Installing Windows 8 RT on an Android Tablet

This is collection of "How-to"s and discussion on the method to install the Windows 8 RT image onto a rooted Android device.

First you need to download the Windows 8 RT image that is  designed to run on an ARM device. This version can be made to run on similar NVidia Tegra and A5X SOC powered devices such as the Asus Transformer Prime and iPad 3

The exact procedure and links to where to download the required software will be featured on my website. tempusfugit.ca

What will the consumer opinion on Windows 8 be?

Now that Microsoft are about to release Windows 8, initially as RT (the tablet - cripple version) and then Windows 8 Pro. It will be interesting to see what the reviews on how it is accepted by the consumer.

Many of the "big-box" stores are offering deals such as $14.99 for Windows 8 Pro when it is released if you purchase a computer with Windows 7 on it now. The question is, is this a reason for either upgrading to Windows 8 or just stay with 7, as it is not a bad operating system as it is. If you are purchasing a computer that does not have "touch" capability, there is little reason to want to go to 8. Sure, there will be those that tell you that 8 is "faster" or "more secure" than 7,  but are they just trying to spin you a line?

I say - stick with Windows 7 until Windows 8 has proven itself. In any case the Metro (and MS don't want you to call it that!) interface is pig ugly. It may be good for a tablet but for a regular computer...............?

Windows OPK and Windows 8

In a recent article on ZDNet, by Ed Bott, there was another reference to the Windows OEM Pre-installation Kit (OPK).

Probably the most interesting thing to come out of this is that you are probably not supposed to be using an OEM copy of Windows in the first place. I know that I should not have and I put a lot of blame on the retailers such as Tiger Direct and Canada Computers here in Canada.

Links:

• Is Microsoft changing its policy on System Builder licensing for Windows 8?    Ed Bott for The Ed Bott Report ZDNet, July 9, 2012

Windows 8 Schadenfreude

I must admit I have feelings of schadenfreude for Microsoft with regards to Windows 8.

I have a hunch that Windows 8 could be another Vista in any case I thin that MS are too late to the table when it comes the "touch interface" technology. The adoption of MS powered tablets has yet to prove itself and I don't think that just because there is a user base that are using Windows currently on their PCs is going to be a compelling enough reason for IT departments to push for MS tablets.

The IT industry and the users that they support have already accepted the iPhone and iPad. As far as a "corporate" smartphone solution the only thing I think MS could do is to buy-out the Blackberry technology. The Windows phone has yet to be anything but a bit of a wet squib so far. Even Android devices have gained more acceptance that WP.

The distrust of things Google are likely to barriers to entry for Android along with the fragmentation associated with the multiple vendors of hardware. This is why Apple may just win out as the "corporate" solution.

It is not that I "hate" Windows 8. In fact I have not even seen the need to test-drive it. I do think that the Metro interface looks a little "amateurish" but that is largely just an opinion. The Metro interface may work very well on a touch input device. I just think that Microsoft have missed the boat.

In the past I have jumped on the bandwagon that was ABM (Anything But Microsoft), I have tried various versions of Linux and I have even tried some Apple PC devices. All this has done is to reinforce my agnosticism with respect to operation systems. I use Windows 7 out of convenience but I could just as easily use Ubuntu or OSX - I really don't care.

As far as the arrogance that Microsoft, and those that have been their proponents, have shown in the past, I feel that time has come for the situation to be redressed.

Windows 8 and Android

The ZDNet article by SJVN five-reasons-why-windows-8-will-be-dead-on-arrival raises some good issues.

I am not saying that I think that it will be only that it is my observation that MS have to do something w.r.t. touch-screen interfaces.

Some of comments/feedback talk about Android not being a desktop o/s. Well, like W8 it is both a Smartphone AND a desktop operating system. Depending on how ir is deployed and configured it will look and behave differently. At least I hope so, I can only speak for Androis Honeycomb at the present time. This being my first post from an Asus TF1O1.

• Using a tablet for business.
• General Tablet Discussion on The Technology Muse