One of the most significant additions to Windows 8 is its support for platforms other than the traditional PC. Windows 8 moves beyond the Intel and AMD x86 processor family to support System on a Chip (SoC) devices from both the x86 and ARM architectures. Windows 8.1 naturally also supports the ARM architecture.
ARM, which stands for Advanced RISC Machine, was developed by the company now known as ARM Holdings. Although you might never have heard of them, ARM processors are found extensively in consumer electronics devices, including tablets, cellphones, MP3 players, gaming consoles, computer peripherals, and much more.
While the traditional PC portable form factor continues to shrink with ultra-light tablets and notebooks, SoC support for Windows 8 generally means the capability to provide a Windows experience on small form-factor tablets, cellphones, and smaller handheld devices, in addition to the generally larger (albeit typically more powerful) traditional PC platforms. For ARM devices, the result is a new opportunity for device manufacturers to provide a new selection of handheld devices running a Windows operating system (dubbed Windows on ARM, or WOA) with support for applications like those in the Microsoft Office suite.
For users, it means a consistency of user experience across a broad range of devices. For example, your experience could be largely the same between your notebook, your tablet, and your cellphone. Support for ARM also opens up some interesting possibilities for embedding Windows in a vast array of consumer electronic devices. It’s quite likely that someday soon your TV will be running Windows and give you, for example, the same, consistent experience streaming movies on your TV as on your PC.
An important distinction to understand about the ARM platform, however, is that applications written for your desktop PC or notebook won’t necessarily run on an ARM device. For example, none of the applications in existence today, built for the x86 Windows 7 and earlier operating systems, will work on ARM-based devices. However, that roadblock doesn’t exist for Windows 8–specific applications.
Microsoft’s Visual Studio development environment makes it relatively easy to compile an ARM version of an application at the same time you compile one for the x86 platform. This means that developers can create one code set for their application and publish it for both platforms. When you download an application from the Windows Store, that app will run on the Windows 8 “traditional” devices, as well as ARM-based Windows 8 devices. You can install the app on up to five devices in any mix of x86- and ARM-based devices. The app will provide the same experience on all of them.
What about Office applications, you ask? Excellent question! Microsoft includes four Office applications with WOA devices, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. These versions of the Office applications don’t provide the same level of features as the regular version, but they provide a means for users to work with their data across multiple types of devices. For example, if you sync your OneNote notebooks to SkyDrive, you can view them in OneNote on your WOA device. Or when someone e-mails you a spreadsheet as an attachment, you can view it in Excel on the WOA device.
Although there are many new devices being introduced near Windows 8.1’s release, Windows 8.1 does not represent a platform shift from Windows 8. Windows 8.1 will run on the same two platforms as Windows 8 (x86- and ARM-based devices).
ARM, which stands for Advanced RISC Machine, was developed by the company now known as ARM Holdings. Although you might never have heard of them, ARM processors are found extensively in consumer electronics devices, including tablets, cellphones, MP3 players, gaming consoles, computer peripherals, and much more.
While the traditional PC portable form factor continues to shrink with ultra-light tablets and notebooks, SoC support for Windows 8 generally means the capability to provide a Windows experience on small form-factor tablets, cellphones, and smaller handheld devices, in addition to the generally larger (albeit typically more powerful) traditional PC platforms. For ARM devices, the result is a new opportunity for device manufacturers to provide a new selection of handheld devices running a Windows operating system (dubbed Windows on ARM, or WOA) with support for applications like those in the Microsoft Office suite.
For users, it means a consistency of user experience across a broad range of devices. For example, your experience could be largely the same between your notebook, your tablet, and your cellphone. Support for ARM also opens up some interesting possibilities for embedding Windows in a vast array of consumer electronic devices. It’s quite likely that someday soon your TV will be running Windows and give you, for example, the same, consistent experience streaming movies on your TV as on your PC.
An important distinction to understand about the ARM platform, however, is that applications written for your desktop PC or notebook won’t necessarily run on an ARM device. For example, none of the applications in existence today, built for the x86 Windows 7 and earlier operating systems, will work on ARM-based devices. However, that roadblock doesn’t exist for Windows 8–specific applications.
Microsoft’s Visual Studio development environment makes it relatively easy to compile an ARM version of an application at the same time you compile one for the x86 platform. This means that developers can create one code set for their application and publish it for both platforms. When you download an application from the Windows Store, that app will run on the Windows 8 “traditional” devices, as well as ARM-based Windows 8 devices. You can install the app on up to five devices in any mix of x86- and ARM-based devices. The app will provide the same experience on all of them.
What about Office applications, you ask? Excellent question! Microsoft includes four Office applications with WOA devices, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. These versions of the Office applications don’t provide the same level of features as the regular version, but they provide a means for users to work with their data across multiple types of devices. For example, if you sync your OneNote notebooks to SkyDrive, you can view them in OneNote on your WOA device. Or when someone e-mails you a spreadsheet as an attachment, you can view it in Excel on the WOA device.
Although there are many new devices being introduced near Windows 8.1’s release, Windows 8.1 does not represent a platform shift from Windows 8. Windows 8.1 will run on the same two platforms as Windows 8 (x86- and ARM-based devices).
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