Under The Surface, Microsoft's ARM Tablet Is A Terrible Mistake

A.T. Faust III | AppAdvice.com | July 3, 2012

Unhappy with Microsoft’s intended release of a direct hardware competitor, HP has reportedly withdrawn its support for the Windows on ARM RT (or “WART”) platform. The sages at SemiAccurate acerbically explain the whole ugly affair: "…Microsoft just unveiled one of the largest and most unethical industrial espionage campaigns of the last few decades, so it is no surprise that everyone is jumping ship."...

Microsoft took an incredible gamble in entering the hardware side of the tumultuous tablet business, and it appears to be backfiring big-time. The ramifications are far-reaching and potentially cataclysmic for widespread Windows on ARM adoption. Without the help of HP and other powerful computer manufacturers, Windows RT will face an uphill battle far steeper — and far more precarious — than even the most liberal analyst previously thought. For struggling Microsoft partner Nokia, that’s particularly bad news, as lukewarm Windows RT reception could force the Finnish brand to drop Windows Phone altogether in pursuit of an already-established (but still secret) Plan B.

Open Health News' Take: 

With HP bailing out of Microsoft's Windows on ARM RT (or “WART”) platform, soon to be followed by all other major tablet makers, the industry now has an opportunity to focus on two sets of platforms, the iPad, running iOS, and a set of open source contenders that include Android, WebOS, KDE, MeGoo, MER Project, and Tizen. Peter Groen wrote an excellent review of the Tablet OS' which can be read here. With Tablets becoming the primary device for physicians, health IT developers can now focus their time and efforts on just these two sets of choices. We should all thank Steve Ballmer for removing the Microsoft option from the table. -Roger A. Maduro, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Open Health News.