WOA: Windows 8 on ARM bundles Office 15

Windows 8 is coming, and now we know that Windows on ARM (WOA) will include four Office 15 apps. In Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) latest spot of kimono-opening, we gain surprising new insights into the new OS. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers dig into the details.

By Richi Jennings: Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention: Off and on and off and on and off...

    Matt 'rambling' Hamblen reports:

[A] touchscreen tablet with Office..can't arrive soon enough. .. The combo of WOA and Office 15 on a touchscreen tablet is what has many industry observers excited. .. WOA will run the Windows desktop interface, not just..Metro.

..

It's possible that Microsoft will deliver Intel- or AMD-based tablets from Microsoft before WOA tablets.   

    Tony 'surprised' Bradley adds:

Surprise! .. WOA will have “Office 15” apps built in.

..

[There's] a customer base..that wants the power and functionality of Windows, with the features and capabilities of an iPad. .. WOA will include..Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote..separate distinct..from the x86/64 versions. .. [There's] an expectation that Microsoft will..launch Windows 8 before the end of 2012, and we may see..tablets in time for the holidays.   

  Preston 'mass distraction' Gralla speaks of Microsoft's weapons:

Office 15..will give Windows tablets a feature no competitors will have.

..

[I]ncluding Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote..will give Windows 8 [WOA] tablets a significant advantage over competitors in the enterprise market.   

  Microsoft's Steven 'long-form' Sinofsky blogs and blogs and blogs:

Using WOA “out of the box” will feel just like using Windows 8 on x86/64. .. We created WOA to enable a new class of PC..built on unique and innovative hardware platforms provided by NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments.

..

Developers wishing to target WOA do so by writing applications for the WinRT..using the new Visual Studio 11 tools in a variety of languages, including C#/VB/XAML and Jscript/ HTML5.

..

The Windows Consumer Preview..on x86/64, will be available for download by the end of February. .. We look forward to welcoming everyone..in short order.   

Iain 'IT crowd' Thomson doesn't turn it off and on again:

WOA devices aren’t designed to be switched on and off, but left in standby, for weeks it is claimed..the iPad [is] the obvious target.   

 

But Joel 'colorful metaphor' Hruska speaks of ecosystem murder:

Steven Sinofksy's..describe[s] Windows on ARM (WOA) in great detail. .. [But] calling the 8,000+ word treatise a “post” stretches the definition..like Rosie O’Donnell slipping in to..Kate Moss’s bikini.

..

Consumers obtain all [WOA] software..through the Windows Store and Microsoft Update. .. It’s hard to underemphasize just how huge a change that is. .. Microsoft’s decision to wall off unapproved software installation..could be disastrous..because it creates two entirely different user experiences..[which] undercuts the idea of a unified Windows..   

   And Finally...
Have you tried turning it off and on again... off and on again... off and on again...

         
 
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Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. He's the creator and main author of Computerworld's IT Blogwatch, for which he has won ASBPE and Neal awards. He also writes The Long View for IDG Enterprise. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can read Richi's full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.