3 ms·

Windows itself ran fine on ARM. Windows RT failed for a couple reasons: there was no backwards compatibility for x86 Windows software, and there were a couple

Windows itself ran fine on ARM. Windows RT failed for a couple reasons: there was no backwards compatibility for x86 Windows software, and there were a couple artificial limitations in place that made ARM-native desktop software impossible. Essentially, Windows RT threw out the good part of what makes Windows Windows (decades worth of third-party software) in an attempt to make a "dedicated" tablet OS a la iOS or Android.

scholia 10y ago
True. However, Microsoft thought users would be OK with Microsoft Office (bundled free with Surface RT) and sandboxed tablet apps. Windows RT threw out the good parts of backwards compatibility, but it also threw out the bad parts: viruses and malware, software downloads from dodgy websites, being your own IT manager etc. Some would consider this a reasonable trade-off, but the market didn't buy it. Odd, really, since Windows RT has all the benefits of a Chromebook, but also offers much more.
- timthorn 10y ago
  If MS had enabled Domain Join & Group Policy, the RT devices could have taken a lot of enterprise sales. At the time, there wasn't a great story on any tablet around user account management; RT could have been that platform.
  - scholia 10y ago
    Agreed. It would also have filled the hole for school testing, which is what generated sales of Chromebooks....
deleted 10y ago
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