Confusion hits the fan as PC users don’t understand Windows 8 vs. Windows RT
Microsoft is making Windows 8 confusing by bundling together two different operating systems—a new touch system with tiles and a separate desktop designed for point and click. But that isn’t where the confusion stops.
There is yet another new operating system called Windows RT that is designed for mobile platforms. This operating system uses entirely different hardware and is largely incompatible with previous Windows software written for desktops and laptops. Windows RT uses ARM processors and is related to the Windows phone operating system. It is the system on the Surface tablet PC that Microsoft is selling itself and is touting so heavily. However, it seems a lot of people aren’t aware that Windows RT is not the same as the standard Windows 8.
Many people have rushed to pre-order one of the new Surface tablets from Microsoft but it appears that a lot of them don’t realize that this device isn’t going to run their existing programs.
To get an idea of the confusion that exists about the new Windows, take a look at Paul Thurrott’s blog. He begins:
’ve been writing about Windows for almost 20 years, and I feel like I’ve kind of seen it all. But for the past several days, I’ve been struggling under the weight of the most brutal email onslaught I’ve ever endured over these two decades. And if my email is any indication, and I believe it is, the majority of people out there have absolutely no idea what Windows RT is.
This is a problem.
It’s a problem because, for every reasonable, probing question I get about Surface with Windows RT—the recently launched Microsoft device—I receive at least 10 questions that betray that simple truth: Most people have no idea what’s going on here.
No idea at all.
“No idea at all.” That is nothing new when it comes to describing what most average PC users know about the details of Windows. “No idea at all” also describes what Microsoft knows about the needs of average PC users.
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