Windows 8 Arm
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Qualcomm details Snapdragon S4-loaded Win8 notebooks further, will be lighter than Ultrabooks
Although ARM-based SoCs are generally associated with mobile devices, it's no secret that Qualcomm and NVIDIA want to get Windows 8 computers into the fray. We knew that both companies began seeding developers with prototype SoC-loaded computers back in February, but now more details have arisen about Qualcomm's plans in the area. According to PC World, the company's senior vice president, Rob Chandhok, explained that it's aiming to have a variant of its quad-core Snapdragon S4 chips in notebook PCs by the end of the year. It's said that this'll enable manufacturers to create machines that are immensely lighter and thinner than Intel's Ultrabooks and Apple's MacBook Air lineup, while offering up a unique experience thanks to its built-in 4G compatibility and graphics handling. What's more, the company also has a version of the chip on the table for the 64-bit version of Windows 8, but there's no word on if and when it would come to fruition. We can only imagine how many more options you'll have to run Microsoft's latest OS when it finally hits shelves this October -- for now, you'll find more details about Qualcomm's offerings at the source link
Qualcomm, Microsoft giving Snapdragon S4 PCs to Windows-on-ARM developers (update: NVIDIA handing out Tegra 3 PCs, too)
Microsoft spent a big chunk of MWC today telling everyone about Windows 8 and if you're the coding type, the news gets even better. If invited, you'll be expecting something nice in the mail to arrive from Redmond very shortly. It's sending out test PCs powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 that includes the beefy LTE, camera and sensor gear we played with in our hands-on. It's intended to give developers a head-start in building and refining Metro-style apps ahead of the operating system's big debut. You can check out the consumer preview of what was shown today here and if you'd like to know more, head on past the break for a sprinkling of PR. Update: It's not just Qualcomm giving away ARM silicon for free, looks like NVIDIA will be distributing Windows 8 machines powered by its Tegra 3 SoC too. PR's after the break.
Desktop apps may run on Win8 for ARM after all... maybe
The issue of whether or not the ARM edition of Windows 8 will support both desktop and Metro-style apps has been pretty hazy. Some have claimed it would, others that it wont and, even when they've issued denials of the nay-sayers, Microsoft has stopped short of saying that ARM hardware would offer a desktop mode for non-Metro apps. Well, buried in a post about improving power efficiency over at MSDN blogs was a passing reference to "both desktop and Metro style apps" running on "System on Chip (SoC) architectures." Some, including the well regarded Mary Jo Foley, have read this to mean that desktop apps will indeed work on ARM-powered Windows tablets. Now, this seems to make sense since all of the SoC coverage has been focused on the powerful new RISC chips getting crammed in new slates and smartphones, and we've heard that Win8 and Windows Phone 8 will share the same kernel. But, there is one tiny wrinkle in this narrative -- Intel will have its own SoC solutions soon enough thanks to Medfield, so the passage could simply be a reference to those x86 chips. You'll find the relevant excerpt at the via link.
