An Arm and a Windows

I published a top 5 app list awhile back, but 1) a ton significant amount of new apps have hit the Windows App Store since then, and 2) my own usage habits have adapted and evolved as I try to get more and more efficient with my Surface RT.

So, without further ado, my updated Top Five list:

If you've been reading the tech headlines lately, it sounds like Windows RT's funeral was held this past week. Over at the Register Neil McAllister wrote an article titled, "Microsoft's ARM blunder: 7 reasons why Windows RT was DOA." At InfoWorld Brad Chacos wrote one titled, "Why Windows RT is Hurtling Towards Disaster".

Why write these articles now? Chacos actually gives the reason at the end of his article: RT was nearly invisible at CES2013, a terrible sign for an operating system that just appeared a few months ago.

Even though I agree with much of Chacos' reasoning, as you can see from the title of this article, I'm not so sure we can order a tombstone for Windows RT quite yet. Let me give you two reasons why:

One question that I get a lot from people who know that I have a Microsoft Surface is, "Can it replace my laptop?"

Well, I sold my laptop so let's hope so!

The truth is, I was pretty hesitant at first to sell my laptop. The limitations of Windows RT just made it seem like I'd need to hang on to my Windows 7 device. (And articles like this one didn't help either) But after talking a bit with a friend, I realized that everything I could do on my laptop but couldn't do on my Surface, I could do on my desktop at my office (i.e. video editing, other Windows 7 software).

What's more, what I gave up in processing power I more than made up for in mobility. Granted my laptop was on the chunkier side (15"), but now not only is my bag much lighter and roomier, I don't have to lug around a charger or look for tables near power outlets anymore either (I find myself charging about every other day).

And let's not forget about that handy dandy usb port! (Seriously...printing, devices, etc...ALL compatible...haven't yet found a device that RT wasn't able to recognize)

I think there are only two things that would keep me from recommending the Surface (or other Windows RT devices for that matter) as a complete laptop replacement for everyone.

One of the advantages of being an independent blogger is I have no qualms sharing issues that I encounter with my Windows RT device. Sure I'd like to see devices like the Microsoft Surface and Asus VivoTab succeed, but if and when things come up I'm going to talk about them.

When I first started using the Surface, I was impressed with the build quality. The VaporMg body really is something. The Surface looks and feels like a serious device, not a toy. With that said, I've encountered two hardware issues, one of which has totally changed the way I feel about the durability of my Surface.

My first issue with my Surface came with my Type Cover. I had received the Surface as a birthday gift, and on the recommendation of a colleague decided to sell my laptop and use some of the proceeds to buy the Type Cover. As soon as I purchased it I set things up and started working, and immediately I noticed a few small bumps on the Type Cover's touchpad. I tried wiping them away with a cleaning cloth, but I could not manage to get the bumps off. I didn't mind too much, though, and so I decided not to do anything about it.

About a week later, my touchpad basically seemed to go on the fritz. Every time I'd put my finger on the touchpad, the mouse pointer would begin shaking. Then when I'd try to point the pointer towards something it would jump randomly around the screen. This rendered the Type Cover half as useful, and so that night I brought it to a nearby Microsoft Store to have them take a look.

One of the store's staff tried my Type Cover out and could not get the issue to repeat, but he did notice the bumps that I wasn't able to remove. He pulled out a plastic card and tried to scrape it off himself and was also unsuccessful. He thought that it might be glue from the factory, and it seemed like it was the first time he'd seen anything like it.

He swapped me out for a brand new Type Cover, and I was on my way. No big deal, but I was feeling pretty good about being a Microsoft customer at that point.

Fast forward to a week ago.

Well, it's finally happened. I read over on Shiny Surface that a hacker who goes by C.L. Rockr has successfully "jailbroken" Windows RT. Since two of RT's biggest drawbacks are 1) the low number of quality apps and 2) the embargo Microsoft has placed on third party programs running on RT (resulting in no third party browsers like Chrome or Firefox), this has the potential to be a game changer.

This is really great news for all RT users. In theory, all someone has to do is take the open source Chromium code for Windows 8 and compile an ARM build for it and RT users will be running Chrome (and all of the glorious applications that run on it) on their Surfaces, Vivo Tabs, etc.

Shiny Surface reported minutes later that a developer named Peter Nelson has already started taking advantage of this and has a successful port to his credit.

A few recent items of note for Windows RT to start 2013 with:

• Those Nokia RT tablets we've been hearing about? They should be hitting stores in the next month or two, and it sounds like they'll be running on AT&T's 4G network.
• The chipmaker of choice for RT has been the quad core Nvidia Tegra 3, but over the last week or two what everyone's been talking about hasn't been the chip, but the Tegra Zone app that Nvidia has brought to the Windows App Store. Although you can access the Nvidia games without Tegra Zone, the app serves as a nice portal for gaming news and more in depth descriptions of their games. The arrival of the Tegra Zone app also seems to be reminding people that RT is capable of being a pretty serious mobile gaming platform.
• Fun new free app of the week? Heard of "Bubble Jump"? I haven't tried it yet, but this new release has kept a 5 star rating up over its first 25 reviews. It sounds like it was a pretty popular Windows Phone game, and so should provide a few hours of entertainment for the interested road warrior out there in need of a break.