Windows 8 on ARM (WOA) has Office apps

By Edwin Kee on 02/10/2012, filed in Home > Computers

Windows 8 on ARM (WOA) has Office apps Windows 8 on ARM (WOA as Microsoft calls it) might end up as extremely appealing to folks who want to continue their Excel and PowerPoint experience even on a touchscreen tablet device. Of course, other Office apps will also be able to run on WOA, and this brings good news to those who want to make sure they always have an avenue to get their office work done, no matter where they are and on a device that runs on a different operating system other than Android or iOS. There are whispers on the ground that a WOA tablet is in the works already, and is being prepared for a 2012 release – although nothing concrete has been spotted just yet.

Microsoft has already detailed on how Windows 8 will be able to run on ARM powered devices, available in a range of form factors such as tablets, laptops, ultrabooks and desktops. Not only that, the operating system will also have new desktop versions of the Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, where it has been codenamed as “Office 15.” Still, it is not likely that Microsoft will shy away from AMD and Intel-powered tablets, WOA is just another option for the masses if it is realized.

ARM: ARM usually refers to the company ARM holdings, which is now famous for being behind the processor designs of the large majority (some say 98%) of the smartphones in the world. The ARM Architecture is a set of instructions based on the idea of RISC (reduced instruction set computer) which says that reducing the number of instructions to the most basic enables faster execution of each instruction. ARM Licenses the instruction set or complete processor design to its clients, which includes Nvidia, Qualcomm, Marvell, Freescale, TI, ST-Ericsson and many others.

Microsoft: Microsoft is the company behind software like Windows, Microsoft Office and hardware like the Xbox and Kinect. The company was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. MS-DOS was the product that propelled Microsoft towards success, but it is Windows and Office that made it what it is today. Microsoft is currently engaged in a number of projects, including Windows 8, Windows Phone, Xbox, Office and the Azure cloud computing platform. the large majority of desktop computers run on Windows.

Windows 8: Windows 8 was revealed during CES 2011 and formally launched on October 26 2012. This new version of Microsoft operating system (OS) aims at bridging the gap between desktop OS and mobile OS. To ensure API compatibility between Windows 8, Windows 8 RT (for ARM-based processor) and Windows Phone 8, Microsoft has unified the code base of all those operating systems. This should make it very easy for developers develop once and deploy on all platforms with a minimal amount of tweaks. The most visible change is the Metro design language, which is very much suited for mobile applications.

If you use Windows 8, you can download Ubergizmo for Windows 8.

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