Windows RT

[Melvinizer]

Hello everybody! Can somebody brief me about Windows RT? I mean what type of OS is it??

 

[N_LaRUE]

It's a tablet OS that's in the Metro Interface Style. It still has access to a desktop mode but you cannot run and x86 programs on it. It has multitasking capabilities and MS Office. The the app situation has gotten better it is fairly dire in comparison to WP.

Microsoft Surface RT features | Surface RT overview

 

[xandros9]

Windows RT in a nutshell is essentially Windows 8.x that has been rebuilt for a different kind of chip (ARM, seen on phones and tablets like the iPad) which is very different than the ones used in laptops and desktop computers. (x86)

The chip differences means that it won't run programs built for normal Windows.

So pretty much, you can't run traditional stuff like Starcraft II, malware, Google Chrome (unless they were rebuilt and added to the Store) and can only run apps from the Windows Store.
MS went the extra step and made the Store the only official way to obtain apps. sideloading attempts would throw up a prompt indicating so. There was a jailbreak though.

 

[Melvinizer]

And why is Microsoft abandoning RT? People say RT is going to be dead??

 

[N_LaRUE]

And why is Microsoft abandoning RT? People say RT is going to be dead??

Though its not 100% clear but it seems WP and RT will merge and metro apps will be cross platform with the threshold update. That's all I know.

 

[xandros9]

And why is Microsoft abandoning RT? People say RT is going to be dead??

Microsoft has not given much sign that they are abandoning RT.

RT is an oddball in that it looks just like Windows 8, but can't run legacy desktop programs. I think people were saying it sucks and all because it was compared to normal Windows 8, not to the glorified phone platforms it was meant to compete with. (a point I tend to bring up is asking whether the iPad can run Mac OS X apps)
also it brought confusion, since it looked the same.

Back then (I am speculating) Microsoft wanted to push into the tablet arena with something that could **** heads with the iPad.
Instead of a glorified Windows Phone a la iPad with iOS, MS went with a build of Windows 8. They needed something low-power, low-heat with good performance, which was offered by ARM chips and not the x86 chips of the time.

I personally feel the RT was a good bet but the landscape just didn't pan out as they expected.

Intel introduced the new x86 Atom chips, a far cry from the hot and poky netbook chips of old and its increasingly making RT look less and less compelling. It is low-power, low-heat, can **** heads with tablets in the $200+ price range (numerous x86 8" tablets are available) and can run the legacy applications some said was necessary. It ends confusion too, since it is actually full Windows.

It's not really dead, but I personally consider it to be on life-support since MS and Nokia, well, MS is the only manufacturer of these after the initial blitz.

 

[rory753]

RT isn't being abandoned. the rumors are that it might be combined with the phone platform.

 

[rakesh_hocrox]

Windows RT is one of the best OS I have ever used a part form ISO