Microsoft Windows RT Device News, Updates and Reviews | Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

Jan. 29, 2013

link

PC Makers Aren’t Learning From History

Reading a rather astonishing interview with Acer president Jim Wong this week, it hit me: PC makers continue to make the same mistakes that buried the PC industry under an avalanche of cheap netbooks that left these firms unable to respond properly to the growing tide of new tablet competitors. When will these companies collectively understand that low prices and good value aren’t synonymous?...More
Jan. 25, 2013

Article

Microsoft Prepping Outlook 2013 for Windows RT 20

Mary Jo Foley reports this week that Microsoft has developed a version of Outlook 2013 for Windows RT, the ARM-based version of Windows 8. And sure enough, one of my sources confirms that this application has indeed been created internally. The question is how or whether it’s even released....More
Jan. 22, 2013

link

The Windows 8 Battle Moves from Software to Devices

Last week, Microsoft confirmed that it would reinstate normal pricing for Windows 8 Upgrade packages as previously promised, setting off a bizarre and undeserved wave of outrage and criticism from tech enthusiasts. But Microsoft is right to “raise” prices on the Windows 8 Upgrade versions, which are aimed at legacy PCs anyway. And with this move, the battleground for the future of computing switches from these legacy PCs to a new generation of highly mobile and touch-centric devices....More
Jan. 22, 2013

Article

Windows 8 Tip: Shut Down Metro-Style Apps 47

While many complain that the design of the new Metro user experience in Windows 8/RT is too touch-centric, we should give Microsoft some credit for fully support traditional PC interfaces like keyboard and mouse as well. So it is with shutting down Metro-style apps: Yes, there are new ways to do this, but Windows 8 supports traditional methods as well....More
Jan. 22, 2013

Article

Surface with Windows 8 Pro: February 9 Release, Additional Details and Accessories 17

So much for that January promise: Microsoft announced today that Surface with Windows 8 Pro won’t ship to customers until February 9. Additionally, Microsoft will release a new standalone version of Surface RT that features 64 GB of storage but no Touch Cover and a handful of new Surface accessories....More
Jan. 22, 2013

Article

The Final Piece of the Hybrid PC Puzzle 41

With Windows 8, Microsoft and the PC world are ushering in a new age of hybrid mobile PCs and devices, where the screen contains the “guts” of the system and can be used as a standalone tablet or plugged into a keyboard base for a laptop-like experience. These diverse devices are the future of mobile computing, no doubt about it. But there’s a missing piece to this puzzle, one that I think will put these designs over the top....More
Jan. 18, 2013

Article

In Praise of the Windows Padfone 27

ASUS just dropped a bomb on the Windows community in the form of its plans to deliver something called the Padfone. There’s just one problem: Under Microsoft’s current rules, this device can’t exist. But the Windows Padfone is a great idea, and it deserves a chance in the market....More
Jan. 17, 2013

Article

Microsoft PLAY: Xbox Games on Windows 8 19

Microsoft this week began talking up a new brand for its in-house Xbox LIVE games that have been ported to Windows 8/RT. Now dubbed PLAY, this is not really anything new, but rather a new push to entice people to adopt Windows 8/RT in order to play familiar Xbox LIVE games on a Windows device....More
Jan. 17, 2013

Article

Windows 8/RT App Pick: Audible 4

While Windows Phone users had to wait in agony for two years for Audible to deliver its beloved audiobook solution on their favorite smart phone platform, Windows 8/RT users are much luckier: Audible is already here....More
Jan. 16, 2013

link

Microsoft Courts Developers for Windows 8, Windows Phone

With a rising tide of bad news threatening to engulf its most recent major platform releases, Microsoft this week renewed efforts to entice developers to create apps for Windows 8 and Windows Phone. The devices and services firm has created contests for developers who target either platform with apps....More
Jan. 15, 2013

Article

Charles Petzold Completes Programming Windows 6th Edition 6

Throughout 2012, I provided updates about Windows developer guru Charles Petzold’s latest book, Programming Windows 6th Edition, which focuses on Metro-style programming for Windows 8. Well, after months and months of work, it’s done. And at a whopping 1136 pages, it’s also a monster....More
Jan. 13, 2013

Article

Tablet PC Redux? 20

With the advent of Windows 8 and a new class of hybrid PCs and devices, the Windows world is about to be plunged into a more portable and mobile future. But haven’t we been down this road before? And have Microsoft and its PC maker partners learned the lessons of their past failures?...More
Jan. 11, 2013

Article

Windows 8/RT App Pick: PODCASTS! 18

If you are interested in podcasts and are bemoaning the lack of a native Microsoft podcast app, or support for podcasts in Xbox Music perhaps, especially if you’re a Windows RT user, then you need to know about this app....More
Jan. 11, 2013

link

WinInfo Short Takes: January 11, 2013

An often irreverent look at this week's other news, including the first year-over-year drop in holiday PC sales in five years, the first year-over-year drop in PC sales overall in 11 years, Nokia’s not-so-impressive smart phone sales surge, stepping back from the Messenger shutdown cliff, downtime issues resolved for Hotmail and Outlook.com, Samsung kills plans (for now) for a Windows RT tablet, and Xbox 360 is number one console for two straight years....More
Jan. 10, 2013

Article

Tami Reller Talks Windows 8 Sales 22

Microsoft’s Tami Reller, who previously confirmed my story about the firm’s internal disappointments about the slow Windows 8 launch, spoke this week about, you guessed it, Windows 8. And in this her newly massaged message, Microsoft is back on board with its partners, rather than blaming them (publicly, at least) for the slow start....More
Jan. 8, 2013

Article

Microsoft Surface with Windows RT Firmware Updated Again 14

In tandem with the regularly scheduled “Patch Tuesday” event today, Microsoft issued a small firmware update for its Surface with Windows RT tablet....More
Jan. 8, 2013

Article

Windows 8 Tips: The Ultimate Compendium 5

Millions of people will be trying Windows 8 for the first time this year and many will be confused by the new user experiences, which meld the classic Windows desktop with a new touch-centric mobile platform. No worries: I’ve collected several months of Windows 8 tips—over 50 in all—into a single place where can go to find what you need and master Microsoft’s latest operating system....More
Jan. 8, 2013

Article

Windows RT Jailbreak Silliness 10

Reports from earlier in the week suggested that Windows RT had been “jailbroken” by hackers, an event I ignored because the outcome was so obvious. And, as expected, Microsoft has confirmed the hack and will simply fix it in a pending update. But why does everyone take this stuff so seriously?...More
Jan. 8, 2013

Article

New Intel Chipsets Spur Hope for Windows 8 Surge in 2013 37

With Windows 8 PC and device sales off to a slow start, Microsoft, Intel, and their hardware partners delivered a curious “hurry and wait” message at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. As is so often the case, things are going to be better in the future, the firms say. But this time, it’s truer than ever. You may actually want to wait....More
Jan. 8, 2013

link

Steve Ballmer Makes a Surprise Appearance at CES Keynote

Microsoft said that last year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) keynote would be its last, but then CEO Steve Ballmer surprised everyone by “crashing” Qualcomm’s opening keynote address last night and plugging Windows 8/RT and Windows Phone 8....More
Jan. 7, 2013

Article

Why Surface RT? [Infographic] 17

Late last year, I wrote a series of articles called “Why Windows RT?” in which I highlighted several ways in which Microsoft’s Surface with Windows RT beat the Apple iPad. Here’s a nice summary of the series in attractive infographic form....More
Jan. 7, 2013

Article

What Will Tegra 4 Mean to Windows RT? 17

NVIDIA this week unveiled the Tegra 4, which it describes as the world’s fastest mobile processor. Given the lackluster performance of Windows RT on the Tegra 4’s predecessor, I’m curious whether NVIDIA’s stated advances will lead to better Windows RT devices in the near future, and perhaps a new Surface RT....More
Jan. 7, 2013

Article

Fixing Windows 8, Part 6: Offer Desktop Apps in Windows Store ... For Both Windows 8 and RT 42

Microsoft can and should formally support desktop applications in Windows Store for both Windows 8 and Windows RT. This would eliminate the most glaring problem with Windows RT, and provide all Windows users with a place to find safe, consistent, and reliable applications of all kinds....More
Jan. 7, 2013

link

CES 2013 Opens, This Time with No Microsoft

With its unique and almost sad sense of timing, Microsoft is a no-show at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the biggest trade show in America. But one has to wonder why the firm has bailed on this event after many years as a headline keynoter: With its new emphasis on devices and services, Microsoft is suddenly a natural fit for CES....More
Jan. 6, 2013

Article

Windows 8 Feature Focus: Xbox Video App 17

Like Xbox Music, Xbox Video is the Windows 8-based front-end to a cloud service of the same name. But unlike Xbox Music, Xbox Video is straightforward and easy to use, thanks to a less ambitious feature set....More