But can it run Linux?
I wouldn't be an early adopter, I let others be the beta testers to iron out all the bugs, but I'd be interested if the MS shit can be wiped off & a real OS can be installed instead.
Like a lawman in an old-timey Western movie running while firing his pistol at escaping bandits, Qualcomm is running through PC land shooting out Snapdragon system-on-chips at computer manufacturers. Today, in time for Computex in Taiwan, Qualy emitted details of the Snapdragon 850, a 64-bit Arm-compatible octo-core processor …
Linux generally lags a little behind the leading edge of available hardware (yeah, I know, your downvotes fall upon me like a gentle Spring rain. Now ask me if I care...)
Given how compelling these devices look, I suspect full Linux builds will be available soon enough.
GJC
Given how compelling these devices look, I suspect full Linux builds will be available soon enough.
The lack of a need for binary code compatibility or emulator make these particularly suitable for non-Windows machines. As always, it will be the quality of the drivers, especially power management, that make or break them.
Don't want to spoil the fun, but apparently Microsoft loves UEFI Secure Boot, making it impossible to run unsigned EFI binaries.
Remember the Windows RT tablets? They had this problem too (although GNU GRUB was later signed and there was that UEFI signing authority leak)
Technically it should be able to, but knowing Microsoft, it will probably make it very hard or near impossible to do so. At the very least, it voids your warranty.
Because it's a Qualcomm ARM chip, it should be able to run Android too, at least in theory.
It's amusing to see Microsoft allying itself with Qualcomm, and distancing itself from its long-time ally Intel.
It's more like WinNT on DEC Alpha. OS/2 on anything was hobbled because OS/2 was a great OS for running Windows and DOS applications because you could give them each more RAM than they could ever get on DOS. The meant nobody bothered to develop native OS/2 apps regardless of what instruction set they were compiled for, but also that Windows on OS/2 on Power would be a dog without both Windows and the apps being recompiled for Power.
Intel effectively got Microsoft to kill WinNT on DEC by getting them to move off HAL. This meant more work for porting to the undoubtedly better hardware at a time when Intel was able to regularly boost clock speeds.
Windows on ARM has a full x86 emulation layer, so it should run any 32-bit x86 Windows apps seamlessly. Early reports seem to show that the performance hit isn't hideous, either - Windows Central said that the Snapdragon 835 based HP Envy X2 was "kinda like an i3 running native applications, and kinda like an Atom running emulated applications". Or something, quotes from memory of a podcast I listened too whilst driving a few days ago.
The Snapdragon 845 and 850 should be even nicer, in theory. An interesting couple of years ahead.
GJC
With Qualcomm and PC makers "hitching their wagons" to Win-10-nic, it is a recipe for FAIL, regardless.
In case nobody ELSE noticed, Windows "Ape" and Windows 10 are _THE_ _BIGGEST_ reasons for slumps in the new PC market. For why would ANYONE _WANT_ to replace a perfectly good working Windows 7 machine with something that runs Win-10-nic?
Yeah, I understand that hardware breaks over time, and this fact is going to force people to replace 'otherwise perfectly good' computers with "something off of the shelf" when they go titsup. But the fact remains (and this is based on me observing and reading news articles about it, etc., not just some rectal extrapolation): There is no real "wow" factor for Windows "Ape" and Win-10-nic, people aren't lining up to get it, they just tolerate it and generally shrug their shoulders over it, because THERE IS NOTHING ELSE, like when ONLY vanilla ice cream is on the menu at some restaurant.
This is unfortunate because ARM64 is a pretty cool thing. PC makers need to STOP letting THEIR success rely on the success of their COMPETITOR, aka Micro-shaft (the makers of Surface).
Win 8 and Win 10 were responses to an already declining PC market.
They jury is still out on whether:
1) Microsoft is exacerbating the situation by fusing the desktop OS and mobile OS.
2) The PC market was declining regardless of what Microsoft had or hadn't done. Smartphones have usurped the functionality of casual computing.
3) The PC market wasn't 'declining' (saturated), but the irrational fear of it has caused Microsoft to inadvertently play into the self-fulfilling prophecy.
...will they make one the size of a phone?
No need for the most powerful processor.
It could then do 'proper' continuum except it would simply use Win10 extended screen, multiple windows, mouse control, everything, including the ability to run real USB devices that had drivers, of which there would be many if the Laptop thing takes off.
That means really running printers, scanners, external drives etc.
I don't mind if the mouse cursor shows on the 'phone' display when moved from the external display.
I assume the 'phone' display would be Full-Screen by default etc.
I know the phone is a bit different but most of it is because it is like Win10S with full sandboxing etc. so it must be able to act that way. I wouldn't care if the 'phone' was like full Win10 though, the advantages would vastly outweigh the disadvantages.
I don't care if the legacy apps needed a stylus to use them, RDP to a desktop has mechanisms to operate tiny controls, they can be used despite being tedious. I use almost no legacy apps these days anyway.
Don't even need 10-point touch guys, c'mon, c'mon...