The Quest For The Why Of Windows RT

In the beginning, Microsoft released the Surface RT. This made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.

Hitchhikers references aside, The Surface RT along with Windows 8 seem to be the biggest Microsoft failures in recent memory.

Windows 8 RT and the Surface RT were Microsoft's attempt at making a lightweight, low power, ARM processor based, media consumption tablet. If their Surface Pro models were intended to take on the likes of the MacBook Air and other ultraportables, the RT equivalent was almost certainly designed to take on the iPad and Android tablets. These were marketed as a "Get stuff done" tablet as an afterthought, but that idea was mainly used alongside the Pro models.

History shows that RT tablets sold poorly and nobody quite understood what the angle was with Microsoft and the OS spinoff. Why not just use atom processors and make low powered x86 netbook competitors? Why ARM, which breaks compatability with all existing Windows applications outside of the ones in the Windows Marketplace? Why Why Why?

To date, there's no clear cut explanation. RT just sounds like a bad move all together. Is it though? Could there be some nefarious ulterior motive? I think yes, and my jumping point for this topic is a strange one.

Who remembers the Ubuntu Edge concept? This was a crowd funding attempt by the open source Linux distribution to create a very unique phone. The device was said to come packing incredibly high specifications rivaling most laptop computers. The most intriguing part of the device was what it could do when it was tired of being a phone. This device could dock to a screen, mouse, and keyboard via USB and become a full fledged desktop computer. The phone would automatically boot in to a desktop mode which was literally a desktop operating system. Everything you could run on any other distribution of Ubuntu linux, you could run on this phone while docked. Alas, the crowdfund failed but it did spark some interest in the community for a device with those capabilities.

Fast forward back to present day. Microsoft just purchased Nokia and now has the ability to make their own Surface phone. As a rule of thumb, most phones (see: nearly all) are based on ARM processors, not x86.

Microsoft is keeping Windows RT around despite almost unanimous hatred from partners and consumers alike. I don't agree with many decisions made by Microsoft in recent years, but there has to be a method to the madness here. I've got my tinfoil hat on proudly, and I'm willing to bet that Microsoft is going to bring the Ubuntu Edge legacy to reality.

I figure they're going to load Windows 8 RT on to a separate memory chip inside the device. When the device is detected as being docked, the phone will switch over to "desktop mode" and load RT, which will offer users a full PC experience they are already extremely familiar with. Once Windows 8 / 8.1 start gaining more market share, more of the apps people use on a daily basis will become available through the Windows Market place (and thus, available on ARM and x86 devices alike). You will be able to take your entire computer with you wherever you go without any problems.

At the 2013 Microsoft Company Meeting, it was revealed that there are already plans to merge the Windows Phone and Windows 8 / RT App repositories in to one centralized "store". All of this seems to strongly point at my conclusion being correct.

Again, I'm not an industry insider. I have no idea if this is legit or not. As of right now, this is all just a nerd speculating on the internet. I must say this is an insanely cool idea. If something as "obscure" as linux could gather mainstream attention from the idea, I can only imagine what Microsoft could accomplish if they follow through with this.

Opening doors and Windows

If you keep up with me on various social networking sites, you'll know I'm not exactly the biggest fan of Windows 8. I feel like it has a clunky, schizophrenic UI / UX that makes it nearly impossible for PEOPLE to use. Notice I'm not specifying the "average folk". I mean PEOPLE. Everyone from seasoned computing veterans to computer newbies have a hard time navigating Windows 8.

The majority of this difficulty, I won't lie, comes from the UI and UX choices made by Microsoft. There's a lot that I would have done differently and that fact should not be swept under the rug.

However, accepting the inevitability of a launched OS, a new problem manifests in the form of inadequate instruction. Windows 8, as complicated as it is, CAN BE LEARNED! I managed to get comfortable with it in a few days of playing around with it (or as comfortable as I could possibly get). I had to TEACH MYSELF all of the navigation tricks. The only instruction given was a very vague screen on first boot:

Sorry bro, but that's just not going to cut it. 

Even with Windows 8.1, which did a LOT to fix usability issues that launched with 8.0, still has the same terrible tutorial. This is simply far too vague to be useful, especially to users familiar with the old way things worked. 

Instead, Microsoft should have included a more in depth tutorial, similar to what Ubuntu presents to users during the install procedure. 

The Ubuntu procedure gives a number of very informative screens laying out important OS details while the OS itself installs. 

I propose that Microsoft goes one step further and provides an interactive tutorial during the first boot procedure. As it stands, the user is presented with a very boring screen that says things like "we're getting things set up. Hang tight". I applaud their use of a casual tone, but this is wasted Time and space. It would be a great time to give users the option to learn more about their new OS while they wait. Demonstrate how to use things like the charms bar, the multitasking menu, desktop mode, the people app, and other things users might open often. Even a quick demonstration might ease the transition and stop some of the rage at usability of the new system. 

It's obvious Windows 8 was the result of a lot of usability research on Microsoft's part but they now see that it doesn't always translate to how things will be used in real life. Especially with people who are VERY set in the way things used to be. They need to be eased in to new things. Since the time for easing is long gone, this is a great compromise. 

I think Windows 8.1 has potential that Windows 8 lacked. I think it's a massive step in the right direction and with the inclusion of a few things, it could really shine with people. After all, it's PEOPLE who are their customers, and people very rarely fit a pre-determined mold. They can, however, be taught to adapt.