Buy the rumour, sell the news
|
|
|
ARM devices won’t get legacy Windows apps
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 8 devices based on ARM chips will not be able to run existing Windows applications.
According to The INQUIRER's sister IT news web site V3.co.uk, Windows division VP Steven Sinofsky ended speculation at Microsoft's Build developer conference that buyers might have access to the base of Windows applications software.
"We're not going to port the installed base of x86 applications to ARM. They don't take advantage of the things that make ARM a great architecture," he said, as he referred to the power efficiency of ARM-based processors in mobile devices such as tablets.
Sinofsky said legacy x86 applications are not built with awareness of power management states and would lead to greatly reduced battery life.
He added that all Windows 8 applications for ARM will be available via the Windows application store and will have the cross-platform Metro style user interface.
This contradicts earlier statements from Microsoft that a "native" ARM version of its Office productivity suite was in the works. µ
Tags: Microsoft
Share this:
Share
Sometime techies use simple terms to avoid confusing plebians.
To be more accurate, apps running on Mobile Internet Devices must adhere to an architecture that enables the operating system to stop and resume their components at any time, e.g. when there's an incoming telephone call.
Traditional desktop apps were never intended to run this way so they have not been written to follow the required architecture.
So, the next time you want to slag off a profession, first find out what you're talking about, pleb!
"Sinofsky said legacy x86 applications are not built with awareness of power management states and would lead to greatly reduced battery life." Is he saying that every single existing Windows app will drain the power from my (W7 x86) laptop's battery willy nilly? If so then perhaps it's time Windows apps developers pulled their socks up?
Windows-on-ARM won't run x86 apps so the existing office suite won't run.
A "native" ARM version of office is a new ARM-based version. Hence, no contradiction.