Win RT Rev of Office Missing Key Features
The more I hear about Win RT, the more it kind of makes sense. It is a version of Windows 8 aimed at ARM devices that will run a lot longer on a single charge. Check.
It will presumably be on machines with solid drives so it will boot almost instantly (and the drives should hardly ever crash). Check.
And it will provide a pure tablet experience, albeit with a keyboard and real productivity, so it will be more straightforward to use than the desktop version of Windows 8 -- which can't decide whether it is a touch tablet or a traditional PC. Double check.
So the news that Office for Win RT doesn't have each and every feature of its fuller Win 8 counterpart doesn't surprise or disturb me. I don't want each and every feature. I don't' like each and every feature. Each and every feature can take a bloody hike as far as I'm concerned.
We are hearing that Office for RT won't support third-party add-ins. Okay, this is bad. I can think of 27 other features they could dump to add this one back in.
Microsoft is also reportedly dropping VBA and macro support. Ouch. Again, I could fire up that list for you Microsoft.
But if we assume that Win RT is a companion machine, and, in a corporate context, is used on the road, on a train or in a lobby, maybe these items aren't crucial. The machine isn't part of a corporate workflow. That is reserved for your other connected device that has the macros or is customized with VBA.
What say you? Do you need VBA, macros and third-party tools in a companion machine? Does Win RT make sense?
Make it all make sense to me at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 08/08/2012 at 1:19 PM