There’s been a lot of buzz about Microsoft’s Windows 8 tablets, which will feature a new interface, derived from the Zune portable media player and the promise of more powerful hardware.
You can view a high-level comparison of WIndows 8 and the Apple iPad above.
While the release of Windows 8 tablets is still far off, it’s already got some readers wondering if it will offer a viable and possibly more powerful alternative to iOS. But, based on what we’ve seen, Microsoft is following Apple’s lead and breaking support for desktop apps.
Reader John Smith wrote in to note that WIndows 8 tablets, based on ARM chips, won’t support MIDI, either:
Microsoft is making Windows 8 ARM into a walled garden platform with only official APIs allowed. This makes it doubtful we’ll ever see things like ASIO or OpenGL support on ARM.
That is bad, but what is even worse is there is no support for MIDI at all on Windows 8 ARM.
I hope all of you will got to the following post where Microsoft acknoledges this and make your own post to this thread and show Microsoft that there should be MIDI support for Windows 8 ARM.
This isn’t a complete show-stopper for music apps on Windows 8 tablets. Remember that MIDI support was missing in action on iOS when it was first introduced.
But dreams of running Sonar or Live on a WIndows 8 tablet are going to remain dreams for a while.
What do you think of Microsoft’s Windows 8 tablet announcement? Do you think it will become a viable alternative to iOS for mobile music making?
This is only for the Metro apps. Desktop software will have MIDI.
So, looks like iOS but chunkier and blockier, as I would expect from Microsoft. I think windows 8 is a fail out of the gate because:
1 – As a bigger OS it will require faster processors to deliver the same experience as other mobile devices, which will make any windows tablet heavier, hotter and more expensive.
2 – As per reason #1, battery life will be far, far less than any other tablet
3 – People will buy windows 8 tablets expecting to run all their desktop stuff, (“It’s windows, but on a tablet, right?”) But apps like photoshop, maya, nuendo, etc will never run well, or at all, on a tablet. And if they boot up at all, the mouse and keyboard interface will translate terribly to touch, and the programs will be largely useless.
4 – As per reason #3, people will want to plug a mouse and keyboard into their tablets, and they probably will be able to, but they will then grudgingly realize they just bought a low performance crappy laptop, and have completely missed the core of what a tablet experience is supposed to be.
“it will require faster processors to deliver the same experience as other mobile devices”
False, It could run on the same processor the ipad uses. Its the whole reason why they made it work on ARM.
“As per reason #1, battery life will be far, far less than any other tablet”
Assumptions, you don’t know about that.
“But apps like photoshop, maya, nuendo, etc will never run well, or at all, on a tablet.”
False, they run very well on a tablet. I use them all the time and it works great. You shouldn’t be propagating lies like that, you have clearly never used those software on tablets.
“And if they boot up at all”
If? See, your entire argument is based on assumptions and “ifs”.
“completely missed the core of what a tablet experience is supposed to be.”
According to you. But to me, tablets are supposed to be expansive, not restrictive. You can do what you want with it, even connect a keyboard if you want to, like many people are doing with IOS as well (you know, all that MIDI stuff on IOS?).
This post is total fantasy. Are you off your meds or what? Take some basic computer science classes and get a clue, bro.
“This post is total fantasy.”
No explanation why? Hmm I guess they don’t show you that much in your basic computer classes.
I think you have to look at Window 8 tablets as a work in progress and remember that they’re going to be a couple of years behind iOS when they come out.
They may catch up, but there’s a good change they’ll end up like the Zune.
I’m more interested in the possibilities of multi-touch desktop support.
You Lie
You seem to be making some pretty big assumptions, too.
Windows 8 tablets won’t support the traditional desktop API’s. Developers will need to code apps for Metro, which has the same sort of limitations that iOS has.
They have to do this, or you’d have background apps killing your battery in a couple of hours.
We’ll have to see where Microsoft is in a couple of years, but this looks like it’s going to be another Zune.
“You seem to be making some pretty big assumptions, too.”
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/09/16/1324243/Microsoft-No-Windows-8-ARM-Support-For-x86-Apps
“Windows 8 tablets won’t support the traditional desktop API’s”
Windows8 ARM will not support tradittional desktop API’s, but Windows8 X86 will. Microsoft said it would be like that since on the first day they announced Windows8.
“We’ll have to see where Microsoft is in a couple of years, but this looks like it’s going to be another Zune.”
This comparison doesn’t make any sense, because Windows8 will end up on a majority of computers, because, you know, Windows is on 90% of every computers in use?
Actually, your comparison doesn’t make much sense.
Windows is on a majority of computers in use – but the post is about Windows 8 tablets, which are 0% of the tablets in use, which won’t be Intel & won’t run Windows apps.
WIndows tablets will just share the new Metro UI with the Intel desktop version of Windows 8, & not a whole lot else.
So, Microsoft is taking the Zune interface, which was a failure on the Zune before they ported it over to WIndows phones, where it was a failure, and porting it to tablets.
What makes you think the Zune interface on a Windows tablet that won’t run any of your Windows apps isn’t going to be another Zune-scale failure? The only way this will get any momentum is by low-balling pricing or Enterprise lock in.
“the post is about Windows 8 tablets, which are 0% of the tablets in use, which won’t be Intel & won’t run Windows apps.”
http://www.tabletkiosk.com/
http://www.motioncomputing.com/
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/321957-321957-64295-3841267-3955550-4332585.html?jumpid=in_r602_slate
Look at them before you talk out of your ass. There are plenty more companies producing Windows tablets which are Intel and run Windows apps.
There has been windows tablets for 15 years, its not about to stop now.
First review of that HP tablet you linked to:
“thought I was getting the best thing out there, completely wrong. This thing is so slow and unresponsive, there is a 20-120 second delay, if not longer on every application, especially the web. Was just at the airport side by side with my wife, she has iPad and I have the slate, same web page, same time surfing, my page loaded 1-2 minutes late, then I try and navigate and it freezes for a minute or two, meanwhile, she is cruising no problem on the iPad. Just writing this review took 5 minutes.”
“Look at them before you talk out of your ass. There are plenty more companies producing Windows tablets which are Intel and run Windows apps.
There has been windows tablets for 15 years, its not about to stop now.”
And, after 15 years, none of them have made a dent in the marketplace, because they are Windows laptops with a touchscreen tacked on.
Let’s get back to talking about the Windows 8 tablets that Microsoft introduced, which run on ARM chips, which won’t run any existing Windows applications, and which won’t support MIDI. What makes you think the Zune tablet will make any more of a splash than the Zune or the Zune phone did?
“And, after 15 years, none of them have made a dent in the marketplace, because they are Windows laptops with a touchscreen tacked on.”
Not a dent in the marketplace?.. its funny you say that, because when the guy from the electric company came home last week to fix some things, he was using a Dell rugged tablet. And last month at work when people from Roger and Telus came in to work on the signal strenght in our office, they were using HP convertible tablets.
So.. not a dent in the marketplace you say? Then why are all those companies just going out of business? I haven’t heard of Panasonic halting production of their Toughbook tablets, nor Motion Computing who provides the most tablets to doctors.. nor Tabletkiosk.. nor anyone for that matter.
oh.. so you picked a bad review of a first production units of the new HP Slate, yeah ok. I find it funny how you simply ignored all the good reviews, and also ignored all the other products of the same kind, for a products you have never tried yourself..
There’s a market that Apple can’t penetrate with the ipad. Yes, Apple is big in the consumer marketplace, but they are nowhere to be found in the professional marketplace. There are still people who needs handwriting, and there are many products for those people. There are also people who wants to run Protools on a tablet, and Apple cannot provide them a good experience with the ipad for such a thing.
I find it very funny that you people strongly believe that Apple will be the only tablet provider in the future.
It’s really hard to make sense of what your point is, other than it seems like you have an axe to grind about Windows tablets.
None of the tablets you mention have anything to do with the Windows 8 ARM tablets that Microsoft has announced – the ones that are mentioned in the post, demo’d in the video, and that the rest of us are wondering about.
“I find it very funny that you people strongly believe that Apple will be the only tablet provider in the future.”
Why would you even say something like that. Nobody has suggested anything like that.
The rest of us are trying to discuss whether the new Windows 8 tablets are going to viable music tablets. For now, it doesn’t look very likely. Do you have anything constructive you can add to that discussion?
People are forgetting about OSC.
So true. Any mention of OSC support on Windows 8 tablets yet?
you lie, and your breath stinks
Last comment deleted because it contained a personal attack.
Except for the personal attack in the end, the rest of the comment was nice. It would’ve been great if you had just deleted the part with the attack.
Rule #1) Don’t piss off the admin.
Wow.. I didn’t know that people liked Apple so much they are willing to spread this much lies about Microsoft.
X86 Windows will run X86 and ARM apps.
ARM Windows will only run ARM apps.
Its that simple.
Why is there so many people on the web saying this is not true, and so many other people who believes them?