iPad runs Windows, Nokia runs OSX Citrix has been demonstrating Windows 7 running on an iPad, as a dumb client at least, while a Finn has hacked OSX to the N900 for no very good reason. Images of Apple's iPad running Windows 7 have been floating around the internet thanks to Citrix, which has got its dumb-terminal Windows client running for the BOFH who wants …
Not sure that Citrix on the iPad is as pointless as all that. A lot of peeps login to work from home these days, either through choice or compulsion, and the ability to dip in and pretend you're working while idly thumbing on an iPad in front of the TV isn't so bad. It's yet another reason not to bother booting the laptop - all the more grist to the Apple mill.
I used to use VNC on my Nokia 9110. That was before WiFi, ADSL, 3G, etc. Calls were dial-up at an amazing 9600 baud, but helped no end compared to driving to the office to start a compile or simulation!! (It was also easier to cheat in pub quizzes in 1998 because nobody thought about mobile internet, or even using the internet to find answers to questions!)
Given that this will also allow, shock-horror, more than one window on the screen it's a good thing. But does that mean I have to install citrix server ? :(
"does that mean I have to install citrix server?"
Not really, no. Have been using a windows remote desktop app on iPhone for over a year now. WinAdmin. Not free, but equally no need for LogMeIn/Citrix/VNC clients installed on the machine(s). I imagine it will look quite tasty on an iPad. Getting it to interact with multitouch/Win7, that could be a breakthrough...
Not sure I understand why it's insane to want to run Windows on an iPad. As with the various Windows emulators for the Mac and Linux, sometimes Windows simply has the applications you need. And surely the iPad is powerful enough to cope?
And, deliciously, it could be a way to get an iPad to run Flash...
Weird my tablet has neither a keyboard nor a mouse and works perfectly fine. Only time it had a keyboard on it was when I was installing win xp pro (came with the home crap) before I hacked it to tablet edition. Since then no keyboard or mouse needed period ;)
It's not exactly beyond the wit of man for Citrix to adapt their client to make use of the iPad's control features (multitouch screen and on-screen keyboard) - in fact I'd be surprised if they hadn't done it already.
Not much point designing native clients for non-PC environments if you still need PC peripherals to actually use them.
Ah, but the iPad is not running Windows. Its just using a remote desktop client to show you another machine, and allow you to have some interaction with it.
So, you have to have a Windows machine booted up somewhere that you can connect to, preferably on the local network, as trying to use remote desktop via a wireless connection would be ugly even just for basic office apps, and impossible for games or anything requiring quick responses. Using it over 3G would be even worse - the speed is there, but the latency is huge.
I'll wait until there's a tablet device that will run the apps I need it to, without requiring I be at home with a Windows / Linux box doing the real work.
I assume that by wireless, you mean WiFi (i.e, 802.11n/g/b) as wireless as in <3G cellular would, of course, be worse than 3G.
Given that, I believe you'll find you're completely wrong. I use RDP over WiFi all the time, connecting over a secure VPN through my home network to my work's network, and the response time is quite good. I even know some people who have used RDP over a dial-up connection, and have had some (slightly more limited) success. No, it's not adequate for gaming, but some of us actually use computers for productive purposes.
"And surely the iPad is powerful enough to cope?"
This just shows the Citrix client software; the iPad emulator is running a dumb terminal, not running Windows. The copy of Windows is running on another machine. The whole thing is just a demonstration of a remote desktop client running on the iPad with a publicity stunt screenshot that seems to have worked wonders!
"And surely the iPad is powerful enough to cope [with running Windows]?"
My car won't work on a railway. That's not because it's not powerful enough, it's just not built to run on rails. Windows has never been released for ARM, so it can't be run on the iPhone.
Unless you do what the Finnish Mac phone guy did and emulate an x86 processor in software, but that's something that the iPad is certainly not powerful enough for!
I agree, this just presents a backup option when Apple refuse to let something into the app store. Example, I'm trying to sort DLNA infrastructure for my media at home, and having a wireless connection to a WHS or Mediacenter could wouldn't be that snazzy on an iphone due to the screen size, but this (or just an RDP connection) could put all the library management etc in my living room without bothering with a laptop.
I think the ipad naysayers may have jumped too early - it's all about the apps, not the kit.
Agreed...pointless technology is the best technology. The more expensive the better.
Almost as entertaining as smashing exotic metals and electronics in to the moon at high speed to see if the resulting dust clouds has pretty colours in it. It's your mindless boyhood destruction fantasy times a million.
Hollywood quote: "Just because we can, does it mean we should?" Damned right. Kinda somes up the ipad in one line, really.
Paris, because minaturised night vison cinemaphotography is her favourite technology.
Now that’d be a really great device.. and if it’ll run Windows, it’ll run Linux etc.. and do more than one thing at a time.. fab!
Now all it’ll need is one of those e-book low-power displays on the back (for when the battery is nearly flat), and an OLED display instead of the LCD when it isn’t ..
Oh and better impact protection.. and perhaps an SSD disk.. maybe some ports (UBS, HDMI) would help..
wow.. iPad 3GS is going to be perfect.. and only a couple of years away (that’ll give me time to save up to pay for it)..
.. hang on.. am I just getting carried away with Jobsian dissonance..
... failed to inspire because Microsoft just don't get that a move away from the desktop requires a change in the UI interaction model. And that interaction model has to be nigh on perfect for users not to become irritated by its shortcomings quickly. And as we know, while Apple does 'perfection', Microsoft does 'good enough'.
PS the same principal applies to touchscreen phones. Start button on Windows CE? Doh!
I've often considered carrying around a netbook to allow me to RDP to my desktop (that has admin rights) to make changes to user accounts or other similar things that otherwise would have required me making a pointless and time consuming return journey to my desk, and then back to the user. However, a netbook really isn't the perfect form factor for this - a tablet like the iPad would be.
Has anyone yet created an 8-bit CP/M emulator for either device? I'm sure there are people who would like to run the original WordStar on smartphones...
Actually, given the low speed of the original CP/M machines (Z80 at 4Mhz was typical), in this case the smartphone emulator could well be much faster than the original.
"I had wordstar 3.3 running faster on a 386 than it ever did on my Z80-based Mimi"
That was the MS-DOS port of WordStar, wasn't it? Of course it ran faster, at the native speed of the 386. To run WordStar (either the CP/M or MS-DOS version), a N900 or iPhone would have to emulate both the CPU and the OS.
I'd like it if it was, but it's not. It's a remote desktop app that will let you control Windows on another box.
Citrix, as you have mentioned, is remote desktop software, like MS's Terminal Services/RDP. It's cool. It is, but it's not new, there have been Citrix & RDP apps for the iPhone and countless other devices for years. And it sure as hell won't be fast outside of the home, even on a 3G model.
Windows in CItrix on an iPad.
Hmm... All utterly pointless, so I suppose that is fitting then....
Now, if only the Ipad had a front facing camera, we could fill the igoggleweb with videos of people going "OMG!" when they see windoze on it. (sorry, iT)
Mines the one with the split pocket.....
its simply awesome, annoying mac fanbois is usually pretty easy, but that is ammunition not to be missed.
on another note, newsreaders etc love to have the odd tablet machine, and of course they need full functionality (pc wise) so they could use that dumb client on machines to look nice on telly! :)
@DZ-Jay: I do agree that Windows tablet PCs as seen thus far have been pretty hopeless (I think that's what you're saying). I know some people who've made good use of them in education, but in quite a niche way. Whether the advent of the iPad will make other manufacturers up their game in tablet PCs (cf. the iPhone and the sudden rise in excellent smartphones from other manufacturers) remains to be seen. All I meant was that it might be a useful addition to the iPad (or any other tablet)'s native functionality.
works perfectly fine as a remote desktop app on the iPhone.
Would be nice to get Win7 running on the iPad though, it's specced enough for it (probs not be ultra quick but still...)
Here's for pointless tech, getting Vista to run on a machine deisgned for Vista. Now THERE's a challenge...
So, this summer, a company calls up Apple and says they'd like to buy 30,000 iPads in order to run Windows via Citrix. Apple will book that sale and send a very nice thank you letter. They may even send a thank you note to Citrix.
It is Steve's intention to sell devices and systems. The software is to add value to the hardware. Third party software adds value to the platform at a nominal cost to Apple.
So as we enjoy a warm chuckle and share the levity of this faux ironic moment from the os wars, Apple have grabbed their coat - it was the one with all those checks in its pockets - and have proceeded, secondary verb unknown, all the way to the bank.
As mentioned in a couple of previous posts, there's already remote access apps for the iphone that are official and authorised by Jobsus' sword of a thousand truths. I've been using one for the last six months called Jaadu VNC, and using it more often than i suspected i would. It lets me check on and control my home laptop and servers, and has come in handy on more than a few occasions, from dropping local files into gmail attachments to checking my wow auction house toon.
Having said that, it drops the screen colours to 8-bit or less, and is annoyingly slow on aussie 3G. Still gives me full control of both boxes, and i can make say photoshop load and convert a huge file to another format from a beach or a pub, the latter being more likely.
I've also used it with embarrasing frequency to perform a variety of mundane tasks without having to get my fat arse out of bed. It certainly is a lot snappier on the local wifi lol
I find LogMeIn Ignition very useful on my iPhone for remoting in to my home PC to queue up an iPlayer download on the way home or send a file to work or whatever... having the same thing but with a bigger interface would take it from handy geek toy to useful tool, I reckon.
Indeed, this is the sort of thing that I was considering as the make-or-break for the thing's practicality; can I use one to RD into, say, a static media server desktop, or even a laptop that I want to cable up to a screen on the other side of the room? (onscreen keyboard etc not so much of a hinderance if you can see all of what's going on via a large-screen HDTV as well as the pad). It's a bit steeply priced, granted, but then a vanilla slate PC isn't much more cost effective (unless bought from eBay, and even then it'll likely need a new battery), and professional automation gear with such capabilities from AMX etc is just as expensive. Wouldn't bother with the 3G model, so long as the normal one will work on wifi alright.
Can also just work on the machine directly, with TV off, for websurfing etc in a less restricitve domain than using the built in apps... and maybe be able to run notepad in the background for taking notes and all :p
I can't see Apple being too happy about it - aren't they dead set against allowing emulation apps on iPhone OS? Citrix would have to bundle a jailbreaking kit with each copy...
But still, the white elephant has been given a small lick of grey here.
Looking back, and forgetting everything of importance, which is the normal way to do it.
I feel, that indeed, it is quite important that "silly" stuff like this is tried, performed.
You never know what kind of new ideas they create.
For instance suppose that the cell phone you bye would give you the ability (right) to download what ever OS you fancy (at the time).
Downloading a OS would not necessarily be free of costs, but might also be.
Among the devices that could survive a change like that, is no doubt, a device like Nokia N900.
And looking back again, remembering nothing, it is still a fact that companies like IBM, HP and who? are still alive because they do both hardware and software
(and a bit off the pint, why the hell does comments using Firefox produce an additional CR)
again, thinking the same thoughts.
impressive they managed to make something so heavyweight work on that iphone-sized device, but it's like the jokers who get XP running on a 32mb pentium-mmx force-clocked to single figure mhz. Very good, but what is it for?
(also sort of like XP on a 256mb, P4-generation Celeron running a gone-feral copy of Sophos... the horror...)
Never mind Debian, why not something like Puppy or DSL? I can see a Linux originally aimed at low-end PCs recompiled for the smartphone platform (with appropriate touch-screen, low rez and limited-key-board tweaks) working very well.
and not dumb client, that would be one of those green screens connected to a serial port.
And the iPad solves a problem I had with the iPod, and abundance of remote desktop client apps but not enough screen.
Tux, because I'll probably use one with VNC to remote control the virtual machines hosted on several Linux computers with KVM, no, not the Keyboard - Video - Mouse switch :)
Instead of buying a really expensive bit of useless kit then having to play with it to get it to actually do what you want it to do (i.e. run Windows/Linux) why not pay *less* and get a tablet which already comes with Windows or Linux on it?
Seriously, if the only use for the iPad is as a thin client so you can run Windows over a network, doesn't it show you peoples mentality when they choose that over something that runs what they need?
"Hey, you have a choice, you can have this Windows based tablet with Windows on it, and you can dual boot Linux, or, you can have this iPad which runs a phone OS and if you want to do real work, you gotta install software to link it up to your Windows/Linux box!"
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
