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> it would be more difficult to write an x86 emulator for ARM

Building an x86 emulator is easy. Building one that can run Windows 8 software at speeds comparable to then current Intel or AMD x86 processors will probably be impossible. There is no such performance gap between ARM and x86.

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Would the opposite be easier? It might make sense to offer comparability for Windows|ARM executables on Windows|x86, so if you want to hit both platforms, you'd be doing it in ARM.

I can see ARM being great for corporate desktops: .net LOB apps work, IE will work, Office will work etc.

Sure, but one key advantage of Windows is that it has a huge legacy of software that already targets x86 and that would have to be recompiled/reoptimized to ARM.

The performance of a built-for-speed x86 is very forgiving. Eclipse runs well enough on my Core i5, but I suspect it would have problems on an energy-efficient ARM.

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