[Windows 8 General] michiganenginerd:
Short version:

W-RT is not for targeted at You, I, or many xda-readers. That doesn't mean it doesn't have a place or that the option existing is bad.

Intel is getting closer, but you just can't pull off an iPad size / weight device with 8h+ battery life on x86. The tech isn't there yet.

W-RT is OEM only. It is meant to be an 'appliance' not a PC.

Whether you agree with the approach or not, the justifications for limiting are somewhat explained here:

Microsoft's Windows chief Steven Sinofsky:

If we enabled the broad porting of existing code we would fail to deliver on our commitment to longer battery life, predictable performance, and especially a reliable experience over time. The conventions used by today's Windows apps do not necessarily provide this, whether it is background processes, polling loops, timers, system hooks, startup programs, registry changes, kernel mode code, admin rights, unsigned drivers, add-ins, or a host of other common techniques.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/...ndows-for-the-arm-processor-architecture.aspx

Less immediate need to jailbreak it. There are supported methods of sideloading, but I am sure there will be other people who extend it beyond that.

Joe may work for a BYOD company, or Joe is buying for his company.

Joe may be my Father, who would like a tablet device he could do email, netflix, hulu, office, and wireless screencasting.

Some Joe's this will work for, other's it won't. We have to recognize, just because we aren't the target market doesn't mean their isn't one.

Many Joe's will buy an iPad or an Android, some will buy W-RT, some will buy none of the above.

A device that is 300-500 dollars, that comes with a free copy of office, and integrates well with a enterprise, has a market.

Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint and Word are expected to support all of the same Office 15 x86 features.

Agreed, except in the base security model, and as a feature phone replacement. The phone is massively ahead in terms of sandboxing and enforcing secure practices. It would also be a better phone in terms of ease of use and simplicity for a subset of users. Would I replace my Android with it? no. But that doesn't mean it doesn't do some things well, and that their are users who would find the experience simpler than iPhone or Android when buying their first smartphone.

Does something have to be an 'iPad Killer' for there to be a place for it? Why is choice a bad thing?

For some consumers the security and curation makes their experience better, for some the restrictions outweigh any benefit.

For some developers the market will be better than one not existing, for some the restrictions outweigh any benefit.

For most people on this board the restrictions outweigh the upside.

As a developer, while I hate the restrictions Apple and MS impose, I also now have a market to sell to that did not exist 10 years ago.

I will continue to be a proponent of more open options, and an end to restrictions put in place to support a business model rather than architecture or security, but that doesnt' mean that the app store's existance is a net negative on my life.

Not true. RT will not support other browsers in 'Classic / Desktop' mode.

I think MS should work with major vendors to allow them to deliver 'classic' mode applications on ARM, but this isn't a ban on other browsers, it's a ban on all software that does not run in the sandbox.

I share concern in this area. I believe that most people who bought netbooks did not get what they expected.

I do think there is a place for these devices for a larger group of users than netbooks had a place for.

But I do think they need to make sure it is sold / marketed in a way that makes it clear what it is, and what it is not.

I will probably get my Father one for Christmas. I probably will not get one of my own. Different users have different needs, hopefully the marketing, sales, and staffs at stores do a better job of directing them.