I can speak a bit to Microsoft culture, as I worked closely with them on some projects in my last job, and know a number of people who still do.
Every Microsoft employee needs to re-apply for their own job every year (I think it is yearly, might even be more often). This is supposed to make people who want to stay perform at their highest level, and encourage those who don't like their jobs to move on, but in reality, it makes many of them very risk averse, and constantly looking for other opportunities. We saw the same kind of thing that DJ does. Slow, incomplete responses, and on long projects, we would have no continuity because the people we were working with would change so often.
Joule was abandoned by ez-robot in August 2016 when the pricing was announced at IDF16. FYI, there will not be any more IDF (Intel Developer Forum), as it appears Intel has ceased business practice of supporting new emerging technologies outside of server CPUs.
This is only a guess, but I'm suspecting a chip manufacturer will produce an x86 hardware emulated ARM, that will support Microsoft Windows. I can't see Microsoft getting much traction convincing software developers (new and old) to have a ARM and x86 compile. So Microsoft is most likely not going to change architecture anytime soon. However, there have been successes with chip manufacturing emulating x86: https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3011638/qualcomm-responds-to-intels-rant-about-x86-emulation-on-arm
Then if you bring up Linux and ARM... well, that's a whole new and HUGE discussion. Specific question is "How can Linux become a consumer/user OS when it is written and designed by engineers?"
You have to remember, Linux has a bizarre dual personality. 99 out of 100 installs are server based, and the minuet rest are pro-sumers dabbling at home. No Linux users are my mom, your uncle or neighbor. The fact that Linux doesn't have the expertise or community focused on consumer usage. Even if one organization stood up and said "I'll own consumer usage", it has to be built on a kabillion non-consumer technologies. It's those non-consumer technologies that breaks the Linux system for user usage. This by no means says that linux is bad, it's just differently focused.
Okay, so now you're thinking "What about NextStep?". I mean, come on DJ, Apple turned NextStep into MacOS, can't linux do the same?
Well, my previous answer still applies. Steve Jobs did not develop Next to be a server. The focus was ALWAYS software development and apps. Absorbing Next into MacOS was still a struggle, however... and ask any MacOS user that wants to install anything "abnormal" outside of Apple's desired use case. It's a nitemare!
What kind of nitemare? Well, you're not going to lose sleep over it. But my most recent experience is with MS Visual Studio and Xamarin on MacOS. There are files installed in locations outside of your usual Finder Documents, which means you're in the Terminal often to locate stuff. While it's okay for someone like me, I have friends who just can't do it.
One of my friends is a professional photographer. He's been a Mac user for ages. Recently he switched to windows because there's tools he can't get on Mac. Also, the tools he does find on Mac require editing config files and such, sound familiar? Yeah... like linux!
Well, why does Linux have so many config files and not enough GUIs? That's simple, because the development of a GUI suuuucks in Linux because developer tools are complicated and commandline in linux. Also, it's an OS made by engineers and university level programmers, who don't understand why a GUI matters.
"What do you mean you need a GUI? Just open terminal, CD into folder, VIM the file, edit it with VIM shortcut keys, :wq! to save, ensure your CHMOD permissions are set, and voila!" - says the Linux user
Why a rant about linux? It's not that i dislike linux, remember, i developed for linux for YEARS and was a huge contributed to GNU and even had a GNU.NET email address back in the day. Fact is, i'm consumer focused now, and linux just doesn't do it.
Will ARC ever run on Linux? Hopefully one day, but that's up to Linux not EZ-Robot
@CochranRobotics
I think I read that the ARM based emulator will only support apps from the widows store, but I maybe be getting that confused with Windows 10s restrictions
@dj
Can ARC for Windows become a Windows Store App?
@DJ... After reading what you wrote, does EZ Robot have a plan B then for future ezb/ARC advancements?
microsoft is working on an Arm based version of Windows 10 using the snapdragon 835.
I can speak a bit to Microsoft culture, as I worked closely with them on some projects in my last job, and know a number of people who still do.
Every Microsoft employee needs to re-apply for their own job every year (I think it is yearly, might even be more often). This is supposed to make people who want to stay perform at their highest level, and encourage those who don't like their jobs to move on, but in reality, it makes many of them very risk averse, and constantly looking for other opportunities. We saw the same kind of thing that DJ does. Slow, incomplete responses, and on long projects, we would have no continuity because the people we were working with would change so often.
Alan
Of course
Joule was abandoned by ez-robot in August 2016 when the pricing was announced at IDF16. FYI, there will not be any more IDF (Intel Developer Forum), as it appears Intel has ceased business practice of supporting new emerging technologies outside of server CPUs.
This is only a guess, but I'm suspecting a chip manufacturer will produce an x86 hardware emulated ARM, that will support Microsoft Windows. I can't see Microsoft getting much traction convincing software developers (new and old) to have a ARM and x86 compile. So Microsoft is most likely not going to change architecture anytime soon. However, there have been successes with chip manufacturing emulating x86: https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3011638/qualcomm-responds-to-intels-rant-about-x86-emulation-on-arm
Then if you bring up Linux and ARM... well, that's a whole new and HUGE discussion. Specific question is "How can Linux become a consumer/user OS when it is written and designed by engineers?"
You have to remember, Linux has a bizarre dual personality. 99 out of 100 installs are server based, and the minuet rest are pro-sumers dabbling at home. No Linux users are my mom, your uncle or neighbor. The fact that Linux doesn't have the expertise or community focused on consumer usage. Even if one organization stood up and said "I'll own consumer usage", it has to be built on a kabillion non-consumer technologies. It's those non-consumer technologies that breaks the Linux system for user usage. This by no means says that linux is bad, it's just differently focused.
Okay, so now you're thinking "What about NextStep?". I mean, come on DJ, Apple turned NextStep into MacOS, can't linux do the same?
Well, my previous answer still applies. Steve Jobs did not develop Next to be a server. The focus was ALWAYS software development and apps. Absorbing Next into MacOS was still a struggle, however... and ask any MacOS user that wants to install anything "abnormal" outside of Apple's desired use case. It's a nitemare!
What kind of nitemare? Well, you're not going to lose sleep over it. But my most recent experience is with MS Visual Studio and Xamarin on MacOS. There are files installed in locations outside of your usual Finder Documents, which means you're in the Terminal often to locate stuff. While it's okay for someone like me, I have friends who just can't do it.
One of my friends is a professional photographer. He's been a Mac user for ages. Recently he switched to windows because there's tools he can't get on Mac. Also, the tools he does find on Mac require editing config files and such, sound familiar? Yeah... like linux!
Well, why does Linux have so many config files and not enough GUIs? That's simple, because the development of a GUI suuuucks in Linux because developer tools are complicated and commandline in linux. Also, it's an OS made by engineers and university level programmers, who don't understand why a GUI matters.
"What do you mean you need a GUI? Just open terminal, CD into folder, VIM the file, edit it with VIM shortcut keys, :wq! to save, ensure your CHMOD permissions are set, and voila!" - says the Linux user
Why a rant about linux? It's not that i dislike linux, remember, i developed for linux for YEARS and was a huge contributed to GNU and even had a GNU.NET email address back in the day. Fact is, i'm consumer focused now, and linux just doesn't do it.
Will ARC ever run on Linux? Hopefully one day, but that's up to Linux not EZ-Robot
Microsoft is building in the emulation into Windows 10 for ARM.
https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2017/P4171 6:13 to the end of the video basically.
https://www.howtogeek.com/309119/what-is-windows-10-on-arm-and-how-is-it-different-from-windows-rt/
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/05/12/microsofts_windows_10_armtwist_comes_closer_with_first_demonstration/
Lots of articles about it. The good news is that x86 code will run without needing a separate compiler.
I discussed this a few weeks back on the Tech Today show.
Now that is fantastic news!
@CochranRobotics I think I read that the ARM based emulator will only support apps from the widows store, but I maybe be getting that confused with Windows 10s restrictions
@dj Can ARC for Windows become a Windows Store App?
Frank
Whoops, my bad, the emulator on ARM does run full Windows 10
But, windows 10s which is aimed at schools is windows store apps only.. so no ARC on those systems unless it can become a windows store app