Eben Upton, the CEO of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, said today that the decision to add support for Windows 10 in their newly revealed $35 Raspberry Pi 2 was due in part to customer demand. He stated, "We've had people queuing up and saying they want Windows. I think there's a sense that 'you're a real PC' if you run Windows."
Previous versions of the super-cheap, and bare bones, Raspberry Pi could only use a version of Linux. However, the new Raspberry Pi 2 uses an ARMv7 processor, which also allows it to use the Internet of Things version of Windows 10. Upton spoke to The Register about what that means for the folks who buy the product:
"It's two versions of the ARM instruction set and architecture," says Upton. "There hasn't been Windows for ARM v6 for a very long time. There was no real appetite to port the Windows kernel to a whole new architecture just to get Raspberry Pi."In terms of whether we approached Microsoft, or Microsoft approached us, I don't think it was either, I think it was a conversation in a bar," he adds. "We've had a very good relationship with them for a long time, and it was just, we can do this now with ARM v7, let's do it."
Upton does state that people who get the PC with Windows 10 installed won't necessarily be able to use it in desktop mode or to run certain old-school applications. However, apps made for the PC will be able to access Azure cloud services, along with other APIs. Microsoft is expected to reveal more about their Windows 10 Internet of Things plans in the near future.
Source: The Register; Via: Neowin
