Modelon Solutions

Well, i think the final nail in Windows RT coffin has been laid. Yesterday, it was reported on the net that a third upgrade to Windows RT 8.1 was released bringing with it a option to use the a start menu that kind of resembled the one in Windows 10.

First of all, the Surface RT and Surface 2 were meant as tablets, not laptops. The only app that require desktop mode is the version of Office 2013 that shipped with it (since Office Mobile for Windows wasn`t ready it couldn`t be that). My question : since you are not selling these devices anymore, why develop a useless feature for it ? Just bringing Microsoft Edge to Windows RT would of been so much better…

To me, my Surface 2 was a great tool, I could read the news, surf the net, show pictures, listen to movies and listen to music whenever I wanted. Not a problem. It even had a keyboard for those times I had to write more than a few phrases. Let`s not forget USB and sdcard support to copy pictures off of my friend`s camera on a trip.

Was it a problem for me that Win32 apps couldn`t run ? No. this was not a laptop but a tablet running Windows RT, not the full Windows 8.1. Had developers wanted me to run their app on the Surface 2, they would have rewritten them for the WinRT application programming interface, which in 2015, would of meant that their app would run on the full Windows 10 suite (desktop, laptop, xbox, tablet, phone, iot…)… More than that, most apps are now being developed as web apps as to run on any device imaginable, so why are we still writing new Win32 apps (i understand that their is legacy stuff out there, but maybe we shouldn`t punish Windows RT for not running legacy apps) ?

I think Microsoft should have continued with the Windows RT line of operating system. With Windows 10 Mobile coming soon out, I think Windows RT for tablets should basically be Windows 10 Mobile with Continuum mode always on. For those who don`t know what Continuum is, it`s a way for a Windows 10 Mobile to project it`s screen on a tv, or a normal monitor, but stretch the apps so they layout in their “tablet” mode. This is possible because with the same source code, you now say with Windows 10, if i am on a small screen, show this part of the app; if i am on a big screen, show that part of the app. Will people be angry because this feature will not let you run Win32 apps on their phone projected to a big display ? i hope not. Also, i think this new offering should be for dirt cheap tablets… the Surface line was a bit overpriced in my opinion.

As all things, i think the whole problem was a communications problem. Had Microsoft done a better job explaining that Windows RT (maybe they should have called it Windows Tablet or Windows Lite) was an operating system for a different kind of hardware, one for the tablets that run the guts of a phone (like a iPad or a Android Tablet). To do that it needed a new kind of apps, one that also runs on their phone and on their full Windows laptop or desktop and synched state across all of them. i never saw that kind of messaging. (Imagine a commercial where the guy uses photoshop on his full laptop, then say let me share you a file and the guy opens it on his surface using a WinRT lite version of photoshop app – that would of made Windows RT a companion device).

Last of all, maybe Windows RT should have hidden the desktop entirely, just like Windows 10 does in tablet mode. My last rant for this morning is about Windows 10, and it`s effort to mimic the fun i had with my Surface RT… tablet mode is not ready yet, i lost so much usability from my Windows tablet that i am reconsidering what my next tablet will be, as clearly i have to put my Surface 2 to rest.

RIP Surface 2, i believed in you, and the kids loved watching movies on you in restaurant and practicing their typing skills.