The future of windows and hardware requirements

[Texashiker]

Interesting article that got me to thinking

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscent..._microsofts_gamble_with_windows_8.html?tk=out

There are some key points in the article, one being that windows 8 will be pointed towards tablets. The issue is, every operating system that microsoft makes has higher and higher hardware requirements.

So how does this ever increasing need for memory and hard drive space factor in with an operating system that needs to target not only the desktop, but also tablets.

If windows xp needed 512 megs of memory to run well, and vista/7 needs 700+ megs of memory, can windows 8 need 1 gig of memory and still be able to target tablets "and" desktops.

Or, will microsoft make a streamlined version of their OSs just for tablets?

If microsoft does make a streamlined version of their OS for tablets, how long until someone ports it to work on a desktop?

I see a fork in the road where microsoft will be facing some big decisions. One of the most important is how to make a streamlined operating system that not only works with the desktop, but also works with tablets. Since windows XP, it has been like microsoft did not care about bloatware. Lets make an OS that uses almost a gig of ram and let the system manufacturers catch up.

People might say "memory is cheap", sure, for desktops. But the way of the future is portable tablets that people can take just about anywhere. The majority of computer users are no longer tied to the desktop, their on smart phones and tablets. Microsoft is going to have to adjust its development to meet the changing of the times.

 

[Nothinman]

Given the hardware specs of current phones and tablets, 1Ghz multi-core CPUs, 512M-1G of memory, etc I don't think they'll have too much of a problem in the near future regardless. But there' still no doubt that they'll want to create a slimmed down, very limited install of Win8 for tablets.

Whether since it'll be for ARM and not Intel will cause problems with people creating similar installations on their PCs or just the fact that removing things from Windows without anticipating the repercussions causes problems, we've all seen posts from people who removed shit via vLite asking how to get it back without a reinstall, will stop people from doing it remains to be seen. Some people are willing to jump through whatever hoops are necessary for little to no gain with things like this, just look at vLite in general.

 

[yinan]

This OS is so going to fail. It looks like complete crap. I do not want a touch screen desktop. Welcome to Vista v2.

 

[Dahak]

The standard windows explorer desktop is still there, its not like that is going away. This new interface will be the preferred for touch enabled devices like the tablets and touch enabled phones, as well as for touch centric all-in-one desktops like the hp touchsmart line.

Most oems will probably ship it turned off by default.

 

[Nothinman]

This OS is so going to fail. It looks like complete crap. I do not want a touch screen desktop. Welcome to Vista v2.

One should be able to safely assume the touch focused UI won't be forced on desktops and probably won't even be available in the same form. Just like how the Android UI doesn't have any bearing on ChromeOS or Gnome just because the underlying OS is Linux in all 3 cases.

 

[Slugbait]

Disclaimer: I let my subscription run out and stopped paying attention to PCWorld back in 1997.

There are some key points in the article, one being that windows 8 will be pointed towards tablets. The issue is, every operating system that microsoft makes has higher and higher hardware requirements.

NT6.1 has essentially the same hardware requirements as NT6.

This was not the case for NT5.1: it required a minimum of 64 megs or RAM, while NT5 only required 32 minimum (NT4 was 16). And as we all know, NT6 took minimum hardware requirements WAY up from NT5.x.

So how does this ever increasing need for memory and hard drive space factor in with an operating system that needs to target not only the desktop, but also tablets.

With an aggressive product cycle and headcount that cannot be filled, writing "tight code" is usually not as much of a priority as milestone dates. Expect this to be addressed in Win8: the code needs to be tighter in order that the hardware requirements do not shoot thru the roof again.

But I digress...MS has been releasing operating systems that target both the desktop and tablets for almost a decade now.

If windows xp needed 512 megs of memory to run well, and vista/7 needs 700+ megs of memory, can windows 8 need 1 gig of memory and still be able to target tablets "and" desktops.

As you'll recall from MaxPC's review of XP, you would be a fool to run with less than 128 megs, 256 megs would be perfect to get the OS to run well, and 512 megs would be for the "enthusiasts" who could afford to fill all four banks. It's the apps that benefited from having so much more RAM, not the OS: remember when WoW players realized that having tons more RAM helped out immensely? And right around that same time, DRAM prices fell thru the floor. Then everybody else starting writing apps and games that required more and more memory.

Vista Home Basic requires a minimum of 512 megs...all other flavors require a gig. All flavors of Win7 require a gig. And neither will run well with a gig, much less 700 megs.

So if Win8 can run well with a gig, it's a huge win.

Or, will microsoft make a streamlined version of their OSs just for tablets?

This is where somebody made a poor decision...it would take just a few months tweaking the shell, hardware support, etc for WP7, and MS would have released an OS already well designed to compete with iPad about six months ago. Creating a "streamlined" version of the desktop OS for tablets is probably not going to happen the way you think it will...I believe the rational is that an MS tablet has to support legacy apps and various hardware configurations. Other than the shell, it will probably not be a whole lot different than the days of XP Tablet, Vista Tablet or Win7 Tablet.

If microsoft does make a streamlined version of their OS for tablets, how long until someone ports it to work on a desktop?

Probably just a couple of months. But I have a feeling that WGA will make that project a moot exercise for most people.

It's like when the iPAQ was first released: people complained, "Why can't your desktop OS do Instant On?" and stuff like that. I understand where you're coming from, but if the last decade is any indication, Win8 Tablet is going to have a fancy secondary shell...and otherwise not much difference than previous tablet versions of NT. They might work on things like improving cold boot and resume times, but I doubt they will try to lower hardware requirements.