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It is a pretty awful article. But isn't it Windows fault that it requires a power hungry x86 CPU? You can run other OSes on multiple types of hardware and have

It is a pretty awful article. But isn't it Windows fault that it requires a power hungry x86 CPU? You can run other OSes on multiple types of hardware and have your engineers pick the best hardware for the device's needs. Or you decide "We're going with Windows!" and now your engineers are trying to figure out how to stretch the battery long enough to run this x86 CPU. If not for Windows being stuck on one platform I don't think we would have ever had the Atom.

swernli 17y ago
An interesting point, though I don't think it justifies the way the new article chose to change the meaning of the original by rephrasing it. I don't think it's just Windows that encourages x86 use; it's also the fact that the ecosystem is richer for that chipset anyway (hardware compatibility for things like the webcam and card reader come to mind). If you decide to go with a linux distro on top of custom hardware, then you might have to develop drivers yourself, as well as build up some UI paradigms customized for touch. WebOS gives them a great starting point to do just that, so in the end their actions still look consistent with their goals.
- Kadin 17y ago
  > it's also the fact that the ecosystem is richer for that chipset anyway Well, it's richer mainly because that's the platform Windows runs on exclusively (or near-exclusively; there are probably a few non-x86 Windows installs out there still) and thus dominant. If you had more competition in processor architectures I would expect that you would not have such an unbalanced chipset and onboard-hardware ecosystem. Also, I'm not really sure why things like webcams or card readers would depend on processor arch; most webcams (even built-in laptop ones) that I've worked with interface over USB. Same with most recent card readers. It's not like they're plugged right into the FSB or anything.
blasdel 17y ago
The worst part isn't the x86 processor, but the ancient standard x86 hardware platform that can never be changed because then Windows XP won't boot. The Atom might only use 2.5W, but the chipset to go with it uses 9W!

swernli 17y ago

An interesting point, though I don't think it justifies the way the new article chose to change the meaning of the original by rephrasing it. I don't think it's just Windows that encourages x86 use; it's also the fact that the ecosystem is richer for that chipset anyway (hardware compatibility for things like the webcam and card reader come to mind). If you decide to go with a linux distro on top of custom hardware, then you might have to develop drivers yourself, as well as build up some UI paradigms customized for touch. WebOS gives them a great starting point to do just that, so in the end their actions still look consistent with their goals.

Kadin 17y ago
> it's also the fact that the ecosystem is richer for that chipset anyway Well, it's richer mainly because that's the platform Windows runs on exclusively (or near-exclusively; there are probably a few non-x86 Windows installs out there still) and thus dominant. If you had more competition in processor architectures I would expect that you would not have such an unbalanced chipset and onboard-hardware ecosystem. Also, I'm not really sure why things like webcams or card readers would depend on processor arch; most webcams (even built-in laptop ones) that I've worked with interface over USB. Same with most recent card readers. It's not like they're plugged right into the FSB or anything.

blasdel 17y ago

The worst part isn't the x86 processor, but the ancient standard x86 hardware platform that can never be changed because then Windows XP won't boot. The Atom might only use 2.5W, but the chipset to go with it uses 9W!