Paul Thurrott: Windows 8 Secrets

As a rule, the decision will often come down to the very general difference between the Metro-style environment that will be your primary interface on Windows RT devices and the Windows desktop, which will be far more powerful and usable on Intel-compatible PCs (and will certainly be the primary interface as well, especially on traditional desktop PCs and laptops). And that difference is this: Metro is (largely) for consuming content and the desktop is (largely) for productivity. When you want to browse the web, check Facebook, perform simple e-mail activities, enjoy music or a movie, and perform other consumption-style activities, Metro is the place to be. And if this is all you’re doing with the PC or device, or almost all you’re doing, an ARM-based Windows RT device should be ideal. You need a device, not a PC.

If you need to do anything creative or productive—regularly create word processing documents, edit spreadsheets, or make presentations, and so on—you need a Windows 8-based PC running on an Intel-compatible chipset. You need a PC, not a device.

What’s confusing is that the lines are blurring between the two types of products. That is, there are Intel-compatible tablets, and there are ARM-based laptops. The adoption of the ARM platform gives Windows users a choice. But it also provides a new bit of confusion.

Speaking of which, let’s talk device types.

With a few exceptions, the PC world has consisted of two major device types to date: the venerable desktop PC and the laptop. Sure, there were exceptions, like the poorly-selling Tablet PCs that barely made a blip in the marketplace in the early 2000s, the successful but short-lived and inexpensive netbooks, and so on. But for the past 20 years or more, we’ve pretty much had two choices: desktops and laptops.

With Windows 8, that’s changing. On the desktop side, all-in-one computers modeled on Apple’s successful iMac are becoming more and more popular, and out-selling traditional tower PCs with detached monitors.

But portable computers, overall, are far more successful than any desktops, and with Windows 8 (and RT), an estimated 80 percent of new computers sold will be portable PCs and devices. And in addition to traditional laptops and the thin and light Ultrabooks, we’re seeing interesting new hybrid PCs—laptops where the screen can flip around to turn the device into a tablet—as well as slate-like tablet devices similar to Apple’s iPad.

Here’s a rundown of PC and device types to consider.

For those who prefer or need the ultimate in expandability, PC makers still offer traditional desktop computers, which typically come in some form of tower configuration in which the guts of the computer—or what some erroneously describe as the CPU—are separated from the display, keyboard, mouse, and other external peripherals, including speakers, microphone and web camera, external drives, and more.

The advantage of a desktop computer is manifold, but the primary advantage is expandability: You can install multiple internal hard drives inside the PC’s case, as well as external expansion cards for USB, video capture, and the video card, among others. Desktop computers also tend to have more ports—especially of the USB variety—and can be easily expanded to accommodate more.

Desktop computers will remain the machine of choice for power users of all kinds, as well as those with high-end needs, including graphic designers, CAD designers, hard-core gamers, and others. Some desktop PCs are referred to as workstations, though that name is quickly losing favor. That said, PCs that utilize server-class CPUs can be considered workstations.

A typical desktop PC is shown in Figure 1-4.

Figure 1-4:Traditional desktop PCs are less popular than they were 10 years ago, but they’re not going anywhere.

The vast majority of traditional desktop PCs are Intel-compatible machines, not ARM-based PCs. One exception is ultra-small form factor PCs, which can be found in both configurations.

Thanks to Apple’s iMac, there’s been a resurgence in all-in-one computers, a special form of desktop PC in which almost all of the components—including the CPU and “guts,” the screen, the speakers, the microphone and web camera, and all of the ports—are found in a single, generally slim and attractive form factor. All that’s found separately from the box are the keyboard and mouse, and of course any additional external peripherals.

All-in-one computers, like the one shown in Figure 1-5, are typically very attractive, with a sleek and modern design.

Figure 1-5:All-in-one PCs utilize laptop parts but offer much more on-screen real estate.

While both Intel-compatible and ARM-based all-in-ones are available, most are Intel-compatible designs.

The venerable laptop computer survived a temporary wave of competition from low-end netbooks. But with those toy-like computers disappearing from the market, there’s a new more ideal option arriving in the form of Ultrabooks, thin and light laptop computers that generally cost under $1,000—often well under $1,000—and things don’t look good for traditional laptops (see Figure 1-6). Suffice to say that laptops will of course continue in the market, and some high-end models might be considered portable workstations. But the Ultrabook, described in the next section, will almost certainly take over this segment of the market during Windows 8’s lifetime.

Figure 1-6:Traditional laptops are on the way out, but will still be common in businesses.

Most laptops and all portable workstations are Intel-type designs, but you can find ARM-based Windows RT laptops as well.

Although netbooks (Figure 1-7) were all the rage when Windows 7 first shipped in 2009, this low-cost alternative to the laptop has since fallen out of favor. And while Windows 8 is certainly capable of running rather well on the low-end hardware that’s found in such machines—a 1 GHz Atom-class processor and 2 GB of RAM—this version of Windows is not suited to netbooks very much at all.

There is a fix, as it turns out. We discuss this in Chapter 5 Summary While Windows 8 provides most of the same customization and personalization functionality from previous Windows versions, it also includes new capabilities. These extend from the expected Metro-based enhancements to new desktop customization features and, perhaps most interestingly, some features that make the Metro and desktop environments work better together. Now that you understand the basics of using both of these environments, and how to meld them to your needs, it’s time to learn more about the Metro apps that make Windows 8 so special. , which deals with personalization.

The issue is the screen. Most netbooks ship with 1024×600 resolution screens, which is fine for the Windows desktop but below the 1024×768 minimum—and the recommended 1366×768—resolution needed for the Metro environment. This means that if you do install Windows 8 on a netbook class computer and try to run any Metro-style app, even Windows Store, you’re going to get a full-screen error message. It just won’t work.