But anyway, how could that go on these new ARM devices?