Hasta La Gadget!

We already knew that there would be multiple flavors of the next version of Windows. This is, after all, Microsoft, and if it isn’t available in dozens of different SKUs, one for each rung on the ladder from student to corporate executive, then it isn’t worth stamping to a disc and throwing in a box. However, thanks to Intel Senior Vice President Renee James, we now know for sure that there will be a decisive split between the various ARM and x86 editions. James confirmed yesterday that x86 versions will work just fine on Intel, AMD, and other compatible chips, running all your legacy applications with aplomb.

However, the ARM versions of the OS (which may number as many as six) won’t include any sort of instruction emulation, James saying “Our competitors will not be running legacy applications. Not now. Not ever.” That’s something that Intel CEO Paul Otellini hinted at back at CES, which means Office running on ARM must have been a re-write — or at least a re-compile. That’s bad news for anyone hoping they’d be able to install Command & Conquer Collector’s Edition on the Tegra-powered Windows 8 tablet of their dreams. James additionally indicated there will be four separate Windows 8 ARM SoCs, meaning someone has joined NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and TI since the CES unveil. Intrigue!

Intel VP confirms ARM versions of Windows 8 will offer no compatibility with legacy apps originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 07:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ll tell you what: if you even blink these days, you’re gonna miss a special guest on the Engadget Podcast. This week we’ve got Joystiq‘s Chris Grant in the house to shoot the shizzle on Sony’s network hurt and the Wii 3D IMAX rumors bubbling up all around us. And we lure Richard Lawler to step out on his old lady, the Engadget HD Podcast, for a romp on the possibly slightly wilder side of the tracks. Let’s do it: let’s talk tech.

Host: Tim Stevens
Guests: Chris Grant, Brian Heater, Richard Lawler
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: You Shook Me All Night Long

02:15 – Apple iMac hands-on, with dual 30-inch displays! (video)
03:00 – Apple iMac refresh official: Thunderbolt and next gen quad-core processors
03:45 – AT&T officially announces HP Veer 4G, available May 15th for $100 (update)
04:55 – Star Wars Blu-ray set ships Sept. 12th/16th (world/NA), has 40 hours of special features
06:35 – Dish Network, EchoStar will pay TiVo $500 million to settle DVR lawsuit
07:55 – Latest Windows 8 leaks reveal cloud-based settings, more app store evidence
09:35 – Droid Charge review
11:16 – Verizon document suggests LG Revolution will have Netflix pre-installed
13:47 – Sony promises ‘phased restoration’ of PlayStation Network and Qriocity starting this week
20:22 – Sony woes continue as SOE confirms data breach (update: 24.6 million accounts affected)
31:03 – Sony responds to Congress: all 77 million PSN accounts compromised, finger pointed at Anonymous
33:52 – BlackBerry Bold 9900 hands-on (update: video)
34:30 – BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 (Bold Touch) official
34:45 – BlackBerry Bold Touch makes brief appearance on RIM’s website
35:05 – Android apps on PlayBook eyes-on (video)
35:48 – RIM announces BlackBerry 7 OS with better browser and BlackBerry Balance, but no legacy support
38:10 – Nintendo drops Wii price to $150 from May 15th, throws in a free Wii Wheel and copy of Mario Kart
48:05 – Nielsen estimates show first drop in TV ownership in 20 years, Mayans nod approvingly
50:40 – We won some Webby Awards, and now you can win a BlackBerry PlayBook!
51:44 – Listener questions

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Filed under: Podcasts

Engadget Podcast 238 – 05.06.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 May 2011 12:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pre-release versions of Windows 8 have leaked to the web. Here’s what they tell us about the upcoming OS. More »

We’re still waiting for Microsoft to blow us away with its strategy for tablet domination but, thanks to the latest build of Windows 8 to drip through onto the internets, we have yet another indicator that the company’s hopes rely on that OS. Of course we already know that it’ll run on ARM processors, and now we have a look at a set of settings that have strong tablet implications. On display in the video below (and the picture above) are toggles for mobile broadband, Bluetooth, and GPS. Sure, laptops have those too, but here it’s all presented with a Metro flair that, frankly, looks like a real chore to manage with a mouse. (Just look at those scrollbars!) But, with a 16:9 screen and gesture swiping, maybe it’ll all come together. Meanwhile, WinRumors is reporting that there will be six separate flavors of Windows 8 and that tablets are actually quite far along, again pointing to a Q1 2012 release at the latest. Yes, we’re already looking forward to next year’s CES, aren’t you?

Continue reading Windows 8 settings page suggests tablet compatibility, embraces Metro scrollbars (video)

Windows 8 settings page suggests tablet compatibility, embraces Metro scrollbars (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are endless flavors of “Linux on a stick,” tasty downloadable versions of that OS which run from removable storage and let you take Linus’ progeny for a spin without dedicating any of your partitions to the cause. There have been ways of making this work with Windows, too, but now Microsoft is getting into the game properly. That leaked version of Windows 8 we looked at recently contains a feature called Portable Workspaces, which enables you to take a 16GB (or greater) external storage device and dump a bootable, runnable copy of Win 8 on there. It remains to be seen just how many copies one could create, and whether they ever expire or, indeed, whether they can themselves be copied onto an HDD like a ghost image, but it’s easy to see this as a boon for support personnel. Well, support personnel of the future, anyway.

[Thanks, Peter]

Windows 8 to feature USB-runnable Portable Workspaces, sales of 16GB thumb drives set to soar originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Apr 2011 07:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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