5 Companies That Dropped The Ball This Week

Windows RT: The New Vista?

The evidence is mounting that Windows RT, the version of Microsoft's PC operating system developed for ARM-based mobile devices, may be a bust.

CRN reported this week that solution providers are saying that customer interest in Windows RT is nonexistent. What's more, because Windows RT can't run legacy Windows applications, it's hurting Microsoft's Windows 8 sales and marketing efforts because of the confusion it's created.

This week also saw a spate of bad press about Windows RT. HTC has reportedly canceled plans to develop a Windows RT-based tablet, even as Microsoft was said to be cutting the price of the operating system to device manufacturers building small-size tablets in an effort to spur sales. And Acer Chairman J.T. Wang was quoted in The Wall Street Journal as saying Windows RT won't be "influential" in the market.