“Microsoft is using its home field advantage in the business market to alter the playing field between its upcoming low cost Windows RT tablets (formerly called Windows on ARM or WOA tablets) and the iPad,” Ryan Faas reports for Cult of Mac. “To date, the iPad has been the business and enterprise tablet of choice and that gives Apple a significant leg up over competing Windows RT tablets.”
“Aiming to neutralize that advantage, Microsoft has written Windows 8 licensing for enterprise organizations in a way that makes supporting the iPad and other non-Microsoft devices more expensive – essentially penalizing companies that opt for the iPad and want to use a virtual desktop (VDI) solution such as those from Citrix and VMWare for remote access to a Windows desktop,” Faas reports.
Faas reports, “As Paul DeGroot, principal analyst at Pica Communications, a Microsoft licensing consultancy told CRN the new model is ‘basically a penalty for not buying a Windows RT tablet.’ This could be a game changer for some organizations, particularly those that haven’t begun integrating iPads already.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Or it’s yet another reason to make your company Microsoft-free.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Arline M.” for the heads up.]
Unfortunately Apple made Pages so different from Word, that people have a hard time migrating. Apple needs to play hard ball like every one else does.
When I bought my first Mac, I got Pages. You’re right. It’s totally different. It was amazingly superior. I have never looked back. I used word and made complex documents, but found tasks so much easier and more intuitive. The same is true for keynote as well. Some of my friends have complained about Numbers functionality compared to Excel, but I never really used either. But I do more presentations and better documents with the other iWork apps.
The game changer for me was that Excel can only express time as a point on the continuum and not as a duration, while Numbers can. Numbers allows me to calculate staff pays, allowances, and leave balances as they accrue in hours and minutes.
In Excel I would need to convert the entries to a digital time format.
There’s some annoying funky behaviour in numbers which I’d like Apple to fix though.
Numbers needs more functions that Excel is able to do, and then I’d use it full time. For now, I virtualize windows XP for any excel work I need to do. For most everything else, I use pages and keynote 🙂
This is a classic illegal use of monopoly power. It is what IBM did in trying to force IBM main frame users into IBM peripherial equipment.
Sound like another lawsuit in the making to me.
MDN said, “Or it’s yet another reason to make your company Microsoft-free.”
Microsoft-free? Using what? Apple dropped support for business/enterprise customers long ago, so they’re out!
What alternatives are there that play nice with the toys from iDevice, Inc., I mean Apple, Inc.?
Don’t they let you out at all anymore?
Sure. I go to the VFW every Wednesday and Friday to meet up with a bunch of fellow veterans. We usually hoist a few, talk about the wuss-ification of America; the pansie-a$$es infesting this once great nation; you know, the usual stuff. Care to join us for a few? We’d love to hear your story!
Well, it’s the wusses who continue to use Microsoft products. No balls whatsoever.
actually apple has helped my business grow by leaps and bounds. The salesperson at the apple store referred me to their business department and not only did they get the necessary hardware for my business. They searched out worldwide to companies that are like mine to check in to software solutions and development And it came without any extra costs. They took a large scale testing laboratory and streamlined its process saving 166,000 a year. And saved a ton in IT support because well. “apple just works”. Ask for their business solutions. They’ll be happy to help you out.
Unfortunately, I don’t think he’s interested in facts.
Apple is awesome for many businesses and SAVES money.
Of course, most large corporations are to big and disjointed (and employ a ton of Windows brainwashed IT people looking to preserve their jobs) to investigate the options.
And I’m just not seeing new small businesses using PCs, period. I see iMacs and iPads.
Edward J
I’m glad Apple had a solution that worked for you. But the article is talking about Windows 8 for Enterprise, and I don’t believe Apple is in any position to make inroads into the Enterprise.
While I would agree most of the applications companies are using on Windows are crap, what are the alternatives? I just don’t see big companies giving up apps like SharePoint and the like to move to Apple. Hence, my question… what alternatives do they have? Replacing hardware is one thing. Replacing software is another.
Windows 8? For business? Yeah, my employer is really going to like the built in social networking and Fisher Price interfaces. We’re just about to give up XP Pro and go to Windows 7. It’ll be ANOTHER 10 years before we go to Windows 8, if ever.
Sharepoint is possibly the WORST application I’ve ever tried to use, and I’m a systems administrator. Windows and its apps are getting worse and worse.
The only reason they’re attracted to Windows 7 is our CTO used to work for Microsoft and then IBM. He’s really into locking things down and standardization. Of course, with Windows 7 I won’t be able to function at all, because of the custom apps that won’t be permitted, but by DAMN we’ll be secure! Our company is going to come to a complete standstill. Thank you, Balmer!
I second that opinion on Sharepoint.
Cook made the observation years ago that if (paraphrasing here) you have a worker who’s worth $75k, $100k a year to you, and you give them a Mac that allows them to be 25%, 30% more productive to you, then within that week the Mac has paid for itself.
Look around at work and notice all the downtime spent booting up, rebooting, trouble-shooting or just waiting for the PC to process something. Assign a percentage effectiveness to that worker and you get the idea of the friction that comes with a PC. Our admin, for example, is working at 50% capacity because half the time she’s waiting for her machine to catch up. I put in a database request and walk off knowing that sometime in the next hour she’ll catch up and get it done.
“Apple dropped support for business/enterprise customers long ago, so they’re out!”
You are right…. LONG TIME AGO. Sir, times change though.
Toodaaaay, they are back in and expanding, and they have. You may listen to today’s call.
I don’t see them as an enterprise company but (who cares about what I see) even though they seem quite about it, they are trying and targeting some enterprise deployments.
Let’s see, time will tell.
On the other hand, some things don’t belong to the current times; one of those is that strategy “Microsoft has written Windows 8 licensing for enterprise organizations in a way that makes supporting the iPad and other non-Microsoft devices more expensive” is so 90’s, they are doomed. Microsoft may have to remove it if customers want to use the iPad to access their Windows 8 workstations (those who deploy it), or else customers will likely spend on Macs and take this great opportunity to move on to a better integrated environment using Apple systems only, and let users access their Macs remotely with their iPads. Macs could run Windows in a virtual machine if necessary for legacy applications.
Actually, I’m seeing more of the corporate and enterprise world move to bring-your-own device now, or they let you choose.
The meetings I sit in now has more iPads with Bluetooth keyboards than laptops showing up.
It doesn’t matter if AAPL supports enterprise or not. Enterprise can support PCs or Macs/iPads equally for the most part.
The world has changed out from under you and all of us these last few years.
So the DOJ just ignore this kind of rubbish from MS. Nice.
Remember: The DOJ is now in the business of protecting monopolies from competition, so they’ll be suing Apple for some carefully-crafted reason in the future over this.
The DOJ is too busy trying not to protect the borders, getting U.S. agents killed by handing guns to Mexican criminals, Mirandizing terrorists, and persecuting Apple over eBooks on behalf of the market’s real monopolist, Amazon.
Barack Obama + Eric Holder = gross incompetence
OT: Politics ahoy!
Barack Obama + Eric Holder = gross incompetence
On this issue Neo-Con-Job sucker, I ENTIRELY AGREE!
Don’t ever accuse me of liking Barack Obama. This administration is technology illiterate and bumbling idiots regarding illegal aliens and the Mexican border. 😯
The problem is:
How do we get good or great leaders into government?! ReTardlicans and DemoCraps have BOTH ruined my country. Or more pointedly, both parties are nothing more than puppets of the Stupid Rich and the Moronic Corporate Oligarchy. The USA is becoming ever more HATED and IRRELEVANT in the world while it veers ever closer to all out incorporated fascism . I don’t like that.
So run for office and change it all.
+∞
He can’t; he’s a Brit. Just read how he writes and spells.
Good points, Derek. Yes the current leaders are totally clueless and incompetent. Not sure if it is possible to turn it around at this point with the major media leading the cheerleading. That said, get a broom and sweep them all out. Look for citizen public servants running instead of the well connected may be a starting point.
Regarding MS strong arm tactics — did they not learn anything all those years defending their trade practices in courts all over the world? How many times do you have to hit your head before you realize it hurts …
blah blah blah, blah blah blah, blah blah blah, blah blah blah, blah blah blah, blah blah blah
Why don’t you just go away to some site where everyone WANTS to “discuss politics”, or, rather, “reader ranting drivel”?
OT: Politics ahoy!
Seamus: Notice my “OT:” designation above. It stands for “Off Topic”. At least thank me for following polite Internet protocols by warning potential readers.
Sadly, certain persons at MDN have made this Apple tech site into an obtuse political propaganda site. As long as this is the case, consider me in active in pointing out its fallacy and satirizing it while wishing along with you that this political garbage here would permanently end. Until then…
OT…
Going by indent blocks on comments, it looks like Seamus was replying to F2T2, not you, Derek. And yes, the political agitators/trolls who infect non-political discussions with their filth are ass.
Thanks Mossman. Yes, he’s right, Derek. I was replying to “First 2010”. (And thanks for the form of your response — showing the vitriolic juveniles how to make a reasoned answer even when you thought I was slamming you.)
I am entirely sympathetic to countering filth, sleaze, bile and mindless drivel as long as MDN continues to allow it. I will be VERY happy the day they decide enough is enough and you (and I) no longer feel the need to counter the crap.
TY mossman.
+1
Another example of how Microsoft doesn’t understand how the landscape has changed. Increasingly BYOD is becoming the norm across the business world. If the majority of users want iPads and Microsoft make that choice too expensive the corporate IT department will look for a new Microsoft solution to support the users’ choice.
My guess is that Cloud-based services are going to simply step into the gap Microsoft are creating, gain exposure as a result, and start traction away from Microsoft’s offerings.
Nice one Redmond. Another bullet/toe incident to add to your list…
You are correct. Cloud based services are already being employed by those in the know.
I have to agree here with MDN. The time has come for enterprise computing to notice that Microsoft = DETRIMENTAL to their business. Having Microsoft AGAIN hamstring businesses with more MONOPOLIST MANDATES is going to give their IT Directors a nasty bad taste at the very least.
We know from experience that IT Directors and CIOs can be as dumb as a stump. But the iPad has no competitors at this time. My experience with the Metro GUI is that it is retrograde crap that is annoying at best. Windows 8 is going to be overwhelmingly HATED by the public. Metro is not going to save the moribund Microsoft slate/tablet or phone line of products.
Even the thickest and laziest IT staff can’t help but notice that Microsoft has become rancid. 😳
I agree with MDN, also. The Microsoft strategy is to obstruct its clients in adopting technologies that would benefit the client, make the client more efficient and productive, more profitable and finally more competitive — even when they (Microsoft) don’t have an alternative to offer.
In other words, Microsoft is saying to its clients, “if we’re not making money off you, we’re going to make share you don’t make money either.”
Even the thickest and laziest IT staff can’t help but notice that Microsoft has become rancid.
Maybe. But I encounter management that still believes that MS is the only way, despite what their IT folks tell them.
Sigh. Agreed.
Embrace. Extend. Extinguish.
Surprise Surprise !!!