Thanks for the clarification. I'm not familiar with Microsoft programs and I didn't know what "IoT platform" was (in fact, didn't know that IoT was "Internet of Things").
Can you clarify the key differences? What happens if you hook up a monitor, just DOS command line or does it have a desktop UI? Can you remote desktop?
This is not the desktop version of Windows 10 but "Windows 10 IoT". It has no GUI whatsoever. People are planning to buy this, thinking they will be able to run some sort of desktop Windows. They're in for a huge disappointed.
Thanks Ben, I've upvoted you as I think this should be at the top of this discussion.
As others have said, it would be worth making this clear on the Raspberry Pi site, even if MS don't make it clear enough (judging by the comments) in their own brief announcement.
I find it strange that Microsoft is trying to pitch Windows as an OS for Internet of Things projects running on ARM processors. Microsoft's primary strategic asset, the Win32 API (and specifically the large number of x86 Windows apps), is useless for this use case. And it seems to me that Windows would be quite heavyweight compared to a stripped-down Linux-based system. I guess they're desperate.
Ben can you shed any light on the EULA terms on the Microsoft site? To get access to this program you must accept the EULA which states that you will only be allowed one single install of pre-release software and the license is only good for 60 days.
Sounds more like a standard beta/RC license than a real "free for the maker community" license as the PR announcements seem to imply.
What does that mean? So Visual Studio hasn't been ported to ARM, that isn't really surprising. But can I run any existing application I build targeting ARM like on a jailbroken Windows RT system, or do they need a Microsoft signature?
You'll develop your app in Visual Studio on a Windows PC and deploy it to the Pi.
Raspbian will continue to be the main supported OS.
- Ben from Raspberry Pi