Disclaimer: This will not install Windows 8 on your iPad. It will imitate a tablet experience using a VNC connection.
Windows 8 is currently in Developer Preview stages. It is not recommended that you install it over your Windows 7 (or possibly older) operating system to try this. It is recommended that you create a separate test partition on your hard drive.
Windows 8 is certainly getting a heap of interest from people all over the place. It was downloaded half a million times in the first day it was released. If you have tried it on your desktop or laptop, you might be thinking, "this doesn't feel right." Many of the trial users who tried it in the first few hours after its initial release thought that it was going in the direction of tablets, and that a keyboard and mouse just aren't the right tools to use to navigate throughout Windows 8. If you are one of those people - here is a little how-to guide to get a 'somewhat' accurate feel for what Windows 8 might feel like on a tablet.
You will need:
1. An iPad, or an iPad 2.
2. Windows 8 Developer Preview.
3. A computer running Windows 8 Developer Preview.
4. Splashtop Remote Desktop for iPad.
5. Splashtop Streamer installed on your Windows 8 machine.
You will begin by installing Windows 8 Developer Preview on your machine. This can be done by partition or by virtual machine. I suggest virtual machine because it's easier to set up and can be deleted much more quickly if you are not happy with it. VMware Workstation is a good desktop virtualization program to use, there is a free trial on the site. Once you have Windows 8 installed you can move on to the next step.
On your iPad, download the Splashtop Remote Desktop for iPad app from the App Store. For a short time it is only $4.99, soon it will become $19.99 again so I would try this soon. Once this is done, move on to the next step.
On your Windows 8 machine, install the Splashtop Steamer application. Set it up and give it a password for security.
Now launch the Splashtop Remote Desktop for iPad app on your iPad and select your Windows 8 machine. Now you will be able to have a touch-based experience on Windows 8. Granted that this is a VNC connection, it may be slightly slow or laggy depending on your internet connection. Another thing to keep in mind is that you are using your iPad as a remote control; you do not actually have Windows 8 on your device. In layman's terms, this is only a demo.
You can expect all of Windows 8's tablet gestures to work with this VNC. If you are running Windows 8 as a virtual machine your experience may be choppier due to the laggy nature of virtual machines. If you chose to install it as a separate partition on your hard drive, the loading of gestures and opening of programs will be much smoother.
If you plan on trying this, or if you already have, leave a comment below about what you think about the Windows 8 tablet experience!
Sources: Microsoft, Splashtop, WMware
Reply
