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The crux of Windows RT devises.

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
Currently on the Microsoft front, I would say OneNote MX (especially after the last updates) and Lync Mobile and the new Dynamics CRM 2013 are great examples.

Other Windows Apps:

PrimeMobile

SAP has a bunch

QOOL
 
OP
S

SEANT

Member
Very nice. That lineup shows Microsoft ready to roll with their business offerings. Gemini, and the cloud based Visual Studio you mentioned earlier, should top that off nicely. We can definitely say Microsoft is putting in the effort.

I'm tied heavily to Construction and Manufacturing so one of my biggest disappointments with Windows On Arm (WOA) has been Autodesk. 1 1/2 years in and still minimal WOA apps. They have quite a few for iOS/Android. Most are derived from their desktop offerings, though some leverage highly parallel, cloud based processing (available to WOA via website access). I don't expect much dedicated WOA love from Autodesk now that Intel mobile has arrived. Very disappointing.
 

kristalsoldier

Well-Known Member
The issue with Chicken and Egg is people are still not buying new full fledge computers at a high enough rate, but are buying Phones and Tablets (estimate this year is 1.2 Billion Smart Phones will be purchased).

x86 App developers are a lazy bunch in their very nature and need a push, PC Gaming could survive if Steam creates a Modern UI Client. It is always going to come back to that the two predominate desktop apps for 90% of consumers are Chrome and iTunes, both are Corporate Trojans.

Isn't this an argument for developers to look to WOA platform (and by extension the RT space) to provide the MUI equivalents of desktop apps? Take the example Seant provides with ref to the construction industry. If the current users of desktop applications in that industry are Windows-based, would it not make sense to develop apps for the WOA platform which, arguably, will be gradually replacing the traditional Windows OS? But as Seant further reports, that is not the case and the developments in his industry - in terms of app development - are iOS centric. To say that this is because of the number of iOS users is a port argument because, I suspect, a larger percentage of the users of these apps would traditionally be Windows users. Comments?
 
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SEANT

Member
Autodesk’s mobile offering started to appear about 3 years ago so, obviously, they did not have much choice in what they targeted. That focus continues, I think, because they don't have much to offer in the respective desktop environments (Mac, Linux), and want to maintain some presence in those camps.

For the most part, their current app lineup scales as would be expected to these mobile devises. Which is to say the functionality is directly proportional to processor power. Most are standalone apps, some integrated for downstream processing (those tend to be Web, thus WOA, accessible).

Public statements to explain their (Autodesk) decisions remain elusive, so we are left to speculate.

It could be that Autodesk refrained because they felt their Windows presence was already sufficient. They may also feel that Mobile devises are cheap enough that even a Microsoft based enterprise could afford to sprinkle a few iOS/Andoids into the mix. Plus, they may have bet on Intel devises, and just decided to save any additional development costs.

Earlier this year I had hope that their WOA offering was in the works but, due to a higher level of desktop integration and consequent higher complexity, was slow getting to market. That prospect looks grim at this point.
 
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SEANT

Member
To clarify Desktop integration:

Bi-directional input/processing of field data. Photo realistic rendering, Telemetry/GPS to Finite Element Analysis (FEA)/Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).

I know Autodesk is pushing all of this to the cloud. Many companies, though, already have expensive software in place on their desktops. Providing connection, real time, into the field would be pretty useful.
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
Autodesk always follows their users, I used to support Engineers and the Public Sector. As their base deployed iOS and Android Devices they developed their Apps. ESRI is starting to dip their toe into the Modern UI App Development. AutoCAD on a Bay Trail will need back end processing so a Modern UI App should work for RT.

I know their is many Apps being created for Construction and Manufacturing by Microsoft Partners, but these are project based and are Side Loaded as these are being developed by System Integrators (Avanade, Infosys, TCS, etc.).
 

goodintentions

Active Member
Autodesk always follows their users, I used to support Engineers and the Public Sector. As their base deployed iOS and Android Devices they developed their Apps. ESRI is starting to dip their toe into the Modern UI App Development. AutoCAD on a Bay Trail will need back end processing so a Modern UI App should work for RT.

I know their is many Apps being created for Construction and Manufacturing by Microsoft Partners, but these are project based and are Side Loaded as these are being developed by System Integrators (Avanade, Infosys, TCS, etc.).
The problem with iOS and Android is their lack of native print API. I'm an engineer and for several years I tried to incorporate iOS and android devices in with my professional life. I know a lot of desk jockeys have a hard time understanding this, but for certain professions having a paper trail is everything.

A lot of people like to piss and moan about windows 8 in favor of iOS and android, but every company that's ever tried to incorporate either the iPad or android tablets always end up having very expensive email devices.

Software engineers need to realize that no matter how well they design ear software, it ain't mean a thing if it can't leave a paper trail.
 
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