Windows 10 on the Gemini?

[Varti]

From this recently updated article, it seems like Planet is in early talk with Microsoft to have a version of Windows for the Gemini.

https://bigtechquestion.com/2018/02/01/revi...ini-pda-review/

I wanted to know what's your opinion on this, so I created the above poll: if this news will be confirmed, would you be interested in a Windows release for our Gemini?

Varti

[Varti]

Also, another interesting news tidbit that still has to be confirmed:

"Update 15 Feb 2018: Will the Gemini have a better camera option than the 5-megapixel add-on? (via Tim in comments)

I asked Planet Computers, and they said yes, sort of. A 20-megapixel camera is in the works, but won’t be available until Gen 2 of the device."

Varti

[depscribe]

From this recently updated article, it seems like Planet is in early talk with Microsoft to have a version of Windows for the Gemini.

https://bigtechquestion.com/2018/02/01/revi...ini-pda-review/

If this news will be confirmed, would you be interested in a Windows release for our Gemini?

Varti

No. Or, to be more precise, hell no. My reason for backing the Gemini, besides the design of the thing, is to have a Google-free, Facebook-free device, to which I can now add Microsoft-free. The apparently inescapable prospect of binary blobs is bad enough.

[Charlie Stross]

From this recently updated article, it seems like Planet is in early talk with Microsoft to have a version of Windows for the Gemini.

https://bigtechquestion.com/2018/02/01/revi...ini-pda-review/

If this news will be confirmed, would you be interested in a Windows release for our Gemini?

The Gemini has 4Gb (or is it 6Gb) of RAM, right?

Windows 10 is terrible speed-wise as an app platform on anything with less than 8Mb. And a 64Gb SSD isn't that great given the size of many Windows programs.

I'd be very happy to see WINE working on the Gemini, especially under Android, to give me access to a couple of must-have programs (notably Scrivener, which won't be ported to Android any year soon), but Windows is a really bad idea on the current hardware. Maybe it'll be OK on the next version, if the Gemini 2 has double the RAM and more storage ...?

And this is before we open the very wriggly can of worms that is the fact that Gemini appeals to many of the current backers precisely because it doesn't run Windows or macOS.

[Alius]

One of the reasons my umid mbook m1 did not get used the way I thought it would was because Windows is not 'instant on' from sleep.  Android is.  In addition to the questions of performance, the lack of 'instant on' is the #1 deal breaker for me, and the reason for my No vote.

What I miss from my Psions (in addition to awesome battery life and screens that were great in direct sunlight) is the instant on and the excellent typing experience on the go.  Imho the Achilles' heel of the Psion era was connectivity.  Enter 4G+Wifi and...problem solved  

[Varti]

I have also voted "no"... The only thing Windows would be useful to me would be for gaming, but I prefer the Planet folks to focus on improving the 4 already supported OSes.

Varti

[depscribe]

Also, another interesting news tidbit that still has to be confirmed:

"Update 15 Feb 2018: Will the Gemini have a better camera option than the 5-megapixel add-on? (via Tim in comments)

I asked Planet Computers, and they said yes, sort of. A 20-megapixel camera is in the works, but won’t be available until Gen 2 of the device."

Varti

I very much hope that this is just smoke. The very last thing PC needs right now is a reason to wait and buy the next version instead of ordering the current product.  See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect

[Maxence822]

One of the main appeals of a device like this is Linux, so I don't think a lot of people would like to have windows on a device like this, with only a keyboard and no built-in mouse/trackpoint/trackpad.

Furthermore, windows is scarier and scarier with each passing year, stealing data, displaying advertising on every page, installing automatic updates, etc.

It makes sense to have as many options as possible (and that is a great strength, if anything) but for the expenditure which I am sure it would require to get windows running on the Gemini, I do not think it is worth it.

[Murple2]

I voted no because I wouldn't use it personally, but I think for the Gemini it would be a positive be thing to cater to a larger market. So long as Microsoft don't try and pull their usual crap of cutting out the competition (requiring signed boot, putting exclusivity clauses in partnership agreements, undercutting competition etc etc etc). They are better than they used to be (I never thought I'd be saying that!) but they will never win me back.

[Murple2]

One of the main appeals of a device like this is Linux, so I don't think a lot of people would like to have windows on a device like this, with only a keyboard and no built-in mouse/trackpoint/trackpad.

Furthermore, windows is scarier and scarier with each passing year, stealing data, displaying advertising on every page, installing automatic updates, etc.

It makes sense to have as many options as possible (and that is a great strength, if anything) but for the expenditure which I am sure it would require to get windows running on the Gemini, I do not think it is worth it.

Good point about the lack of mouse/trackpad.

In terms of the effort needed to get it running I imagine Microsoft would do all the hard work - the Gemini is popular enough and it's a market micro$oft would like to get back into. It's technically possible from what I've seen so far, but the sticking point will be the emulation of 32bit windows apps. Apparently Qualcomm have something special in their silicon to allow this legacy support - but perhaps this is marketing lies as people have got win10 arm to run on a pi3 with x86 emulation support. So who knows. https://www.windowslatest.com/2018/02/09/de...raspberry-pi-3/

[gidds]

I'll add my “For goodness' sake, NO!!!”

Partly because I've never owned anything running a Microsoft OS.  Partly because it's likely to make the Gemini look far worse than it is.

And partly because it'll dilute the platform: the fewer people running each OS on it, the less pressure for compatibility, updates, &c; and the less we users will be able to help each other and share experiences and insights.  The platform is already split between Linux and Android; a necessary split at this point, but already it reduces the need for Gemini-related Linux updates, tweaks, and apps.  It's too easy for people to say “Oh, just boot into Android to do that.”  How much worse would it be with Windows too?

[Ifanafi]

My vote is a qualified yes.

Given how voraciously ram-hungry Win 10 (Pro) is the Gemini's internal RAM must be easily increased beyond 4GB which Win 10 would wholly consume. That alone would hobble the device's speed and use.

Fair to say laptops running Win 10 have at least 8GB and often more ram than that; mine does.

So, please consider the above.

Ian

[Varti]

Given how voraciously ram-hungry Win 10 (Pro) is the Gemini's internal RAM must be easily increased beyond 4GB which Win 10 would wholly consume. That alone would hobble the device's speed and use.

It seems that the Helio X27 doesn't support more than 4GB of RAM, so in order to have a 8GB device we'll have to wait for a Gemini 2 with a different CPU.

Varti

[AndyM]

For Windows users there are other tiny "laptops" already offering a Windows 10 solution (at least one on Indiegogo). These have been designed for this from the start and therefore have no compatibility issues. As it is, I think the Gemini is a niche product and needs to capitalise on what it already has and not try to complete in a more mainstream environment.
Personally, I ditched Windows six years ago and my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. I'm really looking forward to Ubuntu on the Gemini.

[andrewl]

A no from me, mostly because I've witnessed what happened to Sendo and Nokia after Microsoft got involved. The may be able to offer tempting investment money and development resource, but that would destroy the dream for me of a device free of slurpware and cruft. The ideal wish would be a device free of Android too, which is a necessary evil in my opinion, a stepping stone towards getting a well supported linux on the device.

I don't think the device RAM is a barrier to windows though, I have a semi-tablet device with 2GB RAM which runs Win10 perfectly well for not too demanding apps (which include Office). That is an Intel based tablet though, a Windows 10 on Gemini would be an ARM version of the OS and no judgement can be made about hardware requirements without knowing what the ARM version is like.