No, Mr. James, Surface Is Not Doomed

an article saying what he terms a horror scenario where a fully updated and patched Windows 7 computer got infected by a virus, even with a security solution running. That’s okay, stuff happens. But Señor James in all his collective wisdom went as far ahead as to label this as one of the main reasons why consumer should stay away from Microsoft Surface tablets:

“Because the Surface is based upon Windows, it is, and will remain, inherently unstable and insecure. That’s because Windows itself is a security and stability nightmare”.

Security and stability nightmare, you say? I mean, not only did he not get the memo that Surface itself is based on the ARM architecture (meaning it can’t get affected by regular Windows viruses), he went onto predict the entire Surface line up is doomed. What a fruitcake! The rest of the article is filled with praises of Apple iPad, which most definitely deserves it as one of the premier tablets on the market. But really, articles like these at such an established place will likely scare more than a few potential Surface buyers away —particularly damage the perception of business users. As Microsoft itself said about the Windows RT based Surface devices:

“With Windows RT, you can install apps directly from the Windows Store, but you can’t install desktop programs that you used with previous versions of Windows. You can only install printers, mice, keyboards, and other devices that are certified for Windows RT”.

Of course that does not mean that cybercriminals will not try and attack the Surface RT line of tablet devices in the future, probably when the stakes get bigger. But no, as of right now, Window RT cannot get infected with the regular malware associated with the Windows platform. The same cannot be said of the upcoming Surface Pro set to launch in January next year.]]>